With her hands on her knees overlapping each other, the woman turned towards me after a brief pause. “I am here to tender my formal resignation, Ms. Stovall!”
I widened my eyes in surprise. “I didn’t think you’d give up on this job so easily, especially after how hard you’ve worked.”
Everyone makes mistakes, but you don’t have to leave because of it! Just fix it and move on!
I was starting to grow anxious when she kept quiet. “What’s your reason for leaving?”
“I might be getting married soon, and my husband wants me to stay home and look after the family.” Judging by her regretful tone of voice, I could tell that she was actually reluctant to resign.
“But you haven’t got kids, right? You can still work after getting married! Besides, you’ll probably find it difficult adjusting to life without work.”
Grandpa had also wanted me to stay at home back then… I know he meant well. He didn’t want me to overwork myself, but I couldn’t stand watching Ashton and Rebecca being so close to each other every day!
Stacey nodded and flashed me a faint smile. “I’m sorry, but I’ve already made up my mind. Thank you for all your support and guidance during my time here, Ms. Stovall.”
Having no reason to try and stop her any further, I nodded and said, “Very well, then. Email me your resignation letter and then hand over your work.”
She gave me a nod of acknowledgment and began walking out of my office. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and turned around all of a sudden. “Ms. Stovall, things are not as simple as they seem with Fuller Corporation’s audit and HiTech.”
I looked at her in confusion, but she had left before I could ask her what she meant by that.
My mind sure is a mess lately… I keep forgetting things, and I can’t even think straight at times… I know there’s something wrong with Fuller Corporation’s audit and HiTech, but I can’t quite point out what it is. Oh well… Ashton won’t discuss work at home, so I guess I’ll have to set that issue aside for now…
At lunchtime, I got a call from Ashton telling me to go to his office and have lunch with him.
I wasn’t sure if he had done it on purpose, but I noticed quite a lot of changes when I arrived. For starters, the color theme in his office had been changed, and the plants originally placed by the door had been replaced with two pots of cupheas.
The previously empty lobby was now also decorated with all sorts of potted plants.
Joseph had finished packing and was about to head out for lunch when he saw me. “Mr. Fuller is in his office. You may go straight in, Ms. Stovall!” he said after a brief pause.
I nodded in response and glanced at the newly-added desk in the corner. “You guys have a new hire in the Secretarial Department?”
Joseph, being a man of few words, nodded and replied, “Yeah!”
I knew I wasn’t going to get any information out of him, so I didn’t bother asking any further. I headed straight into Ashton’s office.
The man was busy with his work when I entered, so he pointed towards the food on the table when he saw me. “Help yourself. I’ll be done in a bit.”
“Okay,” I muttered as I eyed the Devil’s Ivy on his desk and began chowing down.
He sat down next to me after he was done. “Is there anywhere, in particular, you would like to go?”
I shook my head. “Nope!”
I thought pregnant women are supposed to stay home! Why is he asking me where I want to go?
I stopped eating after a while as I didn’t really have much appetite. “Is there a new hire in your office?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You sure are acting more and more like Mrs. Fuller!”
I ignored his comment and waited for him to continue, which he did after a brief pause, “It’s someone who used to work for Dr. Ludwick. You’ll be taking a break from work in a few months, so I figured having an extra secretary around would help smoothen things out.”
Dr. Ludwick?
The first person who came to mind was that woman I had met previously.
At that moment, a woman came into his office. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with a high ponytail and exuded an air of youth.
“Pardon my intrusion, Mr. Fuller. I’m here to deliver some documents!” She awkwardly placed the files on Ashton’s desk and shot me a nervous glance before leaving.
I looked at him and let out a light chuckle. “Looks like youth is in the air, eh?”
With an eyebrow raised, he reached out and pulled me into his arms. “Are you jealous?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s just… Your office looks a lot different now that it’s filled with life.”
His shallow breathing could be felt on my neck as he spoke, “Well, you’ve now got our child inside of you.”
I kept quiet. For some reason, his sweetness only seemed to fill my heart with an inexplicable sense of dread.
After lunch, I took a short break in the lounge before returning to his office.
The place was a bit noisy – he seemed to have gone out. Since I had nothing else to do there, I figured I would head home.
On my way out, I ran into a petite young woman who flashed an awkward smile when she saw me. “Ah, Mrs. Fuller, I didn’t realize you were here! Am I disturbing you?”
She looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t quite remember who she was. “You are?”
