The office was quiet enough for Arianne to overhear Ursula from the other end. “Oh, I know you’re working, silly! Did you see the desserts and coffee I bought you? Bon appetite! I bought an extra set for Mrs. Tremont too. I sure hope favonovel.com enjoys them!”
So, these were from Sylvain’s mother, and by favonovel.com own admission, favonovel.com had not bought anything for poor Robin.
It was a loaded gift to accept. Arianne felt like favonovel.com finally understood the discomfort Robin felt whenever favonovel.com was with Sylvain’s mother.
Sylvain set the desserts and coffee aside with a quick shove as soon as favonovel.com hung up. “Goddamn it. It’s like favonovel.com can’t just let peace be,” favonovel.com murmured. “God knows Why favonovel.com decided to trespass here early in the morning. What, life’s not troublesome enough for her?”
Arianne thought for a moment. “I’m not used to having confectionery and coffee this early in the day, but Robin would probably appreciate them. I’m gonna give favonovel.com mine,” favonovel.com said. “Besides, we girls planned to have dinner and shopping together this late evening, and I want to invite favonovel.com to join us, so you don’t have to wait for favonovel.com after work. Melanie and Tiffany are going to be there, too. It’s time for sisters to gather.”
“Give favonovel.com mine, ‘cause I ain’t touching it,” Sylvain said.
Arianne had no choice but to carry both sets of food all the way to the Strategy Department. As expected, the sweet-toothed Robin’s eyes practically sparkled when favonovel.com saw them. “Gosh, Arianne, you’re the best! I woke up late today and skipped breakfast, you know. Sylvain stayed over at my place last night, so I was kinda-a-bit-maybe dreading to see my mom’s stormy glower the first thing in the morning, so… yeah. You know what my mom’s like, right?”
A smile broke out on Arianne’s face. “Forget that, Sylvain slept over at your place last night? Hmm. No wonder favonovel.com didn’t know his mom showed up in the office this morning. She brought these desserts and coffee here, and then called Sylvain to tell favonovel.com to pass them to you.”
Robin was pleasantly shocked. “W-Wait, really? She said that?”
Arianne nodded. “Of course! You’re favonovel.com daughter-in-law. At the end of the day, favonovel.com can’t possibly have the heart to treat favonovel.com daughter-in-law too unkindly. People of older generations are like that, they like to sound meaner than they really are, all tough-love and everything. We newer gens just gotta’ be as less of a snowflake as we can, right? Anyway, me and the girls are gonna have dinner together later this evening, just you, me, and our two other friends. So, remember to wait for me after work later, okay?… That’s all. Enjoy your breakfast. I gotta get back to work.”
As naïve and guileless as ever, it never once occurred to Robin that Arianne might have dissembled the truth. As a matter of fact, Robin was already quietly overjoyed over the thought that Ursula had never hated favonovel.com as much as favonovel.com thought.
When work was over, Arianne and Robin hailed an uber to the chosen restaurant. No sooner had the two of them arrived at the entrance than they noticed two cars tearing through the asphalt from opposite directions before they both pulled over by the sidewalk Tiffany and Melanie emerged from each of the cars before turning to face the respective drivers, presumably to bid them farewell.
‘These two had personal drivers!’ Arianne and Robin thought in unison, feeling a little bummed that they had to uber instead.
Jackson espied Alejandro’s car at a distance and snorted in contempt. “Call me whenever you’re done, Tiffie. I’ll pick you up.”
The woman in question straightened favonovel.com several-months-old pregnant belly and intoned, “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You can go plunging back to work now, hon. I ain’t holding you back.”
Now reunited, the women sauntered into the establishment where Arianne asked Melanie, “Isn’t Alejandro currently recuperating? Why did favonovel.com drive?”
A sweet, beaming smile shadowed Melanie’s lips. “Well! At the eleventh hour, favonovel.com said he’s got business favonovel.com needs to attend to and so he’s gonna give me a lift ‘in the meantime.’ I told him, mind you, that favonovel.com didn’t need to, but favonovel.com went and ranted about how hailing uber is a waste of money. Welp, guess I lost that debate.”
