In the morning, Kallen emerged from the lounge inside his office just as his maid Xili pushed open the door and came in carrying a large insulated container. She began setting out breakfast.
Four cups of hot soy milk, ten fried dough sticks, ten tea eggs, ten large meat buns, twenty pan-fried dumplings, four bowls of small wontons, and several dishes of pickled vegetables.
Xili left once she had finished setting everything out. She would collect the dishes when she brought lunch at noon.
Although Kallen had always preferred a substantial, filling breakfast, this much food was not prepared for him alone.
Philomina came in and sat across from Kallen at his desk, joining him for breakfast.
As Kallen rose step by step to the position of District Chief, the members of his original core team had also been promoted one after another. Several were already ministers or deputy ministers, and even the lowest-ranking was at least an office director, not a deputy.
Only Philomina was still a "team leader," having gone from leader of the minister's security team to leader of the District Chief's security team.
Her main job was to sit behind a desk placed outside Kallen's office and guard the door.
There was a partitioned space outside the District Chief's Office, so Philomina now more or less had half an office of her own.
Far from feeling unfairly treated by this assignment, she was very satisfied with it.
After all, they could hardly give her an office of her own and fill it with Richards, and she could not adapt to other interpersonal dealings and work.
Although she had improved somewhat after personally seeing her grandmother off, she still retained her innately withdrawn and cold disposition.
Kallen read through documents as he ate breakfast. His position as