Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 188

Cecilia’s compliments were soft–spoken, accompanied by the faint dimples on the little girl’s face; it was hard to link them to sarcasm no matter how hard you tried.

But deep down, I knew she wasn’t thrilled.

After all, she was dead set on making this Pinecrest Hollow trip happen and it must have stung when things took a turn and I ended up with the sweet deal. A touch of resentment was only natural.

The ultimate harmony in our company is the harmony among the employees, so with a don’t–sweat–the–small–stuff attitude, I kept the peace with a beaming smile, “Director Irwin is just being modest. The success of our Pinecrest Hollow venture is all thanks to the solid backing you and Mr. Zade offered. So, let’s all raise a glass to Mr. Zade and Director Irwin later

1. on.

I was buttering up Hogan and Cecilia with those words, all for the sake of harmony.

Wallis caught on to my game and quickly jumped in to smooth things over, “Now that everyone’s here, let’s kick off tonight’s wild party!”

“Oh, right,” Cecilia interrupted Wallis, and gave the server a knowing look with her sweet, mushy voice, “I knew tonight was Mr. Temple’s welcome party, so I made a handmade cake. But, you know, I hurt my hand, so it might not be much of a looker. I hope Xaviera and Mr. Temple won’t mind.”

a timid glance my way, as if

her saying all that, I couldn’t exactly complain, so I politely

unveiled the handmade

was a round fruit cake that had clearly seen better days; now it was totally misshapen.

in the middle was crystal clear–even if the “welcome” had split in two and turned into

Awkward as hell.

hour, Timothy had his face changed when he saw the

“Well, Director Irwin’s got a unique touch, quite thoughtful indeed.”

clear as day without a hint of challenge, yet the words he

we shouldn’t have gone to the hospital, must’ve got jostled on the road.”

11:37 D

Chapter 188

in, “If you hadn’t

tears; then she turned

off to the side with a cold face. He shot Wallis a look and said, “President Lott makes a good point. She injured her hand just to make this cake; not just anybody gets the honor of