Delayed Passion: Miss Lynch's Unrequited Love-Chapter 46: Getting Married Next Month

Foreman Chandler and a few others lived in the employee dormitory, commuting together every day. Just as someone was telling a new joke, they pushed open the door and saw Thea Lynch asleep in a chair in the office, causing their laughter to be stifled.

Thea wasn’t in a deep sleep and woke up when she heard the door opening. She opened her eyes in a daze, adjusted her seat, and sat up straight, "Morning."

"..."

She looked like she hadn’t fully woken up, with slight dark circles visible under her eyes, appearing utterly exhausted.

"Why are you sleeping here, Foreman Lynch? Did you come last night or early this morning?" They only walked in after ensuring she was awake.

"Didn’t you take a day off yesterday? Don’t tell me you rushed back overnight to work overtime?"

If anyone at Stratus could be called a "workaholic," Thea Lynch would surely be the top choice.

Being an overtime fanatic is not just talk.

Fortunately, they knew that she had some shares in Stratus, so her overtime made a little sense. Otherwise, if a newcomer like her was working so hard, how could the veterans cope? If they kept up with her pace, they would be risking their lives.

"No, I just arrived a little while ago." She couldn’t sleep well at home, so she might as well come to the company and take a nap.

She drank a bit of water to soothe her throat and explained, "I was afraid of traffic jams, so I came early."

Foreman Chandler, seeing her state, advised her to go home and rest.

Thea shook her head, "I’m fine, not sleepy."

The crowd: "..." Can you not yawn when you say that?

"Didn’t you sleep all night, Foreman Lynch?"

"More or less." Thea saw the assistant outside, waved at them, "Coffee, please." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Turning back, she continued her conversation with Foreman Chandler and the others, "I’ve never arrived at the company this early since I started working. Today, I’m probably the first to punch the clock in the whole company."

Usually, it’s hard for her to be the first in the R&D department, but today she’s the first in the entire company.

"Exactly."

"I bet Foreman Lynch got here even earlier than the cleaning lady, hahaha."

Thea laughed as she drank her water.

After exchanging a few words of banter with her, everyone tacitly stopped talking, hoping Thea could take a nap.

Thea lay down on the desk and slept for a while. She was awakened by Foreman Chandler’s assistant later.

"Foreman Lynch, there’s a meeting at nine." The assistant placed the coffee down and handed over the documents.

"Which meeting room?"

"The twelfth floor."

"Okay," Thea responded, signaling for the documents to be placed aside first.

"Do you need me to accompany you?"

"No need." It wasn’t an important meeting anyway; she was just going through the motions. She wouldn’t bother going unless she had to.

After finishing her coffee, Thea lazily got up.

"Hey, hey, hey, Foreman Lynch! Wait a minute." Foreman Chandler stopped her.

Thea acknowledged with a sound and turned back. Foreman Chandler quickly retrieved a slender box from the drawer and thrust it into her arms. The move was so swift she almost couldn’t hold it.

"What’s this?"

"Didn’t your favorite fountain pen break? We noticed you’re not used to writing with other pens, so after dinner yesterday, we passed by the mall and got you a new one."

Thea was taken aback and instinctively said, "Thank you. I haven’t had time to buy one myself lately. Sorry for the trouble. I’ll transfer the money to you."

"No, no, no." Foreman Chandler immediately took a step back, and the others waved their hands repeatedly. "This is a gift from all of us."

"We originally wanted to buy you the same one, but yours was a bit expensive, hahaha, so we got a different model."

"Yes, Foreman Lynch, don’t dislike it; it’s just a token of our appreciation."

The pen Thea broke had been in use since she joined. They specifically retrieved the "remains" and investigated it. They recognized the brand but had never used it themselves. They noticed she had been using the company’s pens and seemed uncomfortable with them.

When they saw the brand on display at the mall, they all spontaneously decided to buy her a new one. They thought a fountain pen couldn’t be that expensive, but they were shocked to find Thea’s original pen was six figures — their monthly salary.

Ultimately, they agreed on an entry-level pen for Thea. It was under ten thousand, but it was still a thoughtful gesture.

"Why would I dislike it?" A warm feeling washed over Thea, as she hadn’t expected them to gift her something. "But this pen isn’t cheap, so I still want to give you the money."

"Talking like that makes it seem you’re a stranger, Foreman Lynch, doesn’t it? Since you joined, we haven’t gifted you anything. And you’ve often treated us to meals."

"We planned to give it to you at dinner tonight, but since you can use it now, here it is."

"This is our ’veteran’ gift for you; you must accept it!"

They didn’t give Thea a chance to speak, pushing her out the door, "Alright, go to your meeting now, or you’ll be late!"

——

At 8:59, Thea entered the meeting room right on time.

The meeting was attended by Stratus’s senior management, most of whom Thea had already met.

After exchanging greetings, she found a spot in the corner, put down her documents, and began fiddling with her new fountain pen.

She wasn’t picky with pens before, but she got used to fountain pens because Ian Preston liked them.

They spent a lot of time together, and she enjoyed watching him write. Not long after, she received a pen identical to his. Unfortunately, she didn’t use it for long before losing it when she went abroad.

The pen she recently broke was something she bought randomly while studying abroad, without much significance, and not considered valuable.

"Foreman Lynch, are you available in the middle of next month?"

The vice president probed.

Upon hearing this, Thea immediately responded, "No."

Vice President: "Do you have something important mid-month?"

"Not sure," Thea smiled at him, "Whether I have something important depends on whether you have something important."

"..."

"If you’re free, there’s a product launch event over at Meritide..."

Without thinking, Thea replied, "I can’t make it. I’m getting married next month."

"..."

It was just a random excuse, a joke that was obviously not serious. Somehow, it ended up reaching Silas Cheney’s ears.

After the meeting, Thea spent the entire morning in the lab and didn’t notice any calls coming in.

In the afternoon, the lab door was pushed open, and the assistant hurried over, "Foreman Lynch, we just received a notice that the vice president will soon bring a VIP to visit the R&D department."

"A visit is just a visit, what does it have to do with me?"

"The vice president said everyone in the R&D department must go out to greet them, and he specifically requested you to give the VIP a tour."

"..." Thea slowly raised her head, "Do I look like a tour guide?"