Chapter 8

After a while, Simon mustered his courage and said, "Mr. Garland, according to the investigation I've done over the past few days, Calla is definitely not planted by anyone."

Initially, Mercer suspected that someone had arranged for him to sleep with Calla for the night. After all, that was too much of a coincidence.

He had just arrived at Riverford, and someone managed to get in his bed already. The person was even an employee at the branch office.

So, he had Simon investigate for two whole weeks. But it turned out to be a complete coincidence. It was like they were destined to spend the night together.

Noticing that Mercer had not said anything for some time, Simon said worriedly, "Ms. Sherman is pregnant out of wedlock. I'm afraid she might opt for an abortion."

Mercer frowned deeply when he heard that. He immediately said, "Go and make sure none of the hospitals in the city perform an abortion for her."

"Yes, sir." Simon went to work immediately.

"Also…" Mercer said.

Simon immediately turned back around.

Mercer continued, "Get some people to watch over her. Make sure nothing bad happens to her!"

"Yes, sir." Simon nodded. Then, he walked away in a hurry.

After a while, Mercer finally snapped back to reality after the ash from his cigarette fell on his hand and burned him a little.

…

While Calla was still in the hospital, Alicia brought her news of Cedric's passing.

Alicia also had the foresight to tell Carol that Calla was on a top-secret business trip. To explain why Calla couldn't keep in contact with Carol, Alicia even said Calla wasn't allowed to use her phone during the business trip.

Calla was sad that she couldn't attend Cedric's funeral. She decided she would visit his grave when she got the chance.

She also heard that Cedric made a very wise decision. He didn't leave the money or the house to either of his sons because he knew Rudy would make things difficult for Maurice, no matter how he split it.

So, he donated all his property to the government.

Rudy and Jill didn't even attend Cedric's funeral because they didn't get anything. That made Calla look down on them even more.

…

Calla was finally discharged on Monday, and she went right to work.

As soon as she sat down, Alicia went over and whispered, "You came back so soon… Are you really okay now?"

Calla replied, "The doctor said I'm fine. I just need to be careful not to overexert myself."

"But you still need to help out at the HR department. Can your body handle that?" Alicia asked worriedly.

Calla frowned. She was worried about that, too.

Then, the door of the finance department manager's office opened. Edith, who was wearing a black men's suit and black-framed glasses, came out of the office.

Alicia rushed back to her desk at the sight of her. She would receive a hearty scolding from Edith if she was seen talking at someone else's desk.

Calla got up quickly. "I'll head to the HR department to help out right away."

She took so many days off. So, she was a little nervous when she saw Edith. She dreaded the thought of being laid off. She had one more mouth to feed, after all.

"You don't have to go there anymore." Edith stopped Calla.

Calla looked at Edith anxiously. Did she already get on Edith's bad side?

Then, Edith adjusted her glasses and said, "Our department has been very busy recently. I've told the HR department manager to get help from other departments."

Calla sighed in relief when she heard that. She can't help but smile at that good news.

Edith suddenly smiled warmly at Calla and said, "You were working too hard a while ago. So, I've redistributed half of your workload to Alicia. You just need to take care of the remaining half."

Edith went back to her office after she said that.

Calla sat back in her chair in a daze. Edith smiled. She actually smiled. Calla had never seen Edith smile in the past three years she worked there. She thought Edith was incapable of making such an expression.

After a while, Calla started to feel uneasy. Was Edith treating her so kindly because she was about to be laid off? Was she just trying to appease her for the moment?

She felt even more unsettled in the next few days.