The Cursed King

Another person complained. "Some people work hard to get in here and a pretty lady gets accepted to work here because of connections. What is she supposed to be? Some heiress?"

"A child of one of the board people?"

"Do you think she can actually do anything then?" 

"Who knows. I kinda doubt it."

Alex narrowed her eyes at the group of employees gathered together in their break. "Do you guys have anything else to gossip about?" she called out. "Quit wasting your time on nonsense and get back to work."

The employees quickly dispersed from one another and headed back to their positions.

Alex sighed and clicked her tongue. "Some people really don't know how to spend their time besides bringing other people down. Ignore them and let's go."

"Yes."

Elise glanced back at the people before she moved ahead. While she probably thought they had a point about her only getting here through connections… Elise needed to keep her head up and pretend she didn't hear a thing.

If they only knew how much Elise needed a job then it would be different. 

Although it appeared that her circumstances were favorable, Elise had swallowed her pride and accepted this position.

The rest of the day was spent listening to Alex explain how things worked in the company. Elise was made to familiarize herself with the important people in the company as well as her fellow employees.

"You'll be helping me around, usually with the paperwork and other tasks that my boss will be giving us," Alex said. 

The two of them stopped in front of a vending machine. 

"I'll do my best, Miss Alex. You can count on me." Elise smiled.

Alex idly looked at the contents of cans of juices, soft drinks, and even iced coffee. "So what do you drink? Juice? Coffee?"

"Oh, I'm fine—"

Alex simply swiped her ID in a scanner and then quickly took out two cans of iced coffee. "Don't worry, it's on me. Here's to your first day of work."

Elise accepted the can and said thanks. She quickly opened the can and took a quick sip. "Thank you for showing me around, Alex."

"It's not a big deal. My boss probably hasn't bugged me much since I was busy showing you around so we're cool." Alex grinned slightly. "It's a little breather."

***

"Now that the day is over, would you like to have a chauffeur take you back to your place?" Alex said after their work day ended.

"Huh, I can get home by myself," Elise said. "It's actually quite near."

Alex raised her brows. "Ah, is that so? The company has a carpooling arrangement which takes its employees to their respective destinations and it would be a shame to not take advantage of the company's arrangement."

"It's fine, I'm within walking distance so I'll be fine," Elise reassured the woman.

Alex nodded. "Oh, alright, but if you ever need to head somewhere else after work, you can use the chauffeur. You don't necessarily need to be dropped off at home, but it can be somewhere else."

"That's quite kind of the company to do so," Elise said.

"Indeed, the Sanderman Group takes care of its people. So I'm glad to have you with me. Although we're still showing you the ropes, you've done great so far.  I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you, Alex!"

***

Elise made her way back to the penthouse. She stepped inside and was greeted by the aroma of delicious foods and the sight of Loriel carrying a tray of dishes.

"Oh, welcome back, Elise. How was your first day of work?" Loriel casually asked. 

He just finished setting up the dining table and it was dinner fit for two.

While Loriel may have prepared a fancy dinner while Marc was around, it didn't mean that he could skip out on today. Once again, Loriel fixed up an Italian dinner.

It was more relaxed than yesterday, but it was still a sumptuous meal that could make any person's mouth water. If Elise were to find it odd, Loriel would comment on how he liked to eat fancy food whenever he could.

That was a believable lie.

Elise smiled at him and immediately walked over. "Uh, it was good. Thank you once again for helping me out." The memory of other employees talking badly about her slipped her mind, but Elise didn't mention that.

"That's great to hear." Loriel took a seat. "Would you like to eat dinner now?"

The handsome man was standing with an apron on his waist, and his eyes looked hopeful that Elise was hungry and wanted to eat his food.

So, even if Elise was not hungry, she didn't have the heart to say no.

"I'll take a shower first. Please feel free to eat if you're hungry now, though." Elise reassured him. "You don't have to wait for me."

Loriel raised a brow. "I will, and that's because I want to…"

"Um, okay." Elise smiled sweetly. She left Loriel and went to take a shower.

Once she was gone, Loriel took out an envelope. He received some documents earlier. Marc had ordered Alex to find a good baking course as requested by Loriel. 

There were two requirements to meet, the first one was the chef must be a woman since Loriel didn't want Elise to admire another man's cooking or baking skills.

And the second one was the chef had to be world-class. Loriel wanted nothing but the best, obviously. He had standards.

So, earlier today, Alex had sent the brochures from the most renowned pastry chef in New York, Lucy Fournier.

While Elise was taking a shower, Loriel decided to check the documents. It was the schedule of Elise's baking courses and a student guidebook specifically prepared by the chef.

All of this was actually taken care of by Marc himself, but it was better to let Loriel think it was Alex who did it for him.

As he eyed the document, Loriel was actually impressed as he read out the name. "Chef Lucy." 

Loriel checked out the credentials written down and couldn't help but grin slightly. Only the best for his wife.