Tanya Sinclair originally planned to go straight home.
Given the time, the two little ones should have been home from school.
But halfway there, Tanya got a call from Aunt Tawny.
"Aunt Tawny, what’s going on?"
"Madam, I just received a call from Sir, saying there’s no need to prepare dinner. He asked the driver to take Caden and Joy directly to the office, and he’ll bring them back himself later."
Aunt Tawny knew Tanya Sinclair had been trying hard to make time and bond with her children, so she kindly offered a suggestion, "Madam, I made Caden and Joy’s favorite mango sago dessert and fruit salad. I’ve arranged for it to be sent to the office directly to you, so you can give it to the kids at that time."
Tanya Sinclair felt very grateful for Aunt Tawny’s thoughtfulness.
"Alright, I got it Aunt Tawny, thank you."
She hung up the phone, instructing the driver to change the route to the office.
Upon arriving downstairs, she coincidently met the driver Aunt Tawny had arranged to deliver the dessert. She took the dessert, thanked him, and went straight to Vincent Hawthorne’s office.
Though Vincent was awful to her, he was really good to the two kids.
His office had a specially reserved small room, warmly decorated with various toys, all arranged for Caden and Joy.
In the elevator, Tanya Sinclair glanced at herself in the mirror, messy after a day’s work, looking far from put together.
She thought about how Joy, even at such a young age, loved beauty and liked everyone around to be spruced up... Looking , she feared her daughter would again be displeased.
Tanya considered for a few seconds and then temporarily stored the dessert in the fridge in the pantry near Vincent’s office.
As she left the pantry, she could faintly hear Joy’s laughter coming from Vincent’s office.
Although Joy had always had a poor attitude towards her, she was her biological daughter, and hearing her happy laughter softened Tanya’s heart.
She turned to head to the research department, planning to freshen up before seeing the kids.
It’s quite funny, the research department had a complete pantry setup — a fridge, microwave, and coffee machine — but it had now all been moved to the second research department.
All that was left for her was a desk that couldn’t be moved.
HR politely said there would be replacements in two days, but Tanya Sinclair knew very well that unless Vincent signed, nothing would be replaced.
Tanya quickly stepped into her office.
Given her busy schedule, which might require staying overnight at the office, she had left two sets of clean clothes and stored some makeup in the drawer.
She seldom wore makeup, but she wasn’t unskilled; sometimes meeting big clients, an impressive appearance indeed leaves an impression.
Tanya washed her face, detoxified herself once before applying makeup.
Having spent the whole afternoon on experiments, although she had already cleaned and detoxified, Tanya was still a bit uneasy...
Cindy Lynn had long received news about Joy’s arrival.
Seeing the right time, she clicked her heels and headed to the general manager’s office.
Passing the pantry, she noticed two employees discussing in front of the fridge and walked up, "What’s the matter?"
"Secretary Lynn." Employees on this floor weren’t used to calling her Manager Lynn yet.
Cindy Lynn had served five years as Vincent’s secretary, but everyone knew she had more influence than Jonah Rivers, essentially representing Vincent himself.
So everyone was rather courteous to Cindy Lynn, nearly treating her like the boss’s wife.
"We were asking whose dessert was placed in the fridge. It’s almost closing time, and no one’s eaten or taken it. We’re afraid it might spoil by tomorrow."
Cindy Lynn recognized immediately that the box containing the dessert was from the kitchen in Vincent’s villa.
She had visited that villa countless times and was familiar with its tableware.
The mango sago dessert and fruit salad were precisely what Joy and Caden liked.
It must be prepared by the home nanny and temporarily stored in the fridge for the kids.
"It’s mine." Cindy Lynn said, directly picking out the two desserts.
"Mommy Cindy!" Joy’s joyful voice rang out lively.
Feeling a bit bored indoors, she was pestering her dad about why Mommy Cindy hadn’t come over yet. Dad explained she might be busy, so Joy decided to come out and wait.
Unexpectedly, upon stepping out, she saw her beloved Mommy Cindy!
Joy promptly skipped over to Cindy Lynn, hugging her tightly.
The two employees nearby exchanged knowing looks, sharing an implicit ambiguous glance.
President Hawthorne’s daughter had even openly called Cindy Lynn ’mom’...
"Mommy Cindy, did you especially prepare this for me and Brother?" Joy was quite the foodie and her eyes lit up seeing her favorite mango sago dessert.
Cindy Lynn affectionately tapped Joy’s nose, neither confirming nor denying.
"I knew you’d be a little greedy cat."
Joy’s eyes turned into crescents, showering Cindy with praises, "Brother and I love this the most, Mommy Cindy, you’re amazing. You’re the most awesome mom in the whole world!"
The two employees squeezed out an awkward yet polite smile, "Secretary Lynn, little missy, we’ll be off then." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0velFire.ɴet
Cindy Lynn, one hand around Joy, nodded at them, "See you tomorrow."
The two employees walked together towards the elevator, lowering their voices to excitedly gossip.
One said, "Seems now President Hawthorne’s twins have acknowledged Secretary Lynn as mom! That’s sweet! Looks like Cindy Lynn’s truly about to rise and become Mrs. Hawthorne!"
The other was half envious, half derisive, speaking sourly, "Well, she’s got beauty and skills. Don’t forget, when President Hawthorne first brought Cindy Lynn in, it was to serve as Tanya Sinclair’s assistant, the legitimate Mrs. Hawthorne. Who could have imagined Tanya suddenly becoming a vegetable, making way for Cindy Lynn!"
"I see both President Hawthorne and his twins have been thoroughly won over by Cindy Lynn!"
"Anyone can tell; initially when Joy openly called Cindy Lynn ’mom’, President Hawthorne would correct her, but now, he doesn’t even object."
At this point, she remembered Tanya Sinclair, unable to help feeling pity.
"Tanya really is unlucky, fighting hard to birth two kids, only to end up a vegetable. Finally waking up, her kids are calling the mistress ’mom’..."
She was lamenting when her colleague suddenly looked panicked and nudged her hard.
Confused, she looked up and saw Tanya Sinclair stepping out of the elevator ahead, her face turning pale.
"Mrs... Mrs. Hawthorne..."