The moment she stepped out of the building, Tammy took a taxi to school. To her surprise, her phone kept ringing on the way. And Tammy swallowed hard when she saw the caller ID.
“Hello? Mom,” she said cautiously as she pressed the answer button.
“Don’t leave after school is over today. I’ll pick you up,” Anna said softly.
“Why?”
“You’ll be walking in the show tomorrow, and tonight is the final rehearsal, remember? Your Aunt Emily is coming back, so I’m taking you home for dinner.”
“Is Emily back? She hasn’t been back in months,” Tammy exclaimed.
“Yeah, so I’ll take you to meet her. And I’m not sure how long she’ll be here this time.”
“I can take a cab there myself, mom. You really don’t have to pick me up yourself.”
“I’m getting out of work early today, so I’ll just pick you up on the way.”
“Oh, fine,” Frowning, Tammy said in dissatisfaction.
“Wait! Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now? Why did you pick up the phone immediately right after I called you? Did you skip class again?” Anna asked suspiciously.
“No, I didn’t! I was supposed to have a gym class now, but I’m not feeling well. So, I asked for a leave. I’m going to have to hang up now. My teacher is coming. Bye!”
Tammy quickly hung up the phone and exhaled a sigh of relief. She thought to herself, Well, technically, I wasn’t lying to mom. Ummm… At least I didn’t lie to her about having a gym class today. Anyways, I hope that mom wouldn’t find out about it. Otherwise, I will suffer tonight.
At her office, Anna felt as if she couldn’t breathe because the phone hung up before she could finish her sentence.
Sensing that Anna was annoyed, Peace, who was sitting opposite her, asked, “What’s the problem? Why are you so serious?”
Enraged, Anna slammed her phone down on the table and grumbled, “I suspect that Tammy skipped class again. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to answer my call!”
“It doesn’t matter. Tammy isn’t a study material, is she?” As she ate her nachos, Peace said.
Rolling her eyes, Anna commented, “So? Of course, I know she hates to study. But what kind of work will she be able to do in the future if she drops out at such a young age?”
“It’s fine. You have enough money to support her anyway,” Wiping her mouth with the tissue, Peace said calmly.
“Are you serious, Peace? Anna asked, grabbing the plate of nachos in front of her. Then she changed the topic, “You’re not worried about Beatrice now, are you?”
“Why should I be worried?” Peace crossed her legs and said proudly, “Karl is now responsible for taking care of the kids on his own, and he is too busy to deal with Beatrice. He wouldn’t have the energy to cheat even if he wanted to. And I fired all of the housemaids. That way, he could experience the “fun” of raising children on his own.”
“Good for you!” Anna said and even wanted to give Peace a standing ovation.
“That’s what has happened to me recently. So, how are things going with you, Anna? You didn’t cry when you realized you couldn’t sign up for the volunteering project?”
Anna chuckled and said, “I’m not sad at all. I know I have to maintain the balance between my work and family. There’s been a lot going on at home recently, and Matthew got injured. And I want to spend more time with him to let him know that I’m always there for him.”
Peace stared at Anna for a long time before saying, “In fact, I’ve always had a feeling that you’ll go to Fleosil for the project sooner or later. My intuition has always been correct, believe me.”
Anna shook her head, lowering her head to drink her coffee. She then reminded Matthew to come home for dinner tonight via text message.
***
In the late afternoon, a group of people gathered for a meeting at the office of a media company owned by the Carousel Group. Their most recent task was to do publicity for the racing competition.
Then one of Matthew’s subordinates said to him, “We are participating in the competition to highlight our brand’s innovative and performance advantages. And we’ve put the racers through their paces for the race team. Please take a look at the final list of participants, Mr. Wright.”
After looking through the list of people on the slide, Matthew asked, “Kevin was previously banned from racing for three years because he was involved in high-speed racing. Is he now qualified for the competition?”
The person in charge explained, “His three-year ban was lifted earlier than expected. He previously donated half a million dollars to the slums and is now a charity ambassador. After that…”
Matthew sighed and interrupted, “I don’t care about that. Just find someone else to replace him. The event is a fantastic opportunity for our brands to showcase their vehicles, and it’s especially important for our company. We have just got started in the car industry. So, we can’t afford to make even the smallest mistake.”
“But, Mr. Wright, Kevin has consistently been ranked in the top three. We can’t guarantee that other contestants will finish in the top ten if we replace him.”
“Please show me the list.”
“Here it is,” the assistant said as he handed over the list to Matthew.
Matthew looked through the list on the screen. “Put Jayden in his place,” he said halfway through.
“Jayden?” Everyone started murmuring.
“Mr. Wright is a newcomer. He’s done well in all of his previous competitions, but he’s never competed in anything like this.”
“Yeah! Jayden’s too young for this.”
For a brief moment, Matthew’s phone, which was on the table, lit up. Then he saw a text message Anna sent him: “Matthew, Ryan, and Emily are coming back home. Remember to go to the Wright’s house tonight for dinner. Love you!”
After reading the text, Matthew laughed. He then raised his head and said to his employees, “That’s it. Place Jayden on the field and Kevin on the bench.”
Hearing that, the crowd looked at each other in surprise. Matthew then took his phone and jacket and announced to everyone, “The meeting’s over. Feel free to leave now.”
“Aunt Emily, where did you go on your mission this time? Last month, I saw on the news that special forces were rescuing hostages in Ireland. Did you go there? Have you ever seen any drug gangs? What do the drug lords look like?” Tammy kept asking questions as soon as she saw Emily.
Anna handed Tammy a glass of orange juice and asked, “Will you shut up for a minute? Emily can’t tell you that because these are top secrets. Why are you asking so many questions, by the way?”
“Aunt Emily can’t talk about it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask her about it,” Tammy said, shaking her head.
“Please don’t tell your classmates about this, or you’ll get your aunt in trouble. Do you know how strict the army’s discipline is?” Shaking her head helplessly, Anna said.
“Okay, okay. I already know that. I never mentioned that my aunt is a soldier at school. Will you please stop nagging, mom?” Tammy asked mockingly.
Then Emily said with a smile, “Thanks. I missed you guys terribly when I was away. Let me propose a toast to all of you for helping me take care of my child.”
“And your husband,” Natalie added, winking.
Hearing that, Ryan gave Natalie a stern look and said, “That’s nonsense! I don’t need anyone else to look after me!”
“Didn’t I take care of you last month when you had a fever?” Natalie questioned.
“How dare you mention that! I asked you to bring me a glass of water, but you gave me hot water! I got a blister on my tongue, and it hasn’t even healed now!”
“You’re blaming me now? Why didn’t you say that when you were weakly lying in bed?” Natalie asked loudly.
Knowing the argument between them might ruin the family gathering, Anna made a “stop” motion and said, “Ryan, Natalie, Emily is still giving us a toast right now. Will you two be quiet?”
Feeling awkward, they immediately stopped arguing. Everyone then raised their glasses to Emily. After that, Emily asked how things were going at home. “Is everything all right with Peace? I haven’t seen her in quite some time.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.