The following morning, she was woken up by clanking sounds in the kitchen. It was past ten o’clock in the morning when she roused.
Her guard went up immediately. It could be Molly, or Xavier could have traveled the entire night and arrived at his house this morning.
However, she walked out of the bedroom to realize that it was her grandmother, Jacinta, bustling around the kitchen.
Delight and surprise bubbled up within her. “Granny, when did you arrive? I didn’t hear a thing!” she blurted out in joy.
Seeing her, Jacinta immediately turned down the fire on the stove and shot her edgy looks.
Winnie looked in the direction Jacinta was hinting and realized Louis was here, too. The man was seated in a corner in the living room. That was why she did not spot him earlier.
Oh, Granny is afraid that Louis will realize I’m putting up an act because I’m not pretending to be dumb.
“It’s fine, Granny,” Winnie assured her. “Go back to the kitchen. I’ll talk to Mr. Tanser.”
Jacinta gaped in disbelief. “He knows?”
Winnie gave her a firm nod.
“All right, go on then. Breakfast is almost ready. You can look forward to it.”
“Sure,” Winnie replied obediently. She then headed to Louis’ spot in the living room.
Sitting down across from Louis, she did not bother with her act. “Mr. Tanser, I believe Xavier told you I need your help to investigate a courier company under Fairchild Corporation, right?”
Louis was astounded to learn that Winnie was actually acting and that her acting was pretty convincing.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he replied, “Yes, Mrs. Fairchild. I’ve received his order.”
“Good. I’ll send you the courier company’s name later. Stay for breakfast.”
“No need. Thanks for the invitation, but I’ve already had breakfast before coming here.” Louis was nervous to talk to a clean and tidy Winnie. It felt like the early days when he first started working for Xavier.
Strangely, he realized Winnie could be as decisive and vicious as his employer.
“Okay. What will we do later?” Winnie asked.
“After you and Mdm. Sumner had breakfast, we shall head to the hospital. Zyon heads there every day, so he’ll be there today.”
Winnie nodded and got up. “Got it. You’re familiar with this place, so make yourself at home.”
Louis was speechless. She carries herself as if she were the mistress of the house. Mr. Xavier and her are a match made in heaven.
By the time Winnie washed herself up, Jacinta had already served breakfast on the dining table.
They chatted for a while before Jacinta noticed Winnie glancing at her phone several times. Her fingers were tapping on the screen deftly as though she was occupied with something.
Elderly people loved nagging, so Jacinta chided, “What are you doing? Focus on your breakfast. You can play with your phone after breakfast.”
“Oh, okay.” No matter how capable Winnie was outside, she was an obedient child at home.
She was not actually playing with her phone.
Instead, she wondered if she should text Xavier after their conversation ended on a sour note last night.
After clicking into their chat, she kept typing and deleting her text hesitantly. What should I text him?
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