Waking up with my nemesis baby novel Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Leona had her head bowed, crying, while Roderick spoke to her, clearly offering comfort.

Comfort? How would he comfort her?

Telling Leona that his childhood friend was, at her core, rotten?

Or telling her that she, Leona, was the true number one in

everyone’s eyes?

It hurt so much. That suffocating feeling rose up again.

The alarm rang. Madeleine woke up blurry–eyed from her

dream.

She had actually cried…

***

The lunch break ended at two. Madeleine ordered coffee

delivery, planning to bring it back to the office to share with the

other four secretaries.

But before she reached the office, she heard their voices.

Chapter 50

“The ribs in the cafeteria today were amazing. Hope they serve

them again tomorrow.”

“Yesterday you said the squid was delicious.”

“Hey, the company chef is just too good! Ever since they

switched chefs, I haven’t gone to the mall across the street to

eat.”

“Same.”

Madeleine froze.

So when they said earlier they had appointments or were busy…

they had all lied?

She looked down at the coffee in her hand, suddenly feeling

that her kindness had been wasted.

It didn’t seem like they were wary of her status. It felt more like

hostility.

Had she somehow offended them before?

That couldn’t be. She had subtly asked Gerry in the morning, and he said that although she had been to the company before, she always went straight to Roderick and barely interacted with

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anyone else.

Madeleine paused for a moment and then pushed the door

open, masking her disappointment.

“I bought coffee for everyone.”

As expected, the moment she walked in, the four women fell silent, their gazes shifting subtly.

They only smiled faintly, making no move to take the coffee.

Patiently, Madeleine set each cup down on their desks, startling them into standing up.

“Mrs. Livingston, this is…”

Madeleine glanced at them with a smile. “Just started here.

Buying everyone coffee is the least I can do.”

The women looked at each other, uncertain.

After a pause, Madeleine asked, “Have I ever offended you before?”

Madeleine’s words left the four women in silence.

The already tense atmosphere grew even more awkward.

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“What do you say?”

Madeleine’s gaze swept across the room again.

“No one’s going to answer my question? Or should I call Gerry,

no, maybe Roderick himself over here and have him ask you?”

At once, they tensed up. They might be wary of Madeleine, but

they didn’t want Roderick to know that.

Sophia, the closest to Madeleine, looked pained.

“Mrs. Livingston, we’re just employees. Getting this job wasn’t

easy. Please don’t make things harder for us.”

Madeleine frowned.

Harder? She had only just started that morning. How had she

made things hard for anyone?

Buying them coffee counted as making things hard?

Fine then, if that was how they wanted it, she’d keep pressing.

She crossed her arms, feigning impatience.

“Then be honest. What exactly are you guarding against?”

Chapter 50

“Well, that…”

Sophia stammered, glancing at Teresa, who was slightly bolder.

Teresa bit her lip, finally blurting out, “Mrs. Livingston, the

company’s classified files are restricted. Only authorized staff

can access them. Unless Mr. Livingston issues a direct order,

there’s no way we can let you see them.”

Classified files?

Madeleine’s eyes fell on the file cabinets beside each of them.

No wonder! When she came in earlier, those cabinets hadn’t

been locked. Yet now they had all been locked.

Teresa’s voice grew more emotional as she spoke.

“There’s been a huge scandal at the branch office. The

company suffered massive losses, and I heard more than a

dozen people have already been fired. Everyone’s on edge.”

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