Chapter 113
Ten minutes later, Sophia returned with a report.
"Felix, Miss Redstone is on the flight to Maple Valley."
Felix furrowed his brow and said coldly, "Why does she go Maple Valley?"
"I have no idea."
"Got it. You can leave first."
Gianna had just gotten off the plane when she received a call from Laura.
"Gianna, did you forget that you were supposed to accompany me to have dinner with Mitchell?"
Laura had attended an event yesterday, but it was too late after that, so she ended up staying at a hotel.
Back at Villa, upon seeing the note Gianna left, she realized that she had gone on a business trip.
Gianna paused for a moment, only then recalling that Laura had indeed mentioned this to her before.
"Laura, I'm sorry. I've been too busy these days and completely forgot about this. I'm already on a business trip to Maple Valley. When I get back, I'll treat you to dinner to make up for it, okay?"
"It's okay. I was planning to have dinner with him tonight. Since you're on a business trip, we'll wait for you to return. Stay safe out there, and call me anytime if you need anything."
"Alright."
After hanging up the phone, Gianna walked out of the airport with Otis and Zoey.
Outside the airport, a middle-aged man was holding a sign with Gianna's name on it.
He was dressed in a gray jacket that had started to fade with wear and on his feet were a pair of military-green canvas shoes. Though worn, they were impeccably clean.
Gianna spotted the sign with her name on it and quickly walked toward him.
"Hello, are you Adrian Storm?"
Adrian nodded quickly and put down the sign he was holding.
"Miss Redstone, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Storm, nice to meet you."
"Hello, your car is parked at the entrance. Let's head back first."
As he spoke, he reached out to take Gianna's luggage. "Let me take that."
"No, it’s okay. I can handle it myself."
The vehicle that came to pick them up was an old van that looked extremely worn out, as if it could fall apart at any moment.
Otis and Zoey exchanged a glance, both expressing shock in their eyes.
'Weren't we here to visit a fabric factory? Was the owner of this fabric factory so poor?' They thought.
Gianna's expression remained unchanged. After they put down their luggage, she got into the car and started chatting with Adrian.
On the way back, Gianna had already learned about the situation at Sunnydale Meadows.
When the car reached the village entrance, it stopped. Adrian looked somewhat embarrassed as he said to Gianna, "Miss Redstone, I'm sorry, but our village is not accessible by car. We'll have to walk up."
Gianna nodded, "Okay."
She took her luggage and looked at Zoey. "Can you manage?"
Zoey was wearing high heels today, which might not be convenient for walking in the village.
"I can. I brought flats with me."
She took out her flats from the luggage and changed into them, dragging the luggage behind Gianna.
Adrian initially wanted to help Gianna with her luggage but was refused by her. "Mr. Storm, please help her with it. I can manage on my own."
Seeing Gianna seemed relaxed and not being overly polite, Adrian nodded, "Alright."
Adrian turned to Zoey. "Miss Zoey, let me help you with the luggage."
Zoey was genuinely struggling, so she didn't hesitate to hand the luggage to Adrian.
"Thank you, Mr. Storm."
Adrian smiled warmly, "No trouble at all."
After half an hour, they reached their destination. Otis and Zoey were sweating and looking a bit disheveled, while Gianna appeared calm, showing no signs of having just climbed a mountain for half an hour.
After putting down Zoey's luggage, Adrian looked at Gianna and said, "Miss Redstone, this is where you'll be staying for the next few days in our village. It's a bit rudimentary. I hope you don't mind."
Gianna nodded, "Hmm, thank you, Mr. Storm. By the way, how are we going to solve the dining issue every day?"
"You can eat at my place. Today, you rest first. I'll bring lunch to you later. Starting tomorrow, I'll take you to visit the village's fabric factory."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Storm."
"No trouble at all. I'll head back now. Feel free to call me if you have any questions."
"Okay."
After Adrian left, Gianna looked at the house in front of her. It was an old-fashioned adobe house. Having walked all the way here, Gianna knew it was the best house in their village.
Upon learning that it was where they would be staying for a week, Zoey couldn't help but feel disdainful.
She had never seen such a run-down house. 'Can people actually live here?' She thought.
"Gianna, how are we supposed to live here?"
Gianna turned around and replied calmly, "I just checked. There are three rooms, one for each of us."
Zoey frowned, showing her dissatisfaction, "That's not what I meant. I can't stay in a place like this!"
"What do you want then?"
"I want to find a hotel. At the very least, there should be a place to take a shower.”
If she had known the conditions at the business trip location were so poor, Zoey would have pretended to be sick and avoided coming yesterday.
"Zoey, it seems you've misunderstood something. We're here for a business trip, not a vocation!"
Zoey bit her and said in an annoyed tone, "I can't stay in a place like this for even a day. If you insist, Gianna, I'll have to resign!"
"Suit yourself."
With that, Gianna turned and dragged her luggage into the room.
Zoey was fuming, but she didn't know anyone in this unfamiliar place and didn't know who to turn to even if she wanted to leave now.
Seeing her discomfort, Otis spoke up, "Zoey, since you're already here, just tough it out for this week. Even if you really plan to resign, wait until we're back in Dawnridge to decide."
Persuaded by Otis, Zoey reluctantly said, "Fine, once we're back in Dawnridge, I'll resign immediately. I came here to be a secretary, not to endure this kind of hardship!"
As Zoey dragged her suitcase into the living room, Gianna had already made the bed.
Seeing Zoey, she remained calm, neither showing anger nor happiness at Zoey's decision to stay.
Noticing the awkward atmosphere between the two, Otis quickly intervened, "Gianna, Zoey realized her mistake. Don't take what happened earlier to heart."
Gianna remained composed. "I'm not bothered. It's just a job. It's your choice to do it or not."
Zoey looked embarrassed, feeling wronged.
Worried that Zoey might argue with Gianna again, Otis hurriedly said, "Zoey, go pick a room. I'll take the remaining one."
"Okay."
After Zoey chose a room, they both went to put away their luggage.
By the time they finished organizing and left the room, Adrian had already brought over the meal.
"Miss Redstone, I'm sorry we don't have much to offer in the countryside. I hope you don't mind."
Zoey glanced at the food on the table - fried chicken, apple pie, mashed potatoes, and some cornbread.
It was indeed quite simple.
Gianna shook her head and said, "It's already quite generous. In the future, there's no need for so much. Just give us some mashed potatoes and cornbread. The potatoes in your village are grown by yourselves, right?"
