Chapter 220
He’s actually threatening me now!
Effie snapped, “Do whatever you want.”
She spun on her heel and stormed out of the office.
The door slammed shut behind her, but Irving Butler didn’t get angry-in fact, he chuckled.
If she’d slammed the door that hard, it meant she was furious.
But what did her anger matter to him? He couldn’t care less.
Irving slipped on his suit jacket and strode out, calling loudly, “Nelly, come with me. We’re meeting with Mr. Hoffman to discuss the next phase of our partnership.”
Nelly sashayed to her feet, casting a triumphant glare in Effie’s direction. “Of course,” she said sweetly.
Irving and Nelly left together.
Shirley fumed, “What the heck just happened? Where do they get off, stealing our project like that?”
Effie’s tone was cool. “Do they even have any shame?”
Shirley blinked, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Now that you mention it… probably not.”
Effie turned to her. “Don’t waste your energy getting upset over people like that.”
“How can I not be mad? My bonus-gone, just like that!” Shirley groaned, genuinely upset about watching her bonus vanish into thin air.
That evening, Effie and Lyman went to her grandmother’s house for dinner.
Grandma was waiting for them in the courtyard, and as soon as someone passed
by, she’d beam and introduce Lyman as Effie’s husband.
Everyone praised Effie’s good taste for marrying such a handsome man.
Grandma was well-liked and easygoing, so the neighbors were quick to shower Lyman with compliments, making him a little embarrassed by all the attention.
“Grandma, can we go inside and eat now?” Effie asked, knowing full well her grandmother was showing off on purpose if she could, she’d announce to the whole world just how happy Effie was these days.
Once Grandma felt she’d bragged enough, she finally led them upstairs.
“Mrs. Spencer is really enjoying life now-her granddaughter married such a great guy, hired two caregivers for her: one to cook, one for company and walks and conversation. Look at her, she’s looking better every day.”
“She and her granddaughter have finally made it through the tough times. It wasn’t easy.”
Everyone agreed that Grandma and Effie had been through a lot.
Effie and her grandmother heard every word. Effie looked over just as her grandmother glanced back at her.
Effie squeezed her grandmother’s hand, and they exchanged a warm smile.
They’d barely reached the top of the stairs when an unexpected visitor arrived. “Wait, isn’t that….. Effie’s cheating father?”
“Looks like him, but it can’t be, right? If it’s really him, how does he have the nerve to show up here?”
The old men and women, who could outshout a megaphone, gossiped loudly as Shepard ducked his head lower and lower.
He’d half-expected this kind of scene but had no choice-he had to come today. Shepard climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. Effie opened it.
Her eyes narrowed with annoyance. “You.”
Shepard hadn’t expected to see her; caught off guard, he stammered awkwardly, “Yeah, it’s me.”
With a sharp bang, Effie slammed the door in his face, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Shepard’s eyes darkened with irritation. He fumed inwardly—after all, he was still her father, and she couldn’t even give him a shred of respect!
He knocked again, calling out, “Mom, it’s me. I came to see you.”
From inside, Grandma said, “When did a stray dog start barking outside? So noisy.”
“Calling him a dog is an insult to dogs.”