Page 55 of Clashing with the CEO

“Not if I can avoid it.”

“Do you have family waiting at home?”

“I live alone.”

“Do you have family back in Singapore, then? The UK? You’re British, right?”

“I grew up in the UK. It’s just me these days. I have no wife or children. My mother passed away a few years ago. I’m not in contact with my father.”

So, he was alone then. Just like me. I felt my heart squeeze.

“What about you? Do you have family here?” Neil asked.

“No. We’re similar in that way. I’m single, and I live alone. My parents are dead, and I don’t have any siblings.”

“I’m sorry to hear that about your parents. You are young to have lost them.”

I bowed my head, feeling the weight of his pity. “Yeah. Well, I lost my mother when I was still a toddler, so I don’t really remember her, and my dad… in hindsight, he wasn’t exactly a great father.”

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted the solemn atmosphere. Neil’s phone was lit up on the desk. I glimpsed the name on the screen—Ruby. No surname. Just Ruby.

“I need to take this,” Neil said, grabbing the phone. “Yes?” he answered on his way out of the door with the phone pressed to his ear.

Ruby. I had overheard Neil speak that name before. More than once. It wasn’t anyone work-related that I knew of. I wondered who she was. He didn’t have a wife, but could she be a girlfriend? I didn’t know why the thought bothered me so much. I pictured her all glamorous and mysterious for some reason. The opposite of me.

I strained my ears to hear what he was talking about with her, but I couldn’t make out his murmuring. I checked my own phone. Still no reply from Cat Dad. I shrank in my seat.

Neil returned to his desk a few minutes later. “You’ve done enough,” he said. “You should go home.”

I was about to protest, but a yawn escaped my mouth, sealing the deal. “Okay.”

“How will you get home?”

“I’ll take the train.”

“Are you okay walking to and from the station this late at night?”

“Of course. I’ll be fine.”

Neil looked like he wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t stop me. “Thanks for your help tonight,” he said. “I’ll compensate you for the extra hours you’ve put in.”

“It was no trouble.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you.” I threw on my coat and headed out.

As I descended to the ground floor, I realised I had meant what I said. It really was no trouble. It was actually kind of pleasant. Maybe Neil would stop mistreating me from now on, and we could work in harmony. Wishful thinking?

I pushed open the exit door, about to step outside, when I heard hurried footsteps coming straight towards me. I swung around. It was Neil, holding something in his hands—my scarf. “You forgot this,” he said, passing it to me.

He had caught me off guard. All I could do was mumble, “Thanks.”

Neil didn’t have to come running after me. I could have got it back the next day, no big deal.

“It’s cold outside,” he said, as if that explained his gesture.

I wound the scarf around my neck, smiling to show my appreciation. It felt warmer than usual—Neil’s body heat?

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