Luca and Elena were good friends. Riley seemed to already know Elena, because she walked over to her and handed her a piece of candy with a warm smile.
I was very nervous. Just as I was about to sneak away, Riley suddenly said, “You’re Adam’s new secretary, right? I’ve met you before!”
I froze. I didn’t expect her to recognize me. “Good morning, Mrs. Cooper.”
She grinned at me good-naturedly and said, “Good morning! Is Elena your daughter? She’s adorable.”
I nearly denied it right away out of instinct, but when I recalled the sad look on Elena’s face the last time, I bit back my words. I didn’t want to hurt my daughter’s feelings again.
Fortunately, Anna walked over just in time to help me out. “Good morning, Mrs. Cooper! Elena’s my niece. I had something urgent to do yesterday, so I asked Debra to take watch over Elena for me.”
Elena was a very smart child. She blinked at me and walked to Anna quietly.
“Oh, I see.” Riley nodded and smiled, seeming to believe Anna.
To my surprise, Elena seemed to have understood that we needed to lie about our relationship. This time, she didn’t show me a sad expression.
Instead, she grabbed Luca’s hand and shouted, “Luca, let’s go play on the seesaw!”
“okay!” Luca agreed without hesitation. The two happy kids ran into the kindergarten hand in hand.
I was so relieved.
Fortunately, Riley didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.
A N G E L A ‘s L I B R A R Y
After waving at Elena goodbye, I saw Riley walking back and forth in front of her car. She seemed worried, and she kept glancing at something from time to time.
Curious, I walked over and asked, “Mrs. Cooper, is something wrong?” She nodded and bit her lip. “My car broke. I called someone to fix it, but I don’t know when he’ll arrive. I might have to wait here for a long time.”
Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity for me to pick up some information! “Let me give you a ride,” I offered enthusiastically.
Riley looked at me with both relief and embarrassment. “Are you sure it’s okay? Thank you so much!”
We both headed to my car and got in. While I was driving, she asked with concern, “It must be difficult to work for Adam, right?”
“A Little. I just need to put in a Little more effort.”
I pretended to give a normal answer, but truth be told, I was secretly racking my brains for a way to naturally Lead the topic to Emily.
Perhaps she was really grateful that I was helping her out this time, because gave me a serious warning. “Adam has been a bit capricious these past few years. Whatever you do, don’t irritate him.”
I nodded. In the most casual tone I could muster, I started to say, “Honestly, I still don’t know where his boundaries lie. People at the office say that the secretary before me, Emily, was fired because she crossed the line. What did she do? I just don’t want to repeat the same mistake, that’s all.”
