Anna followed Mr. Wilson and his assistant into the courtyard. After casually looking at some more furniture, they went into the backyard. – Jack followed in and explained, “This is where my brother lives. All of his furniture is new, and none of it is worth buying.”
Anna smiled and said, “Really? You don‘t have any expensive furniture hidden in here, do you? Come on, show it to Mr. Wilson.”
Jack immediately waved his hand and said, “No, I swear I‘m telling you the truth. If you don‘t believe me, you can get in and have a look. He doesn‘t have any good stuff there. I’m saying this because I‘m afraid that‘ll waste your time.”
Mr. Wilson‘s assistant was standing behind Anna. He grimaced and muttered, “Does she really consider herself a secretary?”
Just as he finished speaking, he winced. Then, when he looked up, he saw his boss staring at him with a poker face.
Mr. Wilson said, “If you‘re getting impatient, I‘ll ask my secretary to come with me the next time.”
The assistant shivered a little and said awkwardly, “Oh, no, I didn‘t mean to say that. Sorry.”
“Then, just stop complaining.”
They smelled a strong scent of cinnamon just as they entered the backyard. Jack immediately explained, “My brother is a pastry chef and just retired. So, he often makes these sweet treats at home. We can go somewhere else if you can‘t stand the smell.”
Anna pretended to be surprised and asked, “He‘s a pastry chef? So, is he making pastries now? Well, you know, Mr. Wilson hasn‘t eaten anything yet on our way. If he has already made something to eat, can we buy some? So, we can eat on our way home.”
Jack immediately said, “No problem! But, you don‘t have to buy from him, because I can just get you some. Mr. Wilson, what kind of pastry would you like to eat?”
Mr. Wilson looked at Anna suspiciously and as if to question her.
Well, she used me as an excuse. I didn‘t even say I wanted to eat anything just now. It seemed that she really knew how to push it, Mr. Wilson thought.
Anna just winked at him as if she was justified, and gestured for him to cooperate with her.
The assistant couldn‘t take it anymore. However, he was about to say something when he heard Mr. Wilson, standing beside him, say, “Well, please show us.”
The assistant looked up in surprise and stared at his boss in shock.
Anna looked at Mr. Wilson gratefully, thinking. You‘re an intelligent man! You already knew that the person I was looking for was in the kitchen
The rich, sweet smelt of cinnamon was coming from the kitchen. Jack then enthusiastically led the three of them into the kitchen. As soon as they entered the room, they felt the heat inside and found it hotter than outside.
Anna saw a familiar man kneading dough in the kitchen, and it was Mike. Anna thought he looked as if he had fully recovered from that accident.
Jack then asked, “Mike, Mr. Wilson is here to buy furniture. Have you made the bread yet? Give them some, will you?”
Mike replied without even looking up. “Sure, help yourselves to whatever you want.
Jack then pointed to the table next to the oven and said, “Mr. Wilson, please have a look.”
Anna saw several kinds of pastries there, many of which were the hotel‘s specialty. After Mike retired, the hotel could hardly find another pastry chef as good as him.
Anna deliberately recommended these to Mr. Wilson by saying, “Mr. Wilson, what would you like to eat? Look, I think that cake looks nice. I used to work in a hotel, and this kind of pastry was their specialty.”
Just as Anna finished speaking, she heard a loud “clang.” Then, a thing beside Mike fell to the floor with a harsh sound. Everyone looked at Mike and found that a flour sifting utensil had dropped to the ground, and the flour was all over the floor.
Mike looked at Anna and had an expression of overwhelmed surprise on his wrinkled face.
He asked, “Miss Gabriel? Is that you?”
Jack frowned and asked, “Hey, what‘s going on? You scared the hell out of me!” Anna frowned and also acted surprised. She asked, “Mike?”
Anna waited for Mike in the living room. After Mike washed his hands, he walked in. The house was quiet.
Mr. Wilson and his assistant were gone. Jack also left without saying anything after knowing that Anna and Mike knew each other. So, there were just the two of them left there.
“Miss Gabriel, have you quit your job?”
“Ah, sort of. I was the manager, so I was supposed to be responsible for that fire. As you can see, I‘m now Mr. Wilson‘s assistant.”
Mike seemed a little nervous at the mention of the fire. Then, he kept fumbling with his trouser pocket and finally found a pack of cigarettes. As he took one from the pack and was about to light it, he heard his wife snarl, “Why are you still smoking? Damn it!”
Mike blinked in embarrassment. He hesitated for a while and then put that cigarette back in the pack. Then, he said awkwardly, “Oh, what a coincidence! I thought you had come to see me on purpose.”
Anna acted puzzled, glanced toward the door, and said, “Why should I do that? By the way, that‘s your wife, right? I saw her this morning. But, how come she told me that she didn‘t know you?”
Mike was stunned after hearing her words. He was silent for a while as if he couldn‘t find a reasonable excuse for a while. A moment later, he stumbled and said, “Oh, we had a fight. You just heard that woman, and she was cursing me.”
“You two argued about your smoking? Oh, I see. You have caused a lot of damage to the company this time. The equipment destroyed in the kitchen is probably worth several million dollars.”
Anna said calmly as if she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
Hearing this, Mike lowered his head. In the dim sunlight, Anna could see that his gaze looked complicated. He looked as if there was a gloomy mist in his eyes.
“Sorry, I have to leave now. Mr. Wilson is still waiting for me to look at the furniture with him,” Anna said suddenly and then prepared to leave.
Mike didn‘t say anything to make Anna stay. So, she walked straight out of the house.
It was noon, and the sun was very bright and scorching. But Mike‘s wife was standing in the sunlight feeding the chickens as if she didn‘t feel the heat.
As Anna came out, she found that Mike‘s wife was looking into the house. When she saw Anna, she immediately lowered her head and seemed to resent her.
As Anna walked past her, she clearly heard that woman curse, “What a troublesome woman!”
Anna looked back at her, frowned, and asked, “What? Who are you talking to?”
The woman looked up and snarled, “Ah, it‘s none of your business. I said that my chickens are troublesome.”
The chickens inside the coop were still small. Then, one chicken cooed a few times to express how discontent it was
Of course, Mike‘s wife would not scold her own chickens for being troublesome, unless she‘s crazy. So, she must be cursing me. Besides, there is no one here but the two of us. Anna thought to herself,
Anna looked at her and said, “Mike is such a good baker. It‘s such a shame that he retired after the incident
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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