The black Cadillac sped down the highway, turning off at the exit towards the city center.
Sophie Foster leaned back in the rear seat, her displeasure evident even with most of her face hidden by sunglasses.
"How much longer until we arrive?"
"Madam, it will be soon..." Tang, the assistant, turned around to explain, but Nicholas Croft furrowed his brow and gently coughed.
"I’m sorry, President." Tang bowed his head slightly; it was his fault for letting slip what the President had instructed him to disclose externally...
Nicholas Croft glanced at the driver through the rearview mirror. The driver was focused on the road, his expression unchanged, so he said nothing.
Assistant Tang licked his lips and respectfully said, "Miss, it’s about an hour’s drive until we reach ho."
Sophie Foster turned her displeased face toward the car window, yet she didn’t challenge Tang.
"Are you tired, darling? Why not rest on daddy’s shoulder for a while?" Nicholas Croft asked warmly. Sophie Foster turned back, glaring at him through her sunglasses for a few seconds before taking them off, tossing them in the car, and leaning her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.
The driver in front caught a glimpse through the rearview mirror, curious about when the company’s president got such a "daughter."
Nicholas Croft wrapped an arm around Sophie Foster’s shoulder, extending his long arm to pick up the fallen sunglasses from the floor, placing them together with his. Then he instructed the driver, "Turn on the warm air."
Sophie Foster initially leaned on Nicholas Croft’s shoulder, but soon she sat up, her chilly face clearly showing her displeasure.
Nicholas Croft gently asked, "What’s wrong, darling? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"Move over there a bit!" Sophie Foster pushed Nicholas Croft to the seat by the window and then rested on his legs, hugging her shoulders with her legs drawn up on the seat, curling up like a child without a sense of security.
Both were wearing casual sweatshirts, though the car was air-conditioned, Nicholas Croft still worried she might catch a cold.
He instructed the assistant in the passenger seat, "Tang, take off your suit."
"Yes, President," Tang responded, removing his suit and handing it over.
Nicholas Croft gently and carefully draped Tang’s suit over Sophie Foster.
Assistant Tang watched his president’s actions through the rearview mirror, his brows slightly furrowing with a hint of sympathy, not only for the President but also for Madam. Once so lively and cheerful, a single incident had turned her into what she is now.
Tang reproached himself for not being a competent assistant, failing to pry open Zhou Qiang’s lips in half a year, nor noticing any suspicious signs in Hannah Hargrave’s activities as instructed by the President.
He withdrew his gaze, feeling ashad, and bowed his head.
Nicholas Croft’s new ho in the city center of T was in a gated community, inhabited mostly by ordinary residents. There were two reasons for choosing this location.
Ordinary residents are simple and easy to get along with, and this area is close to his company, just a ten-minute drive, convenient for him to take care of Sophie Foster.
A housekeeper has been arranged, Xiao i, the young housekeeper who resigned due to guilt.
Given Sophie Foster’s current condition, Nicholas Croft dared not hire a stranger, fearing she wouldn’t accept them. And he couldn’t leave her alone at ho, so after careful consideration, he brought back Xiao i, whom they were already familiar with, and their ages were similar, providing common topics for conversation.
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