Chapter 208 Not in a Good Mood
Riley left the café way earlier than she anticipated, got into her car, and just sat there, unable to start the engine as her mind was in turmoil.
After six years abroad, she had thought she was over everything that happened.
But when Hollis brought it up, her emotions still fluctuated.
Six years ago, when she married Donovan, she had no clue Hollis even existed. If she had known...
Thinking about how head-over-heels she had been for Donovan back then, Riley gave a bitter smile. She might've stubbornly married him anyway.
The joy of marrying Donovan was matched by the wretchedness of leaving him.
Who would've thought that after all that time, the only time they slept together was because she drugged him?
And the next morning, she had to leave in disgrace.
Riley found her past self both pitiful and laughable.
What amused her even more was that after six years, she could still be a thorn between Donovan and Hollis.
She still remembered how Donovan had vowed to marry Hollis back then.
But for some reason, six years had passed, and they were still just engaged.
Donovan's attitude towards Hollis had also drastically changed from six years ago, making Riley even more puzzled about his thoughts.
After zoning out in the car for a while, Riley finally snapped out of it when she saw the time and headed back to the research institute.
She arrived just in time for work.
As soon as Riley got out of the car, she ran into Deacon, who was also returning from lunch.
"Dr. Monroe, had a lunch date?" Deacon smiled as he walked alongside her towards the lab area.
Thinking about the unpleasant lunch, Riley shook her head.
Deacon observed her for a few seconds and hesitantly asked, "It seems like you're not in a good mood. Did the lunch not go well?"
Riley was taken aback, not realizing she had been so obvious.
Seeing her slightly surprised expression, Deacon knew he had guessed right. He smiled and changed the subject, showing concern. "Since you're not in a good mood, why don't you leave early today? Leave the project matters to me, and just relax for a while."
Riley declined politely, "It's just a small matter."
Hearing this, Deacon looked at her meaningfully and spoke slowly, "Doesn't Dr. Monroe trust me yet? You've been working tirelessly for this project recentlyand many employees have been forced to work overtime. It's understandable that there may be complaints. Today, why not give everyone a break and take some time to relax yourself? It will be better for the work ahead."
Riley found it hard to argue with that.
Indeed, she was used to the high-intensity research abroad and assumed everyone here could keep up with her pace.
She had overlooked that this was the first time these employees were working with her.
The research progress had indeed been slow these past few days.
Thinking of this, Riley nodded gratefully to Deacon. "Thanks for the reminder. In that case, let's call it a day early."
That afternoon, the staff at the research institute left work on time for a change.
Riley went straight to the kindergarten to pick up the kids.
Because of her conversation with Hollis at lunch, Riley didn't know how to face Finley. So when she picked up Landon and Winston, she barely glanced at Finley before leaving directly.
