Chapter 59 Come to the Party
When Nicole returned home, she saw Hayden playing on his laptop on the couch.
When Hayden saw her, he immediately jumped off the couch. His bare feet pattered as he ran over to her. “Mommy!” he called out sweetly.
“Hey there, sweetheart.” Nicole grinned as she picked her son up. Her gaze fell upon the laptop stand on the couch, and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Did you spend the whole day on your laptop while I was gone?”
“Hey, I only just started gaming when you came back,” Hayden whined as he buried his head in her embrace. Although she wasn’t sure whether he was telling the truth, Nicole’s heart melted when she heard his cute voice.
After Hayden finished playing coy, he looked up at Nicole. “Mommy, it’s still working time. Why are you back?” he asked, curious.
Nicole didn’t want her son to worry, so she simply told him she was worried about leaving him alone at home.
Hayden could guess that something was up when he saw the forced smile on Nicole’s face. His black eyes darkened, but when he looked at her again, his expression had reverted to an innocent smile. “It’s not my first time being home alone. You don’t have to worry about me, Mommy,” he soothed.
The mother and son continued to banter for a little while. As she looked at her son’s innocent face, Nicole became even more determined. I must not let Joseph get his way!
The next morning, Nicole prepared to begin working after she arrived at her office. A few moments after she sat down, however, Queenie suddenly barged into her office. A red-faced Scarlett trailed after her. Scarlett’s expression had a hint of anxiety in it. Upon seeing Nicole, she lowered her head. “I couldn’t stop her, Miss Nicole,” she said regretfully.
Meanwhile, Queenie looked at Scarlett in disgruntlement. She narrowed her eyes and scoffed at her. “I’m Colton’s fiancée, the future wife of the head of Gardner Corporation. This is just a regular workplace. Why can’t I enter?”
Seeing Queenie’s tyrannical attitude, Nicole knew that Scarlett would never be able to stop her. She waved a hand to tell Scarlett that it was all right. “It’s okay. You may leave.”
Scarlett let out a breath of relief when she saw that Nicole wasn’t angry with her. She hastily left and closed the door after her.
Nicole leaned back in her seat with an eyebrow raised. Queenie wouldn’t have come to see her without a reason. She must have come to see me with some ulterior motive today.
“Speak. What is it?” Nicole went straight to the point.
“Dad was the one who wanted me to come here. He hopes that you’ll attend his birthday celebration tomorrow,” Queenie said haughtily with her arms crossed over her chest, like she was doing Nicole a favor.
Nicole couldn’t stop the guffaw that escaped her after she heard that. “Me? Attend his birthday party? Did he forget that I’m no longer part of the family?”
“You’re still his daughter by blood. Now that you’re back in the country, you can’t just refuse to go,” Queenie said.
“I’m really sorry then, for I have no father,” Nicole said harshly. It was obvious that Queenie was here today because Nicole was the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel. The Andersons simply wanted to bask in her spotlight. There was no way Nicole would let them do that.
Queenie initially wanted to fire back with a snide remark after hearing Nicole’s reply, but she held herself back when she remembered her plan. She let out a sigh. “If you attend the party, my mother will help you to clear your mother’s name of her affair over ten years ago.”
At last, a ripple marred Nicole’s calm expression when she heard that. She lifted her head to stare at Queenie, fury evident in her bright eyes. Her mother was clearly innocent, but she was forced to bear the accusation of being an adulterer due to Lydia’s lies.
“Your condition?” Nicole retorted. She didn’t trust Queenie to tell her this out of pure kindness.
Seeing how Nicole finally took interest in her invitation, Queenie’s expression turned into a pleased one. “Firstly, come to Dad’s birthday party. Secondly, you will not meet with Colton anymore after the collaboration is over!”
Nicole looked down as she mulled things over. When she looked up again, her eyes were back to their calm appearance. “Deal,” she said softly.
