A Spoonful of Sugar: Don't Beg for Love

'Isaac... He was originally an employee of the Lanes, so he's probably following Rachael around just like how he did with me, protecting her by her side. But I was the one who hired Renee, so will Matthew let Renee stay and continue with her previous job after I left?'

Just as she was thinking, there were two knocks on the door, Hesper lifted her head and saw Pennleigh's assistant and Mrs. Potter walking in together.

"I saw him looking for you at your doorstep just now, so I brought him while I came in."

Lionel gave Hesper everything she needed, took a closer look at her legs, and gave off a slightly worried expression. "I didn't expect your injury to be this serious, Ms. Rivera. And you still planning to work at such times? You're way too hardworking. Ms. Rivera, you might not know about this, but Mr. Pisano was so worried when he saw the situation in your office that morning that he almost called the police." Hesper indeed did not know that part of the story, and Pennleigh did not tell her about these things either.

Mrs. Potter complimented Lionel and Hesper's employer at this moment. "It seems that Ms. Rivera has a very excellent boss who cares so much about the situation of his employees."

"What?!" Lionel was a little dissatisfied and let off a bitter sigh. "It's obvious that Mr. Pisano likes Ms. Rivera. He already claimed that he's your fan when we met in Halwanest, didn't he?!"

Mrs. Potter stood aside attentively. Hesper was astonished for a moment. "No, you've misunderstood, Pennleigh and I are just ordinary friends."

Lionel curled his lips and said nothing more. "I have to go back to report to Mr. Pisano now. Please rest well, Ms. Rivera. Don't always think about work. You're nowhere near your deadline just yet, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yupe, got it."

"Wait, Lionel," Hesper called out all of a sudden. "Is there anything that you need to do in the studio today? And where will Pennleigh be this afternoon?"

Lionel scratched his head. "No, all recent orders have been dealt with, and nothing went wrong in the office before I came here. Mr. Pisano is probably in the office now."

"I see." Hesper nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, that's it. Thanks again, Lionel."

If Pennleigh knew that he had been exposed because of Lionel, he would definitely regret not going to Hesper's by himself, but it was too late because Hesper now knew.

'In hindsight, things sometimes have felt slightly out of place whenever Pennleigh is around, especially when I went to the Pisano manor. Even though Pennleigh didn't see Rickard, he was able to quickly pick up some of my intimate words. It now feels more like he was expressing his true feelings rather than putting on a façade.'

Thinking of this, Hesper rubbed her temples.

'How can I overlook so many details? Now that I think about it, everything just makes sense. It seems that I've drawn quite some trouble onto myself.'

Looking back, Hesper felt that her relationship with Pennleigh was considered normal. There was only one thing they did together that was out of bounds, and that was pretending to be a couple, but they had agreed upon it in advance.

In Hesper's opinion, love was far less important than what she could hold in her hands now, not to mention that she still had Rickard and Renfrew to worry about.

'It seems that Eustoma is no longer a good way out.' Hesper turned on the computer and thought in a daze. 'I should complete all the contracts on hand and then leave Eustoma right after.'