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Judith had finally gotten to meet Lucien Sinclair. Well, more like she got to see him.

On her first day, Kendall had gone into his office for coffee and told Judith that he wasn’t in the mood to see anyone. The next day, she’d come to work, but he’d had meetings outside all day.

Finally, on her third day, he’d zoomed in while they worked, and Kendall had hurriedly stood to introduce Judith.

He’d barely glanced at her, grunting, “Hm, right.” Then he’d called Kendall into his office, and Judith had been left out to blink at the closed door.

She sighed, feeling intimidated by his massive aura. He and Kendall seemed very close, and Judith suddenly wasn’t feeling very confident about coming between them.

Well, she’d just have to try.

What was the best way to make him start disliking her? Kendall was clearly a rich girl with high confidence. Judith saw the way she dressed in stunning, expensive outfits. And whenever her friends came around, she was the center of their attention. She’d definitely been the queen bee in high school.

Judith’s current nerdy character was perfect for making Kendall look like a mean bitch. Smirking, she sat down and carried out pretending to work.

The door opened, and Kendall stuck her head out. “Judith?”

“Yeah.”

“Bring Mr Sinclair a cup of coffee. I’m sure you know how to make it.”

With a curt nod, she went back inside his office. With a scoff, Judith stood and stomped toward the kitchen. It was time to start working on her plan.

She made a cup of coffee, throwing the rest of the coffee beans into her pocket. Carrying the cup on a saucer, she knocked on Lucien’s door and then quietly entered.

“Your c-cup of coffee, Sir,” she timidly said, walking over to their table.

“I’m thinking July,” Kendall said gravely.

Lucien sighed, rubbing his temple. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we take the flight on the first day of August, note that down.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Just as Kendall started writing on her iPad, Judith seemed to trip on air and screamed, sending the cup of coffee flying.

“Shit!” Lucien snatched his laptop off his desk just before a splash of dark liquid hit the dark wood.

“Judith!” Kendall said, tossing her iPad onto the armchair behind her to save as many papers as she could.

“Oh!” Judith cried, wide-eyed.

“Are you serious?” Kendall said, exasperatedly, shaking the coffee off some documents.

Lucien sighed, ensuring that his laptop was unaffected.

“I’m so sorry!” Judith pitifully cried, her breath hitching. “I didn’t mean to.”

Turning on her, Kendall stared furiously at her. “Do you realize that you could’ve destroyed extremely important documents? You need to be more careful!”

With a sharp cry, Judith flinched, shielding herself with her arms, as if Kendall was about to hit her.

“I’m s-sorry, Kendall!”

Frowning at her, Kendall scoffed. “Sorry won’t cut it, you need to do better. Your first day was understandable, but you should be used to the job by now!” Sighing, she reached out to touch her arm. “Look at me, I’m trying—”

As soon as Kendall’s hand touched her, Judith whimpered, flinching again.

“Okay, Kendall,” Lucien said, sighing. “Just… leave her alone.”

Kendall sighed in annoyance, glancing at him. “Sir—”

“You,” Lucien said. “You can leave.”

“Am I fired?” Judith cried.

“No, just sit outside.”

“I’m sorry, Sir!” she cried before turning and fleeing the room.

With an annoyed huff, Kendall marched out of the room after her. Judith had been getting on her nerves from the first day she’d arrived. Kendall had tried to be patient, but she couldn’t any longer.

Silently, Kendall went and got a roll of paper towels, rushing back to Lucien’s office. She stopped outside his door and looked at Judith, who was leaning back in her chair, scrolling on her phone.

“Judith,” Kendall muttered.

The girl glanced calmly at her. “What?”

“Make the boss another cup of coffee. That’s what.”

Glaring, Kendall opened Lucien’s door and went in.

He’d moved to the sitting area, leaving his table free for her to clean.

“I’m sorry about that, Sir,” she said, ripping off paper towels and covering the spilled coffee to soak it up.

“Happens,” Lucien murmured, focused on his laptop screen.

She sighed, looking at him. “Mr Sinclair, I don’t think Judith is a good fit for our office.”

Lucien made a dismissive sound. “It’s not that she’s bad, it’s just that you’re unbelievably good, Kendall. Most of my past secretaries were of an equally average standard.”

“Well, it’s not that,” Kendall said, coming closer. “Besides spilling the coffee, she’s just… strange. She’s always rude to me and…”

Kendall trailed off. It sounded like she was tattling. She sighed, murmuring, “She’s just weird.”

Lucien’s fingers paused, and he looked up at her, studying her pouty expression. A smile curved his lips, a strangely warm feeling flooding her chest. “You look like a duckling again. Why’re you pouting?”

She glanced at him. “Never mind.”

“Maybe…” A mischievous glint sharpened his eye. “…you don’t like her because you just don’t like that there’s someone else here with us.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked at him. “What? Are you saying that I wanna be… alone with you?

He pressed his lips together as his eyes rolled away from her face. “Uhm…” Lucien realized what he’d just said. He cleared his throat. “Sorry, that was a bad joke.”

Her face burned, and she turned away. “Anyway. I… I don’t like her!”

She turned on her heel and marched back to his table to finish cleaning up.

Lucien had rarely seen Kendall angry, so he quietly stayed behind his laptop, occasionally peeking at her until she was done and marched out of his office.

When Kendall went to the kitchen to throw away the paper towels, she found Judith standing in front of an empty cup.

“Where’s the coffee?” Kendall asked.

Judith shrugged. “We’re out.”

“We’re out of coffee?!” Kendall marched over, pulling open the cabinets. Her eyes went wide at what she saw.

Why was the pantry practically empty? “Where’s the food?”

Judith shrugged. “I dunno.”

Kendall stood there, vibrating with rage. From where she stood, she glanced at Judith only to clearly see the coffee beans just sitting in her pocket.

“I’m sick of this,” Kendall muttered, turning to face Judith. “What’s wrong with you?”

The girl blinked. “Me?”

“I thought I was imagining it, but things have been going missing since you arrived. Judith, have you been stealing?”

Judith scoffed, eyes wide with hurt. “Me?!”

And then she screamed like Kendall had slapped her, falling to her knees.

Kendall gasped, clutching herself in fright. “What are you doing?!”

There were tears streaming down Judith’s face. “I’m s-sorry, Ms McCarthy. I just… I was so hungry.”

“So, you stole coffee beans?!” Kendall demanded. “And you don’t need to kneel, stand up.”

“I’m so sorry!” Judith wailed.

The sound of Lucien’s approaching footsteps reached them. Thank goodness! Huffing, Kendall crossed her arms, looking down at Judith.

Just as Lucien stepped into the room, Judith started sobbing. “I’m so sorry. Can I please stand up now, Kendall?”