Chapter 317 Probing
When Susan figured out that George might've had her back again, she was hit with a whirlwind of feelings.
She and George were done, no strings attached, but he still had her back, all hush-hush. She remembered Ethan saying he promised the mystery helper he'd keep their secret.
Honestly, even though George messed up big time before, Susan knew he wasn't a bad guy. He wasn't the type to do anything shady to get what he wanted. But still, what he did made it impossible for her to stick around.
Susan thought she and George were done for good, but here she was, still needing his help to get through life's curveballs. It bugged her, feeling like she owed him another favor. She didn't want his help to drag her back into his orbit.
So, she grabbed her phone, ready to step out and call George. She wanted to lay it out straight and let him stop meddling in her life. She had to be cold, to snuff out any hope George might have. Only then could he move on, find someone new, and rebuild his life, and she could lighten her own emotional load.
Just as she was about to head out, Ingrid from the office picked up an internal call and yelled, "Susan, Linda wants you in her office!"
Susan froze mid-step, stunned.
"Linda called for me?" she asked, turning around.
"Yeah, she wants you right now," Ingrid nodded.
"Alright." Susan had no clue what Linda wanted, but she had to go. She shelved the idea of calling George for now.
Linda was the big boss at Pioneer Accounting Firm, Fiona's superior. She didn't usually call in the regular employees unless it was something major, so Susan felt a bit on edge, not knowing what was up.
Sitting in Linda's office, Susan felt Linda's eyes scanning her from head to toe.
Susan squirmed a bit, not sure what Linda was getting at.
Just as she was about to say something, Linda broke into a smile and said, "You nailed the Capgemini Software Company budget case, so I pushed through your promotion early."
Susan was taken aback for a second, then smiled and said, "Thanks."
But she wasn't exactly jumping for joy. She was still mulling over whether to stick with this job.
The work vibe here sucked. Her superior Fiona, her coworker Elliott, and a bunch of female colleagues who gave her a hard time made it a tough place to be. Since college, Susan had never dealt with such a messy work scene, but she had to hang in there till the end of the month. She needed that paycheck.
Then, Linda started chatting with her, all friendly-like. Susan was puzzled but went along with it.
Linda was a tough cookie, known for her no-nonsense attitude at work. Chatting with her in the office was pretty surreal.
"Susan, I saw on your resume you used to work at Prosperity Group?" Linda asked with a smile after some small talk.
Susan had no clue what Linda was getting at, but she nodded and said, "Yeah, a while back."
"What was your position at Prosperity Group?" Linda pressed.
"Oh, I was the assistant to the department manager," Susan replied.
Linda nodded, then asked, "Did you have much contact with Mr. Anderson from Prosperity Group?"
Susan's eyebrows shot up in confusion.
Linda's face looked a bit off. "Don't read too much into it, just curious. Mr. Anderson did a lot to make sure your case went smoothly."
"Wait, are you saying he stepped in on my case?" Susan's jaw practically hit the floor.
She'd thought it was George who had her back. Could it have been Seb instead?
Before she could wrap her head around it, Linda smiled and said, "For Mr. Anderson to get involved personally, you must have some kind of special connection with him, right?"
Linda's eyes were digging for info, while Susan silently cursed Seb for sticking his nose in her business.
But she didn't want Linda knowing about her past with Seb. If she was gonna stick around here, she didn't need anyone thinking she had some big-shot backer.
So, she shook her head and said, "Linda, I think Mr. Anderson helped out of respect for someone else. I don't have any relationship with him."
Linda nodded, almost talking to herself, "Oh, so he was doing a favor for a friend."
Susan thought, 'Seb probably helped for the kids' sake, right? Since I turned him down last time, he hasn't shown up for months.'
Linda seemed super interested in her connection with Seb. Susan didn't know why, but she had to shut down any idea of a special relationship with him.
"Maybe he just thought it was tough for me to raise kids alone after the divorce," Susan said after a moment.
Linda looked surprised. "You're divorced and have kids?"
"Yeah, that's why I hustle so hard. You know, it's tough for a divorced woman to raise kids on her own," Susan wasn't fishing for sympathy, just trying to kill Linda's curiosity.
Linda suddenly got all warm and fuzzy, saying it was tough raising kids alone and that Susan deserved more support. She even mentioned keeping an eye out for promotion opportunities for her. Linda laid on the kind words thick before letting Susan go.
As Susan left Linda's office, she overheard Linda's secretary on the phone, and what she heard really shocked her.
"Is this Mr. Johnson? I'm Linda's secretary from Pioneer Accounting Firm. I've booked a spot at the International Hotel for Linda. Please let Mr. Anderson know that Linda will be waiting at the entrance of the International Hotel at 7 PM tonight."
Susan's ears perked up. The International Hotel was swanky and romantic, super pricey, and you had to book a week in advance. Usually, it was a spot for couples.
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