The Billionaire's Secret

Chapter 06

Grace Li was more than impressed with Aiden Thompson's work. Whether it was industry research reports or financial analysis, he delivered exceptional results every time. Some of his unique perspectives even earned Grace's silent admiration.

On top of that, Aiden's good looks had earned him quite the fan club among the female employees in the company. Early in the morning, a woman from a neighboring team was already waiting by the hallway with two cups of coffee. When she spotted Aiden walking by, she immediately approached him.

"Aiden! Good morning!" she greeted with a bright smile.

"Morning," Aiden replied lazily, his tone casual.

"I accidentally bought an extra coffee. This one's for you," she said, handing him a cup.

"Thanks, but I've already had my coffee," Aiden declined politely.

"Oh, come on, one more cup won't hurt!" She practically shoved the coffee into his hands. "Here, take it." Then she quickly pulled out her phone. "By the way, let's exchange numbers! I know we're on different teams, but it'd be great to connect for work, you know?"

"Bad timing," Aiden said calmly. "I forgot my phone today."

Her smile froze for a second. "Uh… alright, maybe next time then."

Olivia, who had been watching from nearby, stomped into the break room, fuming. Coincidentally, Grace Li was there too. Olivia marched up to her, huffing, "Boss, that Amy from the other team is way out of line! She's trying to steal one of our own!"

Grace had seen the whole thing too and laughed, trying to calm her down. "She's just being friendly."

"No way," Olivia puffed up her cheeks. She'd never liked Amy. "Aiden is one of us! She doesn't get to make a move on him."

Grace just smiled and headed back to her office with her coffee. Aiden was already at his desk, and that cup of coffee Amy had forced on him? He'd placed it on Ryan's desk.

Ryan's eyes lit up as he pretended to look touched. "Aiden, how did you know I was just craving coffee? Man, I knew sticking up for you these days would pay off!"

Aiden pulled out his chair and sat down, his tone flat. "She shoved it at me. Didn't feel like throwing it in the trash, so enjoy."

Ryan's expression immediately changed. "I knew it! You're not that nice!"

"If you don't want it, toss it," Aiden said, opening his laptop.

Ryan quickly opened the lid and chugged a big gulp. "Waste not, want not!"

Sitting next to Ryan, Mike chimed in with a grin, "Hey, Aiden, next time someone shoves free coffee at you, think of me, alright?"

Olivia wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Seriously, do you guys have no dignity? It's just a cup of coffee—what, like three bucks? You can't buy your own?"

Mike leaned back in his chair, smirking at Olivia from across the desk. "Relax, Olivia. It's just a joke. Why so serious?"

Olivia crossed her arms. "I just didn't think you guys could stoop this low. Disappointing, really."

Just then, Grace received a call on the office line. Hanging up, she called out to the room, "Thanksgiving gifts from the company are here! They're in admin. Ryan, Mike, go grab them." She'd planned it this way since George and Peter had already told her last week they'd need to leave early to catch flights home for Thanksgiving.

Ryan, still sipping his coffee, got up with Mike to head to admin.

This year's Thanksgiving gift was a neatly wrapped rectangular box. Inside was an assortment of fruit, a pumpkin pie, and a $50 gift card.

The gifts sparked a lively buzz in the office as everyone started chatting.

"Time really flies," Olivia said with a sigh. "It feels like we just got last year's Thanksgiving gifts yesterday."

"Hey, Grace," George said, "I've got a flight at 5:30 today. I'll need to leave by 4. That okay?"

Grace shot him a look. "Do you really need to announce it so loud?"

"I'll just say I'm going out for project research," George replied with a grin.

"Same here," Peter added, raising his hand. "My flight's at 6:30, so I need to head out by 5 at the latest."

Grace waved them off. "I didn't hear anything. You guys figure it out."

Earlier, Grace had invested in a custom chocolate company, and today they were hosting a Thanksgiving event. Since most of the team was leaving early, and Olivia's family lived locally, Grace told her, "Olivia, I'm heading to the ‘Sweet Moments' Thanksgiving event this afternoon. Come with me—it's part event, part check-in on the investment."

"Sure thing, boss!" Olivia agreed enthusiastically.

"Sweet Moments" was a company Grace had invested in two years ago, founded by two young women who specialized in creative chocolates. They designed chocolates for weddings, holidays, and romantic occasions, and their unique designs had caught Grace's attention. She'd invested in the idea, and the business had grown steadily ever since.

By the time Grace finished her day, it was 7 p.m. The founders had offered to treat her to dinner, but their shop was too busy that night, so Grace declined and headed back to the office. Olivia had gone straight home.

Grace expected the office to be empty—it was Thanksgiving evening, after all. But to her surprise, the lights were still on, and there was Aiden, sitting at his desk, working away.

"Aiden, you're not going home for Thanksgiving?" she asked, startled.

Aiden turned at the sound of her voice. "Nope."

Grace walked over to his desk and set down a gift bag. "Where's home?" she asked.

"Boston."

"That's not far—just a few hours' drive. Why aren't you heading back?" Grace asked, her curiosity growing.

Aiden looked at her and asked, "Do you want the truth?"

Grace suddenly felt like she might be prying too much. She quickly backtracked. "If you don't want to say, it's fine."

But Aiden answered anyway. "Haven't achieved much yet. Not ready to face them."

Grace instantly understood. She thought of what she knew about his background—how his family had fallen on hard times. He was probably under a lot of pressure to succeed before going home. No wonder he always carried that faint air of melancholy.

She didn't press further. Instead, she picked up the gift bag and pulled out a small transparent box. "Here, this is for you," she said with a smile, placing it on his desk. "Happy Thanksgiving."

Aiden glanced at her, then at the box. Inside was a beautifully crafted chocolate Thanksgiving scene: a dark chocolate turkey at the center, surrounded by little chocolate vegetables—carrots, broccoli, corn, and pumpkins. A star-shaped milk chocolate card sat beside the turkey, with the words "Thankful for you—life feels warmer with you in it" written in white chocolate.

"Thanks," Aiden said softly.

"No big deal," Grace said, grinning. "One of the clients gave it to me today. I'm just re-gifting it to you."

"Re-gifting?" Aiden repeated the word, a faint smile forming. He found the phrase oddly amusing and chuckled.