ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 2 - Season 10 Episode 9

“How could she do this? I am starving to death!”

“I totally agree! Does she take pleasure in putting us through this trouble? Doesn’t she feel guilty at all for starving us?”

People around the hall started raising complaints. They were all good-looking, young women with seductive bodies.

And though they were Sheryl’s colleagues, they always treated her unkindly. They constantly looked for mistakes in her and never missed a single chance to speak ill of her or make her look bad, especially when Holley was amongst them. Susan felt that they were being unreasonable, so she tried to explain, “Excuse me, Miss Myers. I don’t mean to be rude but, Sheryl didn’t come because she is unwell. How about I convey your message to her later?”

“No way!” Holley yelled, glaring at Susan. She warned her, “Susan, do not forget that I am your boss. You’d better think carefully before you say your next words. Your job is to do whatever I ask you to do and you are not allowed to act without my orders. Is that understood?

Go and tell Sheryl to come right away!” Susan wanted to object, but she just held it all in. She felt helpless in front of Holley. Sighing in defeat, she nodded to her and went to Sheryl’s room.

Sheryl immediately noticed Susan’s gloomy look. Susan told her what had happened. When she told Sheryl that she had tried to stand up for her, Sheryl was really touched that Susan did that to protect her reputation. A small smile appeared on her face. She didn’t want Susan to worry about her anymore.

“Thank you so much, Susan, for telling me what happened. I will come with you. Just give me a couple of minutes to get changed.”

Sheryl was not at all in a hurry. She moved like a snail, taking off her clothes as slowly as she could. She just felt so good knowing that Holley was waiting for her. This was a rare chance for her to make a fool out of Holley; how could she let that pass?

Sheryl would have loved to make her wait longer, but she didn’t want to involve Susan in her matters. But to her surprise, Susan had no intention of hurrying her up despite her taking so long to get changed. Instead, she asked with a touch of concern in her eyes, “Sheryl, are you sure you can do this? You don’t have to come if you’re not feeling well. Holley can’t blame you for this. It’s not your fault.”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Sheryl replied with a big smile. She wasn’t afraid of Holley. She could very well decide not to show up in front of Holley if she desired so.

But then, Holley would get angry and she would definitely vent her anger on Susan. Sheryl kind of liked the friendly, warm-hearted woman. So she could not let that happen.

“Okay, if you say so. But if you are feeling unwell, let me know right away!” Susan said, with a sad smile. Sheryl nodded, returning the warm smile.

Sheryl and Susan entered the lift soon after and when the lift started to move, Sheryl began to wonder why Susan was willing to disobey her boss and stand up for her. She turned to look at Susan and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”

Susan looked at her, confused. “Afraid of what?”

“Well, your boss clearly doesn’t like me and yet, you disobeyed her to help me out. We haven’t even known each other for very long. I am confused as to why you are willing to take such risks for my sake.” Susan was a little taken aback by the question. They were engulfed by the silence in the lift for a few seconds and then Susan decided to tell her.

“Sheryl, the truth is twe have actually met several years back. I bet you don’t remember.” Seeing Sheryl’s confused look, Susan continued, “Back then, you and Mr. Taylor had just gotten married. You were both attending a wine party and I was a servant in that party.

Unfortunately, a powerful man got mad at me and tried to use violence on me, but you and Mr. Taylor helped me out of the situation.”

Susan paused and looked at Sheryl to see if she remembered the incident, but Sheryl had a blank look on her face. Susan added, “It was such a petty thing. For you, it may not be something which deserved to be remembered, but to me, it was a turning point in my life. You were the light that drove away the darkness in me. You saved me.”

Susan’s words gradually brought back her memories. Sheryl vaguely remembered the incident and recalled that back then Susan was just an innocent and young college student. And now, she had grown up into such a charming and sophisticated woman.

All Sheryl did was lending a helping hand to someone who needed it. She never imagined that Susan gave such importance to that one small act.

“It was nothing much. I would have never remembered if you hadn’t mentioned it in such detail.” Sheryl continued with a smile, “It’s a wonderful coincidence that we met again here after so many years.”

“Even though it was a small favor, it really means a lot to me.” Susan shook her head. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. “Sheryl, I can’t imagine what kind of life I would have led if you hadn’t given me your hand at that moment. Your small act has changed my life and I am so grateful for that.”

“I’m really happy to hear that.” The lift came to a halt and the door opened with a “ding”. Sheryl was touched by what Susan had said. She felt closer to Susan after their conversation, knowing that they shared a past. She gave Susan a pat on her shoulder and smiled. “It’s time to go.”

Sheryl walked ahead and Susan followed. When they both stepped into the hall, they saw Holley’s grim face and a lot of other impatient gazes fell on them. They had obviously gotten tired of waiting for Sheryl. She smirked silently, feeling very content.

As she approached the hall, the models who had been trash-talking about her mocked, “Attention everyone! See who has finally decided to show up. Our big shot, Sheryl, has graced her with her presence.”

“Who do you think you are? Making us wait here for so long!” someone amongst the crowd taunted.

“Oh for God’s sake, does she really regard herself as some big shot?” another model deliberately said in a loud and clear voice.

Susan was boiling with rage. She said furiously, “Could you just stop this bullshit? Sheryl already said that she was feeling unwell. She didn’t mean to be late.”

“Wow! She got someone as her mouthpiece because she can’t speak for herself,” someone laughed.

The more Susan tried to shut them up, the more excited they got about taunting her.

But unlike Susan, Sheryl knew that the best way to deal with those people was to ignore their unintelligent words. She grabbed Susan’s hand and gestured for her to give up. She added, “Let them say whatever they want. Their words are like dull knives; they won’t pierce me.”

“But…” Susan hesitated. She wanted them to stop talking shit about Sheryl. “It’s all right,” Sheryl said and walked towards Holley. She said, “Miss Myers, I am very sorry about the delay. I’m feeling under the weather and was planning to take the day off to get some rest. But…”

“You don’t have to explain. I understand.” Holley pretended as if she didn’t mind at all. No matter how angry she was before Sheryl had showed up, this was not the time to have a verbal war with her. So Holley brought out her biggest smile to cover up her gloomy face and said, “You are ill and I shouldn’t have asked you to come here. I apologize. But you should understand that this is very important. That’s why I took advantage of the lunch time and gathered all of you together to talk about it. Besides, I chose not to let Susan brief you later because I was afraid that she might omit some important points. I hope you are not displeased about it.”

“Of course not, it’s my job,” Sheryll replied with a nod. But she didn’t believe a single word that had fallen out of Holley’s mouth.

“Now that everyone is here, what are we waiting for?” Holley glanced around the hall and spoke with a big smile. “I have reserved seats for everyone at an exquisite restaurant. I want every one of you to have a wonderful lunch today and give your best during work hours tomorrow.”

“We won’t let you down, Miss Myers,” the crowd said in chorus and cheered.

When they reached the restaurant, everyone was shocked by the gorgeous and extravagant decoration inside the restaurant. The intricate tables were filled with delicate cutlery which were filled with various dishes, especially seafood, which Vleydon abounded with. It was indeed a high-end place to have lunch! There was no doubt that Holley had spent a great deal of money to please her staff.

However, Holley didn’t touch any of the seafood dishes. Instead, she stuck to the home cooked food.

Susan was sitting next to Sheryl and noticed that she didn’t touch the oyster. “Sheryl, taste the oyster. It’s really delicious! Give it a try.”

“No, I don’t like oyster. Here, you can have it.” Sheryl handed her portion of the oyster to Susan.

Susan’s happiness was so obvious on her face, but she still politely pretended to refuse. “I don’t mind having it, but are you sure you don’t want it?” Sheryl nodded and her face brightened. She pretended to eat it reluctantly, but when Sheryl gave her the next portion, she finished it in an instant and looked like she was craving to lick the plate clean. Sheryl couldn’t help but laugh at her.

Holley noticed that Sheryl hadn’t touched her food at all. She watched her for a while and then at last asked kindly, “Sher, why aren’t you having anything? Is it because the seafood here is not to your liking?”

“Oh no, it’s not because of that.” Sheryl gave a weak smile and said, “I just don’t feel so good today. I have to watch myself and make sure not to eat too much. I don’t want to end up with a stomachache after I get back. That will affect tomorrow’s activity.”

Holley nodded in agreement and praised Sheryl, “You are very thoughtful about everything.”

She then turned to the others. “Eat as much as you can today and order whatever you like as well. Don’t worry about the bill. It’s on me. So, don’t waste this rare chance to have your fill of Vleydon’s famous seafood.”