Chapter 63 Trapped at the Office
Nina let out an awkward laugh as well, not daring to look into the office. She kept her head down, repeatedly apologizing while quickly pulling the CEO's office door shut.
Isabella stood there holding the ointment tube, her face full of helplessness. She desperately wanted to explain loudly that it wasn't what they thought at all.
However, people only believe what they see, and Isabella knew that anything she said now would sound like making excuses.
Logically speaking, since even the big boss didn't care about this, Isabella could naturally act like nothing had happened.
But she was somewhat afraid that these rumors spreading around might affect her work.
"Mr. Spencer, they seem to have gotten the wrong idea," Isabella said to Richard with a complicated expression, not knowing where to wipe the ointment covering her hands.
Richard calmly straightened his clothes and handed Isabella a tissue. "Don't worry about it. I'll explain things to them."
After leaving Richard's office, Isabella took the signed documents and spent the rest of the day carefully analyzing the experimental data they'd submitted.
Once she got busy, the entire day flew by.
Emily finished her experiments for the day and came upstairs to submit some materials. She was startled to see Isabella still sitting in the office.
"Ms. Capulet, why haven't you gone home yet? Won't your daughter get worried being home alone?"
Only when Emily mentioned it did Isabella suddenly remember that Olivia was still at Thora's house.
She stood up and stretched her body, which had grown stiff from sitting all day, then picked up her phone to call Thora while showing concern for Emily.
"Why haven't you left yet?"
Emily gave a sheepish smile. "I made an error in today's experiment data. I want to redo it in a bit to see if it actually affected anything."
Isabella nodded just as her call connected, and she heard Olivia's excited voice on the other end.
"Mom, are you coming home soon?"
Isabella glanced at her watch—it was already six-thirty, but she still had plenty of work left to finish.
She felt guilty. "Mommy still has some work to do. I'll call Daphne and have her come home to keep you company, okay?"
Olivia's voice was clearly disappointed, but she didn't want to interfere with Isabella's work, so she quickly adjusted her mood and enthusiastically agreed.
After thanking Thora, Isabella contacted Daphne.
When Daphne heard that Isabella needed help watching Olivia, she immediately agreed.
After hanging up, Isabella stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows for quite a while, clutching her phone.
The sun was setting, painting the sky with streaks of orange-red light. Night was just falling over the city, and the surrounding buildings were all lit up.
It seemed Isabella wasn't the only one staying late at the office tonight.
Emily finished organizing her things, quietly said goodbye to Isabella, and then headed downstairs with her materials.
Isabella took a deep breath and sat back down at her computer to organize the data and experimental results.
Although the experimental process was certainly important, analyzing the results was equally crucial. If she could find patterns from past experiments, it might save considerable time and money.
"Ms. Capulet, we're heading home now. You should get going early, too. Mr. Spencer said any work that can't be finished today can wait until tomorrow," Nina said, gently knocking on the office door and speaking from outside.
Isabella looked up and gave her a small smile. "I know. It's better to analyze this experimental data sooner rather than later, or there'll be new problems by the time work starts tomorrow morning."
After Nina chatted with Isabella for a few more minutes, she left with another girl from the office, both carrying their bags.
Isabella was now the only person left on the top floor. The area outside her office was pitch black, looking rather eerie.
Isabella finished all her work for the day and checked her watch—it was already ten o'clock at night.
By the time she got home, Olivia would probably already be asleep. Isabella opened her phone to find several messages Olivia had sent using Daphne's phone.
She called back.
"When are you going to break your workaholic habit? Olivia asked me several times when you'd be coming home. You get so busy, you don't even reply to messages?" Daphne started with a lowered voice, but after a door clicked shut, she spoke up louder.
Isabella held the phone with one arm while speaking somewhat helplessly to Daphne, "Give me a break here. I just found this job, and I've been taking time off here and there for family issues. Now that I've handled things at home, I still have to focus on work—there's a pile of data waiting for me to analyze."
"You're divorcing that bastard William. Just take some money from him in the settlement—wouldn't that be enough for you and Olivia to live comfortably for life? You were married to him for six years, gave birth to his children, and helped raise them. Asking for some compensation for emotional distress wouldn't be unreasonable, right?"
Daphne couldn't understand why Isabella was being so stubborn.
"His family has always thought I only married William for money. Daphne, I don't want them looking down on me."
Isabella said this while walking toward the door.
Then she discovered she couldn't open the top-floor door.
After several attempts, Isabella confirmed it wasn't a problem with her access card.
The top floor door automatically locked after a certain time limit, unless authorized by a supervisor.
Otherwise, Isabella would be spending the night here.
After hurriedly explaining the situation to Daphne, Isabella quickly called Richard.
There was some background noise on his end, but when he heard that Isabella was locked on the top floor, his first reaction was to comfort her and tell her not to worry.
Within twenty minutes, Richard hurried back to the top floor.
His access card had the highest clearance in the company and could open any door. With a simple swipe, the lock that had trapped Isabella for nearly half an hour opened.
As soon as they met, Isabella caught a faint scent of alcohol on Richard.
"Did I interrupt something important, Mr. Spencer?" she asked.
"You're trapped on the top floor and can barely get out, and you're still worried about interrupting my evening?" Richard looked at her teasingly.
The two walked toward the elevator while talking, when suddenly the overhead lights flickered twice, bright then dim.
Then they went out completely, plunging Richard and Isabella into total darkness. In the blackness, all their senses were heightened.
Isabella was afraid of the dark. The moment the hallway went dark, she instinctively grabbed Richard's hand. Her palm quickly developed a thin layer of sweat as she grew very nervous.
Richard gently squeezed Isabella's hand to signal her to stay calm while turning on his phone's flashlight. "Don't worry, I'm here."
He scrolled through his phone and found the building security department in his work app, calling the duty officer.
"Yes, this is Richard. Is there a power outage tonight?" Richard asked in a steady voice.
"Okay, I understand."
After hanging up, Richard shook his head helplessly.
"There's a power outage. The elevators aren't working either."