Ch. 1841..1845
Chapter 1841
Caprice felt a wave of crisis wash through her.
Compared to Moses, she had no ambition to speak of.
She would not even dare to compare herself to Liam and Heather.
They were all top graduates of Aleph University. Liam was practically a mythical figure, being the student who had achieved the highest grade ever in the history of the university.
His project, the Carter Tech City was once seen as an impossibility, but he realized his vision and brought it to reality.
Although Heather was nowhere near his level, she could do more than pull her weight. She was very efficient at work. It was no surprise that Liam would take a liking to her.
Ding! It was Moses again. “Caprice, is everything okay? Was it something | said?” Caprice replied reluctantly, “No, don’t worry about it.”
Moses advised her, “Caprice, even though you're still in your sophomore year and have two years to go until graduation, | suggest that you begin making plans for the future and think about what you want to do. The job market is very competitive now, so it’s better to be prepared.”
What he said made a lot of sense. Only Caprice did not know what the proper response to this unwarranted advice was. Moses suddenly asked again, “Don’t you have anything in mind? Something that you want to do in the future?” Caprice answered curtly, “No.”
Moses did not reply after that.
Perhaps he was so baffled by Caprice’s lack of ambition that he barely knew what to say to her
anymore.
Caprice put down her phone and took a stroll outside.
The scorching sun hung in the sky above. It was very hot outside.
She returned to her room after a brief walk.
Upon picking up her phone, she saw two more messages from Moses.
“Caprice, why don’t you try working at my place? There happens to be a vacancy for an
administrative assistant.
“| can offer you double the pay of what’s offered in the market.”
Caprice was taken aback by the offer. She told him, “Moses, I’m not familiar with administrative
duties. Besides, | still have to go back to university after the summer break.”
Moses was very understanding. “I understand, but there’s nothing to worry about. | already have an administrative manager, so she'll take care of you and guide you. You can work here until the next semester starts, then you can go back to university.”
Caprice knew that Moses was simply looking out for her, but she was not very eager to work at the moment.
Upon noticing her hesitation, Moses texted her again, “Is there anything you're concerned about? Were you hoping for better pay?”
Caprice quickly explained, “No, that’s not it.”
She did not want to seem ungrateful. After tossing and turning for a while, she replied, “Could you give me some time to think about it?”
“Of course, but you only have two months of summer break. Could you give me an answer by tomorrow?” “Okay.”
The day passed in the blink of an eye.
It was nighttime.
Both John and Sherry went to attend a business event and were not going to be home until later that night. Caprice had dinner with Madam Stockton and entertained her for a while before heading back to
her room.
She scrolled through her phone and noticed a lot of activity going on in the group chat with her roommates. She clicked inside.
Freya was venting about her family who demanded the money she made from her part-time jobs. It seemed like she had a brief argument with her family and was still feeling upset about it.
Piper and Lana gave her the space to vent.
Caprice tried to offer some advice as well. She told Freya to stop stewing over it and to head back to Westchester for her part- time job.
Freya took their advice and was feeling better in no time.
She planned to take the bullet train back to Westchester that same night, then she would begin the part-time job until the end of the summer break.
Everyone told her to be careful and to report to the group once she reached Westchester. Since the situation with her family was growing increasingly tense, it was better to leave as soon as possible.
After wrapping up the conversation, Caprice went to check out Liam’s profile. It was second nature to stalk him by this point.
Chapter 1842
Chapter 1842 Liam uploaded a new post ten minutes ago. It was captioned: “Overtime.”
Just like the post he made the same afternoon, he attached a picture of the view outside his office, the signature floor-to-ceiling windows were easy to recognize.
Carter Tech City was a poster metropolis at night. Every corner of the city was basked in dazzling lights, and it was a symbol of prosperity.
Caprice saved the picture to her phone and liked the post, making sure to leave a comment as well. “Liam, | know you’re busy but please make sure you get some rest.”
She attached a cute sticker of a smiling cat.
After two minutes, she received a reply from Liam that read, “Got it.”
She smiled.
Shortly after that, she received a notification on her phone.
It was a message from Heather. “Caprice, Carter Tech City is now open to the public, would you like to visit?” Caprice scowled instinctively.
Liam had already invited her to visit. Even if the city was closed to the public, she would never have any problem passing through its borders!
Caprice felt insulted but still made herself reply politely, “It’s alright, I'm at my hometown right now.”
Heather was persistent. “Our Tech City is only open to the public during the weekends, but since you're Liam’s sister, you can visit at any time. | promise that I'll show you around the city.”
The way she put it made it sound as if she was the one who founded the Carter Tech City along with Liam.
The pompous attitude that colored every word she used made Caprice feel like punching a wall. She grimaced and decided to stop replying.
There was no escape. Shortly after that, another message came from Heather. “Caprice, you don’t have much to do at home anyway. Since you're so bored, might as well visit us!”
What was the meaning of this? Why would Heather assume that she had nothing to do at home? Was this meant as an insult? Even though Caprice was usually an easy-going person, she was boiling over with rage now.
An idea suddenly occurred to her. She proceeded to reply, “I took up a job so I’m going to be quite busy for a while, | don’t think | can find time to visit.”
Heather seemed very intrigued by this new development in Caprice’s life. “What kind of job?”
Caprice replied as vaguely as she could, “Just something to pick up some practical experience. Heather spoke with the same veiled condescension as usual, “In that case, good luck with work! You can ask me for help if you stumble into anything you don’t understand.”
Caprice replied cordially, “Thank you.” Heather sent a smiling face emoji along with another message. “You're welcome. Now that they had wrapped up their conversation at last, Caprice closed the chat immediately.
Filled with rage, she made a rash decision. She texted Moses. “Hey Moses, | made up my mind, I’m going to work with you. | promise to give it my all.”
She was going to prove her worth!
Even if it would not change Liam’s opinion of her, she was going to do it to rub it in Heather’s face. She refused to be looked down upon!
Moses answered swiftly, “Great, when are you coming back to Westchester?”
Caprice replied, “Tomorrow.”
“Perfect, see you then.”
Meanwhile, Westchester.
Inside an office near the pinnacle of a building in Carter Tech City.
Heather reread her conversation with Caprice and scoffed out loud.
As far as she was concerned, Caprice was a complete dimwit. The only thing she had going for her was her looks.
What sort of job could she have possibly landed?
Chances were it was just an inconsequential job her family made her take up.
How could an imbecile like her dare to approach Liam of all people?
She was only lucky that she had known Liam since she was a child. That was the only reason Liam treated her differently!
Heather was confident that she was infinitely better than Caprice in all aspects. She could pull her weight at work and her father was also one of the wealthiest billionaires in Westchester. Even though Liam’s status still trumped hers by a wide margin, she was convinced that she was a perfect match for Liam!
Glanchester, Stockton Villa.
Caprice was feeling sleepy but made herself stay awake until her parents returned home.
Chapter 1843
Chapter 1843 She waited in their courtyard.
When John and Sherry got home, they stepped into the courtyard and immediately noticed Caprice lurking in the corner of the garden.
They hurriedly approached her.
“Caprice, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” Sherry asked while pulling Caprice up, her legs had grown stiff from crouching for so long.
Caprice broached the subject immediately. “Mom, Dad, | have something | need to tell you.”
Sherry was taken aback by this. What could be so urgent that it could not wait until the next morning? John gently patted Caprice’s head. “Come on, let’s talk inside.”
Caprice followed them into the living room.
After Caprice sat down, she took a sip from a cup of tea the housemaids brought to them. Then, she plucked up the courage and announced, “I’m planning to go back to Westchester tomorrow.”
Both John and Sherry were caught off guard by this as it was so sudden. Sherry asked, “You've only been here a few days, why the hurry?” John asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice, “Does this have anything to do with Liam?”
Caprice shook her head. “I’m going back to see my roommate and friend Freya. She got into some trouble with her family and now she’s all alone in Westchester. | want to keep her company.”
She could not let them know about her real purpose for going back. If they found out that she had. taken a meager administrative position in Moses’ company, they would object to the idea right away.
Sherry and John exchanged a look. John said, “We can bring her here. She can spend the summer at our place, it won’t be any trouble.”
Caprice had every counter-argument ready. “No, she has a part-time job in Westchester because she needs to support herself. Besides, she’s much too prideful to accept our sympathy.”
John narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Sherry seemed to think there was more to this as well.
Caprice put on her best smile and reassured them. “Mom, Dad, don’t worry. | know how to take care of myself.” Sherry took a deep breath.
John asked, “What time will you be leaving tomorrow?”
Caprice answered, “In the morning.”
John said with a warm smile, “Alright, we'll take you to Westchester. It’s a good chance for us to meet your friend as well. | feel better if we get to send you off ourselves.”
“Alright.” Caprice smiled amiably. She had to admit that she was impressed by her father’s sharp
instincts.
Fortunately, she was not lying when she told them about Freya. Otherwise, her lies would be exposed on the spot. Now that everything was settled, she took her leave.
John and Sherry remained seated in the living room and watched as she left.
After she was out of the courtyard, Sherry turned to John. “Do you think her roommate is the only reason she’s heading back to Westchester so suddenly?”
John remarked, “No way.” They, of all people, should know what their daughter was like. They could tell that she was up to something.
Sherry speculated. “Do you think she’s going to see Liam?”
John said pensively, “I don’t think so.”
There was nothing wrong with her seeing Liam and she knew it as well. Even in the past, she would go on and on about wanting to see Liam. There was no reason that she would try to be stealthy about it if that was the case.
Sherry grew slightly worried. “Then what do you think she’s up to?”
John rubbed his temple. “Let’s just take her to Westchester tomorrow, then we'll see what happens. We can always have someone keep an eye on her if we need to.”
Sherry nodded. “Alright.”
This was the best course of action for now.
The next morning.
The entire family had breakfast in Madam Stockton’s courtyard.
The old madam was visibly displeased to find out that Caprice was leaving on such short notice.
She was appeased when Caprice hugged her as tightly as she could and gave her a proper explanation. After breakfast, she got into a car with John and Sherry, and they departed for Westchester.
They drove to the entrance of the Sparkrow University Dormitory.
She had texted Freya ahead of time.
As soon as the car stopped at the entrance, she saw Freya waiting for her right at the gate.
Chapter 1844
She threw the door open and hopped out of the car.
Freya ran over to her and greeted her excitedly, “Caprice!”
She was going to hug Caprice when she noticed John and Sherry getting out of the car. She suddenly stiffened and looked at the two approaching adults apprehensively.
John and Sherry smiled warmly at her.
Caprice was not sure why Freya had grown so nervous out of nowhere. She introduced her parents to her, “Freya, these are my parents.”
Then, she turned to John and Sherry. “Mom, Dad, this is my roommate Freya.”
Cool as always, John gave her a subtle nod.
Sherry smiled brightly and greeted Freya, “Hello.
“Hi there, Uncle and Auntie.” Freya returned a nervous greeting.
“So it’s going to be the two of you spending the summer break together, make sure you two look
out for each other, alright? If you run into any problems, don’t hesitate to contact me for help.” Sherry produced a card from her purse and handed it to Freya. The intricately designed card contained her contact information.
Freya took the card and handled it with care. “Alright, | understand.”
Sherry smiled before turning to Caprice again. “Caprice, we'll be leaving you now.”
Caprice walked up to Sherry to give her a big hug. “Goodbye, Mom.”
She made sure to not neglect her father and hugged him as well. “Bye, Dad.”
John ruffled her hair, then he entered the car with Sherry.
The car reversed out of the compound and swerved into the main road, disappearing out of sight in no time. At last, Freya let out an exhausted sigh.
Caprice shot a queer look at her.
Freya took her arm and expressed in awe, “Caprice, your parents have such a powerful aura.”
This was the first time in her life that she had seen someone whose mere presence seemed to equip a physical quality to it. Caprice blurted out, “Really?”
“They look so young! Both of them looked like they could be supermodels. Now | know why you're so good-looking, you have superior genes.” Freya reflected.
Caprice smiled. That was something she could agree with. They tidied up the dormitory together after that.
Since Freya was going to start her part-time job tomorrow, she had time to kill for now. After they cleaned up, they went to Moses’ company together.
The company headquarters was just a humble little studio.
There were roughly a dozen employees. The place was located at a plaza near the university.
They had rented a unit to use as an office.
As Caprice was the one who put them in touch with an investor, Moses’ friends who jointly formed the company with him were very enthusiastic to see her.
Her tasks as an administrative assistant were relatively simple. All she needed to do was attend to customers and help out the other office administrators with miscellaneous tasks.
Since the company was still in its infancy stages, there was no hierarchical structure in place. This also meant that everyone’s job scope was not constrained to their job title. It was not uncommon for the administrative and technical team to help brainstorm ideas for their marketing campaign.
Caprice would also help out with the promotional materials on top of her usual duties.
Moses did not put much pressure on her, knowing that she had done her best was good enough. With that said, he did promise her a sizable commission if she managed to boost the sales number.
The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. Later that evening, Moses treated her and Freya to a meal before sending them back to the dorm.
After parking the car by the entrance, he turned to Caprice. “Caprice, tomorrow will be your first day officially on duty. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight, don’t stay up.”
Caprice assured him. “Don’t worry.” With that, she unfastened the seatbelt.
“I'll see you tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. I'll pick you up at this exact spot. I’ll call you if you don’t see me so don’t worry about it.” Moses supplied suddenly.
Caprice looked at him with a bewildered look.
Chapter 1845
Moses smiled at her.
Caprice said shyly, “Moses, you don’t have to pick me up, | can go to the office myself.”
“It's the summer break, you won’t have much luck finding a cab around here. Let me give you a ride.” “There are a lot of public bicycles, | can just cycle there.” The office was only a short distance from the dorm.
Moses fell into a pensive silence then he insisted again. “I live in the men’s dorm right over there, | figured | might as well pick you up since it’s just along the same route.”
“| see, alright then.”
Since they were taking the same route, it did make sense for him to pick her up. Caprice said goodbye to him and got out of the car.
After making sure the girls had returned to the dorm safely, Moses drove back home. Caprice never had a habit of staying up late.
After she took a shower, she chatted with Freya. The two of them caught up with Piper and Lana on the phone. To cap off the night, she went to check out Liam’s profile and liked his latest posts. before settling in for the night.
It was a dreamless night.
The alarm clock rang at half past seven, she got up at the first ring.
Freya’s shift did not start until the afternoon, so she was still sleeping in.
Caprice took a shower before heading outside.
It was not eight o’clock yet, but she could already spot Moses’ car parked outside the gate.
He was wearing a clean white shirt paired with work slacks. He stood outside the car, basking in the warm glow of the morning sun. The moment he saw Caprice approaching, he greeted her with a charming smile.
The sunlight spilling from above gave his smile a comforting effect. “Good morning, Caprice,” he said. Caprice returned a smile. “Good morning, Moses.”
They stopped by a breakfast shop cafe on the way to the office and got something to eat so they would not start the day on an empty stomach. After that, they continued on their way to the office.
Most of the employees had arrived.
As soon as they stepped into the office, Kenneth Brown, the vice president of the company approached with a stack of documents in hand.
Caprice went to her desk to give Moses some privacy.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Kenneth began to tease Moses. “What’s this, Moses? Why did you come here with a junior at university?”
Moses took the documents and began leafing through them while murmuring, “I just picked her up along the way.”
Kenneth pointed out. “Really? Sparkrow University is on the east side of the city while your apartment is on the west. Explain to me how that is supposed to be ‘along the way’ as you described it?”
Moses shot a look at him. “Hey, don’t you have work to do?”
“| consider you one of my closest friends. It’s not weird for me to care about your romantic life, is it?” Kenneth threw his arms around Moses’ shoulders while spying on Caprice from the corner of his eye. “Be honest, buddy. Do you have a thing for her?” Arather juvenile blush formed across Moses’ face, he suddenly seemed like a teenager again. He smiled shyly and murmured, “Yeah.”
Kenneth clicked his tongue and laughed. “Well well well, even Mr. Popular over here isn’t immune to a woman's charms.” “Caprice isn’t like any other woman.”
“She might be more beautiful than the other pretty girls we’ve seen, but what else is different about her?” Kenneth poked fun at Moses. “How are her grades? Do you see some kind of potential in her?”
Moses stammered for a reply.
Kenneth patted him on the shoulder, then he lowered his voice so nobody could hear them. “Who am | to stop you from having some fun with her? Still, | have to remind you to not get distracted. Our business is the top priority.”
The two of them had started together from scratch and been through a lot together to get to their present point. Even if Moses were to find a partner, he should prioritize finding a capable woman who could share his burdens in building a business empire rather than a girl who was simply good in the eyes.
Moses frowned. Before he could elaborate further, Kenneth walked away. He stole a glance in Caprice’s direction.
She had already turned on the computer and was going through some emails. Her eyes were screwed to the display and appeared very serious.
Moses smiled weakly, then he headed back to his office.