Chapter 129: Found a Job
The next morning, Mia woke up to find herself pressed right up against James.
His face was right in front of hers, their breaths intimately mingling.
Her expression changed instantly.
Last night before bed, she had reminded herself over and over again in her mind—don't get close, don't get close.
But she never expected that she would still...
Mia bit her lip and immediately pulled away from him, got out of bed, and left with quick steps before he woke up.
Only after her footsteps faded away did James slowly open his eyes.
Looking at the now-empty space beside him, he placed his hand where Mia had just been lying, where her warmth still lingered.
...
At noon, Mia slowly walked out of the office building.
Step by step, she walked to where the sunlight could reach her, slowly lifting her head toward the bright sunshine.
Letting the sunlight dispel the negative emotions from her body, silently encouraging herself.
Don't give up, don't let setbacks knock you down so easily.
Now that she had stepped back and looked at the past four-plus years.
She had actually been depending on others to live all along.
No wonder he humiliated her again and again, trampling her dignity into the ground.
If she didn't want to be humiliated anymore, she had to work hard to stand up and pick up her lost dignity bit by bit.
"Mia, you can do it!"
After silently encouraging herself, she walked to a bench at a nearby bus stop and sat down, taking out the bread and egg she'd bought that morning from her bag.
Just as she unwrapped the bread and took the first bite, she heard a car honking in front of her.
She thought it was a taxi driver and ignored it.
Until the person rolled down the window a bit and called out, "Mia."
Hearing the voice, Mia looked up, her mouth still full of bread.
Seeing who was in the car, she was obviously stunned for a moment. "Benjamin?"
Benjamin gripped the steering wheel and gestured to her, "Get in, we can talk inside. I can't park here."
Mia responded and stood up, quickly walking to the car.
She tried to pull the door handle but it wouldn't open, so she knocked on the half-lowered window. "Unlock the door."
Only then did Benjamin snap back to attention and quickly unlocked the door. As she got in, he said, "Sorry about that."
As he spoke, his gaze couldn't help but sweep toward her lower abdomen.
He had just noticed it.
The moment she stood up from the bench at the bus stop, he saw her flat stomach.
It had been almost two months since they last met. Mia's baby should be over five months along by now.
Her pregnancy should be quite obvious.
But sitting beside him now, her stomach was flat, her figure slim. Her face was gaunt, and even heavy makeup couldn't hide the exhaustion on her face.
The question "what happened to you" stuck in his throat, but he never asked it.
He discreetly looked away and merged the car back into traffic. "I haven't had lunch yet. Would you keep me company for a meal?"
Mia glanced at the time and said to Benjamin, "Maybe next time. I have a job interview at Zenith Ventures Inc at 2 PM."
"Oh right, did you need something yesterday? You called but my phone was in my bag and I didn't hear it. I saw it when I got home and was about to call you back, but..."
Mia thought back to yesterday evening, and her chest tightened again.
Her fingers gripping the bread visibly tightened, squeezing the bread out of shape.
"It was nothing. I just got back to Imperial City yesterday and was passing by your way."
Mia nodded, glanced ahead, and said to Benjamin, "You can drop me off at the bus stop up ahead."
"I actually have business near Zenith Ventures Inc this afternoon. Want to grab a quick bite together when we get there?"
Benjamin asked gently.
"Okay."
Since he'd put it that way, Mia didn't refuse again.
Benjamin turned at the intersection ahead and called Jasper to arrange a restaurant in advance.
Jasper hung up the phone completely confused.
Why was Benjamin suddenly going to eat near Zenith Ventures Inc at this hour? Didn't he have a meeting at the office at 2 PM?
Going all that way, how would he make it back in time?
Jasper complained internally while arranging the restaurant reservation.
After booking it, he sent Benjamin the location and asked, "Mr. White, should I cancel this afternoon's meeting or postpone it?"
"Postpone it by an hour."
Benjamin replied while waiting at a red light, his expression unchanged as he put his phone away.
Forty minutes later, at a restaurant next to Zenith Ventures Inc.
Just as Benjamin and Mia sat down, the dishes were brought to the table.
The last item served was a soup.
After the server removed the lid and left, Benjamin ladled a bowl and placed it in front of her.
Mia took it, her eyes slightly red, and thanked him softly, "Thank you."
She lowered her head and slowly took a sip of the soup.
The warm soup slowly went down her throat, but it couldn't warm a heart that had already gone cold.
After finishing the meal, they walked out one after the other.
Outside the restaurant, Mia said goodbye to Benjamin and headed toward Zenith Ventures Inc.
She hadn't gone far when Benjamin called out, "Mia."
"What is it?"
Mia stopped and turned around.
"One of my secretaries just left because she found it too demanding. Would you like to give it a try?"
"Me?"
Mia's first reaction was wondering if she'd heard wrong.
When she first met Benjamin, she didn't know his identity. It was only when she started looking for work that she learned who he really was.
Although his company couldn't compare to groups like the Smith Group that had deep roots in Imperial City.
It was developing rapidly and its strength couldn't be underestimated.
Such a large publicly traded company wasn't within her current consideration range. She'd been paying attention to it as a goal to work toward.
"It's fine if you don't want to. Working at my company would indeed be very tiring—"
Benjamin couldn't tell if he felt relieved or disappointed that Mia seemed unwilling to work hard.
Because he had just seen how defeated she looked coming out of that office building.
That wasn't a state caused by just one or two rejections.
He knew her situation very well.
After being supported for four years, completely disconnected from the workplace, it was very hard to find work again.
He was clearly someone who kept business and personal matters separate, but just now, seeing her turn away and silently encourage herself, the invitation slipped out without thinking.
"I'm willing!" Mia urgently interrupted Benjamin.
She took three steps as if they were two and walked up to him, looking up at Benjamin.
At this moment, Benjamin in front of her seemed like her last lifeline.
She had to grab it tightly and fight hard for herself.
"Mr. White, I really am willing!"
"I'm not afraid of hard work, and I'm not afraid of being tired! As long as you give me this chance, whatever I don't know, I'll work very, very hard to learn. I absolutely won't let you down."
Having nearly despaired in her lowest moment, her determination to stand up again was too strong.
For this, she would give her all to fight.
...
Mia sat on the sofa, her hand lightly gripping the handle of her suitcase, her gaze slowly sweeping over this place where she'd lived for four years.
She was saying goodbye to the past.
Whether it was happiness and joy.
Or sadness and pain.
It would all pass.
Once she stepped out of here, she would bury the past completely and start her new life.
The door opened from outside.
The person she was waiting for had come back.