Chapter 4
I walked into the dining room in a silk robe and found the long table covered in breakfast, everything from toast and eggs to dumplings and porridge.
Linda stood off to the side with a smile. "I wasn't sure what you like, so I made a little of everything."
"There's no way I can eat all this by myself..." I said quietly.
"Then try a little of each. We'll take care of the rest." Sophia appeared out of nowhere with an iPad in hand. "Miss Lane, do you have any plans for today? Mr. Lane said you can do whatever you want."
I thought for a moment. "I want to go back to my old place and pick up a few things."
"Of course. I'll go with you." Sophia replied.
An hour later, I was standing downstairs at my old apartment again. Yesterday's image of me stumbling through the rain with a cardboard box still felt fresh in my mind. But today, I stepped out of a Bentley with a stylish personal assistant behind me.
When my landlady saw me, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Emily, what is all this..."
"I'm here to get the rest of my stuff." I said with a smile.
As I went upstairs, my old roommate Grace happened to be coming out next door. She was so shocked her keys fell right out of her hand. "Emily? What the hell? Did you win the lottery?"
"Something like that." There honestly wasn't much worth packing. Most of it was junk. I only took an old photo album and a few books.
When I came downstairs, the landlady rubbed her hands together and sidled over. "Emily, since you're suddenly moving out, about the penalty fee..."
According to the lease, moving out early meant losing two months' rent as a penalty, which came to 2,000 dollars. Before yesterday, that 2,000 dollars had been all the money I had.
Sophia was about to speak, but I stopped her. Then I pulled out a checkbook from my new Hermes bag. Yes, a checkbook. Michael had given it to me yesterday too, saying it would be convenient.
I wrote out a check for 3,000 dollars and handed it to the landlady. "Keep the change. Consider the rest a thank-you for taking care of me these past two years."
The landlady's hands shook as she took the check. As I stepped out of the building, the supervisor who'd fired me yesterday, Helen Lawrence, happened to drive by.
She rolled down her window and let out an exaggerated gasp. "Well, if it isn't Emily. Didn't you get fired yesterday? So how come today you..."
Her voice cut off the second she saw the Bentley behind me and my driver standing respectfully beside it. "Ms. Lawrence." I walked up to her car with a bright smile.
"I forgot to tell you. Right after I got fired yesterday, I got an offer from Celestial Holdings. The position is... let me think... Special Advisor to the Chairman? What was the salary, Sophia?" I said.
Sophia answered without expression, "A yearly salary of 1 million dollars, not including year-end bonuses or dividends."
Helen's face changed colors so fast it looked like someone flipping through paint swatches.
"Oh, and one more thing." I leaned down and lowered my voice. "That little moment between you and Mr. Warren in the stairwell? I got it on video. In high definition.
"What do you think would happen if I sent it to Mrs. Warren?" Helen's face went dead white in an instant.
"Kidding." I straightened up, still smiling. "I don't have that kind of free time. But Ms. Lawrence, what goes around comes around. Watch yourself." Then I turned, got in the car, and the Bentley pulled away smoothly, leaving Helen frozen where she stood.
Inside the car, Sophia handed me a file. "Miss Lane, this is the detailed information on your former company. Would you like me to do something about it?"