After going through all the formalities that required signatures and completing all related procedures, I passed the documents to Joe. Jared had entered the operating room.
Joe did not look pleased when I handed him the documents. “Scarlett, what’s the meaning of this?”
“Isn’t it clear?” I looked at him, eyebrows creased. “I’ve done everything I’m required to, so I don’t think I’m needed here anymore.”
“Is that how you perform your role as a wife?” Joe sneered. “Your husband is lying in there right now, and you’re here thinking of ways to stay far away. Is this how a wife should behave?”
The whole scene was hilarious. I looked at Rebecca, who was drowning in misery on one side, then turned to face Joe. I laughed. “I must say, I don’t know what other people’s wives would do when they find out their husband and his mistress have been involved in a car accident. But, in my case, the fact that I refused to delay Ashton’s operation is the greatest kindness I can give him. To be honest, if it weren’t for the sake of my unborn child, I’d rather not sign at all.”
“Scarlett, you’re a vile woman!” Rebecca cut in before Joe could respond.
I nodded, glaring at her twisted features. “Yes, I guess I’m quite vicious, but that’s not enough. I should have prayed for the two of you to die together in that car crash, like a pair of lovers.”
“Scarlett, don’t you have a heart?” Joe berated. He could not tolerate me cursing at his sweetheart.
“Apparently not!” Anything else I said would be taken as tongue-in-cheek. I regarded the operating room, with its lights on, then turned to leave the hospital.
It was three in the afternoon by the time I returned to the company. Stacey brought in AC’s documents and reported, “Ms. Stovall, AC’s audit has been revised, but Mr. Fuller is not in the office. Can you sign it?”
I looked up at her and, for a while, but said nothing. She got a little flustered by the staring and rushed to speak, “Ms. Stovall, this document is urgently needed. I don’t want to cause any delay at work, so…”
“Is Felix your boyfriend?” I spoke in a chilly tone.
Her face instantly paled. “Ms. Stovall, I…”
“Is he working at AC?” I added, eyeing her sharply.
For a moment, her hands clutching the document began to tremble, but she remained silent and merely bit her lip.
Eventually, I took my eyes off her and sighed, “Stacey, I like to think I’ve treated you fairly. From the day you joined the company until now, no matter what happens, the first thing on my mind has always been about getting the best possible offer for you.”
I went silent after that, leaving the rest unsaid. When she did not respond, I spoke some more, eyes fixed on her, “The Fuller Corporation’s audit is a big deal for both our companies. During this period, if anything happens to AC or the Fuller Corporation, the other AC is to blame.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: In Love, Never Say Never (Ashton Fuller and Scarlett Stovall)