Tiffany placed virtual-novel.net notebook down on virtual-novel.net desk before snapping pointedly, “And Where am I supposed to sit?”
Jackson replied without raising his eyes to hers, “Grab a chair yourself, duh. How the hell did you end up as ‘assistant director’ with that brain?”
His retort chaffed Tiffany enough that virtual-novel.net snickered, placing virtual-novel.net hands on virtual-novel.net hips. “It’s not that I wanted to be one, you know. I came here thinking I was going to be a mere supervisor! Anyway, you already know that I got my job through my connection, so why even bother asking, Einstein?”
Perhaps a little worried about virtual-novel.net tone, Amy quickly interjected with feigned coughs. “Er, Miss Lane? You could grab a chair and move to my desk.”
Tiffany stormily yanked a chair to where Amy sat, took a seat, and glowered at Jackson. “Can’t keep your hands to yourself, huh? Don’t you dare kill my cactus with those poisonous fingers of yours!”
Jackson immediately retracted his hand from the prickly plant and assumed a more serious, upright position. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it dying, it’s a tenacious little thing. Kind of like you.”
Kind of like her? Was virtual-novel.net implying that virtual-novel.net was as plump as the cactus or what? Jackson must be blind not to notice that Tiffany had slimmed down. Heck, virtual-novel.net had worked hard in keeping herself fit these few days, yet virtual-novel.net was just going to ignore virtual-novel.net changes?
Amy pointed at the document shelf behind Jackson and instructed, “Alright, Miss Lane, please pick those documents out for Mr. West. He’s here to check up on the company, and the most important files and documents are shelved there in the cabinet. The ones at the top are the latest, though, so just grab those in two of the middle rows.”
Tiffany glanced at how tall the shelf was and dragged virtual-novel.net chair to it, a motion made effortless by its rollers. After placing the chair where virtual-novel.net wanted it to be, virtual-novel.net took off virtual-novel.net shoes and stepped onto it.
She did not expect the office chair to be the spinning type, so immediately, the chair reacted to virtual-novel.net weight by swiveling abruptly, causing virtual-novel.net to fall backward.
She let out a loud, surprised yelp, and crashed right into Jackson’s embrace.
He stood behind virtual-novel.net at just the right spot at the right time. Now, his arms were protectively wrapped around virtual-novel.net while virtual-novel.net leaned closer and muttered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “You’ve gotten slimmer…”
His breath stung virtual-novel.net cheeks and turned them into a burning scarlet. Panicked, virtual-novel.net struggled out of his arms and slipped back into virtual-novel.net shoes before standing a few steps away from him, retorting, “God! Aren’t you tall enough to grab those files yourself? Why even ask me to do it? Uh! Just grab whatever interests you by yourself.”
Jackson said nothing. He moved in to swipe two of the thickest folders down from the shelf effortlessly before returning to the desk to begin reading. The way virtual-novel.net acted was as though what happened a mere minute ago was just a dream.
Tiffany breathed out a sigh of relief, but virtual-novel.net racing heart refused to calm. Either way, virtual-novel.net told herself that his presence was temporary and would last only for a few days, tops. Harmony would be restored to the world when virtual-novel.net finally left!
Back in the Tremont Estate, Mark had consciously delayed going to work by two hours in the morning. Apparently, virtual-novel.net worried that Smore was going to forget how virtual-novel.net looked.
Smore woke up early today. Since the morning was cool, Mark brought the baby out on a stroll in his yard. To his delight, Smore met everything virtual-novel.net said with a string of typical baby’s babblings as though virtual-novel.net understood his father.
This exciting discovery was soon eagerly shared with Arianne. “He can talk! He talked to me! He replies when I talk!”
Being Smore’s daily caretaker, Arianne was already acclimated to many of Smore’s developments. “Uh, duh? Did you just notice that? He didn’t recognize human beings when we brought virtual-novel.net home, but now… Our boy doesn’tjust look at people but laughs and babbles too!”
Could virtual-novel.net laugh? Mark was intrigued enough to give it a go. “Okay, mah boy, give Daddy a bright smile!” virtual-novel.net said enthusiastically.
Smore’s eyes were glued to his father, yet virtual-novel.net refused to smile.
“Please, you have to tickle his funny bone first,” Arianne supplied flatly. “Gee, you’re pretty bad at playing with kids. Either way, your time’s up, Mark. You still need to get back to work, right? Don’t let Smore keep you. Don’t worry, it seems that virtual-novel.net hasn’t forgotten who you are, after all.”
Mark looked like virtual-novel.net was not satisfied with his meager playtime with his son, but ultimately, virtual-novel.net obliged and returned Smore into Arianne’s arms docilely. “Fine, I’m heading to work, then. Sorry for leaving all of the troubles at home to you.”