The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Nathaniel Cole said coldly, "Eat that fast and you’ll choke."

"Thanks for the concern, President Cole." Leila chewed, her words becoming clearer. After speaking, she took another bite. "COUGH!"

She hadn’t choked, but something had gone down the wrong pipe.

Nathaniel Cole’s brow furrowed. He was about to get her some water, but Caine was a step ahead, already handing her a glass. Meanwhile, Gwen was patting her gently on the back.

The three of them looked rather cozy together.

Nathaniel Cole let out another cold laugh. "Serves you right."

Leila was half-convinced Nathaniel Cole had jinxed her. She stared at him in silence.

Seeing that she was fine, Nathaniel Cole turned to Zachary. "Stop eating. What about that information I asked you to find?"

Zachary swallowed his last bite, took a sip of water, and even remembered to elegantly wipe his mouth with a napkin.

"President Cole, here’s the information."

Nathaniel Cole gave it a brief glance, his eyes flickering almost imperceptibly toward the main office area. He gestured for Zachary to leave.

As Zachary left, he started to close the door, but then seemed to think better of it and left it open a wide crack.

Caine and Gwen were cornering Leila.

"That President Sinclair from Stellaxis Technologies we saw the other day... he’s your husband?" Gwen could hardly believe it. "We’ve been working for President Cole for so long, we have a pretty good grasp on the situation with all the executives from every major and minor corporation in City A. We even..."

Caine picked up in a hushed tone, "...even know which CEO is sleeping with whom. But we’ve never heard a whisper about President Sinclair of Stellaxis Technologies being married."

"That’s normal." Leila started taking smaller bites of her bun, speaking in a measured tone. "We’ve never appeared in public together."

Gwen asked, "Then you didn’t have a wedding?"

Leila was at a loss for words.

Caine seemed to realize something and nudged Gwen, who pursed her lips, aware she had overstepped.

Seeing their expressions, Leila said, "We did. It was actually quite lively."

The Sinclair Family was there, and so were Sean Sinclair’s friends.

This made Caine and Gwen feel even more that something was amiss. They decided to keep their mouths shut and not press the issue, nor did they dare mention what they’d seen at the mall.

’President Sinclair and that woman had smelled of the same perfume. Either they used the same brand, or the scent had rubbed off during close contact.’

DING.

A private message from President Cole popped up on Caine’s work messenger.

Cole: [Keep going.]

Caine: "..."

’President Cole, could you please act like a decent human being? Stop twisting the knife!’

Caine peeked through the blinds and saw Nathaniel Cole bent over his work. He certainly didn’t look like he was eavesdropping.

’President Cole’s talent for stone-faced mischief had only grown stronger.’

"Jennings, I have to ask a couple more questions, please don’t be mad!" Caine hastily took a sip of water. "Since President Sinclair had a wedding with you, why doesn’t he take you to any events? Is it because it’s not convenient for you? You don’t have to answer if you don’t..."

"It’s because he doesn’t think I’m suitable." Leila said it anyway. ’Some things you can only begin to move past once you say them aloud.’

Gwen’s expression changed. "If his own wife isn’t suitable, then who is? That woman from the other day?"

Caine pressed her lips together.

’You’ve got guts, Gwen.’

Leila nodded, sat back down at her desk, and started working on her weekly and daily reports.

Caine and Gwen took the hint and fell silent.

Around noon, Leila got a call from a courier. Her new phone had arrived and was waiting for her at the front desk.

She planned to pick it up after lunch in the cafeteria.

Near the end of the workday, Zachary came in carrying three very large gift boxes.

Gwen went up to him excitedly. "Zachary, what are these?"

"President Cole asked me to give these to you." Zachary handed them out one by one. "Don’t drop the ball at the tech expo and reception next week, you hear?"

"Of course!"

"Jennings, this one’s for you." Zachary made a point of adding, "All three gifts are the same."

Leila saw Caine and Gwen opening their boxes right away, so she did the same. Inside was a pair of stilettos, a brand-new phone, and a stuffed rabbit.

Caine couldn’t put down the red-soled high heels. Gwen was hugging and kissing the stuffed rabbit—it was a limited edition model she hadn’t been able to snag.

As for Leila, her eyes fell on the phone.

She’d seen the latest model when she was phone shopping a couple of days ago. It cost over ten thousand.

A phone that cost over ten thousand was an unnecessary expense for her.

"Jennings, this phone is perfect for you!" Gwen bounced over happily. "Your screen has been acting up for ages."

Zachary pushed up his glasses.

’Of course it is.’

’President Cole had specifically instructed him to include the latest model phone and told him to figure out the rest.’

’Caine loved high heels, and Gwen was a sucker for all sorts of limited-edition collectibles.’

’So, he had gotten them each a similar item, yet they weren’t identical.’

’It was impossible to get three of the limited-edition toy at once, the high heels were three different styles, and the phones were all different colors.’

The one Leila held was white. The one she’d bought for herself was black, thinking it would show dirt less.

’But the white was beautiful, too.’

Gwen made a special trip to the office door to say thank you, and Caine went with her. Leila felt it would be rude not to go as well, but she was called inside the moment she reached the doorway.

It was already lunchtime, so Zachary and the others gradually headed out.

Only the two of them remained in the vast office.

"President Cole."

"Take a look at this." Nathaniel Cole handed her a document, along with the fountain pen from his own hand. "See if you find any problems."

Leila didn’t immediately take the pen. Her eyes went to the first page of the document.

It was a bid proposal.

Her heart sank.

But a closer look revealed it was for a different project at The Cole Group. She let out a small sigh of relief, having nearly thought she was about to breach her confidentiality agreement.

Since it wasn’t a project related to her, Leila had nothing to worry about. She looked up and said, "It’s lunchtime."

’Time to eat.’

’Time to clock out.’

’She wasn’t really here to work; she was here to hide from Sean Sinclair, so she really didn’t want to do any work.’

Nathaniel Cole said, "Finish reading it first."

Bosses were only ever interested in exploiting their employees. Leila had no choice but to take the pen from his hand. It was still warm from his palm.

She started flipping through the pages in front of Nathaniel Cole, her expression growing more serious as her pace quickened. The pen in her hand made scratching sounds as it circled item after item on the paper.

"Done." Leila handed the pen back.

Nathaniel Cole’s brow was deeply furrowed. He dialed Zachary’s number. "Notify the project team. Emergency meeting at one-thirty."

After hanging up, he flipped through the sections she had circled.

"You have a sharp eye for data. It was the same with Cherry Cole’s paper, and now with this bid proposal."

He sized her up.

"Only someone who works with data day in and day out would have that kind of acuity, Leila."

’Leila knew Nathaniel Cole suspected her. But as long as she didn’t admit anything, it had nothing to do with her.’

"It’s just something I picked up in school."

Nathaniel Cole fell silent for a moment, then gestured for her to leave.

The cafeteria would be empty by now. Leila pulled out her phone to order takeout.

Nathaniel Cole’s gaze fell on her old phone. "You still haven’t switched it?"

His tone was heavy.

Leila said, "I’m about to."

When she went down to grab her takeout, she also picked up the new phone she’d bought. She was back at her desk, transferring her data and eating, when she’d barely had two bites before Nathaniel Cole walked out and rapped his knuckles on her desk.

"Meeting."

Then his eyes landed on her phone.

’She’d switched it, but not to the one he’d given her.’

In response to Leila’s confused look, Nathaniel Cole’s voice grew even deeper. "Wherever I go, you go."