Behind His Plan

When Ethan Jones sat down across from me, I felt so awkward I could have sworn I was going to sink into the floor.

Who could possibly understand what I was going through? I was supposed to meet a friend’s online contact, only to discover that the contact was actually my boss. Why did my life have to be so complicated?

“Lillie, you—” he began.

Before he could say another word, I clasped my hands together and, with tears welling up in my eyes, said, “Mr. Jones, I’m actually here on behalf of a friend. The person you’ve been chatting with online isn’t me.”

I quickly pulled out my phone, opened my profile, and showed it to him. “See? This is my personal account. I’ve never talked to you before.”

Ethan squinted, seemingly unfazed by my distress, and read out a message, “Are you looking at male models right now?”

“Interesting. This is way more entertaining than your PPT,” he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

I was left speechless.

Even the waiter passing by couldn’t help but chuckle.

Ethan straightened up with a forced smile and said, “Since you’re here, let’s eat. We can talk more after.”

Help! Who wants to have dinner with their boss? I was screaming internally.

But instead, I managed a strained smile and stammered, “Sure, let’s do that.”

The dishes started arriving—steak, creamy mushroom soup, and other favorites of mine. On any other day, I would have enjoyed them.

But now, everything tasted like cardboard, and I found it hard to swallow.

I regretted being so eager. If I had come later than Ethan, I would have figured out that the person I was meeting was him.

As I took a bite of my steak, the rich juices spilling out, he casually asked, “Lillie, why didn’t your friend want to meet me?”

A half-eaten shrimp suddenly felt like a struggle to swallow. Staring at Ethan’s young, handsome face now filled with confusion, I could only respond vaguely, “She’s feeling a bit under the weather.”

I even gave him a knowing look.

Ethan sighed, his hands clasped under his chin, looking a bit disappointed. “We’ll have to reschedule then.”

Honestly, I was still a bundle of nerves.

From our year of working together, he was definitely not the kind of boss you’d call “gentle.”

But from our year of online dating, he was a different story—gentle, steady, and understanding.

I couldn’t reconcile these two sides of him.

It was autumn, and the night air was cool.

Ethan walked me to the entrance of my building, his gaze calm. He called out my name, “Lillie.”

He was so tall I felt like a little kid next to him.

The scene brought me back to the office, where he would stand like this, facing me, and pile on tasks.

I looked up, puzzled, as he said, “Don’t forget to get me that PPT for the report tomorrow.”

Just a little while ago, he had been polite and considerate, even serving me a bowl of seafood porridge.

Now, he was back to being all business.

What’s with the act? I muttered to myself.

But I didn’t dare complain out loud. Instead, I gave a cold “mm” and turned to leave.

He calls me “baby” every day on WhatsApp, but now in person, he’s all formal.

I was fuming, so I messaged him from our chat account.

[Sorry, baby. I wasn’t feeling well today and didn’t want to disappoint you, so I sent my friend instead.]

Ethan replied. [It’s okay, baby. Your friend is nice.]

I was stunned.

What did he mean by that?

I felt a jolt of realization and decided to test the waters. [Well, if you think my friend is so great, why don’t you date her?]

He answered right away. [Okay, baby.]

I was even more shocked.

Did Ethan just agree to date my friend?

I tugged at my hair, shaking my head in the mirror, nearly losing my mind!

After calming down, I came up with a plan.

After washing up and getting comfy in bed, I gritted my teeth and sent him a message. [Baby, I was just joking before.]

He responded. [Baby, but I’m serious. Lillie is my subordinate; I see her every day, and it feels real. I’m getting older, and my family is pushing me to settle down and get married.]

I took a deep breath, feeling like I was choking on my words. I didn’t want to deal with him anymore.