Chapter 51 A Gift for Chloe
On a Monday morning, Chloe got out of Donovan's car in front of the New East Group building. She bumped into Sofia in the company lobby.
"Look at you. Had fun last night, didn't you?" Sofia teased Chloe.
"Stop it," Chloe responded and turned her head to see that Donovan had parked his car and had not entered the building with her.
The moment she couldn't see Donovan, Chloe felt a sense of loss. She knew their marriage had an expiration date, so she wanted to live for the moment, seizing the day.
After a morning of busy work, Chloe stretched and was about to go to lunch when she heard some rustling at the door. Several people entered the office pushing carts full of elegantly packed tote bags.
"These are on behalf of Ms. Torres. She wanted to treat everyone for working so hard," the staff members said.
Chloe hadn't fully relaxed her arms from the stretch and thought: ‘Paisley?’
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Chloe.
‘Why look at me because of what Paisley sent?’ Chloe wondered.
When a tote bag was handed to her, she took it out and saw a baked potato salad – the dish was beautifully presented with various mushrooms, seasonal fruits and vegetables, half of a sliced egg, and yogurt – everything one could want.
"Ms. Torres is so kind to us, such a generous person."
"Right? It seems like she treated the whole company. Do you know how much that would cost? There are thousands of people in this building."
"That must be tens of thousands of dollars. What's this on the tote bag?"
It was as if these people wanted to make sure Chloe knew about Paisley's generosity, as though they were deliberately fanning the flames.
Chloe also glanced at the tote bag, where it read, "Dear Dr. Mike," alongside a large promotional still. There was Paisley, unmistakably at the center, with flaming red lips, enticingly charming.
It was a promo for her new show, probably the one filmed at the local hospital.
Chloe separated the yolks from her eggs and, feeling wasteful, reluctantly tossed them into the trash can because she simply couldn't find anyone who wanted to eat them.
Just as the yolks hit the bottom of the bin, Chloe overheard someone nearby declare, "The official challenge has begun." Chloe was briefly taken aback before realizing they thought she was tossing her yolks as a competitive gesture towards Paisley. Disliking such gossip, Chloe focused on eating her meal with big, eager bites.
Paisley made her way to Donovan's office. Staff had already delivered a meal to Donovan, but he was much more luxurious—an upgraded version of what the regular employees received.
"I've got this new office drama I'm working on. Could you help me promote it?" Paisley asked with a smile.
"I'm neither a PR firm nor part of the marketing department. Your effort here will barely make a ripple," Donovan replied bluntly.
Paisley insisted, "It's just me doing my humble part. Is it good?" referring to the meal.
"I've already ordered my food, and I'm in the middle of eating," said Donovan, expressing regret for potentially wasting her efforts. "Looks like a decent show. Where did you film it?"
He asked casually, not really expecting a detailed answer, and called his secretary to have her take his meal to Chloe in finance.
Paisley clenched her teeth in frustration, realizing Donovan's intentional snub.
As the secretary took away the meal, Paisley finally said, "We filmed at the Maple Valley General Hospital," watching her carefully prepared meal being handed off to Finance.
Donovan raised an eyebrow slightly, "Oh? Is that so?"
"Oh, and by the way, I ran into Chloe at the hospital on Saturday," Paisley added, seeing an opportunity. "She seemed to be talking outside with a man for quite a while."
"That's her brother."
"She has two brothers?" Paisley asked as if it suddenly made sense. "That explains it. Holding hands with her brother isn't unusual. I was just about to suggest you keep a closer eye on your lady."
By now, Donovan's expression had darkened considerably.
Chloe, who had been at the hospital, hadn't told him anything about her encounter, merely thanking him for hiring a nurse for her mother and taking the initiative to sleep in his bed.
Two men likely approached Jacob and Brayden. Jacob, the Perez family's driver, was accompanying Brayden, which wasn't surprising. Donovan conjectured that since Jacob hadn't gotten what he wanted here, he might be trying to introduce Chloe to Brayden again.
“Oh, Donovan, I’ve got to run. I have another engagement this afternoon. You didn’t even care for the lunch they sent over for you—what a waste of a kind gesture.”
With that, Paisley left.
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