Bound By Fate: Rachel Langston

Chapter Five: Lunch with the CEO

Rachel had been at Williams Global for exactly one week.

To everyone else's surprise, she had settled into the job with remarkable ease.

She arrived before everyone else.

She never complained.

She completed every assignment with care.

Even Sophia Bennett, the executive secretary who had worked for Alexander Williams for nearly six years, couldn't hide her admiration.

"I've never seen anyone adjust this quickly," Sophia said as Rachel arranged the afternoon meeting schedules.

Rachel smiled modestly.

"I'm just trying my best."

Sophia chuckled.

"Trust me, your best is making the rest of us look bad."

Rachel laughed softly.

Before she could reply, Alexander's office door opened.

"Miss Langston."

Rachel immediately stood.

"Yes, Mr. Williams?"

"Come with me."

The entire executive floor fell silent.

Employees exchanged curious glances as Rachel followed Alexander down the hallway.

"Where are they going?"

"Did she make a mistake?"

"Is the CEO firing her?"

Rachel's heart raced as they entered the private elevator.

She looked at Alexander.

"Did I do something wrong?"

He pressed the button for the ground floor.

"No."

"Then..."

"I'm going to have a lunch."

Rachel blinked.

"...Okay."

Alexander looked at her.

"So are you."

Her eyes widened.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"But I brought my lunch from home."

Alexander raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

"I don't want to waste food."

For a moment, he simply stared at her.

Then, to Rachel's surprise...

He laughed.

It wasn't loud.

But it was real.

"I've never met anyone who refused lunch with me because of homemade food."

Rachel smiled shyly.

"My mother woke up early to make it."

Alexander nodded.

"Then bring it."

"What?"

"We'll eat together."

Rachel was speechless.

Twenty minutes later...

They sat on the rooftop garden reserved exclusively for senior executives.

A cool breeze drifted through the flowers as the city stretched endlessly below them.

Rachel carefully opened her lunchbox.

Inside were homemade rice, grilled chicken, and vegetables.

Alexander looked at it.

"It smells good."

Rachel smiled.

"My mother insists food tastes better when it's made with love."

Alexander looked away.

"I wouldn't know."

Rachel noticed the sadness in his voice.

"You don't eat with your family?"

"There isn't much family left."

Silence settled between them.

After a few moments, Rachel gently pushed her lunchbox toward him.

"Would you like some?"

Alexander looked at her in surprise.

"You made this?"

"My mother did."

"You should save it."

"We can share."

He hesitated.

Then, for reasons he couldn't explain, he accepted.

He took one bite.

"It's..."

Rachel smiled expectantly.

"...Better than the restaurant downstairs."

She laughed.

"I'll tell my mother you said that."

For the first time in years...

Alexander enjoyed a meal that wasn't eaten alone.

From the window of a nearby office building...

Vanessa Carter lowered the binoculars in her hands.

Her smile disappeared.

"They're having lunch together?"

Her assistant nodded nervously.

"Yes, Miss Carter."

Vanessa's fingers tightened around the binoculars.

"I leave him alone for a few weeks..."

"...and suddenly he's smiling again."

She slammed the binoculars onto the table.

"I won't allow it."

Later that afternoon, Rachel returned to her desk.

Sophia immediately leaned closer.

"So?"

Rachel looked confused.

"So... what?"

"What happened at lunch?"

Rachel smiled.

"We talked."

"That's it?"

"We ate."

Sophia stared at her in disbelief.

"Rachel..."

"Do you realize Mr. Williams has never had lunch with an employee before?"

Rachel's smile faded.

"He hasn't?"

Sophia shook her head.

"Not once."

Rachel glanced toward Alexander's closed office door.

She couldn't understand it.

Why had he chosen her?

Inside his office, Alexander stood by the window.

His phone rang.

The screen displayed a name he hadn't seen in months.

Vanessa Carter.

His expression immediately hardened.

He let the phone ring.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Finally...

He declined the call.

Outside his office, Rachel happened to glance through the glass wall.

She noticed the change in his expression.

The warmth she'd seen at lunch had vanished.

In its place was something darker.

Pain.

She didn't know who had called him.

But whoever it was...

Had reopened an old wound.

And somewhere across the city, Vanessa Carter smiled coldly as she looked at her phone.

"You can ignore my calls, Alexander."

She whispered.

"But you can't ignore me forever."

She picked up Rachel's file from her desk.

"And as for you, Rachel Langston..."

"You've just made yourself my biggest obstacle."

Vanessa closed the file with a sharp snap.

"The game begins now."