Clarke was busy with the meeting today. He was so excited after finding out that a bigger company finally wanted to work with him. 

This new project might be his breakthrough because if it succeeded, his company might skyrocket into one of those giants, and he couldn't wait for that to happen. 

Clarke giggled happily as he kept reading the contract between the two companies, then he glanced at the small photo at his desk. It was the picture of Gaius holding baby Artemis, with Hermes curiously staring at his little sister. 

It was him who took the picture with his phone back then, and now years had passed, and his love for Gaius hadn't faltered, not even a bit. 

Gaius might not be flashy and powerful. He's just a regular housewife aside from his secret job as a member of the League of Heroes. 

But Clarke had been in love with Gaius' simplicity the first time he saw Gaius. 

So he didn't think twice about marrying him. 

Though, their relationship had gone quite stale these days, thanks to his handful of activities.

"Don't worry about it, Wife. I'll make sure that we can get a comfortable life until our old age. I know that you want to make sure that Hermes and Artemis would work comfortably in the future, get the best education as well."

Clarke wasn't much of a workaholic in the past. He was a superhero. After all, he could just collect money from the government or sponsor the League of Heroes, and he would live comfortably. 

But it all changed the moment Gaius said that he had been blessed by the power of mother nature, so he was one of that miraculous man who could give birth. 

When he saw Hermes and then Artemis, he finally realized that his work wasn't done yet. In fact, it all just started when Gaius showed him how much was it to raise two children, let alone if they wanted to have another child in the future. 

So he planned to work hard to give the best for his family. 

"Though… I really need some help here…" Gaius sighed. He didn't understand what made the previous secretary leave. No matter how long they kept hiring for secretary, there was 0 applicant. As if there was something that completely prevented them from ever coming here. 

So he had to do many menial tasks on his own, something that was completely unproductive for a CEO like him, "And I still have to defeat those monsters and supervillains…."

Clarke sighed as he kept reading the stack of documents he had to finish tonight. He missed his family, especially his wife. But if he called Gaius right now, he would definitely abandon his work and chatted with his wife for hours. 

So Clarke just flipped the phone, trying to focus on his work. 

…

Hours had passed, and when he checked the clock on the wall, he was surprised that it was already 10 P.M. 

He checked his staff outside and saw only two were still working since they had agreed to do overtime. 

He turned his head and saw the amount of workload he still needed to do, and he sighed full of woe. 

"Having no secretary really hurt my working speed," Clarke said to himself. He returned to his seat and started reading the document again until his phone rang. 

He thought it was Gaius, complaining about his absence for the whole night again, but when he saw the caller, he was surprised and picked it up immediately. 

"Brother!" Clarke greeted Reed excitedly.

"Hi, brother, how is it going?" Reed asked perfunctorily. He had something else in mind, but he still had to make Clarke comfortable with him, was it not?

"Oh, all good! I'm just… a bit busy, I guess."

"Is it your workload in the office again?" 

"Yeah, it's been really hard for me to find any secretary. We have had that position posted for two months already, and nobody came. I wonder what causes it, maybe the payment? I should ask my HR about it…." Clarke vented his frustration a bit, he had been grieving over his own job, but everything was for his family in the end. 

"Ah, that's unfortunate," Reed said, but it sounded completely heartless. "Honestly, I have a recommendation for that position."

"A recommendation?" 

"Yeah, a recommendation for a new secretary. I've heard from brother-in-law that you rarely went home because of the workload in the office. I wanted to ask what caused it, but it turns out it's about secretary?"

"Yes, my staff are all busy with their own workload, so I still have to do many menial tasks that should've been done by a secretary."

Reed smiled when he heard this complaint from Clarke. Of course, he knew that because he was the one that had been tempering with Clarke's company from the inside, making it difficult for the company to progress without his approval. 

Of course, his approval came with devious intentions. Everything he did always had a hidden meaning behind it. 

Reed sipped his wine as he continued leading the bull with the red flag, "I have a second secretary. She has been working for me really well for the past five years. But she complained that she didn't want to stay as a second secretary forever. She wants a bigger job."

"So you want to recommend her to me and tell her to be my new secretary instead?" 

"Indeed, don't worry about her qualification. She is more than capable of handling many… big tasks," Reed said. 

"Oh! That's great! I really can't afford to get a fresh graduate to do this job, it's way too overwhelming, and I don't have time to train them."

"Yeah, she will surely satisfy you with her work."

"Oh, one more thing, Reed. The new secretary, how old is she?" Clarke asked. He was hoping that it was a senior secretary, maybe in her fifties or something. 

Because Gaius had a subtle dislike for young girls around him. Clarke also had many flings before he met Gaius, and all of them were girls younger than him. 

Though he had abandoned that lifestyle after he was in a relationship with his wife. 

"She's around 25 years old. Why do you ask?" 

"Ah, that's 10 years difference…." Clarke mumbled. He was 35 this year, while Gaius would reach 37 years old soon. They were a mature couple with a happy family. 

Clarke still remembered how Gaius never said anything, but it was so obvious to him that Gaius was really upset whenever he talked with younger girls. 

But he was in his wit's end right now. At this point, he would never finish all his work without the help of a competent secretary. 

Since Reed literally gave him an easy way out, it would be idiotic for him to just ditch it.

'Gaius doesn't need to know about this anyway. At least not until I've finished this project, then if he wants to argue with me, I can have time and energy to spare,' Clarke thought, forming an idea inside his head. 

"Alright, Reed, please bring that woman to my office tomorrow morning. I really need a hand right now."

--

Author note:

*Sorry for slow update, Pupa has been feeling unwell these past week. Hopefully we can back next month, at the start of November. Thank you for your patience and understanding.*