Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Ruby always had a gentle temperament, and with her good looks, she appeared easy to get along with without any sense of distance. As she entered the company as an intern suddenly, for colleagues who were outgoing and enjoyed socializing, it was natural to want to get to know her better by asking questions like where she was from, her educational background, and any awards she might have won.

During lunchtime, everyone went to the company's cafeteria to eat. Jasper was afraid that Ruby wouldn't be accustomed to the food there. So, he had already ordered lunch from Grand Manor for her, put it in a box without a logo, and had it delivered to her hands.

At the moment, Ruby was texting her sweet boyfriend, [I'm used to what I eat. You don't have to go through all this trouble.] Jasper replied, [Okay, just letknow what you want to eat, and I'll arrange for it to be delivered.] 'Having such a thoughtful boyfriend, how can I not be moved?' Ruby thought while replying with a happy smile on her face, [Okay, thank you. My sweet boyfriend.] After reading the message, Jasper raised his lips and replied, [Okay. Is your assistant starting work tomorrow?] Winnie, the assistant, was supposed to cto work today, but she caught a cold. Ruby told her to take care of herself and cback once she was well. There was no rush for just a couple of days. She replied, [She's sick, so I'm planning to let her rest for a few days.] Jasper wasn't particularly concerned about when the assistant would start, so he didn't ask when he brought Ruby to the office in the morning. Now, considering that Ruby wanted to be an intern, this was the reason he wanted the assistant to start working sooner.

Jasper agreed in the text, [Okay.] "You have a boyfriend?" A female voice suddenly sounded from above, not too loudly. The comer was a recent graduate who joined the company four months earlier. She was competent, worked diligently, and had an outgoing personality, but she was also quite competitive.

Ruby put away her phone, turning off the screen. Not waiting for the question to be answered, the comer reached out for a handshake and introduced herself, "Paula Collier. I've been here four months earlier than you. Let's team up and take care of each other." Ruby, not a fan of small talk, smiled gently and politely introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Ruby Blackwell." With many common surnames, there were also many people with the sname. The surnBlackwell naturally wouldn't make anyone immediately think of the four great families in Athana, especially since Hackett would never allow his daughter to trend on social media. Besides, Ruby still had the word "Intern" hanging around her neck.

Paula had a gossipy personality and liked to inquire about things. Her colleagues gave her the nickn"Babbler." She asked, "So, you have a boyfriend. Where are you from?" Ruby didn't like this type of conversation, so she gave a simple answer. "Athana." "You're from Athana too?" Paula, seeing that Ruby was willing to answer, pulled up a chair and sat down. "Yeah," Ruby replied.

"That's good. I'm not from here; I'm from the outskirts of Athana. Do you have an apartment here?" Paula asked. "Yes, I do." Half of the neighborhoods in Athana were built by the Blackwells, but Ruby kept a low profile, just giving a simple answer, saying, "I have one." She added in her mind, 'It's a house though.' Paula couldn't stop talking, continuously chattering away without any intention of stopping, "Well, that's good too. The rent here is too expensive; half of my monthly salary goes to rent. Renting farther away is inconvenient, and our job often involves overtand revising drafts, not suitable for living in the suburbs. Plus, it's not safe at night there." Ruby stood up, took her lunchbox, and went to the pantry room. She thought Paula would return to her office desk, but instead, Paula followed her to the pantry room, evidently ready to continue chatting. Seeing Ruby open her lunchbox, Paula curiously asked, "Wow, which restaurant did you order from? It looks tasty." Ruby decided not to lie anymore. If she randomly named a restaurant, it would be exposed. She explained softly, "Homemade, by my family." "Ah, that's a pity. I thought you ordered takeout." Paula was disappointed as she planned to try it tomorrow initially.

While Ruby leisurely enjoyed her lunch, Paula shared information about the design department. "Lettell you, our design department's director is Priscilla Benson. Don't be fooled by her seemingly gentle name; she's not gentle at all. Always giving us difficult tasks. Once, she asked us to purchase a specific fabric, divided us interns into three groups, and made it a competition to see who could find the correct fabric in the shortest time. The ones who failed would be eliminated from the team. Not gentle at all." Paula shuddered playfully, pretending to be scared, and continued, "Yesterday, oh no, it was the day before, during the meeting, Ms. Benson announced that starting from tomorrow, we don't need to wear work uniforms anymore. She wants to enhance everyone's styling skills, so we can freely dress from now on, look beautiful and all." Paula talked as long as Ruby ate. She covered everything from her first day at the company to now. If it weren't for the end of lunch break, she would probably keep talking. Ruby commented inwardly, 'This one is definitely the most talkative I've ever met, aside from Rose and Mom.' During a meal and a lunch break, Ruby covered everything about the company, including who had been punished, what incidents occurred, and how many times someone was late. She thoroughly understood everyone's personalities and histories. She couldn't help but think her decision to start as an intern was the right one. If she appeared today in a leadership role, Paula would not share these things with her.

When it was tto leave the office, Jasper arrived on tto pick Ruby up. He parked the car across the street, and Ruby crossed the road discreetly, getting into the front passenger seat and urging, "Let's go, let's go." Seeing Ruby's anxious expression, as if they couldn't be seen together, gave Jasper a feeling of being caught in an affair. "Why so nervous?" Instead of starting the car, he turned around and, as if performing magic, presented a bouquet of roses to Ruby. "For you." Suddenly, a burst of fiery red roses appeared in front of Ruby. Forgetting to urge, she was left only with a sense of emotion, smiling brightly as she said, "Is this to celebrate my first day at work?" "Sort of," said Jasper. After being together for so long, it seemed like they had never exchanged flowers.

Ruby completely forgot about asking Jasper to drive. Feeling happy, she expressed her liking for the flowers, tilting her head down to lightly touch the bouquet in her arms. The bouquet wasn't too big, with 52 roses, not too large to take up space in the car, and not too heavy. Jasper had considered these factors when buying them. Seeing her smiling, Jasper made a decision in his heart. Without disturbing her appreciation of the roses, he slowly started the car.

As the car started, Ruby, returning from her sweet thoughts, smiled at Jasper and began to fasten her seatbelt. She then recounted the events of the day at the company. "Today, I met a girl who can chat even more than Rose and my mom. She joined the company four months before me." Jasper didn't speak, attentively focused on driving, waiting for Ruby to continue.

Both of them understood each other well. He didn't need to ask, as she would say, and she didn't wait for him to respond, continuing, "I had lunch for this long, and she chatted withfor this long. She didn't feel any tiredness. I think she's a bit wasted as a designer; she'd be a great host. So articulate." Changing lanes, Jasper summarized, "So, you had a fruitful day." "Yes, very fruitful. In one day, I got to know the personalities, mistakes, design abilities, hobbies, and almost everything about all the employees. I even know who's married or has a boyfriend now." Ruby felt satisfied. After listening, Jasper laughed. This was why sancient kings used to go undercover. What they could observe was more genuine than the reports from below. Considering this, Jasper reminded her, "If you plan to stay here for a while, be careful not to reveal your talents too much." Being too outstanding would attract excessive attention, and it might lead to jealousy and admiration. In the workplace, people tended not to like the one who was exceptionally talented from the start. Normally, people wouldn't want to admit they were inferior to others.

Ruby understood what Jasper meant and nodded. "Yes, I know." And so, every day, Ruby went to the clothing company to work, and on weekends, she attended management- related courses at the training school. Jasper accompanied her when he was free. After classes, Jasper would take her to a cafe to explain any topics she didn't understand. When Ruby attended classes alone, she would mark the questions she didn't understand at night and then call Jasper.

Tpassed quickly, and a month went by. Ruby had a good rapport with her colleagues at the company. Following Jasper's advice, she concealed her talents. However, the design director, with discerning eyes, noticed something unusual and called Ruby to the office one day.