Bianca felt slightly reassured, thinking to herself, “Yeah, no matter how much resentment Abigail holds against us, it doesn’t change the fact she's our daughter. Abigail always tries to bully Dani. Dani grew up with us; it's natural we feel closer to her. As long as Abigail comes to her senses and stops acting out…”
With these thoughts, Bianca managed to comfort herself and finally relaxed a bit. She said, “Dani and Stevie went to a gathering with the Ralphs. A friend of theirs just got back from abroad.”
Gabriel nodded, his expression showing a hint of fatigue. Bianca stood up and suggested, “Let’s go to sleep. Dani will be fine. Stevie is with her.”
After speaking, they headed upstairs together.
The next morning, Abigail received an unexpected call from Ralph during work hours. She hadn’t expected him to reach out so soon. Puzzled, she answered the call. Ralph’s voice came through the line. “Abigail, I’m downstairs at your company. Can we meet?”
Abigail frowned, her tone guarded. “I’ve made it clear, I’m not interested in joining Fletcher Group.”
“I’m not here to talk about that,” Ralph cut in, sensing she was about to refuse. “Come on, I need to talk to you. If you won’t come down, I’ll just wait here.”
Abigail took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. “Fine, I’m coming.”
She let Lean know and stepped into the elevator. It stopped on the sixth floor, where Claudia Harper, a department director, was about to enter—only to find herself face to face with Abigail.
They immediately recognized each other. Claudia still remembered that it was Jeremiah himself who escorted Abigail into R&D. Rumor had it that Sebastian made the personal decision, and some people even speculated Abigail was his mistress. After all, with her academic background, there was no way she’d land a spot at Halden Group, let alone in R&D.
Whatever the truth, no one dared cross Abigail for now. Even though Claudia resented her deeply, she had no choice but to endure it. Faced with the decision to share an elevator with Abigail, Claudia chose to wait for the next one.
Seeing Claudia didn’t move to enter, Abigail calmly pressed the close door button. The doors shut, and the elevator continued its descent.
Just then, Daniella stepped out of her office and saw Claudia standing outside the elevator, looking visibly upset. She walked over and asked, “Ms. Harper, the elevator hasn’t come yet?”
Daniella had just discussed the latest design draft with Claudia, so she knew that Claudia was heading downstairs.
“It arrived just now, but I didn’t get in,” Claudia replied flatly.
Upon seeing Daniella, Claudia looked better, but she scoffed inwardly. So what if Abigail is Mr. Robinson’s mistress? The Gibson family doesn’t even want to claim her. And even if they did, with their status, there’s no way the Robinson family would ever accept a woman with no education and a criminal record. Mr. Robinson will dump her eventually.
“Was it full?” Daniella asked in surprise.
Chapter 335
Claudia gave a cold sort of reply. “No, I just didn’t want to ride with someone—you know who—was inside.”
Daniella’s expression stiffened. She knew who Claudia meant, reigning innocence, she asked, “Abigail? Why is she going downstairs?”
Claudia shook her head. “No idea. Probably got some errand or what. Oh, the elevator’s here. See you around.”
For some reason, Daniella was dying to know why Abigail went downstairs. She stepped forward, gently looping her arm through Claudia’s. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I'll grab a coffee.”
Claudia didn’t mind. The two of them stepped into the elevator together.
“What do you want to talk about?” Abigail asked Ralph, her emotions complicated. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Ralph was trying to get close to her, but she didn’t know why. She knew he always liked Daniella.
Ralph said, “Come over for a meal tomorrow at my place, alright?”
Abigail was about to decline when Ralph added, “Grandpa’s been asking about you.”
The words struck deep. Abigail could reject anyone, but not Adam, and not her own grandfather. They were the only two who had ever truly cared about her.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. No work, right?” Ralph asked casually, but it gave Abigail the distinct feeling he had planned this in advance.
She pushed that thought down and asked “What time?”
Ralph replied, “What about noon? Grandpa is staying at Green Garden, I’ll come pick you up.”
“No need.” Abigail shook her head. “I’ll get there myself.”
Ralph looked at her “You don’t need to be so guarded with me, Abigail. I’d never hurt you.”
Abigail lowered her eyes, hiding the cold smile that flickered in them. She thought bitterly, Bianca said the same thing, and look how that turned out. To them, Daniella is always the priority. I don’t need anyone’s fake kindness.
“Anything else you wanna say?” Her voice was cold, and Ralph could tell his words hadn’t landed the way he’d hoped. “I’m going back to work. I’ll take a cab tomorrow.” With that, Abigail turned and walked away without waiting for a response.
Ralph watched her figure until it disappeared from view, a flicker of helplessness filling his eyes. He then got into his car and drove off.
In the nearby café, a server approached Daniella, who was standing by the counter.
“Excuse me, miss. Can I help you with something?” asked the server.
Daniella had been standing there for quite a while, lost in thought, and still hadn’t ordered anything; if it weren't for her designer clothes, they might have already asked her to leave.
Just then, Claudia’s voice called out, “Dani, haven’t you gotten your coffee yet?”