Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Free Nanny
Those issues weren’t his to worry about.
After a moment of silence, Assistant Zimmer sighed.
"President Sheridan, let me take you to the hotel you usually stay at."
Jude Sheridan sounded annoyed. "I have a home. Why would I go to a hotel?"
Assistant Zimmer: "..."
’When he had a home, he insisted on staying at a hotel. Now that he has nowhere else to go, he suddenly doesn’t want to.’
A cool breeze had hit them on the way out of the restaurant, and now Jude Sheridan felt terribly dizzy.
"Call Cecilia. Tell her to come pick me up and take me home."
Assistant Zimmer looked completely helpless.
’Cecilia Croft’s departure had been so final. She definitely wouldn’t come back for him.’
After a moment’s thought, Assistant Zimmer decided to call Cecilia Croft and give it a try anyway.
Cecilia Croft had just arrived at her place. She had barely parked the car when she received Assistant Zimmer’s call.
"What is it?"
Her voice was cold, filled only with impatience at being disturbed, without a hint of concern for Jude Sheridan.
Because Assistant Zimmer had helped Jude Sheridan hide so many things from Cecilia Croft, he couldn’t help but feel guilty every time he spoke with her.
"President Croft... President Sheridan is drunk and has nowhere to go. He asked me to call you. Should I bring him over?"
He didn’t dare ask Cecilia Croft to come pick Jude up herself.
Cecilia Croft laughed mockingly. "Nowhere to go? Assistant Zimmer, do you honestly believe that yourself?"
Assistant Zimmer: "..."
Cecilia Croft: "I’m sure there’s someone else who would be more than willing to look after him while he’s drunk. Why don’t you try contacting her? Maybe send him her way?"
Assistant Zimmer’s expression tightened. He didn’t know if Cecilia Croft was testing him, so he could only reply cautiously.
"President Croft, I’m not sure who you’re referring to."
Cecilia Croft chuckled softly. "Assistant Zimmer, you’ve been around me for so many years. You should know what I’m like."
"Since you don’t understand, then you can stay in the dark forever."
A chill ran up Assistant Zimmer’s spine.
"President Croft, I’m sorry, I..."
Cecilia Croft cut him off. "Everyone serves their own master and does their job. I understand. After all, you’re Jude Sheridan’s assistant now."
With that, she ended the call.
Assistant Zimmer sat in the car and glanced in the rearview mirror. Jude Sheridan was already slumped against the seat, fast asleep. Clearly, he had no idea of the disaster looming over him.
His head throbbed. He raised a hand and massaged his temples.
In the end, he followed Cecilia Croft’s suggestion and took Jude Sheridan to Jessica Keller’s place.
When Jessica Keller came downstairs to meet them, her steps were light and joyful.
As Assistant Zimmer helped her get Jude Sheridan out of the car, the drunken man stirred slightly.
He draped an arm over Jessica Keller, pulling her into an embrace.
"Cecilia, I knew you wouldn’t leave me."
Jude Sheridan’s words were slurred with drunkenness; he couldn’t tell who was in front of him.
Jessica Keller’s body stiffened. She stood frozen in place, her face deathly pale.
Assistant Zimmer pretended he heard nothing and helped her support Jude Sheridan toward the elevator.
At the elevator entrance, Jessica Keller glanced sideways at Assistant Zimmer and asked.
"Jude coming here... was it his idea, or..."
Without hesitation, Assistant Zimmer answered in a low voice.
"Of course, it was President Sheridan’s request."
Jessica Keller’s expression finally softened a little. "You can leave him here."
Assistant Zimmer nodded and let go.
Jude Sheridan’s full weight fell against Jessica Keller, his steps unsteady.
Jessica Keller struggled to guide him into the elevator, a smile fixed on her face.
Assistant Zimmer watched the elevator doors slide shut. He turned, walked back to his car, and sat there thinking for a long time.
’Maybe I should start looking for a new job.’
Cecilia Croft returned to her room, washed up, and lay down on the bed.
Tonight, without Jude Sheridan to disturb her, was exceptionally quiet.
Just as she was lying in bed, drowsy, her phone’s notification sound went off.
She yawned, squinting as she picked up her phone to check. It was a message from Jessica Keller.
[Cecilia, Jude got drunk and came over to my place. You don’t have to wait up for him.]
Reading the message, Cecilia Croft felt a wave of irritation.
[Thanks for the hard work, free babysitter. Just don’t wear yourself out and lose your only leverage.]
She quickly typed out a reply, sent it, then blocked and deleted the contact in one smooth motion.
When Jessica Keller saw Cecilia Croft’s reply, she took a sharp breath. Unwilling to be outdone, she furiously typed a long response. But when she hit send, a system notification popped up informing her that the recipient was not accepting her message.
She was fuming with nowhere to vent her anger. To make matters worse, the drunken man beside her kept mumbling "Cecilia," which only made her so furious she felt she could hardly breathe.
A dull ache started in her stomach, and Jessica Keller, frightened, quickly took several deep breaths to calm herself.
’My baby... nothing can happen to my baby.’
’This child was her leverage in the fight against Cecilia Croft.’
Cecilia Croft was so disturbed by Jessica Keller’s message that all her sleepiness vanished.
She closed her eyes and counted sheep several times, but her mind only became clearer the more she counted.
Her phone notification chimed again.
Cecilia Croft’s temper flared.
’Is she ever going to stop?!’
’I already blocked her. Did she switch to another number to message me?!’
She snatched up her phone, annoyed, and opened the notification. It was a game invite from Sebastian Hawthorne.
Cecilia Croft: "..."
’He’s still up so late, playing games?’
’His skills were terrible even when he was sober. After drinking so much tonight, his gameplay would probably be a total train wreck.’
’But he already invited me. It would be rude to just ignore it.’
[Mr. Hawthorne, don’t you have work tomorrow?]
He replied quickly: [Nothing special on the schedule tomorrow. Wanna play a round?]
Cecilia Croft: [You drank a lot tonight. Can you even hold your phone steady?]
Sebastian Hawthorne sent a sticker of a dog angrily pawing the ground.
Cecilia Croft froze.
’Seriously? The contrast is that huge?’
’He actually uses stickers.’
The next second, the sticker was deleted.
[You in?]
Who says you can’t read emotions in text? From those two simple words, Cecilia Croft could feel Sebastian Hawthorne’s impatient prodding.
[I have to download it.]
Her phone hadn’t had a game app on it for many years.
Sebastian Hawthorne: [Waiting.]
Cecilia Croft opened the game’s page and started the download.
While it was downloading, she replied to Sebastian Hawthorne.
[The download and update will take about ten minutes.]
Sebastian Hawthorne: [Mm.]
His reply was brief; he was a man of few words.
Cecilia Croft hesitated for a moment, then typed out another line.
[Why don’t you play a round first? By the time you’re done, my download should be finished.]
Sebastian Hawthorne: [Okay.]
Cecilia Croft scrolled through some financial news for a while, and once the game was downloaded and updated, she launched it.
She was already friends with Sebastian Hawthorne on social media, so she didn’t need to add him as a friend in the game.
Seeing that he was in a match, Cecilia Croft tapped ’Spectate’.
Entering the game, Sebastian Hawthorne had once again chosen his preferred AD Carry.
The game had been going for over ten minutes. Both sides were well-farmed, and the match had reached a fever pitch.
It was just that Sebastian Hawthorne’s gameplay seemed much more skilled than what she had seen before.
Puzzled, Cecilia Croft watched until the game ended.
Sebastian Hawthorne’s team won the match.
Cecilia Croft exited spectate mode, created a lobby, and invited him.
She invited him once, then twice, but got no response.
Cecilia Croft could only exit the game and send him a message.
[Mr. Hawthorne, are you still playing?]
No response.
[Mr. Hawthorne, did you fall asleep?]
Still no reply.
Cecilia Croft: "..."
[Mr. Hawthorne, that last round... don’t tell me you fell asleep and the system took over for you?]
