The inspection took a few hours, but it went well.Adam and David were returning late when Adam suddenly asked, "Find out more about that girl for me."
"Sir?" David asked, trying to hide his shock. So he really was interested in her?
"I"m just a little curious."
"Yes, of course sir."
Once they arrived at MK Adam dismissed David, and went up to his office alone. Adam still had a lot of work to do; in addition to the jewellery launch he also had to prepare for MK"s year end events. He spent hours going through doc.u.ments that night, and ended up falling asleep in his office.
The next morning when David arrived he went into his boss"s office as usual. He saw Adam standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows that an entire wall of his office. Adam"s hair was dishevelled, he had abandoned his suit jacket on the back of a chair, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows.
"Did you stay here last night? Should I prepare a new suit for you?"
"That"s alright, I already have one. Just bring in today"s paperwork." Adam went into the bathroom in his office to freshen up and change. When he came out David was standing beside his desk with two file folders.
"These are all doc.u.ments that require your signature." David explained, putting one folder in front of Adam as he sat down.
"And the other one?" Adam asked when he saw David hesitating.
"I have some information about Elle Shaw, as you requested." David said, handing Adam the other file. "Her full name is Elizabeth, she"s the daughter of Alfred and Emily Shaw, and heir to the perfume company Tae."
"Is there anything noteworthy?" Adam asked mildly, not bothering to flip through the file.
"No, it seems like quite an ordinary family. Her mother pa.s.sed away three years ago. There are some rumours that her father remarried earlier this year, but they aren"t confirmed. There is one interesting thing. It seems she writes a webnovel under a pen name that is very popular."
"Oh?"
"The information is in the file. Should I look into it further?"
"No need."
Adam dismissed his a.s.sistant and put the file aside. The day seemed to pa.s.s quickly, Adam spent most of it attending meeting after meeting. By the time he sat back down at his desk it was already almost 5 in the afternoon.
He looked at the paperwork that he ought to be going through, but he saw Elle"s file and couldn"t help himself. He was just mildly curious about the girl after having run into her on three separate occasions. But instead of having his curiosity satisfied, he found that he was now more curious then ever.
So instead of doing his work Adam pulled up Elle"s book online and skimmed through it. It seemed like a regular, clichéd, story. Usually he wouldn"t have spent a second longer on such a book, but as he was skimming a single phrase caught his attention.
In the story, after meeting her friend"s boyfriend for the first time the main character, Rina, returned home feeling envious. She wrote "I wonder if there was ever a time when I wasn"t envious of people who have things go right for them, in this world that, for me so far, just seems to go so wrong."
Adam didn"t know what it was exactly, but the words moved him. He continued scrolling through and saw that despite the fact that the character"s life seemed to be turning around, most of the entries were heavy hearted.
Adam was puzzled by this. He recalled the way Elle smiled sweetly as she pinched the little boy"s cheeks yesterday. How could a person with such a happy smile write such sad words? The happy and teasing her, and the sad and miserable her; which one was real?
Adam was overcome with the feeling that he had to know. He wanted to see for himself.
David entered Adam"s office just as he was shutting down his computer. "I"m heading out early. If there"s anything urgent call me." He instructed.
David a.s.sumed Adam was simply tired from the sleepless night and thought nothing of it as he watched his boss take his keys and leave.