Chapter 1
The moment Derek Hale appeared at the celebration dinner, a chorus of teasing erupted in the private room.
"Now that Mr. Hale's been promoted, isn't there another piece of good news to announce tonight?"
"Natalie Vale's waited so many years. Finally gets to drink at your wedding."
Many of the company veterans had known about us for a long time.
Over 7 years, they'd closed conference room doors for us and covered for us when senior management appeared unexpectedly.
All it would take was Derek admitting it out loud, and I could step out of the shadows and stand beside him.
Derek smiled and produced a gift box, walking toward me.
"There's even a gift?"
"Mr. Hale, you have to get down on one knee for a proposal!"
Every eye in the room turned to me.
I looked at that box, remembering what Derek had said 7 years ago: once he became President of the Eastbridge Division, he'd make things official between us.
But when he reached me, he only paused for a second.
The next moment, he walked past me and handed the box to Chloe Summers, who stood behind me.
"First time leading a key project. Consider this your reward."
Chloe covered her mouth, her face lighting up with surprise.
"Thank you, mentor."
Inside the box was a brooch. The same one I'd admired years ago but couldn't bring myself to buy.
Derek had said back then that he'd give it to me once he got promoted.
The room fell silent.
A few people awkwardly looked away, as if waiting for me to lose my temper.
Derek glanced at me.
"It's just a project gift. Don't read into it. I'll make it up to you once I finish dealing with this busy period."
I picked up my glass.
"There's nothing to read into."
Martha Parker frowned, she'd been our supervisor before and was one of the first at the company to know about our relationship.
"Derek, weren't you planning to go public tonight? Where's the ring?"
The smile on Chloe's face froze slightly.
Derek took his seat at the head of the table, his tone calm.
"Going public will have to wait. I've volunteered to oversee the overseas branch project personally. It's Chloe's first time leading a team independently, and the people over there aren't easy to deal with. I need to go with her for a while."
"How long?"
"8 months."
I held my glass without saying a word.
Martha turned to him, her expression darkening.
"Natalie's waited 7 years for you, and now you want her to wait another 8 months?"
"After the project ends, I'll handle it."
"Does going public with your relationship interfere with managing a project?"
"I just got promoted and haven't established my position yet. Going public at this point would be too hasty. It would look bad."
Two female colleagues at the next table lowered their voices.
"He's been with Natalie for 7 years, and they've been so careful they wouldn't even ride in the same car. Now he's personally going overseas for Chloe and doesn't seem to care what people say."
Chloe's eyes immediately reddened.
"Please don't misunderstand, everyone. Mr. Hale is only worried about the project. I can go by myself. I won't affect his and Natalie's wedding plans."
She took off the brooch and made as if to return it to Derek.
Derek pressed her hand down.
"Don't listen to their nonsense. The project is already set, and a few idle comments won't change that."
A manager, seeing how awkward the atmosphere had become, quickly tried to smooth things over.
" Natalie, of course Derek wants to marry you as soon as possible. It's just that this project will define the beginning of his tenure, so it means a lot to him."
Others chimed in, some watching me cautiously.
I set down my glass.
"You don't need to explain for him. Work comes first."
Derek's expression relaxed, assuming I would back down as I always had before.
I looked at him and spoke each word clearly.
"And there's no need to delay going public. We were only ever colleagues."
