Chapter 45 Marital Discord?
Stretching her neck for a better look, Paige blurted out in surprise, "Julian?"
With a hat tip and a grin as wide as a pleased hound, Julian replied, "Yep. Good afternoon, Ms. Ellison!"
Paige smiled back. "Where did you get a cab?"
"Xanthe, take a closer look, would you?" Startled, Paige heard another voice chimed in from behind her. “Is this really a cab?"
Turning around, Paige saw Pearl South and Cecil West occupying the back seat.
"You're here too?" she asked, her brows knitting together as she took a longer look at the car's lush interior. She soon realized, with a laugh, "You guys turned a luxury car into a cab?"
Oh, the sheer extravagance of these lunatics!
Pearl, sitting behind, was scrolling through her tablet with such casual flicks of her fingertips; who knew how much money was flowing at her command?
"It's mainly for convenience. Given your current situation, it's a bit tricky to ride a limo, Xanthe."
No need to explain; Paige knew that Pearl must have gathered from last night's message that she was going to be tied up this afternoon. Of course, with heaps of work awaiting her at Universe, it made sense for Cecil to trace her location so they could all swoop in to pick her up.
Though the idea of disguising a luxury car as a taxi was brilliant. It would certainly make her life easier in the future.
"Why do I feel like I'm the one working for you now?"
Paige observed Pearl deeply absorbed in her work, as if she were unaware of her presence as she didn't even bother to look up when she was talking to her.
Pearl instantly realized the jab was aimed at her; indeed, the back seat traditionally belonged to the boss.
Pearl immediately straightened up, resting the tablet on her lap with a sheepish grin, "I'm just not used to picking you up like this. If I sat up front and Mr. Carnegie saw someone like me in the passenger seat, he might figure us out!"
Paige wasn't particularly concerned about the seating arrangements, but Pearl's earnest response tickled her. It was interesting, to say the least.
Glancing backward, Paige noticed Louis's car seemed to be tailing them, whether on purpose or by coincidence. She turned to Julian with a playful challenge, "Come on, driver, I thought you were going to shake him off. Are we going to let him follow us all day? Maybe I should take over if you're not up for it?"
Julian's smile took on a suggestive edge at Paige's words. He leaned towards her, his head inching closer to the passenger side, "Hold tight, Miss Ellison. When it comes to “driving”, I'm top-notch."
With that, Julian glanced in the rearview mirror, selected his route, floored the accelerator, and executed a high-speed overtake that would impress any professional racer.
Only then did Paige catch the double entendre in Julian’s quip.
Louis had intended to tail the cab to see where Paige was headed, making it easier for him to find her when needed. It threw him for a loop when he was swiftly left in the dust by the taxi driver's unexpected skill. Pride wounded, he cursed under his breath, "Damn!" Since when did taxi drivers become such hotshots on the road?
Paige returned to the Universe CEO's office to discover two rows of racks full with fine clothes. She looked directly at Kim, who was in the office.
"What's all this about?" Paige inquired.
Kim gestured towards Pearl, who quickly clarified, “Xanthe, managing your personal life is part of my job too. Even though you spend most of your time as Paige now, you'll soon revert to your true identity as Xanthe Ellison, right?”
Paige caught on. Xanthe Ellison's attire had to match her status. She nodded slightly, "Okay, keep the clothes here in the office. My apartment is too small to hold them all."
Pearl, surprised, pressed further, “You don't plan on staying in that tiny house forever, do you, Xanthe? With five villas to your name, have you considered moving?”
Paige walked to her cubicle, rather, the CEO's executive desk, and settled in. Booting up her computer and handling documents. Just then, the image of Raymond Carnegie flickered through her mind.
Moving to a mansion? That would probably spook her average husband, Raymond, wouldn't it? That simple, honest, unsuspecting man?
Paige shook her head with a dismissive chuckle, "Isn't the house I'm living in now perfectly fine? My husband bought it, and we just had it renovated. I love it."
Pearl, Kim, Cecil, and Julian exchanged quick glances. They were hardly the type to live in such modest dwellings. Xanthe sure knew how to humble herself.
Despite Paige’s comments, Pearl spoke up earnestly, "The mansions are maintained and cleaned daily, you know. Xanthe, you're welcome to move in anytime."
"Xanthe, about the blueprint you sent me at noon; I've looked it over," said the normally reserved Cecil. It looks like you discovered the secret room."
At his words, all three of the others turned to him with anticipation.
Pearl: "Really?"
Kim: "Inside the Jobs’ estate?"
Julian: "Fantastic! With this clue, we can finally establish Xanthe Ellison’s identity completely."
Paige had a plan, and it was slowly coming to fruition.
Paige: "Is the knight the key to unlocking the hidden chamber?"
Cecil: "I've gone through the analysis three times. In that whole room, the knight statue is the only possibility remaining."
Paige: "Then prepare yourselves, everyone. We've got three days." Just enough time for her mother’s medication to be ready.
She was close to freeing her mother from the Sacklers’ care facility.
In three days, her vengeance would begin!
After working through the afternoon and eyeing the clock, Paige capped her pen and stood up, "Time to call it a day."
Pearl opened her mouth, presumably to urge her to stay, but before she could utter a word, Paige's phone buzzed and there was a message from Raymond saying, "Working late."
Instantly, the thought of cooking dinner vanished from her mind. If Raymond was working late, he wouldn’t be home for dinner, and Paige instantly lost all interest in cooking.
Sitting back down and cutting off Pearl's curiosity, Paige announced, "Looks like I'm working late, too!"
Pearl nodded, having guessed that Xanthe’s husband had stood her up.
With just the two of them left in the office, Pearl, despite usually seeming more like a boss than a subordinate, ventured to ask, "Xanthe, how are things with your husband? Is the marriage still harmonious?"
After five years behind bars and with no close friends on the outside, Paige found an unlikely confidant in Pearl.
But at this moment, Paige tilted her head toward the voice, curiosity sparking in her eyes, "Got any pointers?"
Pearl blinked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice, "Oh, uh... You mean, there's a discord of sorts?"
Paige merely raised an eyebrow; it wasn't a matter of discord; it was her momentary refusal to play along.
Noticing Paige's silence, Pearl's mind raced, speculating that the couple had perhaps hit a rough patch.
In such cases...
"Well, Xanthe," Pearl ventured with a touch of encouragement, "sometimes, you just gotta take the reins. You're a powerhouse woman; I have no doubt you can pull it off. How about I pick out an outfit for you to try on tonight... a little 'armor' for the battle, so to speak?"
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