Sharon's focus had shifted away. Alex stopped paying attention to her and ate with composed movements. But he was not slow.
In three to four bites, he was halfway through his cold breakfast, his favor spread equally between the fried eggs and the veggies. In another few bites, he had wiped the plate of breakfast clean and could now contentedly feel the food settle in his stomach.
Freeing his hand, Alex took a sip of the juice he had prepared along with his breakfast, then put the glass down, and pulled forward the laptop that had almost suffered a catastrophe earlier to open it. He glanced at the uncensored image on the screen that lit up, then pushed it aside with an indifferent smile.
Before doing anything else, he turned to the folders that had been lingering on the coffee table and whose existence had been ignored for an hour and a half already. His breathing slowed down in reluctance, but only for an instant. In the next moment, he let all his frustrations out in a helpless exhale. He calmed down, picked up the folders, and opened the one at the top.
Sitting on the sofa, still in the attire he had exercised in, the light of the vigorous sun fell on him, casting a halo that perfectly complemented the air of a successful business elite he was projecting. He looked nothing like a frivolous playboy at that moment, or a reluctant heir.
That was the handsome intellectual appearance Sharon saw when she raised her head. Though she already knew that he was not just a skirt-chaser —and she knew that he had many sides to his personality that were unknown to the public— she was still stunned for a second when she saw him looking so focused.
On the other hand, that helped her confirm the path she had found in the darkness, and her small smile turned into a genuine smile full of relief, and hope.
Alex was taking stock of the situation of the Group he was now supposed to chair when a voice broke the silence, carrying a firm request:
"Let me be your assistant."
Alex raised his head. He didn't speak, but his faint gaze said it all:
"Why are you still here?"
Sharon exhaled, and straightened her back, regaining the composure and confidence she had developed after she had had to navigate through the world alone, with no support at all. Smiling, she softened her voice, and requested again, her eyes shining with sincerity:
"I want to be your assistant."
Alex raised his eyebrows. Before he could speak, Sharon preempted him:
"You were right just now. You have no need to inconvenience yourself with my presence in your home. With your family name alone, I believe, no, I know that a single announcement from you would bring forth all the potential girlfriends you could ever choose from. I have been presumptuous, and for that, I apologize. My troubles have always been mine and mine alone to take care of, but I'm sure you know that staying here may be my only chance to get some breathing room, and a chance to change my situation. I want to seize that chance. Since I can't be your girlfriend, nor can I have you rent me a room here, let me be your assistant. I will be of help to you… I can help you."
Everything was said in one long but controlled breath. After she was done, she said no more, and simply looked at Alex, waiting for his answer with hope in her sincere gaze, neither pressing him nor fretting. It was because, as she had said, she had indeed woken up to the fact that Alex was not the reason or the source of her troubles, and she could not —should not— impose any responsibility on him. She had no such right, so she could only plead sincerely, something she had never done before in her life, and which she had yet to become too proud to do even with her career success that had made her previous hard life feel very far away, for a moment.
Alex gave Sharon a long look, seemingly reacquainting himself with her as he observed this new side of her she was showing. Looking at her up and down, he smiled, and fixed his gaze on her phone:
"The news is out?"
"Yes."
Turning to the cityscape outside, Alex let out a small chuckle of amusement:
"Heh, I bet people will be surprised. I wonder how much the stock will fall on Monday."
Sharon shook her head after a moment of thought:
"Most probably not by much. A single change in leadership should not have enough of an impact to affect the foundation of Arland Group, much less shake it. Very few will be stupid enough to dump their shares."
Alex smiled faintly:
"Maybe."
Restraining the amusement in his eyes, Alex pulled his gaze back, and looked back at the blonde. This time, he looked at her with interest, without the previous feeling of distance, which she immediately noticed as he asked:
"So, why do you think I should take an actress as my assistant? Do you want to try your hand at a new role like you did a month ago? If so, you might as well drop the idea, given how horrendous your performance was."
The comment made Sharon turn away with a blush. If before she might have tried to speak up for herself, finding out earlier that she had left enough traces behind during that visit a month ago was enough to make her wish she could find a hole to bury herself in.
Thinking about the pictures Alex had copied from her phone, she only felt more ashamed. If he had wanted to pursue responsibility, he really could have found her and made her life hell long ago.
If there were a syndicate for thieves and burglars, she might have been thrown out of it long ago with such an unprofessional, substandard performance.
Without looking at him, yet almost feeling the smile Alex was looking at her with, Sharon pursed her lips, then forced herself to focus beyond the shame and steer the subject onto the right track. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Alex, and ignored his teasing gaze to explain:
"Though I am an actress now, I majored in finance and business management at university, and if, if not for…"
Sharon slowed down toward the end of her speech, her expression dimming slightly, then shook her head after taking a deep breath to push away the depressing memories that had arisen, and continued:
"Anyway, I have some experience; I am not a blank sheet. I am asking to be your assistant not as an actress, but as a trained management elite. I can do it. I can help you."