His hands, at his sides, slowly clenched into fists.
Caleb Lawford let out a slow breath, his eyes as dark and deep as a bottomless pool.
‘Did she think she could provoke me and get away so easily?’
He didn’t care if she was throwing a tantrum out of heartbreak after getting out of prison or just playing hard to get again.
He had been patient with her for long enough.
‘I don’t have time to coddle a woman.’
Ruby Grant had no idea what was happening on the top floor of The Lawford Group.
After hanging up, she felt a heavy weight pressing on her chest, like a stone.
Caleb Lawford had been getting more and more entangled in her life recently, which made her deeply uneasy.
She looked down at Ceci in her arms, her expression growing grave.
‘Ceci is my lifeline.
I can’t let Caleb Lawford discover me and Ceci.’
Ruby Grant tried to calm herself and gently pulled Ceci’s little hand away from her mouth.
It was feeding time.
Ceci must be hungry.
She got up to scoop some formula from the cabinet, only to find a thin layer of powder dusting the bottom of the can.
Ruby Grant sighed and poured out the last of it.
Taking care of Ceci wasn’t cheap.
The formula she bought for Ceci was a generic brand she settled for out of necessity, but even that wasn’t cheap.
She was frustrated with herself for not being able to provide a better life for Ceci.
But payday was only a few days away.
A sudden surge of motivation filled Ruby Grant’s heart.
‘Even without Caleb Lawford, even if our life isn’t glamorous, Ceci will still be happy with me.’
‘My daughter and I will have each other to rely on.’
After a little while, Ruby Grant had lulled Ceci to sleep.
Ruby felt exhausted too and decided to take advantage of her rare day off to get a good afternoon nap.
But just as she changed her clothes and got into bed, a rhythmic, gentle knock came from the door.
Ruby Grant opened the door to find Ms.
Pound, her cheeks flushed red from the sun.
A sheen of sweat covered her forehead, and she looked anxious.
But when her eyes met Ruby Grant’s clear, bright gaze, the words caught in her throat.
She glanced inside and whispered, “Is Ceci asleep?”
Ruby Grant nodded.
“What’s wrong, Ms.
Pound?”
Seeing Ms.
Pound’s hesitant and troubled expression, she thoughtfully led the woman into the room and handed her a towel for her sweat.
Ms.
Pound took a few gasping breaths.
Though the words were hard to get out, she knew she had to say them.
“That Vince is a son of a bitch!”
she said venomously.
Ruby Grant was confused but had a sinking feeling that something was wrong.
The next moment, Ms.
Pound grabbed her hand.
“They hired a new cleaner today, and Vince gave away your bed!”
Ruby Grant froze.
“Then what about me?”
“That’s why I said he’s a son of a bitch!
He just got this position, and he’s already blatantly targeting you like this!
I bet he’ll send someone over to tell you any minute now.”
Ms.
Pound angrily recounted everything she had overheard while resting in the shade of a tree.
Ruby Grant’s face went deathly pale as she listened.
Unlike Ms.
Pound’s righteous fury, she just felt a chill spread through her limbs.
And, just as Ms.
Pound had predicted, there was a knock at the door.
Ruby Grant and Ms.
Pound exchanged a look.
Sure enough, Vince was standing outside the door with a young woman behind him.
“Ruby Grant, the new hire is here.
Vacate your bed.”
Vince ordered brazenly, yet he couldn’t meet Ruby’s eyes.
He kept his head tilted, his chin up, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
‘After thinking it over,’ he decided, ‘this place is too small to house someone as troublesome as Ruby Grant!’
‘Rather than trying to convince her he had turned over a new leaf, it was better to just kick her out.
Then they could each mind their own business.’
‘That would also prevent her from snitching on him to President Lawford.
If that happened, his career in Kincaid would be over!’
Vince shot a quick glance at Ruby Grant, then hastily looked away again.
‘The girl was a beauty, but…
he wouldn’t dare touch her now!
He might be a lecherous bastard, but he knew there were people you just couldn’t afford to cross.’
He urged impatiently, “Get a move on!”
“Why?”
Ruby Grant stared back, refusing to show weakness.
“Why?!
Are you in charge here, or am I?”
Vince’s voice shot up.
He waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, and by the way, you’re fired!”
Ruby Grant looked up in disbelief.
Vince shoved the new girl into the room and fled as if his life depended on it.
Even someone as sharp as Ms.
Pound was caught off guard.
“Not just the bed?
Does this mean he’s not letting you work here anymore?”
Ms.
Pound finally snapped out of it.
But Ruby Grant just pursed her lips, her palms clenched tight.
The new girl looked at them timidly, holding two suitcases.
She seemed unsure whether to stay or go.
“Come in.
You can put your things down.”
Ruby Grant steadied her emotions and forced a tight smile, trying to look friendly.
‘After all, it wasn’t the young woman’s fault.
Now that she was a mother herself, she couldn’t help but feel a little more lenient toward a girl who seemed so new to the world.’
But the whole thing was so sudden that her forced smile looked worse than if she had been crying.
“Th…
thank you!”
The girl nodded meekly.
Instead of putting her luggage on what was supposed to be her new bed, she carried it over and took a seat on the bed next to Ruby’s.
Ruby Grant glanced at the still-sleeping Ceci and decided to go to the management department to fight for her case.
“The matter is already settled.
The higher-ups have signed off on it.”
The director tossed a document stamped with a red seal in front of her.
Ruby Grant picked it up.
It was an official document mandating her immediate termination.
“But we signed a contract.
What you’re doing is a violation of the national labor—”
BANG!
The director slammed her cup on the desk, her previously languid eyes turning sharp.
“You want to lecture me about labor laws?”
“Ruby Grant, you need to understand something.
Everyone in these dorms, besides you, is a formal, tenured employee.
What are you?”
“If you’re smart, you’ll take this month’s pay and leave quietly.
If you make a scene, it won’t be pretty for anyone.”
The director stared straight at Ruby Grant, her threat perfectly clear.
Ruby Grant trembled with anger, her chest heaving.
‘Actually, she was right.
I’m just a probationary contract worker, basically an intern.
Even if I wanted to pursue a wrongful termination case, the lawsuit alone would be a massive waste of time.’
At that thought, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
“The papers are already stamped.
It won’t be easy to change things now.
Besides, you’ve already met your replacement.”
“She’s a poor girl, an orphan.
There are plenty of pitiful people in this world.
It’s not as if we’re short one more.”
“Do you understand?”
Seeing Ruby Grant waver, the director decided to play the sympathy card.
“Think about your child.
At least you’re getting this month’s pay.”
‘That’s right, there was still Ceci.’
‘Ceci was running low on formula and diapers.’
“My pay for this month…”
She bit her lip, her eyes stubborn and bright.
“It’s already been transferred.
Now, if there’s nothing else, hurry up and move out.”
Hearing this, the director’s brow relaxed.
But she no longer bothered to hide the way her eyes roamed over Ruby Grant’s body, and the appraising look made Ruby extremely uncomfortable.
Although furious, Ruby Grant knew her priority was to find a place to live and then look for another job.
She turned and strode out.
The director’s eyes narrowed, her face hazed by the steam rising from her teacup, her expression a mixture of mockery and contempt.
‘The nerve of her, daring to come here and cause a scene.’
‘If Vince hadn’t specifically asked her to smooth things over, she couldn’t have been bothered to deal with the woman.’
Her gaze fell on the stamped document, and she tossed it into the trash.
‘As for the girl they’d brought in, she was just a temporary actress.
The whole orphan story was just a line Vince had fed her.’
‘Vince had specifically warned her that this woman might have some connection to President Lawford.’
‘She didn’t really believe it, though.’
‘A single mother who sweeps streets to raise her kid and Caleb Lawford, the richest man in Kincaid?
They were from two completely different worlds.’
The director scoffed, her thoughts already drifting to what she would have for dinner.
Ruby Grant returned to the dorms, defeated.
The first thing she saw was all of her bags and belongings piled outside the door.
She stared in shock.
Moving closer, she saw they were all her and Ceci’s things.
The anger she had just suppressed flared up again.
Realizing Ceci was still inside, she rushed into the room.
The new girl was holding Ceci, seemingly contemplating where to dump her.
“What are you doing?!”
Ruby Grant’s heart clenched.
She surged forward and snatched the baby back.
The young woman gave her a saccharine smile.
“You’ve already been fired, haven’t you?
I was just helping you pack.
This is my room now.”
Ruby Grant stared at the young woman in utter shock.
‘When she first arrived, she had seemed as meek and gentle as a rabbit.
Why was she like this now…?’