Amber became nervous as Mrs. Lyon asked about Sheila. The way she had been leaning on the back of her chair was slightly adjusted, and she straightened her back and sat up, “Oh, Sheila’s fine.”
“Really? Oaky.” Mrs. Lyon nodded, “I met her at the hospital today for a checkup. I saw that her face was a little pale and she was holding a big pile of thick documents. I thought she was seriously ill and hurriedly asked her what was wrong. As a result, unexpectedly, she told me that she just had some problems in her cervical spine.”
“Are you saying you don’t believe that Sheila had a cervical vertebra problem?” Amber bit her lower lip.
Mrs. Lyon nodded, “Of course, I’ve known the girl for years, and I know her in part. When she answered, she lowered her head and dared not look me in the eye. It was obvious that she was lying. Since she lied and wouldn’t tell me what was wrong with her, and I couldn’t force it, I pretended to believe her. After we talked a little bit more, she excused herself and left early. She left in a hurry, as if afraid I would stop her. I wondered why she was afraid of me.”
“Oh, I see.” Amber raised her chin and asked tentatively, “So after Sheila left, didn’t you ask the hospital what was wrong with her?”
Mrs. Lyon shook her head, “No, she didn’t want to tell me, so I couldn’t ask. It would be disrespectful of her if I ask anything about it.”
“Oh, I see.” Amber patted her chest with relief.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lyon did not know that Sheila was pregnant.
But again, Mrs. Lyon would not have been so calm had she known.
“Amber, do you know that Sheila is sick?” Mrs. Lyon asked suddenly.
With a guilty twinkle in her eyes, Amber replied, “Well, a little.”
“No wonder when I just asked you if Sheila was okay, you seemed very calm, including when I mentioned meeting Sheila was in the hospital. So, you already knew that.”
“Kind of.” Amber smiled, “She’s my secretary now, and if she has to go to the hospital, she needs to ask me for leave.”
“That’s true. I forgot about that.” Mrs. Lyon patted her forehead and then said, “Well, Amber, Sheila doesn’t want to tell anyone what’s wrong with her. She didn’t look so good, so I thought she might have something serious. At that time, I saw her leaving in a hurry, and I guess she could not accept it and was very hit. I was worried that she would give up on herself and not accept treatment. Therefore, since you are her boss, you must persuade her to take treatment well.”
Amber didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she listened to Mrs. Lyon’s words.
Little did she know that Mrs. Lyon would misinterpret Sheila’s “illness” as something so serious that it seemed incurable.
It made her laugh out loud.
But to make sure Mrs. Lyon wasn’t suspicious, Amber tried not to laugh and brushed her hair around her ears, then she replied, “Okay, Mrs. Lyon, I will.”
“Good. I have nothing more to say, and you’re not off duty yet, so I’ll leave you alone.” Mrs. Lyon said, checking her watch.
Amber said yes and hung up the phone. Then she sent Sheila a voice message of what Mrs. Lyon had just said.
In the big office next door, Sheila was wearing a Bluetooth headset. Listening to Amber’s words, she knew how much Mrs. Lyon cared for her, and she felt warm and complicated. And she even wanted to cry.
Mrs. Lyon was really nice.
Unfortunately, she was not that lucky.
Sheila shut off Amber’s voicemail and typed her reply, “Miss Reed, please thank Mrs. Lyon for me.”
After that, she turned off her phone, swallowed her feelings, and went back to work.
Because she knew she couldn’t get too caught up in it, or think about it too deeply.
Otherwise, the more she wanted, the more unwilling she was, the more she regretted.
Amber looked at Sheila’s reply and saw nothing more than a thank you. She sighed, shook her head, and returned to her work.
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