To the Love of My Life

Ruby Gregory held the phone, puffed her cheeks, listlessly found the meeting materials, and entered Steve Burton’s office again with them in her arms.

Steve Burton was sitting leisurely at his desk, looking at the computer screen while flipping through some files beside him.

Ruby walked over weakly, gently placed the materials on Steve’s right, and whispered, “Mr. Burton, here are the meeting materials.”

“Hmm.” Mr. Burton replied before looking up and glancing at Ruby, then on the empty coffee cup beside him. He pointed at the empty cup, signaling Ruby to fill it with fresh coffee.

Ruby knew this was just the beginning and that she would be busier later.

She thought about how her colleagues in the secretary’s office were discussing where to go for fun that night before she entered Steve’s office, while she would have to work overtime. Her resentment and unhappiness suddenly turned to grievance, which made her stare at the empty coffee cup by Steve’s hand, not moving for quite a while.

After a moment, Mr. Burton noticed that there was no movement in front of him and shifted his gaze from the computer screen to Ruby’s face. He saw her staring intently at his coffee cup, obviously in a bad mood.

Steve Burton’s brows furrowed slightly, “What’s wrong?”

Ruby jumped at the sound of Steve’s voice, then remembered the work Steve had assigned her. She immediately shook her head, grabbed the coffee cup on the table, and prepared to make coffee.

“Ruby…” Steve called out, and she paused to make eye contact with him.

From the depths of Ruby’s black, bright eyes, Steve saw traces of grievance. He felt a wave of uneasiness in his heart, and without thinking, closed his computer, walked around the desk, and strode quickly towards Ruby.

He was much taller than her, so he leaned down slightly and looked her in the eye. His voice was gentle, “Are you feeling down? Did something unhappy happen?”

Ever since she grew up, Ruby had never confided her grievances to Steve, let alone the fact that her current underlying bitterness was caused by him. So, she pursed her lips and remained silent.

Steve turned out to be more patient than she had imagined. He didn’t hurry her, just kept that level gaze with a bent posture.

The entire office seemed somewhat quiet.

After an unknown length of time, the phone on Steve’s desk rang. He glanced at the caller ID and disconnected the line. Within two minutes, Steve’s cell phone started ringing too. He pulled it out without hesitation and turned it off. Three minutes later, there was a knock on his office door, accompanied by the careful voice of Ms. Taylor, the chief secretary, “Mr. Burton, it’s time for the regular meeting.”

“Postpone it.” Mr. Burton gave the order to Ms. Taylor outside the door without hesitation and then turned back to Ruby, asking in a gentle tone, “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Ruby felt that she might be going a bit too far as Steve was putting aside company matters just because of her. She shook her head at him.

Steve raised his hand, touched her hair, and said, “Don’t be afraid, just tell me.”

In Steve’s words, Ruby heard a hint of indulgence.