Chapter 13: Chapter 13
"Remember to ignore Jaden if he says something weird, okay?" Chloe said as she walked her daughter to the front gate of the school. "Don't get into trouble."
"But, Jaden is wrong, Mommy…."
"Well, sometimes, you should not react to someone playing pranks on you. Jaden will forget about you once he realizes that you're not paying attention to him, understand?"
"Un…" Mackenzie nodded. She still felt that Jaden was the wrong one, but her Mommy was never wrong, so she just followed her words.
After sending Mackie to school, Chloe sat inside the nearest convenience store and called Vernon's office number.
After a few beeps, the call was connected.
—
"Goldenstar CEO's office, good morning. This is Diamond speaking. How may I help you?" the secretary answered the call professionally.
"Ah— uhm…" Chloe got tongue-tied suddenly because she didn't expect the phone call to directly connect to Vernon's office. She thought that it would be connected to the main receptionist.
"Hello?"
"I—Is this Vernon Phoenix Gray's office?" Chloe asked awkwardly. She was trying to find good words to say that she wanted to meet him.
"Yes, Ma'am, this is Mr. Phoenix Gray's office. How may I help you?"
"I— I uh…." Chloe swallowed her saliva hard and mustered her courage. "I want to meet with Vernon Phoenix Gray."
"Do you have a meeting scheduled with Mr. Gray, Ma'am? May I know your name and your company? So I can match it in my computer."
"I… I don't have a meeting scheduled. But he said that I can always call him since he gave me his business card."
…
The secretary across the call went silent for a few seconds. Chloe heard the sound of typing on the computer keyboard on the line, which made Chloe even more nervous, "Hello?"
"Ma'am, may I know your name?"
"Chloe…"
"Which Chloe? There are so many Chloes here," the secretary asked.
'So many Chloes? What does that mean?' Chloe wondered. But she dared not waste the secretary's time, worried that it might annoy the secretary. "My name is Chloe Carlson."
"Chloe Carlson? I'm sorry, Ma'am, there is no Chloe Carlson on Mr. Phoenix Gray's list. I cannot direct you to him."
'What list?'
The more she heard it, the more confused she got. But she felt that she had to use that cursed name once more. Maybe it would help her since she was bearing the important name of Vernon's family.
"How about Chloe Gray?" Chloe asked.
"Wha— Chloe Gray?!" the secretary panicked instantly. Chloe heard even louder keyboard typing, and the secretary's voice turned sweeter than before. "Mrs. Chloe Gray, Mr. Phoenix Gray's sister-in-law?"
"Yes."
"A—Alright, Mrs. Gray. You can come anytime you want. Do you need a car to pick you up?"
"Eh? N—No, I can come on my own."
"Okay, the address is—"
The secretary gave out the office's address, though Chloe already knew it. After they talked, the secretary asked if Chloe would come today, and she said yes.
"Okay, Mrs. Chloe Gray, I will wait in the lobby for your arrival."
"Isn't that a bit… too much?" Chloe wondered. Vincent also owned a few companies, and in his main company, Chloe was free to use his private lift to reach Vincent's office.
But none of Vincent's secretaries would wait in the lobby like Vernon's secretary did to him.
"Not at all, Mrs. Gray. It's just how we operate."
"Uhm, okay… I would probably arrive around nine," Chloe said as she checked her Lyft.
"Okay, I will be waiting, Mrs. Chloe Gray."
Beep.
—
"Huh, that secretary is so weird. Did Vernon tell her that I would come? But he is a busy man. There is no way that he would remember about me too much," Chloe commented as she ordered a Lyft and hopped in. She pondered during the whole ride.
'Maybe Vernon already expects my arrival?'
…
'Nah, that's not possible. He is too busy for that.'
The car stopped in front of the office. Chloe got off and stared at the tall building in front of her.
She clenched her bag strap and walked in.
She saw a gorgeous African-American woman with long hair and a slim-fit blazer already standing in the middle of the lobby. She was probably in her mid-twenties and had a nametag on her chest.
- Diamond J.
Secretary. -
Diamond approached Chloe immediately and offered her hand, "Good morning, Mrs. Gray. My name is Diamond. I'm the secretary you talked with on the phone before."
Chloe accepted the handshake, "I'm Chloe… Gray."
"Yes, please follow me, Mrs. Gray."
Diamond led Chloe to the private lift, and they went to the top of the office building. Diamond brought her to a spacious office, bigger than Vincent's office, for some reason. There was also a wide glass pane that showed the city view below.
"Please sit down, Mrs. Gray. Do you want tea or coffee?"
"Ah, I don't need one, thank you," Chloe refused politely. "Where is Vernon— I mean, Mr. Phoenix Gray?"
"Mr. Phoenix Gray has a meeting right now, but he will be available in about twenty minutes. Please sit patiently, do not touch anything."
Chloe nodded, and Diamond finally left her alone in this office.
Chloe sat for a while and looked around. The office was wide, decorated with beautiful ornaments like expensive paintings and weird, a few artistic statues that she didn't understand.
But the main attraction in her eyes was a door at the corner of the room. It was a beautifully carved door, complete with that fingerprint door lock. She had this ominous feeling as she continued staring.
Her imagination started running wild, thinking that Vernon might be hiding something crazy there. Nobody in the family knew what Vincent was doing other than everything told on social media. Many people, including Vincent, said that Vernon had so many secrets they didn't know.
'He… he didn't keep a corpse inside, right?' Chloe thought of many crazy ideas. She got up, wanting to check the carved door. But before she could take one step towards the carved door, she heard a voice from behind;
"I thought my secretary told you to sit down and wait, Sister-in-law."
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