Chapter 127
"Don't go spreading rumors."
Sloane waved her hand with a smile. "I need to go report on the proposal. See you later. Get back to work, everyone."
She turned and left, her steps light, her skirt swaying gently.
Behind her, the group wore expressions of pure gossip-hungry delight as they watched her go.
"Oh my God, so that child is Miss Elikin's and Mr. Perkins's?"
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. The little girl is so pretty—her mom would have to be as beautiful as Miss Elikin."
"But the kid's already that old... Does that mean Miss Elikin and Mr. Perkins have been secretly married this whole time?" Everyone buzzed with speculation.
"If the child really is Sloane's, then she's definitely the other woman, right?"
A mocking voice suddenly cut through the chatter.
Everyone turned to see Vivian, her face cold.
"Miss Brown." They quickly greeted her.
Vivian Brown had joined the company six years ago, in the same cohort as Evelyn, and had worked her way up from sales specialist to vice president.
As it happened, she'd once competed with Evelyn for the same position. She'd lost out because of Evelyn and been transferred to sales instead.
Their initial acquaintance hadn't been pleasant.
But after all these years, if there was one woman at Limbo Inc. Vivian truly respected, Evelyn was at the top of the list.
When Evelyn died, Vivian had mourned her for a long time.
Not to mention how much she despised Sloane.
Someone with no real talent or skill, climbing the ladder on nothing but a face that resembled Evelyn's, stepping on a dead woman's legacy to get ahead.
Over the years, sales and business development had worked together often. Sloane had thrown plenty of obstacles in their way, not to mention constantly poaching projects behind their backs.
Especially with new salespeople—she was all smiles to their faces and a backstabber when they weren't looking.
Vivian couldn't stand her.
"That child looks about three or four, doesn't she?" Vivian glanced around. "Evelyn died three years ago. Before she died, Mr. Perkins publicly confirmed she was his fiancée."
"You all know how devastating Evelyn's death was for Mr. Perkins."
"If that child really is Mr. Perkins's and Sloane's, doesn't that mean—"
"They had a kid together before Evelyn even died?"
She gave a contemptuous smile. "If that's the case, then what is Sloane if not the other woman?"
"You can't say that!" A young woman who'd always been smitten with Sloane stepped forward. "Everyone knows that when Evelyn got together with Mr. Perkins, she was just Miss Elikin's replacement! When Miss Elikin came back, shouldn't Evelyn have stepped aside?"
Vivian looked at the girl as if she'd just heard the world's biggest joke. "Did Mr. Perkins ever admit that? You're all just making things up."
"Over the past three years, have you forgotten how much Mr. Perkins valued Evelyn when she was here?"
"You work in the executive office—you should know that better than me, someone in sales, right?"
The other executive office staff members nodded quietly.
It was true. When Evelyn was around, the executive office had run like clockwork.
The young woman stammered, unable to respond.
Vivian took a step forward and gave another cold laugh. "Besides, these past few years, have any of you seen Mr. Perkins rely on Sloane? I doubt it. Who Mr. Perkins truly loved should be crystal clear by now."
The girl's face flushed red.
Vivian rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
"Evelyn's been dead for three years. No matter what you say, she can't compete with Miss Elikin!" the girl finally blurted out.
Vivian stopped in her tracks.
She raised her phone and walked straight up to the girl. "Say that again. I'll record it. Then I'll play it for Mr. Perkins and see if he agrees."
"You—you're just bullying people because you outrank them!" The girl clearly backed down but kept up the tough talk.
Vivian raised an eyebrow. Before she could respond, a voice came from behind her.
Sloane appeared right on cue. "Miss Brown, what brings you to the executive office?"
"I came to get a stamp. What, you can come here but I can't?"
"Miss Brown was just bad-mouthing you..." The girl from earlier complained to Sloane with an aggrieved expression.
Sloane immediately put on a wounded look. "Miss Brown, what have I done to upset you? Why do you keep targeting me?"
Vivian rolled her eyes.
Targeting her? She was just stating facts.
She didn't bother responding to Sloane and walked away.
"Miss Brown is so out of line. Just because she's good at her job doesn't mean she can treat people like that."
"Everyone knows you and Mr. Perkins have such a great relationship..."
"Exactly."
The moment Vivian left, voices erupted around Sloane.
Sloane gave a faint smile. "Miss Brown just has a direct personality. She's actually a good person."
"Miss Elikin, you're just too kind. That's why people like her slander you!"
"All right, everyone, back to work." Sloane waved her hand, acting as if none of it bothered her.
No one noticed that her knuckles had turned white from clenching.
After everyone dispersed, the calm, indifferent mask in Sloane's eyes finally shattered, replaced by pure jealous hatred.
She hadn't gone far earlier. She'd heard everything.
How ridiculous.
Evelyn had been dead for three years. Did she really think she could compete?
Chloe's face floated into her mind.
Evelyn was one thing. But now there was Adam, who looked so much like Evelyn, and Chloe, who'd appeared out of nowhere...
One after another, they all wanted to get close to Matthew.
She thought back to the phone call from a friend last night.
Apparently, Matthew had sent Briar—Jasper's own granddaughter—to a psychiatric hospital because of Adam.
When she'd heard, her expression had nearly cracked.
But she'd had to maintain her cultured, reasonable demeanor while listening to her friend's questions.
"Sloane, why does Matthew care so much about Adam?"
"Does he have some kind of connection with her?"
Sloane bit her lip and smiled. "Matthew has always admired Mrs. Gray. Maybe since Adam is her granddaughter, he cares about her too."
"Oh, I see." Her friend's suspicions melted away.
Coming back to the present, Sloane had reached Matthew's office. He wasn't inside.
She casually asked the executive office staff, "Where's Mr. Perkins?"
"Mr. Perkins just left. I think he went to a nearby vet."
Sloane froze.
As far as she knew, Matthew had no interest in animals.
"The little girl who came today brought a puppy. It wasn't doing well, so he took it to the hospital." The staff member kindly explained.
"I see." Sloane smiled, but her nails dug into her palms.
She noticed several boxes of milk candies on the desk and felt puzzled again.
"Mr. Perkins had us prepare those. He said next time the little girl comes, we can give them to her." Delta added from the side.
Sloane's expression nearly crumbled.
She nodded and turned to leave.
What brat was this? Why did Matthew care about her so much?
"Does it seem like Miss Elikin's in a bad mood?"
"Yeah, kind of..."
Sloane wasn't just in a bad mood. She was about to lose her mind!