Surprise or shock?

Monday had arrived. Abigail's heart was thumping loudly as she stood outside the gate of the Sherman Groups and looked at the skyscraper. She had come to work as a substitute secretary for Christopher.

Her mother had called her the day before and told her that she was not well. So, Abigail had been with her mother and forgot to tell Christopher that Jasper had assigned her to this job. She had come from her mother's place and didn't have the chance to tell him in the morning either.

She was terrified and nervous because she had no idea how he would react. This fear had stopped her from calling him. She would simply apologize to him if he scolded her.

With this determination in her mind, she walked into the building.

The lady at the front desk asked her to go to the top floor.

Abigail thanked her and proceeded to the elevator, clutching the folder that Jasper had given her to hand it over to Christopher.

Her heart began to race even faster when the lift began to move. She could picture Christopher's cold, accusing eyes.

The elevator came to a halt.

She took a deep breath and went out, only to run into Brad.

"Abi?" Brad's brow furrowed in surprise. "You came to meet Chris." He smiled.

"Um… Actually, I am here to work as his substitute secretary."

"What?" A deep frown flared up on his brow. "Are you kidding me?"

"No… I am telling the truth. I came from Essence Concierge."

"Holy hell…" He groaned, passing his fingers through his hair. He was angry with Jasper. "That bastard played smartly," he muttered under his breath."

"Is he inside his cabin?" she inquired, swallowing hard.

Brad squinted at her, wondering when she had started working. "Yes…" He gave a curt nod. "But… do you have any idea he has dismissed all the ladies who have previously come to work for him?"

She nodded with her head bowed. "I am aware of it."

Brad threw his arms in the air. "Still you came… Why?"

"I am only following my boss' order."

"By the way, when did you start working for Essence Concierge? Ugh…" Brad shrugged, frustrated. He held up his finger and said, "Listen carefully… Nowadays, he is quite mad. He may yell at you. But, but… I will help you, all right? If he scolds you, come to my cabin."

He pointed at the door on the right side of the lobby. "That one is my cabin." Then he directed his finger to the room across from his cabin. "That is your husband's… I mean… your current boss' cabin."

Abigail felt a tight knot in her stomach when she looked at the nameplate beside the door.

Christopher Sherman (President)

The name engraved on the marble seemed to be as cold as his personality.

"Thank you, Brad… sigh… I may come to your cabin soon to sit and cry." She sulked.

"You are welcome, dear." He patted her on the shoulder. "I hope he will not get mad at you. Good luck."

Abigail walked over to the president's office, her heart pounding. She lifted her hand and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in…" His voice was deep and cold.

Abigail twisted the knob and pushed open the door, entering slowly. She saw him sitting behind the large brown work table. She could feel the heartbeat in her throat as she met his sharp gaze.

"You?" His eyebrows furrowed.

Christopher had not seen her since the day before. When he saw her coming to his office, he was happy. Although he was not expecting to see her here, he was pleased that she came to meet him.

He would have sent the driver if he had known she was going to come here.

"What is it? You got up this morning with the intention of surprising me."

He kept a serious expression on his face, not showing any signs of excitement. He was a little confused to see her in a beige top and gray skirt and wondered why she was wearing such formal attire as if she had come to work.

It was indeed a surprise.

'This surprise is going to shock you,' Abigail thought as she lowered her gaze to the file in her hand.

She curled her lips slightly and put the file on the table. "Please check it," she said in a soft tone.

Christopher looked at the file suspiciously. "What did you bring? Your medical report?"

He immediately opened it and found a note. His eyes narrowed further as he started reading it.

'First and foremost, I want to apologize, Mr. Sherman, for disappointing you. I'm sending you someone who, despite her inexperience, is very dedicated to her work. If you guide her a little, I believe she will not disappoint you this time.

Please give her a chance before dismissing her. If you are dissatisfied with her, you are free to terminate our collaboration.

I did, however, sign the contract you sent to review the changes. I have no objections to any of the clauses...

Jasper Wilkinson (President and CEO of Essence Concierge).'

Christopher raised his eyes at her, squeezing the note. His burning rage exuded through his eyes. He had been planning on discontinuing the collaborations with Jasper. He had also thought of other plans for Jasper and his company.

Christopher wanted to cause so much trouble for Jasper that he would eventually give up on his company and consider selling it. He would have taken over the business. But Jasper had foiled his plan with a brilliant move.

Even if Abigail made mistakes, he couldn't dismiss her. Jasper was well aware of this and used her to secure the contract.

Christopher wanted to rip the documents apart, but he kept his cool. He couldn't make rash decisions because Abigail was involved.

Jasper was an old friend of hers. Every action he took against him could irritate her, and Christopher couldn't afford to make her unhappy now that he was taking her on a trip in a few days. If he enraged her, she would most likely refuse to accompany him and return to her mother's house.

Jasper would seize the opportunity to approach her.

Christopher could not allow this to happen. He would figure out another way to teach Jasper a lesson. As of now, he would renew the contract.

"You think you are qualified to work here," he scoffed as he took a pen from the pen stand and signed the contract.

It was a tough question to answer. She couldn't say no because he would ask her to leave right away.

Jasper had sent her here with a lot of hope, and Abigail couldn't let him down.

She couldn't say yes either, as she was not trained. Such a response would only demonstrate her arrogance, which was also undesirable.

"My boss believes in me, which is why I'm here," she explained politely. "I'm not familiar with the work here, but I'll do whatever you ask. Please guide me."

Christopher's eyes sparkled while his visage turned dark. "Go get me a cup of coffee."

She speechlessly gaped at him.

'Coffee!' She wondered if he had considered her coming here to do household duties. She was furious but could not disobey him.

"Sure, Mr. Sherman," she responded professionally and turned to leave.

"I hope you remember how I like to have my coffee," he said.

Abigail clenched her fists. "I remember. Please wait for a while. I'll get your favorite coffee right away."