Chapter 154: So Sad
After a restless night, the morning birdsong broke the silence filling the room.
The recent lab data still hadn't met Sophia's expectations despite multiple experiments, so she got up early and headed to the lab.
When Emily woke up, Sophia was already gone.
As soon as the nanny finished changing her clothes, Emily couldn't wait to push open the door to find Sophia. Seeing Joe waiting outside, her eyes lit up and she ran straight into his arms.
Emily said cheerfully, "Mr. Watson."
Learning that Sophia had already gone to work, Emily felt a bit disappointed.
After breakfast, she asked Joe what day it was. When she heard it was the weekend, her eyes sparkled with excitement.
Joe asked curiously, "What's up, Emily?"
Emily said, "Let's go pick up James and Michael!"
Joe said, "Alright then."
Emily immediately went to get her little candy backpack and took out a small speaker from her treasure box. She fiddled with it in her room for quite a while before coming out.
Those bright eyes were filled with innocence and anticipation.
Since William had taken James and Michael back to the Smith Manor last time, they'd been staying there.
Emily hadn't seen James in several days and missed him very much.
She pulled Joe toward the door.
Seeing Emily so excited, Joe called Sophia to check, but she didn't pick up.
He figured she must be in the middle of an experiment with her phone on silent.
Joe left her a message, then took several bodyguards with him, ready to go get James and Michael for Emily.
Peace Group, first floor lobby.
The moment Emily appeared, she caught the receptionists' attention.
"Look at that little girl, doesn't she look like the little princess from our group chat?"
"You're right! Cover for me, I'll sneak a photo to check."
Ever since Emily first appeared at Peace Group, legends about her had circulated in the company gossip group.
Whenever she was around, she could definitely calm William down.
A message popped up in the "Little Princess Intelligence Bureau" group.
[Receptionist: Is this our boss's little princess? She's in the first floor lobby.]
The people in the meeting room had their phones on silent, but screens lit up simultaneously. Someone sitting in the corner sneaked a peek and quickly replied when no one was looking.
[Worker: Yes! Definitely her!]
[Anonymous: The thing the supervisor wrote has been getting torn apart by the boss for half an hour now. Quick, let the little princess come up and rescue him.]
Messages kept coming one after another in the group, gradually catching more and more people's attention.
William clearly noticed everyone getting distracted. His well-defined knuckles tapped heavily on the table.
Everyone below immediately perked up.
Emily had no idea that her appearance had brought such great hope to Peace Group employees.
She walked up to the reception desk, which was taller than she was, and waved her hand.
Emily showed a sweet smile, "Miss, I want to see..."
Before she could state her purpose, the receptionist bent down to take her hand and led Emily toward the elevator.
"Ms. Smith, come, the elevator is this way. Let me help you press the floor button, okay?"
Emily was a bit confused but still nodded.
She looked back at Joe, following closely behind, her eyes seeming to ask: 'Is it really this easy to see James?'
Joe noticed the receptionist's expression clearly showed she knew Emily's identity. Remembering Emily said she'd been here before, he understood.
The Johnson family's bodyguards were stopped outside the elevator; only Joe was allowed to accompany Emily inside.
Another message appeared in the "Little Princess Intelligence Bureau" group.
[Receptionist: Ms. Smith has entered the elevator. Salvation arrives in three minutes! ]
She sent three messages in a row, and those who saw them signaled to each other.
The supervisor whose proposal was being criticized by William glanced at the message on his phone screen and smoothed his hair, feeling a surge of hope.
When Joe carried Emily out of the elevator, Molly, in a white dress, was already waiting there.
When she saw the message in the group, an idea immediately came to her.
Molly said with a smile, "I'm sorry, Mr. Smith is in a meeting. Please follow me, you two."
This was Emily's first time meeting Molly, but she didn't like the scent on Molly. It reminded her of the person who had scratched her face before, and Hannah who had pushed her.
Tony was in the meeting room, and other secretaries were busy with their own tasks.
Molly wanted to take them to the most remote client waiting room, but Emily tugged on Joe's sleeve and pointed to the CEO's office not far away.
Emily said, "Looking for James and Michael."
Molly smiled and said, "Sweetie, if you want to see Mr. Smith, you need to make an appointment with me."
Her voice seemed gentle, but Joe heard contempt in it.
His expression turned ice-cold, his eyes sharp as he looked at the secretary in front of him.
Just thinking that the child in front of her was Sophia's daughter made Molly want to throw her out the window!
Joe wasn't the type to put up with people's nonsense either.
Abroad, he'd seen plenty of people with Molly's kind of mindset—no ability against the strong, only bullying the weak.
He picked up Emily and turned to leave.
Joe said, "Since you have more decision-making power than your boss, go ahead and make that appointment."
If it weren't for William's attitude, would the receptionist have let Emily upstairs so easily?
Joe wasn't a fool to be manipulated.
If she liked appointments so much, she could make appointments. As for whether Emily would come back later?
Definitely not!
Emily was surprised when Joe picked her up, "Mr. Watson?"
Joe straightened the hat on her head and coaxed gently, "Emily, James and Michael aren't here. Let's not bother with their cold father. How about I take you to the amusement park instead?"
Hearing him say James and Michael weren't there, Emily immediately quieted down.
She nodded, "Okay."
Neither of them noticed that something small had fallen out of Emily's candy bag.
Molly was shocked. She'd wanted to bully the girl a bit, but didn't expect this bodyguard-looking man to be so decisive about leaving.
"Wait!" She chased after them, but only saw the descending elevator.
People in the meeting room waited and waited, but Emily never came to knock on the door.
Tony noticed everyone's expressions weren't right. He checked his phone on his alternate account and found the latest message in the "Little Princess Intelligence Bureau."
Seeing it was already a message from half an hour ago, he quickly whispered, "Mr. Smith, Ms. Smith is here."
William took out his phone and looked, but didn't see any message from Emily.
Thinking of Emily, a gentle light flashed through his cold eyes.
William said the meeting was over and got up to return to his office.
Everyone in the meeting room breathed a sigh of relief.
Someone asked in confusion, "Didn't they say Ms. Smith came upstairs half an hour ago? Why did the boss only find out now?"
In the office, there was no sign of Emily.
William asked Tony, "Where is she?"
Tony immediately pulled up the surveillance footage and discovered Emily had already left half an hour ago.
Molly rarely got to enter William's office.
"Mr. Smith, I mentioned something when I saw the child didn't have an appointment, but I didn't expect that bodyguard to just take the child and leave."
Molly knew her actions weren't wrong according to company policy, so she wasn't panicked inside, but still put on a sad face.
Tony sighed, "Molly, from now on, she doesn't need an appointment. You must inform me immediately when she comes."
Molly lowered her head apologetically, "I understand."
William knew Molly was usually hardworking, and Tony and other colleagues spoke well of her.
His voice was flat, "Alright, you can go."
Before leaving, Molly looked at him pitifully, but he was watching the surveillance footage.
William frowned, seeing in the footage that something had fallen from Emily's bag and rolled under the desk.
He had Tony go look for it, and sure enough, they found it—a candy-shaped mini speaker.
William found the switch and pressed it.
Soon, Emily's adorable singing voice filled the office.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, Emily wonders where you are.."
"James and Michael, can't you see? Emily's heart is lonely."
William fell silent.