Chapter 3012
"Okay, I'll have a look first." Nina sat across from her as she read the documents Sue gave her.
After flipping through just a couple of pages, Sue asked her, “Why are you keeping your mask on? Isn't it stuffy?"
"It's fine." Nina did not want others to know that Karen had hit her. Besides, it was not worth making the issue known.
Sue frowned as she recalled that Nina had gone home because of Karen showed up there.
She had a bad feeling about it, so she looked at Nina's face carefully.
"What is it?" Sue was scrutinizing her, so Nina could not help but look away.
"Did Karen slap you?" Sue asked once she understood what had happened.
Nina was shocked. If Sue had not been at the company the entire time, Nina would have suspected that she had followed her back and seen what went down. "How did you know?"
"I guessed it. Seeing as you refused to take off your mask, something must have happened. The tone of your voice was off too, like you were hiding something. Plus, if you're only covering your face, the only answer must be..."
Sue made a slapping motion before gesturing to Nina to take her mask off.
"Let me see the extent of the damage."
Nina could not hide it anymore, so she had no choice but to take it off.
When Sue saw Nina's red and swollen face, she gasped in shock. "It's that bad?"
She thought that a lady like Karen would not be strong enough to make someone's face that swollen even after slapping them.
She did not expect Nina's face to be so swollen!
"Did you go see a doctor?" Sue asked.
Nina shook her head. "I put ice on it. It's no use going to the doctor for this."
"It's better to go see a doctor and get an X-ray scan." Sue was worried that Nina might have knocked into something if she lost her balance after getting slapped. There could be serious repercussions.
"I didn't hit my head, and she didn't touch my ear. I was just caught off guard when she slapped me." Nina shook her head, not wanting to make the matter seem more serious than it was by going to the doctor. Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.
If she went, Percy would know.
She knew how much Percy loved her. If he found out about it, he would forget the task at hand and come back straight away just to defend her. Then, the Mallory family would be in chaos again.
Nina did not want that to happen.
Sue could read her mind, so she shook her head and said, “You don't want to go to the doctor because you don't want Percy to be alarmed...
"Yes. He's on a business trip right now, and if he leaves his work to come back, it'll affect the company," Nina wanted to explain with a smile, but even just raising the corners of her lips slightly was unbearably painful.
"Fine. Since she was able to look for you, you should be careful. In that case, I don't think you should handle this job. I'll find someone else to do it." Sue took back the document from her.
The job required the person to meet clients, but it was inconvenient for Nina to do so in her current state. Others might find her rude if she wore a mask all the time.
Nina did not object. She really could not do it.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to meet the clients on my behalf for the time being," said Nina.
"Don't be sorry. Just stay in the office and handle the paperwork. Don't worry about anything else," said Sue.
Once Nina left the office, Sue told Jason that Karen slapped Nina.
After Jason got the news, he knew who to tell—Luca.
When Luca saw Jason's message, she sent an invitation to Nina. Considering that Nina's face was swollen, it would be difficult for her to speak. Thus, she sent her a text instead.
[Nina, the children have been clamoring for a barbecue today. Can you come over? Aunt Neile is on leave today, and I can't do it by myself.]
She did not ask Nina to come over for a meal, but she asked her to come over and help instead.
Luca knew that Nina would never say no to that.
Nina looked at Luca's message with a troubled expression.
It was not that she did not want to help, but her face was still swollen.
When Nina was still hesitating, Luca sent another message. [Please just look after the children for me. I can't do it alone.]
Nina had no choice but to say yes. [Okay, I'll be there after work.]
[Thank you. I'll be waiting.]
Luca called Aunt Neile right after to check if there were ice packs in the refrigerator at home. Then, she told her to tidy up the guest room before she continued with her experiments.
After telling Luke, Queenie, and the others who she was, Luca was much more at ease.
Knowing that they were in good health made her much more efficient at work too.
After she got off work, she went to the mall nearby to get some clothes for Nina and then rushed home.
The barbecue was just an excuse. She had no intention of having one as she just used it to trick Nina into coming over.
Luca planned to have Nina stay with her until Percy came back.
Karen already slapped Nina today, and according to her temper, who knew what she might do in the future? If Nina lived here, Karen would not dare come here because of Luke.
Luke told her this morning that Karen went to look for him and Old Master Crawford.
Luca knew that the gift Luke prepared for Karen was Rain's appearance at the hotel, which led her to think that she had evidence.
In reality, Karen had nothing, so she failed once more.
After countless obstacles, Karen went to look for Nina.
Nina did not like inconveniencing others, so she did not want to tell Percy that Karen slapped her. Luca shook her head at the thought of that.
When she got back home, Nina was not there yet. After greeting the kids, she told them that Nina would stay with them for a few days.
The kids gladly welcomed her.
Luca gave it some thought before saying, “Ms. Nina's face might be a little swollen, but you have to be respectful, so don't ask her about it, okay?"
"Okay, Ms. Luca," the kids replied in unison. If their mother said so, they would have to follow as it was not their place to question.
Luca went upstairs and put all the new clothes she bought for Nina in the guest room wardrobe.
Not long after, the doorbell rang.
Luca went downstairs to open the door for Nina.
She saw Nina walking up to the entrance. Just as Nina was about to change into slippers, Luca pointed to a brand-new pair. "Don't change into the disposable ones. Wear these. They're brand new."
Since Nina was staying here, disposable slippers might not be comfortable. Hence, she bought Nina a new pair while shopping for clothes.
She put them in the shoe cabinet when she came back.
Nina looked at the slippers in confusion and said softly, "I can just wear the disposable ones..."
"Just wear them. These will be yours from now on, so you can wear them every time you come over," Luca said with a smile.