Chapter 105 Cooling Off
Adeline was suddenly tasked with transcribing a document of tens of thousands of words.
She was completely stunned when she received it—not because it was some design department guideline or project plan, but because it was the company's policy manual, complete with disciplinary measures—a whopping twenty thousand words.
Lucia dropped the hefty document on her desk with a curt remark before striding away. "Have it copied and on my desk by the end of the day."
"Wow!" Mia Turner, seated nearby, pushed her glasses up her nose and tapped away on her smartphone. "Over twenty thousand words, and minus lunch, you've got five hours."
"That's... nearly sixty words a minute." The task seemed downright impossible.
Mia pocketed her phone with a frown. "Weird. You didn't screw up today; you didn't even get a scolding from the big boss. Why's the supervisor gunning for you?"
Adeline calmly fetched paper and pen, her lips curving into a faint smile as she began to write. "Maybe it's the CEO's idea."
Just earlier, when she'd left the supervisor's office, Lucia had treated her with an abnormal amiability—like one would regard a long-lost elder. And now, she'd coldly tasked her with transcribing policies. Doubting there wasn't someone pulling the strings would be naive.
"You're doing it?" Mia Turner pursed her lips incredulously. "That's a ton!"
"It's fine." Adeline's hands moved swiftly with the pen. "When you're at work, you do as the boss says, right? That's how it should be."
What Jasper had planned was beyond her. But the chance to keep working here hadn't come easy; she couldn't just throw it away.
However, Adeline soon noticed a problem. She was writing so fast that she sometimes needed to remember to avoid her old handwriting habits.
She rubbed her temples in frustration. She didn't want to reveal anything that could link her to the Adeline of the past.
Before returning to the States, she had meticulously altered many details about herself, trying to make Jasper think she was emulating Adeline, not that she had any direct connection to her. Even her handwriting was the result of careful adjustments.
After years of honing her writing habits, she knew they wouldn't change overnight.
Sighing in resignation, she massaged her temples.
Jasper may have overlooked the details.
Right now, his intention seemed merely to make her life difficult, not to connect her to Adeline.
He appeared utterly convinced she was Brandon Torres' undercover agent, merely imitating Adeline.
With that thought, she took a deep breath and stopped worrying about her penmanship.
Writing as quickly and comfortably as possible, she didn't bother leaving for lunch; Mia Turner brought something back for her.
"How much have you written?" Mia asked as Adeline took a break to eat, glancing over the words she had penned. "Your handwriting is nice."
Munching on her sandwich, Mia let out a soft sigh. "I'm not sure what the executives are thinking."
"I thought they were treating you well and might promote you, but now they're giving you a hard time."
Adeline smiled faintly, tossed the leftover trash, and picked up her pen again with renewed vigor.
She skipped the afternoon meeting and tea break, racing against the clock to finish the 20,000-word task before the day was done.
She knocked on Director Lucia's door with the handwritten manuscript in hand.
Without so much as a glance, Lucia dismissively said, "Take it to the president's office yourself."
With a scoff, she added, "I thought someone tasked by the president to write a report would be tough."
"It seems the president's keeping tabs on you."
Sipping her tea, Lucia stated, "If I were you, I would've resigned."
"How can you swallow such blatant humiliation? Have you no self-respect?"
Adeline paused momentarily, then turned, her gaze icy as it swept across Lucia's face. "Does compliance in the face of adversity equate to a lack of self-respect?"
Lucia spun her pen lazily, her posture relaxed and arrogant. "What else could it be?"
"I'm curious," Adeline said, her expression calm as she clutched her pages. "Director Lucia, your projects have been sent back by Jasper five times for revisions. Why, on the sixth, do you silently persist?"
"By your measure, a self-respecting person would've thrown the project in Jasper's face and quit, cursing all the way."
Speaking her final words, Adeline left Lucia staring in shock, clutching the stack of papers to her chest as she strode confidently out of the design department.
It wasn't until after she passed through the department's main doors that a loud crash echoed from the direction of the Director's office—the distinct sound of a coffee mug shattering against the floor.
Adeline curved her lips into an indifferent smile, carrying the documents as she stepped onto the staircase.
Jasper was in a meeting in his office.
As Adeline reached the top floor, she was intercepted by Ryan.
"Adeline, just sit over there and wait a bit," he suggested.
"The boss's meeting won't be finished for at least another half hour."
Considering her options, Adeline turned and made her way to a waiting area.
Returning to her department would likely mean facing Lucia's mockery and her colleagues' confusion.
She should wait here where the sofas in the outer reception area of the President's office were plush and inviting.
Sinking into one of the sofas, she massaged her sore shoulders and arms.
The day's intensive typing had taken its toll on her, a level of physical demand she hadn't experienced in quite a while.
"Miss Wilson."
Suddenly, a sickly, sweet voice cut through the air.
Adeline frowned and looked up to see the figure standing before her, clad in a miniskirt and a fitted blazer—it was Scarlett, the woman she'd met that morning.
The afternoon sun cast a glow on Scarlett's face, giving Adeline an odd sense of déjà vu as if meeting a ghost from her past.
"May I sit?" Scarlett asked with a gentle smile.
Adeline gestured to an open spot with a slight twist of her eyebrows. "Here to see Jasper, too?"
"Mhm, looking for Mr. Foster as well," Scarlett said, sliding gracefully into the seat next to Adeline. "So, your first day on the job, and you've already had to report to him twice, morning and evening?"
Adeline subtly shifted backward. "No choice; I upset him this morning, hence the punishment."
She pointed casually to the stack of papers on the coffee table. "Company policies. I had to write them out before I could leave. I'm giving them to Jasper to cool things down."
Scarlett paused, her eyes flickering briefly with a cold light.
As Jasper's secretary, she was acutely aware that he had summoned several forensic experts that morning to authenticate handwriting.
She had walked in just as the experts finished, bearing coffee.
She'd heard one of them suggest, "In a challenging situation, you could have the person write a specified text within a set time frame. The pressure and anxiety can cause someone to forget the details they've deliberately altered."
Scarlett squinted her eyes.
Was the President trying to analyze the handwriting of Adeline?
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Scarlett screamed.
For some reason, her coffee had spilled, and the brown liquid had soaked the floor.
From a distance, Ryan took a quick glance and hastily arranged for a cleaner to come over with his smartphone.
By the time the janitor arrived, bucket and mop in hand, Scarlett suddenly spoke up to Adeline.
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