Chapter 24
Gordan didn't say anything and simply pointed her toward a spot nearby. Emily placed the basket down before wiping away the sweat on her forehead with her sleeve.
"It's late, Gordon. Let's head back together later."
"We aren't heading in the same direction," he said coldly.
Emily seemed to be completely unaffected by his cold tone. She stepped forward hesitantly and said, "There's something else I would like to ask you. I asked Mayra to talk to you about tutoring me. I'm willing to pay you for it. Has she brought this up with you?"
Gordon's eyes narrowed, and his hands, which had been fidgeting with his buttons, froze in place. He said, "I've been busy lately. From now on, don't talk to me during work hours, or I'll get my pay deducted."
With that, he turned away. As he left the shop, he coincidentally bumped into Mike. Mike reached out and patted Gordan's shoulder. "Gordan, I've been so busy that I nearly forgot to tell you."
Gordon looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Mike continued, "At around seven, there was a beautiful young lady who came to look for you. She looked rather familiar and seemed to be from the same school as you.
"I'm not sure what happened but after I told her you were working in the kitchen with another young woman, she left without saying anything else.
"Oh, she also told me not to tell you about her visit. What's going on? Are you two in a relationship? How could you not tell me that you had such a beautiful girlfriend?"
Gordon furrowed his brows and retorted, "She's not my girlfriend."Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
"Don't try to hide it from me. I could tell that the young lady was jealous. I was also young once, so I understand. If she wasn't jealous… she wouldn't have left without a word. Hurry and make it up to her.
"But let me make it clear, just like you, Emily has also been working for me for many years. She's diligent and hardworking. I can't bear to lay her off, so you better sort out your affairs."
After Mike left, Gordon pondered for a while before taking his phone out of his pocket. His notifications were from a few days back and there were no new messages on his phone. Mayra hadn't contacted him since.
Gordon looked at the date again. It was Tuesday, the second of July. It had been two days since Mayra finished her mock exam. Gordon sent a text to a familiar number, but he never got a reply.
…
By the time Mayra finished her homework, it was already midnight. Just as she was about to call it a day, she heard her phone, which she had placed beside her pillow, vibrate.
She was about to pick it up when she saw that it was an unfamiliar number calling. Mayra was dressed in an old-fashioned nightdress and had her long hair let down.
She shut her eyes and raised the phone against her ear and said drowsily, "Hello?"
"Are you asleep?"
Upon hearing the familiar and gentle voice, she immediately opened her eyes. "Andy?"
On the other end of the phone, Anderson was wearing a robe and had a glass of red wine in his hands. He stood on the top floor of the building and was gazing over the entire city.
From where he stood, the towering skyscrapers seemed like nothing but specks of dust under the night sky.
Mayra's sleepy and gentle voice echoed through the phone, "Andy, why are you calling me now? Did you just finish up with your work?"
Anderson had indeed just finished up with his work and ended his meeting. "Your exams ended yesterday right?"
Mayra responded softly, "Yeah. The exam questions were relatively easy. It wasn't too challenging. Don't worry about me, Andy. I'll consult my teachers on the questions that I didn't understand."
Anderson noticed Mayra's voice gradually becoming softer over the phone. He asked, "Are you tired?"
Mayra covered her mouth and yawned. Then, she turned on the speaker mode and placed her phone beside her pillow.
"Not really. I saw you on the news today, Andy. You and Isa truly are a match made in heaven. Please treat her well in the future and… hurry up and get married… and have babies… Andy, can you tell me about what Candor City is like?"