***AUTHORESS’S POV***
She felt her eyes grow wet after receiving his appreciation. Bruno looked up and saw her trying not to break down, then lowered his gaze slowly to his phone.
“I did what is right, father was rude to you, and said mean things too.”
Beauty sniffed and looked up at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. Why must he avoid eye contact? It was killing her. Did she irritate him that much?
“You are talented… and you are needed in this company, so don’t let it get to you.” He spoke to her again!
“Yes… yes… sir! Thank you, sir!” Beauty snapped loudly, but still awkwardly.
That was a relief.
Bruno looked up and found her smiling through tears. He looked away the next second, his face showing no expression of empathy.
“I don’t know about today, but for me, I achieved something. Mr. Bruno noticed my existence in the company and even had a short chat with me,” Beauty said to herself as she stared at him closely with a smile on her face. She used her handkerchief to clean her face.
“What a mess—I broke down in front of my crush, looking like a freaking thirteen-year-old emotional teenager. However, I am happy; it went well,” she thought, then looked up and found him busy with his phone again.
“Your food will get cold if you don’t eat up, sir.” Beauty said this time, not too nervous, but he totally ignored her again.
Her boldness level dropped at that moment, and she cursed inwardly. “I felt like a fool, that’s none of my business…” she muttered to herself.
“I… I… really wanted to finish this typing work, but there are a lot of pages remaining, I don’t want to fail.” Bruno replied quietly.
Beauty was more than surprised; she never expected him to talk to her that much. Apart from being calm and being a slow talker, etc.
He seemed to be a workaholic—a freaking workaholic—the kind of person who sees failure as something worse than death.
“But if you don’t eat, something else is going to fail.” He looked up, kind of confused.
Why is he looking so innocent! So adorable and so sexy! Beauty screamed inside.
“Something else will… fail? What could it be?” he asked, clueless.
“Your heart, sir Bruno. It could fail because of stress, don’t you think so?” Beauty tried to avoid eye contact, her cheeks burning, trying not to blush.
Bruno’s lips parted briefly in a smile, so quick that Beauty didn’t even notice. Then he slowly replied, “I guess you’re right, my apologies.”
“Oh no, it’s not something to apologize for.” Beauty snapped, laughing awkwardly and waving her hands.
“Okay.” He switched his phone off, put it down on the table, and started eating hungrily.
Beauty was so happy. “I can’t believe I did it,” she said to herself, watching him eat like a proud mama. Smiling sheepishly at him, her hands supported the weight of her cheeks.
After watching him for some time, she had this crazy idea.
“Sir, I can help with the typing if you like… I mean, it’s part of my job too, you know, to assist,” she offered, her cheeks burning red.
Bruno paused slowly and looked up, his mouth full of noodles that trailed back into the plate.
How adorable! Beauty screamed inside, but the joy vanished when he shook his head.
“Oh… Alright,” she said, a bit sad.
Done with her food, she stood up to go, then paused, unsure why. Was she expecting something else from him? She forced herself to leave the table and made her way back to her department.
Unfortunately, she bumped into Kathy, a popular model in their company. Kathy is one freaking beautiful lady, and she is very aware of her charms and knows the power she holds.
She’s the face of the company, an idol whose popularity can only be compared to the Kardashians and named alongside beautiful women like Jennifer, Emma, Kylie, Jennifer, Angelina Jolie, etc. She is the face of many beauty brands too.
“Fatty! Are you blind?” she yelled out. Her assistant was dusting her expensive outfit, but she shoved the lady aside, boiling with anger.
“I am so sorry,” Beauty replied shamefully. Everyone’s eyes were on them now, and even worse, Mr. Bruno walked into the department at the same time.
He stood at the spot, watching the scene too! Beauty cursed in her mind, squeezing her hand nervously. I hope I can disappear from the earth’s surface.
“Do you know how much this designer outfit costs me, you fat imbecile!” Kathy thundered again.
“Enough with the name-calling, Kathy! She said she’s sorry, and her name is Beauty, not fatty, and if her body type is what you call fat, I will only say you are being jealous.” Jessie intervened. Jessie came and stood beside her best friend.
Kathy turned to Jessie with arched brows. “Easy for you to say, she’s too fat to fit into this company’s building, bumping into people like that—who does that?
Very irritating. And talking about jealousy, please don’t make me puke. Who envies a bag of fats?” she sneered.
Beauty slowly tried to walk to her post, holding back her emotions, but unfortunately Kathy seemed like she wasn’t done with her yet.
“Don’t you walk away from me, you big bag of pudding!’