Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Calvert was in a real pickle, trying to decide whether to hand over his phone case or head to the funeral home to pick out a casket, when Everard, said with a hint of favoritism, “Cordelia sure treats me differently.”
Lowering his gaze to the pen in his hand, Everard added, “She’s into her studies, not glued to her phone.”
Calvert, having narrowly escaped disaster, was speechless. He said, “You’re right, boss, you’re one of a kind. Thank goodness you were there last night, otherwise that imposter would’ve gotten away. I thought it was just a simple scam, but it turned out to be a pro.”
Everard cut in coolly. “You’re just too useless.”
Calvert tried again, “The cops said they’ve recovered most of the money. When are we giving it back?”
Hearing this, Everard’s eyes darkened, “No rush.”
Let the Smiths and the Delaneys sweat and scrape by for a while for daring to mess with Cordelia. If it weren’t for his reputation, he’d hold onto that money himself, to get back at them for Cordelia.
Meanwhile, after leaving Midnight Scent, Sanderson sent the candid photos he’d snapped to Lorna.
Lorna replied quickly, “Cuto
but not sugar–mommy material, right? He is definitely not as hot as Lia, no wonder the price tag was just 300 bucks.”
Sanderson was at a loss for words.
After messaging Lorna, and thinking about the chilly scene at Midnight Scent, he decided to lend a hand.
At the office, he went straight to the procurement department, dropped the name and address of Midnight Scent, and said, “From now on, let’s get all our office supplies from them.”
With such a big client, those two at Midnight Scent would make a living. But to his surprise, half a day later, the procurement manager came to him, “Mr. Delaney, they won’t sell to us.”
Sanderson was stunned, “Why not?”
“They said the order was too big, too much of a hassle to count, and they didn’t want to do the grunt work of loading up the goods.”
Hearing it, Sanderson was speechless.
No wonder, despite the size of Midnight Scent, they weren’t making much money.
At school.
Cordelia handed out the gifts she’d bought for everyone. When she gave one to Merry, she tore it open on the spot and gushed like a chatterbox, “Wow, Lia, how did you know I love this brand’s phone case? I’m too broke to afford it right now. I can’t believe you got it for me, and in pink, my favorite color. You really do spoil me, Lia. By the way, what did you get for Yates and the others?”
“They got red phone cases,” Cordelia replied.
Merry chuckled, “So you got us all phone cases, huh?”
Cordelia’s eyes flickered. She wasn’t a good liar, so she looked down at her book before replying, “Yeah, that’s right.”
But she had bought something different for someone special.
While shopping, she felt a phone case just wasn’t right for Everard. He was different from the rest.
Their peers, Little Fang, Little Flame, and even Little Parrot, were always on their phones, but Everard was the only one engrossed in thought–provoking books. So when she saw that sleek fountain pen, she bought it without hesitation.
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His fingers were long and beautiful, and she imagined him holding the pen. The thought made her thrill. His serious demeanor while reading had an oddly enticing effect on her.
Cordella always found teasing a bit childish, like when the orphanage director would try to amuse her, and she’d just feel helpless. But today, seeing Everard, usually so calculating and confident, thrown off by her teasing, it was somehow amusing.
“Lia, is this problem hard?” Merry’s voice pulled Cordella from her thoughts.
She looked up to find Merry curiously peering at her book, “You this problem for ten minutes.”
ally work so fast, but you’ve been staring at
She’d just been lost in thought for ten minutes? She looked closer and realized it was a simple physics. multiple–choice question about leverage. She coughed, “Yeah.”
Merry scratched her head, “Seems like the answer should be C, right? Or did I get it wrong?”
Merry’s grades were always near the bottom, but even in their advanced class, the basics were covered. Such a simple question was hard to play dumb on.
Thankfully, Latham began the lesson, and Merry turned away, sparing Cordelia further embarrassment.
After class, Merry proudly paraded her new phone case around, eliciting envious glances and remarks like, “Hey, a new phone case?”
With a smug smile, Merry boasted, “Yes, a gift from Lia.”
Others looked on with envy. Could Merry’s phone case carry a bit of Lia’s luck?
Hayley snorted, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a phone case. What’s there to show off about? Who can’t afford one?”
Juliana was angry after hearing that. She’d been distracted all day because of a family crisis, down to her last two grand, she couldn’t afford a new case.
Then she caught Hanley looking at her. As their eyes met, Hanley quickly looked away.
Juliana clenched her fists. The Fosters must know about her family’s trouble. What did that mean for their engagement?
In the following days, the Smiths and the Delaneys were at the police station daily, asking about the. investigation. Calvert, however, seemed to have vanished without a trace, leaving everyone to give up hope. Cordelia’s life was smooth sailing, with Hackett’s birthday just around the corner. Lorna had hired a tailor to come over and take Cordelia’s measurements for a custom–made dress.
On a Saturday evening, Lorna and Larry picked Cordelia up from school, and the family of three headed to Delaney Manor for dinner.
This tradition was a request from Steward when the family split. He wanted to prevent the branches of the family from drifting apart, and above all, he cherished the idea of family unity. Sanderson was determined not to let Steward down.
As they stepped out of the car, the sounds of a dispute echoed from inside the old house.
Cordelia and Lorna walked in to hear the sobs of Kermit, “Sanderson, I really realize my mistake, please help me out. You can’t just stand by and watch us starve, can you?”
Sanderson frowned, “It’s not like we’re out of food at home. Is it that hard to live a little more frugally for a while? At the very least, when next month’s company dividends come in, you’ll have enough to get by.”
His words had barely faded when Rachel burst into tears, “But time waits for no one. Hackett’s birthday is almost here, and we don’t even have two decent outfits to wear.”
It was then that Laurinda spoke up, “It’s not a lot of money. Since Rachel has mentioned it, why don’t you cover the cost of our outfits for the occasion?”
12:48
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