The CEO's Seductive Doll-Chapter 135: Heed His Words

"You haven’t been hanging out with that CFO staff anymore," Evan said, phrasing it more as a question than a statement.

"Uh, yes." Eternity cleared her throat, tapping the folders against the table to align them. "Things... just happened and changed between us."

As usual, they were in his office. Evan was reviewing last month’s overall standing report from RBAB, while Eternity was analyzing the company’s annual sales report data.

Suddenly, something dawned on Eternity, and she lowered the folder to her lap.

"How did you even know that I used to hang out with J?" Eternity asked suspiciously. "I don’t remember ever mentioning him to you."

Evan snorted, shifting his gaze from the file to Eternity. "I’m literally the CEO of this place, Eternity," he pointed out. He was merely stating a fact, yet it sounded so arrogant. "I have my eyes on every little corner of this company."

"That’s true..." Eternity frowned. "Still, I don’t think you have a minute to spare your time just to check on who I’m friends with."

"’Friends?’" he repeated. "You’re ’friends’ with your colleagues?"

"Hey!" she exclaimed, knowing where this was going. "I know the belief that one should not treat their colleagues as friends, but Jakob is a genuinely kind person."

Upon hearing the familiar name, Evan relaxed in his office chair. "Ah, I had a weird assumption that you consider everyone in this division as your friends. I’m glad to know that you carefully chose who you associate with."

Eternity rolled her eyes, feeling slightly insulted by his words. "I’m not gullible enough to befriend every single person I meet, Evan."

He chuckled softly. "You truly are blending in as a real human now."

"Really?" She perked up in her seat, her moss-green eyes widening in glee. "Some people have told me I’m rather odd, but if you think I’m blending in, then that’s probably true!"

"I’m not the type to lie to you, after all," Evan said, returning his attention to the folder he was holding. "Also, baby steps."

"Baby steps?" Eternity repeated.

"You’re making baby steps on your journey to becoming human," he reminded her. "You don’t need to rush yourself into becoming a well-adapted person. And anyway, even I have my moments where I have a hard time socializing—What? Why are you making that face?"

Eternity could no longer restrain herself. She started laughing, a sweet and pleasant sound, even if Evan knew it was at his expense.

"Lower your voice," he said in a low voice. "The people outside might find it weird that you’re laughing loudly in my office!"

She quickly covered her mouth, and her laughter immediately died down.

There was a moment of silence between them, intentionally done so they could hear what the people outside the CEO’s office might be saying.

"Was that... laughter?" one person said.

Both Evan and Eternity tensed up.

"I doubt it," another quickly dismissed. "Imagine a woman laughing shamelessly in front of Mister Holz!"

"I guess you’re right," the first voice sighed. "So far, we aren’t hearing Mister Holz shouting that he’ll fire Miss Doll, so..."

Their voices turned inaudible, probably changing the topic to something else.

The two sighed in relief, their gazes returning to each other. For some reason, much to his surprise, Eternity was still wearing a big grin.

"So?" Evan pressed curiously. "What’s funny?"

Eternity looked like she might burst into a fit of laughter again, but she restrained herself.

"It’s... It’s just funny..." she said mid-snort. "How you’re talking about having a hard time... socializing... when you’re the least... sociable person... I—"

Eternity covered her lips with her hands, knowing she’d explode in a fit of guffaws again.

"Yes, the irony," Evan said, rolling his eyes. "Though, seriously, I’m happy that you became friends with one of the few people in this company who is competent. You know what they say, the birds of the same feathers, flock together."

This seemed to calm her down.

"So am I, Evan," she smiled, but a different light shone in her eyes. "So am I."

***

It had been two weeks since the incident in the cafeteria, and Eternity had not attempted to eat lunch there again. Instead, she let Jakob buy his food while they headed to the rooftop, where he ate his meal as Eternity watched the afternoon view of Berlin below them.

The thing with Jakob is that, since he thought Eternity had an eating disorder, he didn’t push her to eat. This had greatly helped Eternity and lessened the hassle she had to encounter in her everyday life in the office.

Surprisingly and thankfully, Eternity hadn’t seen J since then.

She had no clue who J ate lunch with after they went their separate ways. Perhaps it was for the best; after all, why should she concern herself with someone who believed their relationship was based on her using him as an accessory?

Not until today.

She was standing outside the cafeteria, waiting for Jakob to buy his food and generally minding her business, when she heard someone call her by a specific nickname.

"D."

Eternity looked up, and as she expected, it was J.

"J," she greeted back, her tone still amiable even after what happened between them. "I haven’t seen you in forever."

Abruptly, J marched toward her, and she immediately flinched, half-expecting him to slap her when he got close enough.

Instead, he cupped her face and forced her to look at him.

"I know I’m the last person you want to hear this from," J said, speaking so fast it sounded like he was running out of time. His words were almost inaudible because of how quickly he was pronouncing them. "But I want you to be careful around Jakob Schmidt."

"What?" Eternity frowned, trying to push J away, but he was far too strong.

Instead, his grip on her face grew tighter. She was worried he might leave marks on her cheeks later.

"Please listen to me, D," he pleaded, his tone desperate. "Jakob Schmidt is someone you shouldn’t trust."

"Where is this coming--" she started to ask, but the cafeteria door flung open, revealing Jakob with his food tray.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing to Eternity?!" Jakob shouted, ready to charge at J.

But J let go of Eternity upon seeing him. He took a step back and gave her one last glance.

"Heed my words," J said.

Then he walked away.

In a matter of seconds, J disappeared from view. Once they were alone in the hallway, Jakob and Eternity exchanged bewildered looks. But it was her who broke the silence between them.

"What the fuck?"