Chapter 166
Outside the private room, Leo was holding the wine that had arrived a bit late, looking perplexed. “Looks like my boule of wine won’t be needed
Max hd apparently come out of the private room at some point and was now standing behind Leo.
Leo jumped a little, turning to look at his boss. “The person next door is actually the big boss behind Cloud Crest W
Winery. I didn’t expect that.”
At first, when he saw Paisley living alone with her child in such a big house, he thought she was just some kept woman of a big shot from Harrowfell
After all, in the circle he was in, such situations were common. Most of the time, it was the same kind of arrangement. So, he didn’t have a very good opinion of the woman next door, but he wasn’t particularly hostile either.
Of course, if it hadn’t been for Max asking him to help resolve the issue, he wouldn’t have gotten involved. But he didn’t expect that such a delicate- looking woman, who seemed so frail, was actually the hidden big boss behind Cloud Crest Winery.
Cloud Crest Winery’s high–end wine was hard to come by, and in catered to a market of powerful capitalists and elites. This was also a result of cultivating high–level connections
So, when she had spoken with that couple earlier, it wasn’t her being overconfident. It was more like a superior showing tolerance for someone below them. Throughout, her emotions had remained calm, and her purpose was clear–to solve the problem.
In contrast, that couple seemed to have been creating more problems, Thinking back on it, hadn’t he too been prejudiced, assuming she needed a man to speak for her and handle her problems!
Max glanced at Leo with a cold look. “You were narrow–minded”
Leo nodded in agreement with Max’s assessment. “Yeah, I was narrow–minded. Max, so what do we do with this wine!”
He looked at the Cloud Crest Reserve in his hands, his eyes lighting up.
“Siner you’ve already brought it, juy idrink it” Max lazily waved his hand, turning to head back to the private rooITI,
Lucy accompanied Paisley and Serena all the way to the parking lot. Paisley first strapped Serena into the car seat and then turned to take her bag from Lucy. “Thanks for running this errand for me today.”
Lucy gave a goofy smile, “Don’t be so polite. It’s kind of scary”
Paisley’s mood was lightened by Lucy’s words, “Do you have other options for the professional manager position?”
“Yes” Lucy nodded, quickly understanding what Paisley meant. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything at Cloud Crest”
Lucy had already been hesitant about renewing the contract with Nate for the next year. So when he hinted several times about renewing it, she didn’t give a firm answer
She had been planning to wait for the right opportunity in the next few days to ask Paisley for her opinion before making a final decision. But now, it seemed there was no need to ask
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you,” said Paisley
Over the past few years, Paisley hadn’t paid much attention to Cloud Crest Winery
Nate had been introduced to the winery t
Through a high–end headhunter shortly after l’aisley gave birth to Serena, and after several interviews with Lucy, he was hired
At that time, Paisley was just coming out of the shadow of Dominick and Grayson’s actions and was fully focused on taking care of her newborn,
In wasn’t until Serena turned two that she picked up things related to wine again. Even then, she only worked with the master brewer at the winery to errate a sinall batch of craft beer each year.
All other management and operational matters were handled by Lucy and the professional managers. So, in the past few years, the only people who had really seen Paisley at the winery were the master brewers.
She had only seen the or
new manager’s onboarding report from Lucy once, briefly catching a glimpar of his photo.
On the way home, Serena had stopped crying, bait ber mond was still low.
“Rena, why were you crying today! Paisley asked during a red light, turning to look at the lule one.
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Chapter 166
Serena stared out the window, lips pressed tightly together, refusing to speak.
“Did Millie argue with you?” Paisley probed further.
Serena shook her head but remained silent. The light turned green, and Paisley dropped the subject, driving them home.
Serena was clearly troubled. Since she didn’t want to talk. Paisley decided not to push. Serena would open up when she was ready.
That evening, after returning home, Serena behaved unusually. She didn’t insist on a bedtime story, quietly bathed, and went straight to sleep.
Outside Serena’s bedroom. Maria noticed the little girl hugging her doll and sleeping quietly, her expression tinged with worry.
“Paisy, something seems off with Rena today” Maria found it odd–Serena usually resisted bath time for ages, but tonight she obediently went to wash up. Afterward, she even volunteered to go to bed, skipping her nightly story.
“Did you ask her about it?” asked Maria
“I did, but she wouldn’t say,” Paisley replied softly. “Maybe she needs some time to process. Let’s observe for now.”
Paisley decided that if Serena’s mood didn’t improve in the coming days, she would step in.
It wasn’t that Paisley was indifferent to Serena’s feelings, but earlier that day, Serena had seemed perfectly fine.
present
The change occurred after Serena returned from the restroom–a short time during which plenty of parents and children were pres Paisley didn’t feel worried about Serena’s safety. The only explanation was that Serena had seen or heard something that deeply affected her. Unless Serena chose to share, any attempt to force an answer would likely backfire
Who said children didn’t have worries? As they grew older, their concerns only multiplied
By Monday morning, Serena’s mood had improved. She clung to Paisley and Maria playfully, acting as though nothing had happened. Maria had been worried all weekend. She finally felt some relief.
As usual, Paisley drove Serena to kiddergarten. Along the way, they chatted and laughed. Serena even announced her goal of being the first to finish her lunch that day.
When they arrived at the kindergarten gates, just as they were about to say their daily goodbye, they spotted Vivian hurrying out of the school. wearing sunglasses.
Vivian froze when she saw Paisley and Serena, offering an awkward, forced smile before quickly leaving Sophia followed behind, smiling as she greeted Paisley.
She explained. “Vivian came to withdraw Millie from school
“What?” Serena exclaimed, both surprised and disappointed. “Millie’s not coming back?”
Sophia nodded. “No, st
she’s moving to another city with her parents.
“Oh Serena’s mood plummeted. Her first–ever best friend was leaving without
saying goodbye.
Sophia glanced at Serena, then leaned closer to Paisley, whispering conspiratorially, “I don’t know what’s going on with Millie’s family, but her mom’s eyes were swollen–she must’ve been crying.
“Even though the principal tried to persuade her to stay, she insisted on leaving, saying she was taking Millie to Brightmoor to join her husband. Every family has its struggles”
AD
