I pursed my lips and looked at him. “Ashton, I remember you’ve told me before that Stella hasn’t met the requirements for a promotion. So why did you suddenly promote her to be your secretary?”
He chuckled as he fed me a piece of sushi. “It’s because of Justin. He pleaded with me to promote Stella to a secretarial role, but her pay remains unchanged. After being hospitalized, she suffered from some side effects and insisted that she was a secretary, not a receptionist. They argued about it so much that Justin eventually came to me for help.”
I furrowed my brows as I thought about it. So that’s how it is. Stella did play a part in rescuing Ashton, so such a request isn’t unreasonable. Besides, how can Ashton turn her down when she’s even brought up the side effects she suffered?
“Is the sushi not tasty?” Ashton asked when he saw me frowning.
“No. It’s pretty good! I just feel like I’ve put on weight recently.”
Ashton burst out laughing at that. “You shouldn’t be thinking about losing weight when you’re pregnant. And besides, you aren’t fat!”
Jared’s test results had yet to be out, so we had no choice but to continue waiting. However, as time went on, my curiosity about Hailey grew even more. She was like a mystery that I wanted to solve.
After lunch, Ashton continued with his work while I texted Hailey for a little catch-up. To my surprise, Hannah called at that exact moment.
“Scarlett, are you busy?” she said even before I could get a word in.
“No. I’m at Ashton’s office, and we just had lunch. Have you eaten?”
She hummed in response before adding, “Remember I said I wanted you to accompany me to go wedding dress shopping? Will you be free this afternoon?”
Ashton wouldn’t have time for me since he was busy with work, so it wasn’t a difficult decision to make. “Yes, I don’t have anything going on anyway. Text me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”
“No need! We can pick you up along the way since we’re nearby. Just wait for us at Fuller Corporation.”
After the call ended, I walked over to Ashton, only to see him on the phone with Joseph. From the sound of it, he seemed to be asking Joseph to help look for a healthy kidney donor. “Ashton, I’ll be going out with Hannah in a bit.”
“Going shopping?” he asked as he looked up at me.
“She’s getting married, remember? She doesn’t have many friends in K City, so she asked if I could go with her to shop for dresses.”
He nodded and placed his palms on my belly. “Stay safe. Make sure to call me if anything happens.”
“Oh, I think I’ll be safe with your bodyguards following me around,” I replied with a smile and kiss.
“You know about that?”
Seeing him so startled tickled me, and I laughed. “It’s hard not to know when they show up every time I’m in trouble!”
“I feel more at ease when I know they’re looking out for you.”
I knew he just had my interests at heart, and I appreciated that very much. After reassuring him that I’d take extra caution and bidding him farewell, I headed to the lobby to wait for Hannah.
When they saw me, the receptionists quietened down and greeted me politely. It was then when I noticed the bag of green mangoes by the reception desk. “Where did you buy those mangoes? I haven’t seen them in a while,” I asked, genuinely surprised.
We were way past mango season, so the fact that they could still get any mangoes was quite the feat.
One of the receptionists smiled shyly at me. “We didn’t buy them. Ms. Collins gave them to us. There were still mangoes available in her hometown, so she got her family to mail some over. Would you like one, Mrs. Fuller?”
There weren’t many mangoes left in the bag, so I smiled and shook my head. “No need, thank you. I was just surprised how you could still get them when the season’s already over. Keep them for yourselves.”
Having satisfied my curiosity, I headed out the lobby and saw Hannah and Chandler waving at me from their car. Perfect timing!
Hannah handed me a hot water bottle as soon as I got in, only to laugh when I gave her a look of utter confusion. “The weather’s too cold, so Chandler brought these for us to keep warm!”
I was a little surprised at that and thanked Chandler for being so considerate. He simply replied with a smile, like he always did, before driving off to our destination.
Hannah and I started chatting when I noticed a big bag beside her. “What have you brought?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Something tasty! Chandler said I’d get hungry from trying on the dresses, so it’d be better to bring some food along.”
I was blown away by how much Chandler doted on Hannah. She seemed so carefree and happy, and it warmed my heart to know she was with such a good man.
When I merely lowered my head and smiled, Hannah tugged at me to get my attention. “Are you and Ashton planning on having another wedding?”
“No, we aren’t. We don’t want to go through all the complicated wedding formalities again. Besides, we don’t have the time to plan for one when Summer’s situation has yet to improve.”
