Chapter 1307

Chapter 1307 Going to the Factory to Take a Look

Sonia bit her lip hesitantly for a couple of seconds. “Actually, there really is one thing. Mrs. Robinson, are you sure Daphne really is furthering her studies abroad?”

The instant the woman on the other end heard this, the smile on her face froze. “Miss Reed, what do you mean by that?”

Sonia forced a smile. “Well, the thing is, a secretary at my company saw someone who looked very much like Daphne when she was out this morning. Daphne’s phone was unreachable the entire time as well, so this secretary of mine wondered if the one she saw was indeed Daphne and whether she wasn’t furthering her studies abroad at all. Mrs. Robinson, as you know, Daphne and I were close, so it’s only natural that I have to find out where she actually is to put my mind at rest, no?”

“Oh, I see.” The woman nodded in relief before smiling again. “Don’t worry, Miss Reed, Daphne is indeed abroad. I think the one your current secretary saw was probably someone who looked like her. Many people look alike nowadays, and besides, Daphne has taken photos of herself with the company while she’s abroad.”

“Is that so? Alright then, I got it, Mrs. Robinson. I’m relieved to hear that she’s still abroad. I shan’t keep you any longer, then. Goodbye, Mrs. Robinson.”

“Goodbye! Feel free to visit my place when you’re free, Miss Reed,” the woman replied cordially.

“Okay,” Sonia responded politely.

After ending the phone call, she put down her phone, interlaced her fingers on her desk, and sank deep in thought, wondering if Daphne was really abroad.

She didn’t start the phone call by asking Mrs. Robinson whether Daphne was abroad because she wanted to sound her out on whether she knew Daphne wasn’t furthering her studies at a foreign company. After all, Mrs. Robinson was just an ordinary person incapable of acting. If she were to know Daphne wasn’t abroad, she’d definitely give herself away when Sonia sounded her out. Even if she was capable of acting, she wouldn’t have been a very good actor, and Sonia would still have been able to figure out something was amiss.

However, when Sonia purposely sounded her out just now, she realized that the latter sounded natural as usual without showing signs of feeling guilty or panicking. In other words, she wasn’t lying. The one lying was Daphne, who had also lied to her mother that she was furthering her studies abroad when she actually wasn’t. So why on earth did Daphne do this? Why would she lie to everyone? Did something happen to her, or is she in some kind of danger?

Sonia was filled with worry. Then, she unclasped her hands and picked up her phone again, calling the detective agency that she had gone to before as she intended to have them find out about Daphne’s situation. It wasn’t until the detective agency agreed to take up the job that her mind was somewhat put at rest. No matter what, the fact that Daphne is still able to go around outside probably proves that she’s safe for now. Perhaps only by finding her and figuring out what happened to her can I help her thoroughly. She massaged her temples.

Just then, there was a knock on the door to her office.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Sonia looked up and saw Rita come in with a pile of documents in her hands. She said, “President Reed, these are the proposals from all departments for the staff’s Christmas benefits. Please take a look at them and decide which proposal to follow through on.”

Upon hearing her say that, Sonia smiled. “Right, Christmas is just around the corner.”

“There’s half a month left before that.” Rita placed the documents in front of her.

Sonia reached out and pulled the documents toward herself. “Which will pass in the blink of an eye. Okay, I’ll read them as soon as possible and tell you which proposal to follow through on before the office closes this afternoon. Get the Purchasing Department to arrange for the goods to be procured as soon as possible and distributed to the staff before the holiday.”

“Alright.” Rita nodded. “By the way, President Reed, there’s one more thing. All the machines in the factory have been installed and have undergone preliminary tests. They’re working well, so the factory director asked when you’d like to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony.”

The so-called ribbon-cutting ceremony was actually no different from the opening ceremony of a store; all one had to do was pick an auspicious date, have some flowers and other kinds of decorations in place, and hold an opening ceremony. On the other hand, those who were more particular or superstitious about this could invite a priest to bless the place. In short, everything was up to Sonia.

After pondering for a moment, Sonia replied, “I have yet to settle on a date. How about this? I’ll go to the factory after work this afternoon to take a look. If everything looks good, I’ll come up with a date for the ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow.”

“Alright, I’ll tell the factory director about this later,” Rita replied with a smile.

“Uh-huh.” Sonia nodded. Then, she recalled something and continued, “By the way, as for Daphne, I’ve called a detective agency to have them look into her whereabouts. I’ll tell you if there’s anything.”

“Yes, President Reed.” Rita smiled even more happily. She and Daphne were friends, so it was only natural that she cared very much about the latter and wanted to know what had happened to her. Therefore, she was very pleased to hear Sonia’s words. “Well then, President Reed, I’ll go ahead with my work.”

“Just go.” Sonia nodded.

After Rita had left, Sonia picked up the topmost document of the pile and started leafing through it. These were all kinds of suggestions for the staff’s Christmas benefits, which weren’t work-related, so she flipped through them very quickly. After all, all she had to do was pick the most suitable suggestion from all of them. As a result, she finished dealing with these documents in two hours before choosing and sorting out suggestions that she thought were pretty good. After adding her own ideas, she had them sent to the Purchasing Department.

Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, it was already afternoon. Sonia stood up and tidied up her office. She prepared to send Toby a text message telling him not to pick her up from work later because she had to go to the factory to take a look and would drive back to Bayside Residence on her own later. As it turned out, she had just typed the message and was about to send it before she heard a man’s soft cough from the door to her office.

She subconsciously looked up to see Toby leaning against the door frame with his thin lips curled slightly. He was smiling at her.

Sonia smiled, too. “Why are you here?”

Toby came in. “To pick you up from work.”

Sonia put down her phone. “I was just about to text you to tell you not to come.”

The man frowned. “Why?”

“The factory has finished undergoing construction, so I’m about to go there to take a look. I said a few times before that I wanted to go there, but I didn’t. This time, I have to go there and take a look no matter what, so you’ve got no choice but to go back on your own first,” Sonia explained apologetically.

Toby hugged her around the waist and took her into his arms. “I’m here already, so how can I go back by myself? I’ll go with you.”

“Really?” Sonia stood slightly on tiptoe before wrapping her arms around his neck.

The man nodded. “Or what? Can I lie to you? Let’s go,” he said before letting go of her waist. Taking her by the hand instead, he led her to the door. “We’ll go there, take a look, and then return home as soon as possible. You’re not gonna stay there for long, no?”

Sonia shook her head. “Of course not. We’ll leave after taking a look.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The two left the office together and were, of course, stared at by the staff members along the way. At first, Sonia had felt a little embarrassed by how the staff members looked at them, but now that she’d gotten used to it, she was able to brazen it out and be comfortable with it.

However, she was a bit unlucky, for she ran into Asher again when she stepped out of the elevator.

Asher was standing outside the elevator, probably to take the elevator upstairs. Seeing Sonia and Toby come out of the elevator, he was surprised for a moment. Then, as he recalled something, a hint of excitement flickered across his eyes and then disappeared so quickly as if it were an illusion. After darting an impassive glance at Sonia, he turned to Toby with an ingratiating smile, asking, “Picking Sonia up from work again, President Fuller?”

Sonia rolled her eyes. What a hypocrite.