On the other side, Vincent Hawthorne was clearly in a bad mood as he strode into the elevator, his long legs taking large steps. Cindy Lynn quickly followed, her high heels clicking against the floor.
She glanced at Vincent’s gloomy face and said nothing since he didn’t speak.
They remained silent until they exited the elevator and reached the underground parking lot.
"Vincent," Cindy Lynn called out, tugging on Vincent’s arm.
Vincent halted slightly and turned his head.
Cindy Lynn approached him. The proximity allowed him to catch a whiff of her hair’s fragrance, prompting Vincent to subconsciously survey the surroundings.
"Don’t worry, there’s no one here, and no cameras either," Cindy Lynn reassured softly, tiptoeing to adjust Vincent’s tie. Her trembling eyelashes lifted as she gazed directly into Vincent’s eyes with a smile. "I’ll call you President Hawthorne one last time. Tomorrow, I won’t be coming to the company."
Vincent frowned, gripping her wrist with discontent. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Despite her smile, Cindy Lynn’s eyes turned slightly red, clearly suppressing her grievances. "Since Ms. Tanya misunderstands me, staying will only cause you trouble."
Vincent watched her wipe away her tears with a look of distress, his frown deepening.
"You didn’t do anything wrong, and you’re certainly not a trouble for me." He handed her a handkerchief and promised in a deep voice, "As long as I’m in the company, no one can touch you!"
Cindy Lynn lowered her head, wiping her tears, a fleeting, unnoticed gleam in her eyes.
Tanya Sinclair removed her lab goggles, having worked tirelessly all day, her shoulders and neck aching severely.
At noon, Serena Holloway had brought her some food from the company cafeteria, but Tanya had only taken a couple of bites. Midway, she remembered an experimental step needed adjusting, and in making that adjustment, she lost track of time.
By now, the food was completely cold.
Tanya had no choice but to throw it away in the garbage bin as she headed back to her office.
On her way, she encountered a few employees from the research department who were leaving work. Upon seeing her, they appeared a bit intimidated, forcing themselves to greet her.
Tanya nodded courteously, not warm but not cold either.
Back in her office, a thick stack of apology letters awaited on her desk, all submitted by the employees of the research department.
Tanya didn’t read them and simply shoved them all into a drawer.
Her intention wasn’t to punish them, but establishing authority was best done after the first offense.
After tidying up her things, she was ready to leave for the day.
Her relationship with Caden and Joy had slightly warmed, and she couldn’t wait to get home to see them. Just as she stepped out of the office, she received a message from Vincent Hawthorne.
Vincent Hawthorne: [Grandma wants us to come home for dinner tonight. I’ve picked up Caden and Joy and we’re heading to the old house first.]
Tanya paused momentarily.
Since it was Grandma’s request, and the kids were also going, she had no reason to refuse.
Tanya replied with an ’okay’ and then changed course to the logistics department to pick up her company car keys.
According to company policy, each department head was assigned a special vehicle. Tanya had one five years ago, and today she had resumed her position and came to retrieve the car.
After checking, the staff informed her, "Manager Sinclair, because you’ve been away for quite some time, the car previously assigned to you has been used as a company vehicle for external purposes over the past few years. We’ve already reapplied for one for the research department, and it should arrive tomorrow."
"Okay, I’ll come to pick it up tomorrow."
Tanya left the company and hailed a car back to The Hawthorne Gardens.
Actually, there are several idle cars in Vincent’s garage.
But those cars are all worth several million, some even over ten million, so they’re not only too flashy but also too valuable; besides, each car was purchased under Father Hawthorne’s company accounts, with every one registered in The Hawthorne Family’s name.
They guarded against her as if she were a thief, fearing she might take advantage of their billion-dollar fortune.
When Tanya arrived at The Hawthorne Gardens, Vincent’s car was already parked at the entrance, and he had arrived with the two children earlier.
Tanya walked to the hallway and heard a burst of joyous laughter coming from the living room.
She composed herself and walked in.
Joy had changed into a ballet dress and was performing the dance she learned today in the middle of the living room, looking like a graceful and beautiful little swan.
Tanya stood in the corner, watching with a contented smile, unable to resist taking a photo with her phone.
Joy was twirling around happily with her little hands raised above her head. When she turned around and saw Tanya standing by the door taking her picture, her previously joyful face fell instantly!
She stopped dancing and ran to Vincent, spreading her arms to ask her father for a hug.
Vincent, perhaps still upset with her for ’bullying’ his muse during the day, only glanced at her indifferently and had no other reaction.
Joy buried her head in Vincent’s shoulder, clearly unwilling to see Tanya.
The smile froze on Tanya’s face, and her gaze dimmed significantly.
She understood that for Joy, who had just begun to accept her, to suddenly dislike her even more, only Cindy Lynn had that capability!
That woman must have said something to Joy again.
Tanya had a clear train of thought.
After work, Vincent was the one who personally drove to pick up Joy, so it’s likely Cindy was in the car as well.
Looking at Vincent’s calm and gentle face, a blaze of anger rose to Tanya’s throat. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel-fire.net
He openly brought his mistress to pick up the children she bore after ten months of pregnancy, even letting the mistress brainwash her kids!
Tanya suppressed her anger, composed herself, and greeted each member of The Hawthorne Family as usual.
The mother and daughter of the Hawthorne family were visibly cold and impatient with Tanya, barely polite.
Only Theodore Hawthorne nodded at her.
Tanya forced a smile.
Theodore then inquired about her work, especially concerned about the project related to Alzheimer’s disease she was handling.
Tanya responded fluently, stating, "Within a week, I can complete the most detailed development plan. I believe Westgard Pharmaceuticals won’t find a more suitable partner than us."
"Great, great, great!" Theodore was very satisfied.
Yvonne rolled her eyes, muttering softly, "So full of herself."
Her forehead still bore the mark from when Father Hawthorne slapped her, making her faint.
It was all Tanya’s fault, and now this joker had the nerve to flaunt herself around here!
But with Theodore present, Yvonne didn’t dare show her disdain for Tanya so openly.
"Where’s Caden?" Tanya looked around but didn’t see Caden anywhere.
Vincent was feeding strawberries to Joy in his arms and, hearing this, looked at Tanya before responding plainly, "He’s participating in a coding competition organized by The White Hats, busy in the study upstairs."
She was good at coding herself.
It seemed that Caden had inherited quite a bit of her intelligence, and now they even had a common topic.
Butler Langdon came over, informing that dinner would be ready in another half hour.
Theodore called Vincent to the side teahouse for a private discussion about work matters, while Joy ran off to play in the little garden outside.
Tanya stood up, planning to head to the study on the second floor.
"Stop, where are you going?" Mother Hawthorne unexpectedly called her.
Tanya: "I’m going to see Caden."
Yvonne, slouched on the sofa engrossed in her phone, laughed out loud, her face full of disdain, "Caden is coding, do you even understand it?"
"Vincent isn’t here, who are you pretending for?" Mother Hawthorne was full of disdain, crossing her legs on the footstool with her usual arrogant demeanor, "Come over and give me a foot massage, my legs have been quite uncomfortable lately."
The Hawthornes were used to bossing her around. Each time she visited, she would have to massage Mother Hawthorne’s shoulders and back, even fetching foot water wasn’t unusual.
In their eyes, she was just a free nanny.
But now, she wouldn’t do these things anymore.
Tanya said coldly, "Mom, if you’re feeling unwell, you should go to the hospital for a check-up earlier today."