Chapter 33 His Little Punishment
Alexander hummed coldly and stood up. "Wait here," he told her before heading upstairs.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Lillian called out to his retreating figure, "Mr. Sinclair, I can get to work on my own, you don't need to take me. Goodbye."
"If you dare," he called back while ascending the stairs.
Knowing she had made a mistake, Lillian didn't dare leave and sat obediently in the chair, waiting.
As the minute hand on the clock moved, her anxiety peaked, but fear kept her in her seat, nervously tapping her foot.
Lucas came bounding down the stairs in his school uniform and upon seeing Lillian, he asked cheerily, "Lillian, why haven't you left yet?"
"Today we're both going to take you to school. Are you excited?" Alexander asked, ruffling his hair with a smile.
"Really? That's great!" Lucas exclaimed, jumping up, "I need to eat breakfast quickly."
Lillian was dumbstruck. She wanted to tell Lucas no, but she couldn't muster the words and feigned a smile. "No rush, take your time. I'll wait for you."
However, inside, she was resenting Alexander!
After Lucas finished his breakfast, he grabbed Lillian and Alexander's hands, bouncing out the door and into the car.
Lillian leaned forward and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be at work today? Why are you and Alexander able to drop me off at school?"
Before Lillian could respond, Lucas turned to Alexander and eagerly asked, "Alexander, can you and Lillian come to pick me up after school tonight?"
"Of course, if you want us to," Alexander replied with a smile.
"I want you both to pick me up and then we can all go home together!" Lucas clapped his hands, jumping for joy.
Lillian glanced back at Lucas, feeling a twinge of sadness for him. Having his parents pick him up from school was clearly something he longed for.
Kevin drove them to Lucas's preschool. To make Lucas happy, Lillian and Alexander got out of the car with him and walked him to the entrance.
"Don't forget to come get me tonight!" Lucas shouted after them, waving his hand.
As they watched Lucas enter the preschool, Lillian couldn't help but ask, "Lucas is such a good kid, why don't his parents want to take care of him?"
Alexander didn't say anything, but his eyes reflected his own sadness for Lucas.
Lillian thought she could head straight to the office after dropping Lucas off, but she was naive. Kevin drove in the opposite direction of her workplace.
"Mr. Sinclair, where are we going now?" Lillian asked, turning to Alexander. "I'm already late."
Alexander glanced down at some documents and replied indifferently, "Which is more important, my inspection work or your job?"
"What?" Lillian asked. "How long will you need?"
"Let's say the whole morning," Alexander said, looking up at her anxious face. "If you're in a rush, feel free to get out here. Don't let me hold you back."
"Where even are we?" Lillian wondered, peering out the window, clueless about their location.
Kevin pulled over and said, "Ms. Hill, if you want to make it back to the office from here, you'll need to walk about 1600 feet that way. You'll find a subway station where you'll need to take two trains to reach our company."
Lillian gritted her teeth, internally fuming, "Alexander, you've gone too far! Just because I made a few comments, you play this trick on me? You're so petty!"
"Thank you, Mr. Martin," Lillian said through clenched teeth as she got out of the car, storming off in fury.
Back in the car, Alexander let out a scoff.
"Mr. Sinclair, she didn't seem too pleased with your prank," Kevin commented with a chuckle.
"She had it coming," he snorted disdainfully. "She was badmouthing me to Kelly. The minor punishment I gave her was more than generous!"
Kevin started the car and merged onto the main road, glancing in the rearview mirror at him, he said, "Mr. Sinclair, it seems to me that you don't dislike her as much as you used to. Is it because you've realized that she's actually not that bad?"
"Are you sure that's what you think?" Alexander's voice suddenly turned icy.
Kevin hastily replied, "Mr. Sinclair, it's a misunderstanding. I'm sorry."
Alexander looked at the empty passenger seat beside him. These past few days, he had only gotten a bit closer to her because of Lucas, but his perception of her remained unchanged.
Lillian was furious! She had gotten completely lost!
Lillian had taken the wrong subway and couldn't find her way to the office, so she called Taylor to request leave in a fit of anger, but Taylor wasn't about to make it easy for her. Taylor said if she couldn't make it in the morning, then she had to be there in the afternoon. There was still plenty of work that needed her attention.
Well, half a day off was still nice, but there went her perfect attendance award.
Not knowing her current location, Lillian decided to take a taxi back to the office at noon. She wandered nearby and found a bookstore, where she spent the morning reading.
Leo sent her a message.
Leo: [Lillian, I'm out of town on business and will be back before New Year's. When I return, there's something I need to discuss with you.]
However, with things being as they were, what more was there to say? Lillian propped her chin in her hand, watching the cars come and go, and sighed at how everything had changed. They could never go back to how things were.
In the afternoon, Lillian took a taxi back to the office. With the year's end approaching, every department was swamped, and the secretarial team was particularly busy. Her colleagues no longer isolated her, which made her work much easier.
While everyone was buried in their tasks, Taylor came over.
"Attention, on the 31st of this month, we're having the company's annual party at the Celestial Hotel, one of our group's five-star hotels. The admin department has just announced that this year departments don't have to perform!"
"Oh! That's great!" The office burst into cheers.
"Don't get too excited. I'm not finished yet," Taylor said with a smile. "But leadership has decided that this year's party will be a dance, and everyone must bring a dance partner for the entrance. Your partner has to be a colleague from the company, anyone you choose. So, start looking for your dance partner!"
"What? A dance partner? I don't know how to dance."
"If we don't find partners soon, does that mean we'll end up with someone from security?"
"Oh my gosh, I have always thought the director from the international department was so handsome. I want to ask him!"
The office immediately buzzed with excitement.
"Hmph, a bunch of bumpkins," Dora said with a sneer, crossing her legs with an air of superiority. "Don't they know that in dancing, it's the man's job to ask the woman?"
Lillian laughed, "Who cares about that? Women can take initiative too, so they don't end up alone. Otherwise, they might feel awkward when the time comes."
"Who do you want to be your dance partner? Do you have someone in mind?" Dora asked, curious.
Lillian shrugged her shoulders, "No."
"You could ask in the group chat. You might get a bunch of guys offering to be your dance partner," Dora suggested.
"Forget it, I'm just a secretary, and I don't know anyone else. Why would the male colleagues know me?" Lillian said with a laugh and a shake of her head.
