Chapter ９

It was already time for work so everyone returned to their position. Only Angel was still standing in front of me, staring at the table in a daze.

"Are you okay? What are you still doing here? Shouldn’t I proceed to my work, or we’ll play hide and seek here?” I braved my voice for her.

Angel seemed to be shocked at my reactions, she might have not expected me to shame her in front of my officemates. She glanced at me sharply then left.

I sighed very deep then hurriedly opened my bag.

I saw that the earrings were still in there. I heaved a sigh of relief.

After a while, Andie ran over and whispered to me, "Angel just went out secretly. I followed her and saw her enter the elevator. Guess what?! She went to the monitor room!"

"Go and see what she is up to." I locked the drawer, took my phone, and went out with Andie.

We darted directly to the basement. As soon as the elevator door opened, we met Angel. She became a little nervous when she saw me.

"Wow, manager. Why are you here? Are you also coming to see who the thief is?" Andie mocked.

"Your business has nothing to do with me!” Angel quickly made up an excuse. “I lost my necklace. I'm here to see who has stalked into my office this morning!"

Angel replied confidently. "Then let's go and find out who stole your necklace."

She was being a little unreasonable.

"Huh! Don't get in my way." Angel elbowed me to make way and stepped into the elevator.

"This woman is terrible!" Andie couldn't help but complain. "No wonder Mr. Smith doesn't like her, she deserves it!"

"Stop talking, let's go and see!" I took Andie to the monitoring room.

Sure enough, as I expected, it seemed like Angel copied all the video recordings of the surveillance, and ‘accidentally’ deleted the original files.

Where is the monitoring team here?

"Alexia, what should we do next." Andie is worried.

"What can we do? She is the granddaughter of the chairman, even if we complain, no one will do anything about it! Not to mention that I didn't lose anything, video evidence is not in our hands either." So we would have to let it go for now.

Although I was reluctant, I had to face the reality.

"You just give up? Know that if you let this pass, she can easily do that to you over and over again." Andie also felt this is unfair.

"She didn't really lose her necklace. What's more? She might cause trouble for everyone. Let's see the tricks she would use now."

Angel wouldn't let me go so easily. After returning to the department, Andie told our colleagues what happened in the monitoring room.

The colleagues were dumbfounded. Everyone knew what happened, but no one dared to stand up. These days, Angel had been asking everyone to work hard over time, but apart from overtime, she had no other demands. Her actions made me more worried because it wasn't like her usual behavior she is more dangerous these days.

We often worked overtime when the previous leader was there, so I was used to it. Anyway, overtime paid me.

Jack Williams had called several times to invite me to dinner these days, and I didn't have time.

During lunch break on Wednesday, someone called me. When I went out, I saw a courier boy delivering flowers. He was holding a large bouquet of roses.

After I signed the receipt, I found a small card inserted in it. I could tell it was given by Jack.

Soon after, my cell phone rang. "Are you free now? I'm downstairs in your company. Let's have lunch together." He had come to my office, and I couldn't refuse it anymore.

I just noticed Andie by my side, so I explained to him I wanted to bring a friend. He agreed. Jack politely asked us what we wanted to eat, then finally, we decided to have some steak.

Andie had been observing Jack, then she quietly said to me,

“This man looks pretty good and is very polite. I couldn't refute this” She paused and said dreamily, “But Mr. Smith is better.”

I was dumbfounded, why would she mention him now? She saw my expression then quickly added.

"What do you think? Mr. Smith is such an excellent man, and he also gave you a Blue mermaid, that is a gift for his lover. He just likes you, and he is so handsome and rich. So if it wasn't for you, I would say yes to his pursuit!" Andie sighed dreamily. Just then, I heard the sound of footsteps.

"Do you have to discuss this with me now?" I looked over and found that Jack was walking over. Did he hear our conversation? I couldn't help but pinch Andie, hoping she could end this topic. “Okay, then I will look for you tonight.”

And she didn't say anything about Mr. Smith after that. We all went to dinner with Jack in a nearby restaurant.

The meal was blissful, but neither Jack nor Andie could stop from making the atmosphere awkward.

"Do you like the flowers I gave you?" Jack asked with a smile.

"Thank you, I like it very much."

"That's good, let's go." He very gentlemanly sent us downstairs after having a meal.

"Are you free tonight?"

"Sorry. We have been working overtime these days. So I don't have time tonight." What I said is the truth.

"It's okay. Let's have dinner together at noon tomorrow." Jack suggested again.

"But how can you come here all the way from your office every day?" I knew his workplace was far away from mine, and it would take more than an hour to drive over.

"It's okay. I've been seeing customers outside these days. So I dropped in." Jack smiled.

"Okay, then see you tomorrow. Drive carefully.” After returning to the office, I found someone moved things on my desk again, and this time Andie's desk was also the same.

"Don't worry, everyone. I'm a new employee here, Bella, and I just wiped the table for everyone." This Bella was the person who helped Angle pick the lock last time.

"Yes, she is a new staff member. She was recruited by the manager." A colleague who arrived in the office earlier introduced her to us.

I frowned when I heard that this person was hired by Angle, and this girl's dress was too gorgeous. I narrowed my eyes on her. This girl looked so much like plastic that I felt disgusted in my heart just by glancing at her. It also seemed as if Bella tried her best to be very naive, but her eyes couldn't hide her evil thoughts.

The arrival of Bella made me feel more uneasy. So I hid the earrings in the safety of my home. I knew that if I let Angle know the existence of the sky mermaid, she might kill me. I received roses at noon these days, and then I would have lunch with Jack. I got to find out more about him.

And Jack was more and more satisfied with me. He even wanted to move further in our relationship.

After getting off work on Friday, I came to the commercial street and looked at the gorgeous jewelry.

I suddenly thought about the Blue Mermaid. I didn't know if Calvin found it. My phone rang suddenly.

It was Calvin. I was still thinking about him, and now he called me. My heart jumped wildly.

His initiative made me feel very helpless. I admitted that he was a good person, but I wasn't self-confident anymore. I didn't think I could have my Cinderella's dreams anymore because Cinderella only existed in fairy tales. It was a bit unrealistic.

But my phone kept ringing as if it would keep ringing until I picked it up. Finally, I answered the call.

"Why are you answering my call now?" Calvin's tone seemed a little angry.

"I left my phone in the room just now." I lied. I thought about my relationship with him and felt it was really awkward to talk to him now. I wasn't his lover or a familiar friend, but our talk looked like communication between lovers.

"Really!" Calvin's tone became colder, even I could detect something wrong with him. He found out that I had lied, but I had already lied and could only continue to make up lies.

"Are you okay?" So I pretended to be naive about his behavior.

"No.” And the strange conversation ended

Calvin's pov

I was sitting in the car staring at Alexia who was standing in front of the jewelry store, and I squeezed the gift box in my hand. It was the gift he planned to give her.

As soon as I got off the plane, I immediately came to her, but she lied. Did she really hate me so much?

Alex's pov

After I hung up the phone, I felt very guilty. Somehow, I felt as if someone was watching me. I looked back and it seemed to be a familiar car.

After I got home, I packed my clothes and saw the jacket Calvin lent from the first meeting. I thought I'd better find the opportunity to return the jacket to him. Before I could fall asleep, Warren sent me a message.

w: Alexia, have you received a gift?

A: What gift?

W: Smith went to see you when he got off the plane? Has the gift arrived yet?

Warren is also surprised. I was stunned when I saw his text message. I hadn’t seen him today, but it suddenly occurred to me that I received a weird call in the afternoon and the car that made me feel a little familiar.

He was there! Then I told him that I was lying home, and he found out that I was lying. No wonder he was so indifferent.

A: I didn't see him today.

w: That's a pity. I thought you would be very happy tonight.

A: May I ask, why did he give me a gift? First, it was a Sky mermaid, and now it was a gift brought back from abroad. I feel like I am going crazy.

W: You have to ask him yourself. Let me ask? I'm crazy.

W: Go to bed early, good night.

I ended the chat with Warren, and received another message from Calvin. It was a photo! It was the Sky mermaid that I lost! I couldn't help calling him. "Smith, ah, Calvin, did you find the necklace?"

"Found it.” Hearing his reply, I was completely relieved, and now I could sleep well.

"I won't tell you how I found it. You should rest early." His tone seemed to be cold.

But I didn't care about it. I was simply glad that he could find the necklace. It made me feel a little relaxed, and I could take care of other things now. I was really happy that he found this necklace!

Calvin's pov

I smiled. I wanted to hide it for a while. I intended to use this necklace and trick Alexia into dating Alexia, but her behavior today made me feel a little nervous. What would happen if she found out about this in the future?

She would know that I was hiding the secret, and the consequences might be serious. Right now our relationship was very ordinary. So I shouldn't do things to destroy it even more. So I gave up this plan.