The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Zachary soon received the high-resolution photos. After checking the information, he walked toward the president’s office with his work tablet.

"President Cole, the information from the photos shows that Sarah Lynch lives at The Aquarina in the city center."

The Aquarina was built by The Cole Group.

"I just pulled up the records. Sarah Lynch bought a spacious apartment at The Aquarina not long ago. The payment was made from an account under the surname Sinclair."

There was no doubt it was Sean Sinclair.

Nathaniel Cole gently swiped his finger across each photo, a flash of disgust in his eyes.

"Keep all these photos safe. They’ll be very useful later."

He didn’t want to look anymore and pushed the tablet toward Zachary.

He continued, "Have you confirmed that Sean Sinclair has been wiring three million to Sarah Lynch every month?"

"It’s confirmed." Zachary smiled. "I’ve compiled a full list."

"Attach these photos as well."

"Understood." Zachary had already guessed what President Cole was planning. The corners of his mouth lifted—this was a golden opportunity to eliminate a competitor.

"Send a copy to Secretary Jennings, too." This was what Nathaniel Cole had promised Leila Jennings. She also wanted the evidence of Sean Sinclair’s payments to Sarah Lynch.

Zachary nodded. "Yes."

Nathaniel Cole suddenly added, "Don’t disgust her with the photos."

"Yes."

Since Secretary Jennings had been mentioned, Zachary had something else to say. "President Cole, Secretary Jennings’s resignation approval needs to go through as soon as possible. HR needs it to calculate her attendance for her final month, and the finance department needs that attendance record too."

Nathaniel Cole’s sharp brows furrowed slightly. "So soon?"

Zachary explained, "Next Wednesday is her last day. Secretary Jennings won’t be working on her last day; it’s mainly for clearing out her things and handling the handover. Her facial recognition data also needs to be deleted from the system."

"Mm," Nathaniel Cole nodded lightly.

Zachary turned and left, then posted in the "[That Bastard Cole is Acting Up Again (4)]" group chat.

[Secretary Jennings, I’ve already mentioned the resignation approval to President Cole. Barring any surprises, he should approve it on Monday.]

Leila Jennings saw it and replied: [Thank you, Zachary.]

Secretary Gwen: [Secretary Jennings, are you really resigning? Soon it’ll just be me and Secretary Caine again. Sigh...]

Leila Jennings: [I’m still in City A. We can still meet up when we’re free.]

Secretary Caine: [What are you planning to do after this, Secretary Jennings?]

Leila Jennings: [First, I need to take care of some personal matters. After that, I have some real business to attend to.]

Secretary Caine: [I can recommend some positions for you, if you need them.]

Leila Jennings: [Thank you, Secretary Caine, but I don’t need any for now.]

Secretary Gwen: [Okay, okay, let’s not talk about such heavy topics. Secretary Jennings, are there any more of those local snacks? I want to buy some! Can you ask your family to make more? I’ll pay for them!]

Secretary Caine: [+1]

Zachary: [+1]

Leila Jennings smiled and replied: [I’ll have to ask them.]

The next day, Leila Jennings called the orphanage director. After chatting for over an hour, she asked about the local snacks.

When the director heard that Leila Jennings’s colleagues liked them and were willing to pay, she was happy that Leila was getting along well with her coworkers, and also happy that the children could earn a little pocket money.

She agreed at once.

Sean Sinclair didn’t show up to pick her up from class unexpectedly again. He only asked when she was going to see Cecilia Sinclair. She replied, "In a couple of days," and he didn’t press the issue. He even made an excuse for himself, saying he’d been neglecting her lately because he was too busy.

Leila Jennings wasn’t bothered, and simply replied: It’s okay. Work is more important.

She had a quiet and leisurely Sunday.

She went to bed early and woke up early.

She made buns again, this time soup dumplings. The fillings were made from the leftover ingredients from cooking for Nathaniel Cole the day before. There were vegetable, meat, and seafood fillings.

After they were done, she packed them in plain, clear plastic bags. This time, she packed six bags.

She happened to run into Renee while clocking in and handed her a bag.

Renee’s eyes lit up, but she quickly felt a sense of regret.

"You’re leaving soon. Late last night, President Cole approved your resignation—I just saw the notice on my way to work." ’President Cole said he wanted her to stay, but after all that, she didn’t even last a full month.’

"I guess I won’t be able to have your homemade breakfasts anymore."

Leila Jennings gave a faint smile.

Waving goodbye to Renee, she walked into the office. She’d arrived neither early nor late, and her colleagues started trickling in one after another.

Everyone got a portion of the soup dumplings.

Secretary Caine tossed the coffee concentrate she was holding, turned to get a bottle of milk from Secretary Gwen, and the three of them sat down to eat breakfast together.

The window was open.

The smell wasn’t too strong.

However, when Nathaniel Cole and Zachary walked in, they could still smell it.

Nathaniel Cole paused, his gaze falling on the three "golden flowers" of his office.

Zachary stared at the delicate soup dumplings in their hands, feeling a sudden pang of hunger.

"Zachary," Leila Jennings called out, holding up a bag of soup dumplings for him.

Zachary’s mouth watered, but he didn’t dare accept it in front of President Cole.

"Are your hands broken? Are you going to make Secretary Jennings hold it for you forever?" President Cole’s low, stern voice sounded beside him.

Zachary immediately reached out and took it.

Nathaniel Cole’s peripheral vision followed the bag of soup dumplings from Leila Jennings’s hand to Zachary’s.

Zachary thought, ’President Cole, I can sneak this in to you later.’

After handing the bag to Zachary, Leila Jennings looked at Nathaniel Cole. "President Cole, would you like some breakfast?"

Nathaniel Cole: "No."

He strode away with a cold expression.

Leila Jennings glanced at the last bag of soup dumplings on her desk. "Alright, I’ll eat it myself then."

"?" Nathaniel Cole stopped in his tracks.

Zachary quickly said, "Secretary Jennings brought a bag for you too, President Cole."

Nathaniel Cole looked at Leila Jennings, half-believing, half-doubting.

’The time before last, I didn’t get any of the big steamed buns. Last time, I didn’t get any of the local snacks. Does she really have soup dumplings for me this time?’

"Secretary Jennings, is this one for President Cole?" Secretary Caine, quick on the uptake, grabbed the bag of soup dumplings and handed it to Leila Jennings.

"President Cole, your breakfast," Leila Jennings said, holding out the soup dumplings.

Zachary, worried that President Cole would be too proud to take them, was about to accept on his behalf when the President’s hand shot out faster than his. He even shot Zachary a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye.

Zachary: "..."

’I shouldn’t have interfered.’

Nathaniel Cole carried the soup dumplings into his office, sat down in his chair, and immediately started eating.

As soon as he finished, he asked Leila Jennings for next week’s schedule.

’But this week has only just begun.’

’Oh well, whatever the boss says, goes.’

Leila Jennings reviewed the schedule again. Nathaniel Cole’s most important event next week was to attend a bid.

She made a special point of highlighting this event to make it stand out.

As the day of the bid drew closer, Nathaniel Cole’s Mondays became packed with all sorts of meetings. Besides the senior management meeting for The Cole Group, there were also meetings for its sixteen subsidiaries. Even with a compressed schedule, his Mondays and Tuesdays were spent in one meeting after another, big and small.

He was still working overtime long after everyone else had gone home.

Usually, on those two days, Leila Jennings rarely saw Nathaniel Cole even lift his head.

Nathaniel Cole was busy, and Sean Sinclair was just as busy.

Only Leila Jennings was slightly less occupied.

She clocked in and out on time, undisturbed by Sean Sinclair.

On Wednesday morning, Sean Sinclair found a moment to call her. "Today’s the day you officially leave The Cole Group, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Leila Jennings said, looking at the handover checklist in her hand. "I’m on my way to the front desk to verify my attendance records."

"Okay. I’m quite busy these next two weeks, but once things calm down, let’s go out and celebrate." Sean Sinclair’s voice grew increasingly gentle.

Leila Jennings replied softly, "Sounds good."

It was clear she was also very happy.

But not because of the celebration.

It was because the one-month cooling-off period was over.