I sighed in relief. "Oh, Dennis, you''re a real life saver," I told him as he got down from the car and helped us in, tucking Amie in the back
seat.
"You can say that again," he smirked as he opened the front passenger door for me and I climbed in.
Surprisingly, Dennis, the dangerous guy I was intent on not having anything to do with, was now one of my close friends. After that day at the bar, after rushing me to the hospital, he had waited for me till I woke up and since then he hung around. In fact, he more than hung around. He became a friend indeed. Even during my dark days, he''d always be there to uplift my mood.
Though it didn''t take long before he confirmed my suspicions of his interest in me. I was happy to turn him down with the news of my pregnancy but it didn''t deter him. He was ready to take me and my pregnancy without even probing me about who the father was.
His love and care touched my heart, if I was to be honest, but Aiden dealt with me real good. I wasn''t ready to hop from a ruined four years rtionship to another uncertain one as I still had doubts about his identity.
He was respectful of my decision but he stuck around and since then we''ve been good friends. And in the five years we''ve dined and wined together, I had never caught a whiff of anything dangerous about the young man.
He passed me a nce as he drove out of my street.
"You look flustered."
Chap 0245
"I''m not surprised," I sighed. "It''s been a pretty tough morning and my car just had to be the top of the icing."
"That''s why I told you to let mee with you. I can do the w while you rest," Amie butted in.
I shook my head, smiling. "We''ve talked about this, Amie."
She pursed her lips and looked away from the rearview mirror where our eyes met. But immediately, Dennis brought her eyes back.
"You''ve been troubling mummy a lot now, huh, Amie?"
She scrunched up her face, "No?" Then she said with a tilt of her chin, "You know I don''t trouble anyone."
"Of course, you don''t," Dennis shook his head and chuckled, eliciting a smile from Amie.
Those two, they really get each other.
"So, what''s on the agenda today?" Dennis asked, his eyes flicking between the road and the rearview mirror.
"Same old, same old," I replied. "Reports to file, meetings to attend. Nothing exciting."
"Sounds thrilling," he said dryly.
"Oh, it is. You should try it sometime," I quipped back.
Amie piped up from the back seat. "Can Ie to work with you, Mom? I promise I''ll be quiet."
I turned to look at her. "Nice try, sweetie, but school''s important too. Maybe during the holidays, okay?"
She nodded, though I could see the disappointment in her eyes.
***
Dennis slowed down as he stopped before Taste Tech Inn ations, thepany where I worked.
"You don''t have to worry, go on, I''d make sure I drop off your ball of angel safely at school."
"Thank you so much," I said.
"It''s nothing, Ana."
"Bye mommy."
"Bye baby, be of good conduct in school, okay?"
She nodded.
As I got down from the car, I heard Amie impatiently ask Dennis. Can Ie to the front now that mum''s gone?"
Dennis replied with a definite ''no, my queen'' before he drove off.
I smiled. With Dennis, I could be rest assured that my baby would be safe.
When I stepped in, I felt the sombre air hit me. As I walked further in, I frowned at everyone''s dull expressions and constant sighs. And the faces I was seeing was a lot less than the usual number. Most of the workers were eitherte or were intentionally absent.
The usual buzz of activity was noticeably absent. Normally, at this time of the morning, people would be chatting by the water cooler, discussing their weekend ns or thetest office gossip. Today, there was only an eerie silence, with the asional hushed whisper.
I noticed one of my team members from ounting hurrying past, his face pale and drawn. "Morning, Mark," I called out. He barely nodded in response before ducking into his office and closing the door. As I passed by the break room to my office, I saw a handful of my colleagues huddled in there, whispering amongst themselves with worried faces. That''s strange. There were no whispers at Taste Tech. News traveled like rain as it is willingly shared.
I caught snippets of their conversation as I walked by. "...can''t. believe it..." "...what are we going to do?" "...should''ve seen iting..."Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.
Their words only added to my growing unease. What could have. happened to cause such a drastic change in the office atmosphere overnight?
Thankfully, before I reached my office, one of my colleagues in the cubicle outside my office was focused on her system. Though she had on a dull face too, she seemed intent on still getting her job done, no matter what.
"Hey Rachel, good morning." I hurried to her, in haste to feed my growing curiosity. "Why does everyone look so gloomy? What''s going on?" Rachel looked up from herputer, her eyes red-rimmed as if she''d been crying. She nced around nervously before leaning in closer. "You''ve not heard. Well, thepany has been sold, and the new owner has decided toy off almost, if not the entire staff."