Chapter 542 Ms. Vaughn Is So Short of Money
"What's your name?" Daniel asked, taken aback by her story. He knew that in some remote places, such things did happen. He couldn't help but ask more.
Lyric looked a bit confused.
Daniel picked up the work badge hanging around her neck. He glanced at the photo on it—a clean, confident, and bright young woman with a radiant smile. He never would have guessed that behind such a bright smile lay such a tragic story.
He could relate. His own family background was far from happy.
"Della Vaughn," he read aloud from the badge.
So her name was Della, an intern in the marketing department.
Della finally realized she had entered The Taylor Group under a fake identity. She nodded, "Yeah."
After taking a phone call, Daniel grabbed his coffee cup and left the break room.
Back in his office, he finished his tasks.
His assistant walked in, looking troubled. "Mr. Taylor, the matter you asked me to investigate is proving difficult."
"What do you mean?" Daniel looked up at him.
"The hotel you stayed at last night had a malfunctioning security system. There's no surveillance footage available."
"Keep looking," Daniel said, frowning. Could there be someone behind that woman? A competitor of The Taylor Group, perhaps?
The assistant nodded.
Daniel then asked him to gather information on Della from the marketing department.
The assistant looked puzzled but quickly complied.
He placed a rather unimpressive resume in front of Daniel.
Daniel picked it up and read it carefully.
At 21, Della graduated from a typical university, carrying neither significant accolades nor impressive resume entries.
"I spoke with the HR manager. This Della didn't meet The Taylor Group's hiring criteria. But she's incredibly smart and managed to stand out among thousands of applicants. Quite impressive."
Daniel listened to the assistant's report and then lit a cigarette, his expression unreadable.
An ordinary life, perhaps she had given her all to get to where she was now.
"Mr. Taylor, my life is actually very tragic. Worse than any TV drama or novel heroine. I have a gambling father, a mother who values sons over daughters, and a single brother. They wanted to sell me to get my brother a wife. My life is really miserable."
Her choked voice echoed in his ears.
Taking a few puffs, Daniel looked at his assistant through the smoke and ordered, "What's her current salary?"
"Four thousand dollars a month."
Four thousand dollars in the high-cost city of Silverbrook. A young girl with no family or friends, barely enough to cover food, rent, and living expenses.
No wonder she dressed so plainly; her salary wasn't enough.
Daniel felt sorry for her. He saw a reflection of his younger self in her—an illegitimate child, bullied, often hungry, struggling to survive. No one knew the burdens he carried.
"Raise it to ten thousand dollars."
"Mr. Taylor, that's against company policy."
"Policies are made by people. She brought several orders to The Taylor Group and deserves a reward. Implement it immediately. This month's paycheck should reflect the new salary," Daniel said coldly.
The assistant, noticing Daniel's concern for the young intern, couldn't help but ask, "Are you interested in her?"
Daniel looked up, his expression hardening.
The assistant continued, "She's not any worse than Ms. Hughes. I support this."
"Do you have a death wish?" Daniel snapped.
The assistant quickly shut his mouth and left the office.
Daniel bit down on his cigarette. What a joke. He was committed to never marrying.
Besides, he was ten years older than Della.
He would never have a wife, and if he did, it wouldn't be Della.
Lyric was chatting with her friend at her desk.
Her friend messaged her: [Lyric, someone came to investigate you this morning.]
[What?] Lyric replied anxiously.
Her friend: [His assistant came to find out who booked his hotel and who helped him to his room. I ran into him and said the hotel was installing new cameras that day, so the surveillance was down. The assistant left after that. Do you think he knows it was you? Why wouldn't he just ask you directly instead of going through all this trouble?]
After thinking for a moment, Lyric replied: [I'm not sure if he remembers me. When he sees me, it's like he doesn't remember that night at all.]
Her friend: [He might be pretending. He could be investigating you. Maybe. But he did admit that the woman from that night was his girlfriend. That's good news, Lyric. You need to be patient, okay? Don't bring up that night. Just keep appearing in front of him. When he can't take it anymore, he'll confess his feelings. Don't initiate anything. Let him make the first move.]
Lyric thought her friend made sense and asked: [Did you find out what I asked?]
Her friend: [I found Daniel's address. It's right next to my place. What a coincidence. We've been neighbors for years. Lyric, I'll give you my keys. You can stay at my place. Being close to him, something's bound to happen.]
Lyric: [Isn't that a bit much?]
Her friend: [Not at all. The place is just gathering dust. You'd be doing me a favor.]
Lyric: [You're the best.] She felt a lump in her throat.
Her friend sent a cute emoji and encouraged her: [Hurry up and make it official. I can't wait to attend your wedding. If you need help, just ask.]
After work, Lyric treated her friend to dinner and then took the keys to her friend's place. The apartment was spotless, with new furniture. Having such a good friend, she felt truly blessed.
The next morning.
She hurriedly got up, brushed her teeth, put on light makeup, and headed out.
Coincidentally, she ran into Daniel driving by. He honked at her.
Lyric felt awkward. She was still wearing her helmet, with a plastic propeller spinning in the morning breeze.
"Mr. Taylor, what a coincidence," she waved and greeted him.
Oh no, she had just lied about her miserable life yesterday, and now he saw her near his home. How was she going to explain this?
"Ms. Vaughn, are you that short on money?" He lowered the car window, leaning back in his seat, looking at her.
She was stunned. "What?"
She lacked many things, but money wasn't one of them.
"Are you moonlighting as a maid?"
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