novelraw Chapter 827: Lola, Are You...?
Chapter 827: Lola, Are You...?
"Wow..." Lola trailed off, her face twisting in dismay as she stared at the mountain of papers Amala had just dropped on her desk. She looked up, catching Amala smiling across from her.
"Amala, I didn’t offend you, did I?" she asked with an awkward smile. "I’m just visiting. You didn’t have to bury me with this much work."
Amala smiled. "These are your responsibilities to begin with. Lola, I’m just the acting CEO right now, and I still need your approval for these things. Don’t worry. I’ll stay here with you..." she trailed off as she shifted her eyes to the couch. "Right, Haji?"
"Hey, don’t drag me into that," Haji scoffed, his feet idly resting on the table. "I’m useless when it comes to those kinds of things. Keep me out of it."
"Gosh." Lola felt the corners of her eyes tear up as she looked at the papers.
On top of helping Atlas in the Order, Lola had her own company to manage as well. Amala might be here doing most of the work, but there were still things Lola needed to handle personally. However, since Ravah and Yuri’s case, she had completely neglected her duties.
Now, they had morphed into a mountain of work.
"No running away today." Amala knocked on the desk with a smile. "You need to finish this today, alright?"
Lola pouted a little. "Amala, Atlas and I are trying to have a kid, you know? I don’t think I should overwork..."
"Lola, you’re not planning to pass this to your husband, are you?"
"Of course not!" she puffed her cheeks, twirling a finger around a portion of her hair. "But if he wants to, who am I to refuse? He told me that I don’t need to work and that I can just focus on—"
Lola stopped when she noticed Haji and Amala just staring at her blankly.
"Fine!" she clicked her tongue. "I’m working, and I’m not passing this to my husband. I’m just saying he’s a workaholic. He would eat this up with a smile."
"She’s just being lazy," Haji muttered as he watched her quietly protest behind the desk before finally starting to work. "Back then, this girl would work everyone to death. But look at her being complacent now—tsk."
Meanwhile, Amala simply smiled as she watched Lola focus on the mountain of work.
"Isn’t that a good thing?" she whispered as she faced Haji. "Haji, don’t talk like you haven’t changed as well."
Haji pointed at himself. "I didn’t change."
"Haha. If that’s what you say." Amala shook her head as she leaned back in her seat, helping Lola shave down the mountain of work she had to finish.
Lola and Atlas had been trying for a child after she made sure the birth control she had used had completely dissolved. From what Amala knew, there had been a small residue left. So, Lola had it removed.
That was about a month ago or so, Amala thought, her eyes drifting to Lola.
But before Amala could wonder further, the door suddenly flew open.
Everyone turned toward the door just as Silo’s booming voice filled the room.
"Look what I got!" Silo shouted, holding boxes of pizza, a bucket of fried chicken, cans of beer, and a few more bags of food. "Let’s drink!"
Then, peeking from behind him was Cedrick, holding a box of cake.
"I’m also here."
"Oh, you too!" Lola perked up happily, her eyes brightening when she saw Cedrick. The latter smiled as he blushed slightly, seeing Lola again after a while.
With Silo and Cedrick bringing food and drinks, Amala knew it couldn’t be helped. It had been a while since Lola was here, and they rarely had the chance to gather like this.
Hence, Haji cleared the center table of the documents and replaced them with the feast the duo had brought.
"Wow..." Lola happily sat on the couch with Amala and Cedrick. She turned to Cedrick, her mouth falling open. "Cedrick, you are glowing. Wow! You look like a celebrity!"
Cedrick scratched the back of his head and lowered it slightly.
"Lola, how could you say he looks like a celebrity? He is a celebrity!" Silo said proudly. "Do you know he’s the new Slater Bennet in Novera?!"
"That’s a little..." Cedrick laughed awkwardly. "... Slater is an international superstar."
Since Cedrick entered Lola’s management, his career had fully taken off. Although she had stepped away, Lola still chose the scripts he should take and the endorsement deals that suited him. Silo, on the other hand, handled everything else.
Amala also helped a lot.
And because of their help, Cedrick not only had the chance to pursue his passion, but he was also able to provide for his family. He would be forever grateful for that.
"I’ll work harder!" he suddenly declared aloud, making both Lola and Silo flinch while Haji and Amala also turned to look at him.
Seeing their reaction, Cedrick’s face turned red with embarrassment.
"I mean—"
"Haha! Look at him." Haji laughed. "That’s the spirit! Go, work hard and earn more! That’s my student!"
Amala chuckled as she nodded approvingly. "But don’t forget to rest too. Don’t overwork yourself."
"Yeah, Cedrick. Listen to Amala!" Silo added. "I told you a hundred times to use your rest days to rest! Don’t use them to work more—have mercy on me! I also need rest, you know!?"
Cedrick laughed awkwardly as Silo began nagging him again. As for Lola, she chuckled and patted his back.
"I agree with him, my money tree," she shamelessly said. "Take care of yourself and have a life too. Stay healthy for a long, long time and keep bringing me money, alright?"
Haji looked at her shameless smile and shook his head. When his eyes fell on Cedrick’s smile, his disappointment deepened.
"She just told him he’s her cash cow, but he’s smiling like that," he clicked his tongue repeatedly. "Let’s drink, let’s drink!"
Their happy voices echoed in the office as they opened their cans of beer.
But before drinking, Lola opened the bucket of fried chicken happily. It was her habit to eat something before drinking. However, the moment she opened the bucket of fried chicken from her favorite restaurant, she jolted back.
"Huh?"
Everyone paused at her reaction.
"Is this rotten?" Lola covered her nose with the back of her hand, staring at the fried chicken in horror. When she leaned forward to take another whiff of its aroma, she nearly gagged and ran off to the bathroom.
The four of them—Haji, Silo, Cedrick, and Amala—watched her sprint away in confusion.
Then Silo reached for the food and smelled it, tilting his head.
"It doesn’t smell bad," he muttered, confused. "Why did she—"
Silo trailed off as everyone’s eyes widened in shock.
They exchanged stunned looks before turning toward the direction Lola had run, just in time to see her walking back.
"Hmm?" Lola paused while wiping her mouth, looking at the four of them in confusion. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Lola, are you..." Amala trailed off. "...pregnant?"