Ivy groaned, rolling onto her stomach as the sun peeked through her curtains. The smell of pancakes wafted through the house, and the sound of her best friend, Pearl, laughing with her grandparents filled the air. It was a cozy, chaotic start to the day, exactly the kind of vibe that Ivy loved.
She lazily stretched and pulled herself out of bed, her hair an absolute mess. "Ugh, why is waking up so hard?" she mumbled to herself, throwing on an oversized t-shirt before heading toward the kitchen.
As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, she was greeted by the sight of her grandmother flipping pancakes, Pearl seated at the table, making exaggerated hand gestures as she told a story, and her grandfather pretending to listen while sneaking glances at the newspaper. Ivy couldn't help but laugh.
"You look like a zombie," Pearl teased, eyeing Ivy's half-asleep state. She made an exaggerated yawn and stretched her arms. "Come on, Ivy, join the world of the living."
Ivy slumped into a chair, grabbing a pancake. "Morning, everyone. What's happening here?"
"Oh, nothing much, just Pearl trying to convince us that she's the next big thing in acting," her grandmother joked, a twinkle in her eye.
Pearl gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest. "Ivy! Tell them I'm amazing. I mean, I literally gave a monologue in the supermarket yesterday. People were moved! Some guy even dropped his shopping bags."
"Because you tripped into him," Ivy laughed, remembering the incident vividly.
They all burst out laughing, even her usually serious grandfather.
After a few minutes of playful banter and another round of pancakes, Ivy checked the time and realized she was running late for work.
"Ah! I'm going to be late again. I have to go, or I'll lose my new job before I even get settled!"
Pearl smirked, "I wanted to wake you, but this lowly servant shouldn't wake the queen up".
Ivy rolled her eyes, quickly getting dressed. "Yeah, or maybe I'll just get fired for being late. Again."
Her grandmother handed her a packed lunch as she rushed out the door. "Good luck, dear. Try not to get in too much trouble."
As Ivy drove off, she couldn't shake the feeling that today was going to be... different.
***
The moment Ivy stepped into the building, she was greeted with a whirlwind of chaos. Papers were flying, secretaries were running back and forth, and everyone seemed to be on edge. She looked around, completely bewildered.
"Did someone drop a bomb in here?" she muttered under her breath.
As she made her way to her desk, her phone buzzed with a reminder about a meeting that morning. "Great, just what I need," Ivy sighed, trying to pull herself together.
Suddenly, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye, two male secretaries whispering heatedly near Lu Cheng's office. Her curiosity piqued, and without thinking, she edged closer to hear what they were talking about.
"I'm telling you, we can't let anyone find out about these files. If Lu Cheng knew, he'd lose it," one of them said in a low voice.
"Are you kidding? If this leaks, we're done," the other replied.
Ivy's eyes widened. What files? What were they hiding? She leaned in a little too far and knocked over a vase that was conveniently placed beside her. Both secretaries stopped and stared at her.
She froze. "Oh... um... hey! Just... fixing this vase! Hehe..." She laughed nervously, trying to play it cool, but her face was already flushed with embarrassment.
"Who are you again?" one of the secretaries asked, suspiciously raising an eyebrow.
"I-I'm Ivy. The CEO's new assistant. And... yeah, I was just—uh, I was just heading to my desk. Sorry!"
She hurried off, her heart racing. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in something she wasn't supposed to know. As she settled down at her desk, her mind couldn't stop racing. What was in those files? And why were they so secretive about it?
Before she could ponder further, her phone buzzed again. This time it was Pearl, sending her a photo of herself pretending to be a "serious businesswoman," complete with glasses and a fake briefcase. Ivy couldn't help but laugh, grateful for the distraction.
"Focus, Ivy, focus," she muttered to herself. But deep down, she knew this was just the beginning of a very long, very eventful day at the office.