Chapter 281: Another Episode of Weird Grayson

Something was wrong with Grayson.

Even if Neville hadn’t worked as Grayson’s personal secretary for so long, he could still feel that there was something off about him for the past few days.

Right now, in the middle of the meeting, Grayson was impatiently tapping his fingers. The presenter was already sweating buckets, thinking about what he had done wrong.

But this didn’t just start today.

It had been several days since his shopping trip with Gloria, and Grayson had been... odd since that day. Sure, he had been stared at a lot by Grayson before, but this one was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

It was harder to tell why he was looking at him. And quite frankly, more unsettling.

Not the ’I need to run away from here’ type, but more like ’Can someone stop him, please?’.

<<<< Several Days Ago

The day after, he went out with Gloria.

Neville had just finished copying the new batch of reports from Bryan’s computer to their shared folder before moving back to the office. He ran through his mental checklist one more time.

After compiling the summary of his outing with Gloria, including the list of items that were delivered to his premises this morning, the places they visited, and the relevant conversations that he could still remember from their talk.

After all, a fake boyfriend should probably report to his fake boyfriend—his real boss, right?

Because that’s what this was, wasn’t it? A business arrangement dressed up in a word called ’romantic relationship’. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Neville knocked twice before entering. "Mr. Maxwell, I have the report on yesterday’s activities with Mrs. Maxwell."

Grayson looked up from the holographic display in front of him. An odd expression appeared on his face before settling back to his usual expression. He watched as Neville approached the massive black desk.

"Report?" Grayson asked in a somewhat confused tone.

"Yes, sir. Because of our... arrangement, I thought it would be appropriate to keep you informed of any relevant details."

Neville opened his light brain and inserted the memory chip with the copy into the desk. A holographic screen appeared, opening to a specific document.

"We visited several locations at Xylos’s Shopping Center,...and Mrs. Maxwell seemed particularly pleased with the new renova..."

His voice faltered as he went on his report.

"...tions."

Grayson stared at him, wordless.

Neville also went silent, sensing that there was something wrong. But he couldn’t tell what was wrong.

Did he say something wrong?

The silence stretched, growing more uncomfortable by the second.

Did he do something wrong? Was there something wrong with his report?

Neville glanced uncomfortably at the holographic screen of his light brain, trying to figure out which one in the report was wrong.

But even if he did something wrong, there was nothing he could do about it. "Proper Etiquette for Fake Dating Your Boss" was not included in the system’s electives.

"You’re..." Grayson said the words slowly, as if tasting each one. "...reporting what happened in your shopping trip with my mother...to me?"

"Yes?" Neville said in a confused tone, "Am I not supposed to do that?"

Silence.

Then, he saw Grayson’s jaw tighten.

Why is he angry?

"Prepare for the meeting with the R&D department," Grayson said, turning his chair away from him. "The agenda should already be in your mail."

Neville blinked at the abrupt dismissal. "Yes, sir."

Even though he was still confused, Neville retreated to his workstation in the office. His fingers were already flying across his light brain to pull up the relevant files.

But as he continued to work, the awkward atmosphere did not disappear. It was even intensified by the fact that he could feel the weight of Grayson’s gaze from time to time.

[Host, why are you so confused?] Shelly said with a tone dripping with amusement. [Can’t you just think of another thing that your target might want to hear from you aside from work? ╮(︶▽︶)╭]

’What was I supposed to say? We’re at work.’ Neville shot back silently. ’Also, I’m his personal secretary. Reporting every single thing in his life is literally my job.’

[Is it though?]

Neville chose to ignore Shelly’s nonsense and continued to work.

.

.

.

Then, it continued.

Neville caught Grayson’s eyes on him no less than fifteen times. Each time, Grayson would look away a half-second too late to be casual, returning to whatever document or holographic display had supposedly held his attention.

It was driving him insane.

Neville sighed mockingly.

There was one time that those eyes made Neville’s heart flutter every single time, flustered at the reason why. But since that day, it had been hard to revive it.

By the afternoon, Neville had reached his limit. This was the fifth time he had caught Grayson’s gaze lingering on him for the past 2 hours. He waited until the call ended, squared his shoulders, and opened his mouth to ask—

But then the door slid open.

Bryan came in with another batch of memory chips.

Neville couldn’t help but sigh and swallowed his question. He returned to work with frustration simmering beneath his breath.

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.

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"What do you think of Xylos’s Shopping Center?"

The question came out of nowhere during a rare break time in the afternoon. Neville looked up from the supply requisition forms he had been reviewing to find Grayson watching him nonchalantly.

So they were doing this now.

Even though Neville had a lot to say, he still answered Grayson’s question carefully.

Since he had learned that Grayson’s uncle owned the shopping center, he surely knew about its reputation and facilities.

Was this some kind of test? A performance review disguised as a casual inquiry?

"It’s amazing," Neville said, opting for honesty. "The layout is intuitive, and the variety of shops caters to multiple demographics. The accessible sections on the lower levels were particularly busy—Rivera mentioned that foot traffic has increased since they added the new transit connections."

Something flickered in Grayson’s expression at the mention of Liam’s surname. His fingers tapped once against his desk.

"Rivera?"

Neville didn’t think much of it and nodded.

"Yes, sir. Liam Rivera from HR." He said, as he happily recalled the past, "We went out once. He was surprisingly knowledgeable about that place and guided me around."

Neville then looked at Grayson’s eyes as he said, "Although I already included it in the report, Mrs. Maxwell especially enjoyed the new renovations. The new water features were elegant without being ostentatious."

"And?"

Neville paused and tilted his head. "Sir?"

"What about you?" The words came out slightly clipped, with a hint of frustration. "What did you think of that place?"

What do I think of it? Does what he thinks about it really matter in this kind of conversation?

"It was..." Neville took a moment to decide, hyperaware of Grayson’s gaze. "...too large to fully explore in one day. Based on what I saw, I think it’s fine."

He offered a small smile.

Grayson’s expression turned complicated. His lips parted as if to say more, but Neville had already turned back to his workload, pulling up the next batch of files.

[Your target seems displeased,] Shelly said, attracting his attention.

Neville glanced up and saw that Grayson was staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the Xylos skyline, his jaw set in a hard line.

Neville pursed his lips, his head aching. ’What answer was he hoping for?’

[Saaaa~ ¯_(ツ)_/¯]

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The next morning brought another surprise.

"Is there anywhere you would like to go this weekend?"

Neville froze mid-type. His mind immediately spiraled into panic mode.

Weekend. Plans. Had he missed something on the schedule? A business trip? A corporate event?

But he remembered clearing the weekends for the whole month. Was there some last-minute appointment that he didn’t know—

His fingers were already moving to attempt to open his light brain to message Bryan when Grayson spoke again.

"Keep your weekend free."

Neville looked up. "Sir?" and blinked several times.

But Grayson had already turned away, attention fixed on something on his quantum computer as if deliberately avoiding his gaze.

After quite some time, Neville figured something out.

Right. He must’ve meant to say that he should clear his weekend schedule in case of an emergency.

That made sense since he was his personal secretary. He should always be prepared for unexpected situations that might require his assistance.

After convincing himself, Neville went to work free of worry.

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Grayson suddenly said, "There’s an issue with the equipment in the R&D department."

Neville straightened in his chair, ready to take notes on his quantum computer. Grayson’s expression had changed into what he mentally termed ’serious business mode.’

"The specialized calibration units failed their d—Doyouwanttogooutonadatethisweekend—iagnostic tests this morning. The replacement parts won’t arrive for another three weeks, which puts the entire Phase 2 timeline at risk."

Neville stuttered as he failed to catch what Grayson had said. "I’m sorry—what?"

Grayson sighed, and Neville flinched in response. He paused when he saw Neville flinch and shook his head.

"The replacement parts," Grayson repeated, his words now measured and clear. "The date of arrival was pushed back significantly. We can’t have critical projects stalling due to supply chain issues."