Chapter 417 It Was Indeed an Act
Blake's words made Adeline's arm freeze up a bit.
She let out a sigh and sent Blake back to his tiny room. "You must miss him a lot. I miss him too, and I dream about him all the time."
Blake, lying on his small bed, pouted. "But Mommy, Lauren and I aren't just dreaming."
"I know," Adeline sighed, tucking him in gently. "Alright, you and Lauren need to get better fast. Once you're both well, we'll go find Bennett, okay?"
Blake bit his lip, knowing Adeline would think they were just being kids.
But he couldn't convince her right now. Telepathy wasn't exactly something you could prove.
Blake sighed, grabbing Adeline's fingers seriously. "We'll find him. For sure!"
Adeline smiled, kissed Blake on the forehead, and headed back to her own room.
That night, Adeline barely slept, tossing and turning with non-stop dreams.
One minute, it was Jasper on his knees, saying he never disliked her.
The next, it was Bennett, angrily grabbing her hand and crying, asking why she didn't bring Blake and Lauren to find him.
These dreams tormented Adeline, making her get up several times. Finally, she took a higher dose of melatonin and managed to crash around three or four in the morning.
The next day, she dragged herself to work on time.
As soon as she walked into the office, she heard a bunch of low murmurs.
Among the whispers, there were a few envious voices.
"I thought she was still moping over Mr. Foster and Ms. Jones, but turns out she already has a boyfriend."
"Well, she's gorgeous. Sometimes I think Mr. Foster's the one missing out."
"Pretty girls always have guys chasing them. When's my turn for a sweet romance?"
The office gossip made Adeline's brows knit together.
From the way people were looking at her, she guessed they were talking about her.
Adeline thought, 'When did I get a boyfriend? How come I don't know?'
Thinking about this, Adeline, who hadn't slept well all night, started to get a headache again.
She rubbed her temples and shot a cold glance at the whispering crowd. "I've been the director here for a while now, right? Is it because I'm usually too nice that you think I don't need respect?"
Adeline's voice was icy and serious. The moment she finished speaking, the whole office went dead silent.
The employees exchanged glances, not daring to say a word.
Adeline took a deep breath and turned to Lucia, who was busy with a calculator. "Reorganize the design department's rules and regulations."
Then she coldly scanned the office. "This isn't a supermarket or a café for your gossip. In my office, I won't tolerate employees who don't respect their colleagues or their superiors. If I catch this again, I'll go straight to the CEO and make it clear. I'm sure plenty of people would love a spot in the Foster Group's design department, right?"
Seeing that Adeline was really pissed, everyone kept their heads down, not daring to make a sound, afraid even a breath would set her off.
From the corner, Amelia Long snorted and muttered, "She's just an employee herself. What's she so high and mighty about? Ms. Jones isn't even that stuck-up."
Because the office was so quiet, Amelia's snarky comment was heard by everyone.
For a moment, everyone instinctively looked her way.
The speaker was none other than the woman who had sided with Luna on her first day at the company when she had a conflict with Adeline.
At this moment, she was sitting next to Luna, looking down disdainfully as she organized her things.
"Amelia, stop talking."
"Amelia, zip it." Seeing everyone staring, Luna quickly lowered her voice. "Ms. Wilson is the director. It's normal for her to feel uneasy and set things straight when she hears gossip about herself."
Adeline raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by saying I felt uneasy about the gossip and decided to set things straight?"
Hearing Luna's words, Adeline coldly curled her lips, crossed her arms, and shot Luna an icy glare. "Ms. Jones, care to explain?"
After a few days of brief interaction, Adeline had pretty much figured Luna out.
Luna always liked to play the innocent card, appearing calm and peaceful on the surface, but every word she said was meant to stir the pot.
Just like what she was saying to Amelia now.
On the surface, she was telling Amelia not to speak out of turn, but in reality?
She was implying that Adeline was in a bad mood because of the gossip and was taking it out on the other employees.
Adeline's words made Luna's face turn slightly pale.
She bit her lip, lowered her head timidly. "Ms. Wilson, I'm sorry. I misspoke. That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" Adeline curled her lips. "Let me reiterate, I am the person in charge here. I don't want my employees gossiping about colleagues and superiors during work hours, so I want to improve the office atmosphere. Today, you all were gossiping about me. If it were about Ms. Jones abusing her position as the CEO's girlfriend in the design department, my response would be the same."
After saying that, Adeline squinted at Luna, who was on the verge of tears. "Did you hear me, Ms. Jones?"
Luna sniffled, and tears began to fall.
She looked up, her eyes red, and stared at Adeline. "Adeline, in your eyes, am I someone who abuses my position as the CEO's girlfriend?"
Adeline chuckled, mimicking Luna's demeanor by covering her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry; I misspoke. I didn't mean to say you were abusing your position in the design department; I was just giving an example."
After saying that, she glanced at Amelia beside Luna. "Since Ms. Jones thinks my example was inappropriate, let me give another one. If one day Amelia becomes Mr. Foster's girlfriend and is gossiped about for using that position to bully other employees, I would handle it the same way."
Finally, Adeline smiled at Luna. "Are you satisfied, Ms. Jones?"
Adeline thought, 'Isn't it just passive-aggressive insinuations? Does Luna think she was the only one who can do that?'
Adeline's words made Luna's face look unpleasant.
She bit her lip hard and began to sob softly. "I never thought of that."
"Ms. Jones, don't cry. Adeline didn't mean it." Lucia stood up, handed a pack of tissues to Luna, and said calmly, "She was just giving an example to illustrate the seriousness of rumors. Why take it so seriously?"
After saying that, Lucia quickly glanced back at Adeline, signaling her to return to her office.
Based on Luna's behavior over the past few days, she would definitely contact Jasper next.
Either she would say her emotions were unstable and her health was affected, or she would say Adeline scolded her. But to Adeline and Lucia's surprise, Luna did neither today.
Luna wiped her tears with the tissue, took a deep breath, and continued working on her spreadsheet.
Adeline and Lucia exchanged a look, both showing a hint of disbelief.
Adeline thought, 'When did Luna change her ways?'
Amelia, unable to stand it, took out her phone and called the CEO's office. "What, Mr. Foster didn't come to work today?"
Adeline, who was opening her office door, couldn't help but smile when she heard this.
No wonder Luna wasn't causing trouble or pretending to be sick today.
It turned out Jasper wasn't in the office.
Adeline let out a cold laugh, thinking about what Hazel had said at the mall yesterday.
Luna was indeed pretending. With that thought, she opened her office door.
The scene inside her office left her stunned. She finally understood why people outside were saying she had a boyfriend.
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