Chapter 327 Simple Happiness
That evening, Layla worked overtime until seven o'clock. Feeling a bit tired, she went to the break room to pour some water. When she turned around, she found the door closed. She reached out and tried the door handle, only to realize that it was locked.
"Is anyone there?" Layla pounded on the door.
There were two colleagues there just a moment ago.
"The door is locked. I'm trapped inside."
"Is anyone there? Help me open the door!" Layla shouted.
After banging for a while with no response, she was sure it was Fanny's doing.
Everyone had left the office, and Layla didn't have her phone. 'Am I going to spend the night here?' She pondered.
Layla was getting increasingly frustrated. She regretted not agreeing directly when Nathaniel mentioned kicking Fanny out earlier that day. 'Fanny is too annoying, pulling off these pranks. She is both silly and mean!' She thought.
There was no heating in the break room, and Layla was only wearing a thin sweater. If she stayed here overnight, she would definitely catch a cold or worse. She didn't know what to do.
As time passed, Layla's body grew colder, and she shivered. She could only curl up in a corner, holding herself tightly.
It felt like an eternity had passed.
She heard footsteps faintly, but she was not sure if it was her imagination.
Feeling a glimmer of hope, Layla hurried to the door. "Is anyone there? I'm inside. Help me open the door."
"Layla?"
"Samuel?" Layla was overjoyed.
"Step aside. I'll kick the door open."
"Okay." Layla quickly moved out of the way.
Samuel kicked the door open.
At that moment, he was like a radiant godsend to Layla.
"How long have you been locked in?"
"I don't know, but quite some time has passed." Layla's lips were turning blue from the cold. Samuel quickly took off his coat to wrap her up.
"Someone locked you in?" There was a hint of menace in Samuel's eyes.
"No. It was my carelessness."
"The door was locked from the outside. Was it done by your colleagues?"
"They might have done it accidentally." Layla quickly changed the subject. "Why are you here?"
"I've been waiting outside for you to finish work. When it was past ten and you hadn't come out, I got worried and came in to check on you."
Layla felt grateful. It was fortunate that he was concerned about her; otherwise, she might have frozen to death. "Let's go."
"Okay."
The car's heater was on full blast, and as soon as Layla got in, she started to warm up. The chill in her bones gradually dispelled. She felt like a small beast frozen in the wild in winter, rescued and warmed by someone.
"Boss, here's the dinner." His assistant said.
Layla's stomach growled at the smell. She reached for it, but Samuel held it out with both hands. "Let me hold it for you to eat."
"I'm sorry for the trouble."
"Do you still need to apologize to me? Are you serious?" Samuel chuckled.
His words seemed to carry a hint of love, making Layla blush. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she picked up a large piece of steak and brought it to his lips.
"Are you letting me test it for poison?"
"Yes." Layla smiled.
Samuel took a bite.
Only then did Layla start eating her dinner heartily. At first, she tried to eat slowly and elegantly, but as she got hungrier, she quickly resorted to eating heartily.
"Be careful. It's hot."
Layla had forgotten how long it had been since she had felt happy. And on this cold winter night, inside the warm car, eating warm food heartily, she truly felt the simplicity of happiness.
Happiness often comes unexpectedly, yet it's so simple.
After finishing a bowl of noodles, Layla felt warm all over and couldn't help but burp. She awkwardly covered her mouth, her eyes wide, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Samuel looked at her indulgently. Layla used to have many of these childish gestures, which he hadn't seen for a long time, making her look especially cute.
The car pulled up at the apartment building.
"Do you remember the first thing you should do when you get home?" Samuel asked.
"Take a shower." She answered as he had reminded her a hundred times.
"Yes. If you're too tired and don't want to, I'm willing to do it for you." Samuel raised an eyebrow, his eyes deep.
"Goodnight." Layla blushed as she got out of the car.
"Goodnight." Samuel watched her enter the building. He longed to accompany her upstairs, not for any sinister purpose. He only wanted to be with her, quietly watching over her, protecting her, which would be enough for him.
'That day would come.' He thought.
His eyes softened with a hint of tenderness.
After a while, the tenderness faded, and Samuel squinted, his eyes turning deep and cold. "Find out if she has any rivals at work." He said to the assistant.
The next morning at 8 o'clock, Fanny and two subordinates had arrived early at the company.
"Did she come out yet?"
"She didn't bring her phone so she couldn't find anyone to help. How could she come out? She doesn't have the magic to walk through walls after all."
"Did she freeze to death?"
"It would be great if she did. If so, we could get a bigger share of that project. Haha."
They walked toward the break room, only to find the door had been kicked open.
Fanny widened her eyes. "Layla actually kicked the door open. Is she that barbaric?"
"I heard she's very rude."
"But does a woman have that strength? Could someone else have opened it for her?"
"But she doesn't have her phone. Who could she ask for help from?"
As they pondered, Layla walked in. They fell silent and exchanged glances.
Layla's gaze swept over Fanny's face, causing Fanny to shiver with a sense of foreboding. She thought Layla was plotting something.
But Layla said nothing, calmly sat at her desk, and started working. Other colleagues arrived one after another, preparing for the 9 o'clock meeting.
Fanny and her subordinates went to the restroom.
"Why isn't she reacting at all? Didn't she realize we locked the door?"
"She must have figured it out as she is cunning. But why isn't she saying anything?"
"Who knows? Maybe she knows she's no match for Fanny and can only swallow her pride."
Fanny kept thinking about Layla's expression in the morning. She had a bad feeling. She threw the paper towel and tried to open the door, only to find it locked.
"What's going on? Why is the door locked?"
"Huh? Locked? It wasn't just now."
"Open the door! Open the door!" The three of them shouted. As the restroom was at the end of the corridor, and everyone was in the meeting room, no one could hear them.
In the meeting room, Levi noticed the empty seat and asked, "Where are Fanny and the others?"
"I saw them this morning" someone replied.
"Maybe they went for breakfast together. I saw them leave just now."
"Unbelievable. Don't they know today's meeting is important?" Levi grumbled.
"Should we give them a call?" Someone asked.
"Why bother? If they don't follow company rules, they'll lose their attendance bonus for the month."
There was silence in the room, with a few female colleagues sharing their secret chuckles.
Midway through the meeting, Fanny burst in, angrily pointing at Layla. "Layla, you despicable wretch!"
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