The CEO's Seductive Doll-Chapter 100: The Doll Bringing the Best Out of the Owner

"Sir Holz." Mrs. Kline’s gentle voice interrupted the quiet of Evan’s office.

She was a sweet, elderly woman who seemed like she should have retired years ago, yet here she was, still faithfully performing her duties as a utility worker for the company.

"I hope you don’t mind me entering your office," she continued, her voice shaking, which Evan noticed was the norm for elderly people. It’s time for me to do my after-hours cleaning already."

Startled, Evan straightened in his seat, tearing his attention away from the stack of documents he had been reviewing.

"After-hours cleaning...?" Evan repeated in confusion before he glanced at his gold wristwatch. "Oh."

"’Oh,’ indeed," the old lady chuckled as she brought in the mop and bucket. "I’ll start my cleaning, alright?"

Evan furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why she bothered asking if he minded her presence if she was just planning to do whatever she wanted. Seeing that it was a wasted effort to worry about it, he waved his hand dismissively and returned to his work.

Mrs. Kline was one of the oldest workers at RBAB. If Evan wasn’t mistaken, she joined the utility workers the same time Evan’s biological father did. Evan’s dad had already retired (due to unfortunate circumstances) years ago, yet Mrs. Kline was still going strong as a janitress for this company.

As Mrs. Kline went about her cleaning routine, Evan attempted to focus on the documents before him. However, after a while, he sensed her eyes digging into him, causing him to look up and in her direction. To his surprise, Mrs. Kline was indeed watching him, a peculiar smile playing at the corners of her lips.

This greatly irked Evan.

"What?" Evan’s voice came out harsher than intended, a hint of annoyance tainting his tone. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing, Sir Holz," Mrs. Kline said, though the smile was still plastered on her face. "I just think you’ve changed a little."

Evan raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" he inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"You didn’t shout at me the moment I entered your office," Mrs. Kline chuckled. "You usually do so when I interrupt your concentration on your work."

Evan made a face of disbelief.

"Was I really that unreasonable before?"

But she shook her head and assured her. "I wouldn’t say unreasonable. More of... just someone who has an extreme work ethic, that’s all."

"Your words seemed like my ’extreme work ethic’ is a good thing, but your tone implies otherwise," he said, his frown growing deeper.

Mrs. Kline laughed heartily, causing Evan’s confusion to grow stronger.

"Well, I wouldn’t say that it’s a bad thing," she began, her voice softening. "However, you used to never ask about anyone’s well-being or even acknowledge their presence unless it was work-related.

"But lately, you’ve been stopping to chat with us in the corridors, asking about our families, our weekends. It’s..."

She paused, as if struggling to find the correct word to describe her feelings.

"It’s nice, Sir Holz."

Evan paused as he tried to recall if he did what Mrs. Kline did in the last few days. He did remember asking Esteban how he spent his weekends last week, and he also asked this new intern about her family background. But he didn’t think people would think too much about it.

"Also," Mrs. Kline added. "You seem more... present as of late. Before, you were always lost in your work, as if the world around you didn’t exist."

"But now?" Evan probed.

"But now," she continued, humoring him in his attempt at fishing compliments. "You’re not just a CEO anymore; you’re a part of this company, in every sense of the word."

"That’s..." Evan trailed off, not knowing what to feel about what Mrs. Kline said.

This... were probably the nicest words he had ever heard since he started working for this company. It made his heart feel warm, and his cheeks turned a slight reddish hue.

"Sir Holz, I’ve been meaning to say this, but I didn’t want to intrude..." Mrs. Kline began but paused immediately as if she realized her place and who he was.

"Since you already started, you might as well continue," Evan said, motioning for her to continue her sentence.

Reluctantly, she nodded, and she did so.

"Have you met someone new, perhaps?"

Evan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, caught off guard by her question. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know!" Mrs. Kline giggled in this elderly fashion, reminding Evan of their vast age difference. "Like a fine young gentleman!"

"Wha--" He spluttered incredulously. "Why does everyone assume that I’m into men?!"

Mrs. Kline blinked innocently before tilting her head to the side.

"Do you not?" Mrs. Kline queried.

"I don’t!" Evan practically shouted before realizing that he did. He then lowered his voice. "I’m not even remotely attracted to men!"

"How about a fine young lady?" she corrected. "Have you met one?"

Evan took a long time before he responded.

He gave it some thought if Mrs. Kline would tell their other colleagues about his love affairs, but then he remembered that although she was sweet, she usually kept to herself and didn’t interact or gossip with the other workers of their company.

After a couple of seconds, Evan finally nodded his head.

"Oh! How wonderful!" she exclaimed in delight. "I had an inkling that you found someone who suited your fancy!"

"Why’d you think that?" asked Evan, genuinely surprised by her reaction.

"It’s because you seem happier lately," Mrs. Kline explained with a gentle, knowing tone.

"And you made that assumption because I didn’t shout at you when you entered...?"

Mrs. Kline shook her head and began explaining.

"You might’ve not noticed your own actions, Sir Holz, but you generally make interns quit on their first three days in RBAB."

"Really?" Evan asked in disbelief. "That fast?"

She nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, that fast. But anyway," she said, changing the topic. "Lately, our interns have lasted longer."

"And that concerns me, how?"

"You don’t—excuse me for my words—humiliate them anymore," Mrs. Kline pointed out. "In fact, my co-workers sometimes see you smiling at them."

"I do it out of politeness," Evan reasoned, though a hint of doubt crept into his tone.

"Which you didn’t do before," she reminded him. "You used to have a scowl on your face, but now you have a look as if you’re in love."

"Was I really that unapproachable before?" Evan muttered to himself, though it was audible in Mrs. Kline’s ears, for she replied.

"You were always focused on your work, Sir Holz." She smiled, the corners of her eyes creasing. "Sometimes, it seemed like nothing else mattered."

"And now?" he asked, his curiosity getting stronger by the second.

"Now," Mrs. Kline began, her tone softening. "You seem more... approachable. More human, if you will."

Evan gave her words some thought, and there was a flicker of realization on his face.

Now that he remembered it, it was weird yet funny how Eternity said something similar to him just a couple of weeks ago. Was he really robotic before, and these were the words that other people would use to describe him as such?

"They say that love brings the best out of people; that’s why I think that you are!" Mrs. Kline explained.

Though Evan thought that her words probably had no scientific basis, a specific face entered his mind when he thought of the word ’love.’

"Perhaps it’s because of..." He trailed off.

"Because of what?" Mrs. Kline asked curiously.

Evan hesitated, his thoughts swirling with uncertainty.

"Because of someone," he admitted finally, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Understanding crept into Mrs. Kline’s eyes. "Someone special?"

"Someone special," he agreed, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Mrs. Kline’s smiled back, and her wrinkled features were endearing to look at. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Well, I’m glad to see you finding happiness, Sir Holz," she said warmly. "After all you’ve been through, I believe you deserve to find it."

Evan’s azure eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, yet no words came out. Instead, he allowed himself to close his eyes, and a gentle smile formed on his lips.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kline," he said with genuine gratitude. "I truly appreciate it."

"Of course," she grinned, revealing a smile made out of dentures. "I think of you like a grandson, you know."

"You do?" Evan exclaimed in disbelief.

Mrs. Kline nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course I do!" She declared with much affection. "After all, I practically watch you grow and turn into the fine young man that you are now. Anyway," she said, changing the topic. "It’s almost 20:00! You should go home already, Sir Holz!"

"Ah, you’re right," Evan sighed. "Eternity is going to get really angry at me when I get home..."

Realizing he accidentally said Eternity’s name out loud, Evan hesitantly looked at her, worried that she might probe more information out of him. But instead, Mrs. Kline placed her index finger on her lips.

Evan returned the gesture, smiling.