Not Your Doormat Anymore

Kourtney's eyes sparkled. "Then once I get paid, I'll pitch in for household expenses, too!"

Right after she said that, she seemed a bit embarrassed. "Wait, I forgot-this is your home, not mine."

"You're renting a room here, and you've put so much effort into decorating. Of course, it's your home, too." I cut her off before she could say more.

The smile on Kourtney's face visibly brightened.

"Most of the things I got for your room didn't cost much," she said as she busied herself in the kitchen. "But I did splurge a bit on the bedding-I wanted something nice."

As she moved around the kitchen, cooking dinner, she proudly reported her "results". Her movements were swift and graceful. The ingredients I could not even name were transformed into colourful, fragrant dishes under her touch.

"Mm." I gave a half-hearted response while watching her work, as if she were performing magic over the stove.

She had a knack for portion sizes. Every day, she made four dishes and one soup -never too much, never too little. Just enough to taste everything without much waste.

"I'll pack the leftovers for lunch at work. You don't mind, do you, Dr. Ranford?"

Her company had a cafeteria, but meals weren't free. Kourtney didn't want to spend the money. She would rather cook at home and bring her own lunch.

Looking at her slender figure, I felt a twinge of concern. "You're way too thin. Living off leftovers isn't going to cut it. You need more nutrition."

She nodded with a smile, but I could tell she had not really taken it to heart. After dinner, I went back to my room and called Mom.

"We've got so many employees, and I'm sure some of them are struggling financially. Asking them to order takeout or bring lunch from home isn't ideal. Why not just open up the cafeteria and let everyone eat there? It's just one meal a day -it wouldn't cost that much."

"You? Since when do you care about stuff like this?" Mom sounded genuinely surprised, but then it clicked for her. "Wait... this isn't because of Kourtney, is it?" "It's not," I insisted. "I just think it's kind of heartless that our company doesn't provide housing or meals. Lunch is the least we could offer."

She chuckled knowingly. "Please, I know you. You haven't cared about company affairs in ages. First, you want to recommend someone for a job. Now, you're asking for free meals? Be honest-you want her to have a warm lunch."

"She works hard but only has leftovers for lunch at work every day. It's tough." I coughed lightly. "Even hospitals give doctors and nurses three meals a day. fo

"Our company is huge-offering one decent lunch isn't asking too much. If we want our employees to do their best, we should give them decent benefits."

"Why don't you just bring her lunch yourself?" Mom teased. "That way, she'll know it's from you. If everyone gets it, she'll never know who to thank."

"I'm busy at the hospital. I barely have time," I replied flatly.

"Fine, fine. Free lunches, it is. I guess the others get lucky, too."

In the end, Mom agreed to my request. Satisfied, I ended the call and finally got some rest.

...

A few days later, when Kourtney came home, she looked noticeably more cheerful.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Our boss said too many employees were ordering takeout, so now the

lunch

company's providing ring

She beamed. "I won't have to bring my own food anymore!"

"That's great." I nodded.

"Our boss is such a good person!" Her eyes lit up. "I'm going to work even hardernoveldrama

and create more value for the company!"

I lowered my head to hide the smile tugging at my lips. "Well, keep it up. You

might get a permanent position sooner than you think."

"Understood!" Humming a tune, she happily went off to start dinner.