Day two dawned with Mia's internal alarm blaring a single, furious thought: Another day of being Kris Windsor's minion. After hours of meticulously organizing his chaotic business files the previous evening, her patience was already stretched thin. She barely had time to gulp down her lukewarm coffee before Kris's inevitable summons arrived via text: "Good morning, Assistant. Your first task for Day Two: Prepare my lunch. Precisely at 12:30 PM. I'm craving something... ambitious. Surprise me."
Mia stared at her phone, aghast. Ambitious? Surprise him? She could barely make toast without setting off the smoke detector. This wasn't just a demand; it was a sabotage mission. She briefly considered calling in sick, feigning a sudden, mysterious allergic reaction to arrogance, but the thought of Kris's smug satisfaction spurred her into action. She was Mia Brown; she wouldn't back down from a challenge, even a ridiculous, culinary one.
The next few hours were a blur of frantic online recipe searches, grocery store mishaps, and a kitchen that rapidly began to resemble a war zone. Flour dusted every surface, pots simmered dangerously, and a surprisingly complex aroma (mostly burnt, she suspected) began to waft through the air. She settled on an elaborate, multi-layered pasta dish, confident that its complexity would at least make Kris regret his ridiculous demand, even if it wasn't perfectly edible. She delivered it to Kris's usual spot in the quad precisely at 12:30 PM, placing the container on the table with a defiant thump.
Kris opened the container, peering at the slightly-too-brown pasta with a skeptical arch of his brow. He took a cautious bite. Mia watched, braced for the inevitable criticism, but instead, a flicker of genuine surprise crossed his face. He took another, slower bite. "Hmm," he murmured, "Not entirely inedible, Brown. In fact... it's surprisingly good. Didn't realize you had hidden talents beyond art and dramatic outbursts."
Mia felt a strange, unwilling warmth spread through her. "Don't get used to it, Windsor," she retorted, trying to sound aloof, but a small, almost imperceptible smile tugged at her lips. The rare, almost appreciative look from him was strangely satisfying.