Chapter 454 Success Rate of 99%
Before the end of the workday, Eric marched into Alexander’s office with a printed stack of documents and a resolute expression on his face.
“These are the collective ideas of the various departments, President Duncan. Many of our younger employees provided summaries of the plans they used to get back their ex. I chose three of the proposals with success rates of 99%.”
Reading through the thick stack of proposals, Alexander nodded thoughtfully. “Implement these, then. The materials we require…”
“I will have them readied beforehand,” Eric answered immediately.
…
As Courtney entered her neighborhood after finishing her shift, she subconsciously took a look around. It relieved her not to see Alexander’s car there, yet her heart suddenly felt empty.
The three children were doing what they usually did—gaming and watching television—when she entered the house. “Does anyone want to go with me to the supermarket? What do you all want to eat for dinner?” she asked them.
Seated in front of the television, Tina took some time to respond, “I can eat anything, Mommy.”
Following suit, Josephine nodded. “Me too.”
As for Angie, who was in the bedroom, gaming was her life. She didn’t care much what she ate as long as she had something to eat.
Somewhat speechlessly, Courtney opened the refrigerator to confirm that there was nothing left to make for dinner before deciding to go on a shopping run by herself. “I’m leaving now.”
“Okay, Mommy. Be safe!” Although the response came quicker this time, it was dismissive and its speakers never took their eyes off the television.
Upon hearing that, Courtney could only sigh resignedly. It was rare that she got to come home early from work, yet her children were busy with their own activities and acting like they didn’t need her. How frustrating life was!
When she opened the front door, however, a figure in the doorway made her stop in her tracks. “Mr. Menzie? What are you doing here?”
At this moment, Caleb had his hand poised to knock. Upon seeing the door open right before his eyes, he also paused for a moment before putting down his hand. “I need to talk to you about something. Are you free?”
“Uh… yes, but I’m about to go grocery shopping. Would you like to come in first?”
“That’s alright. I can go with you. Are you going to the place opposite your neighborhood?”
“Yes,” Courtney answered with a small smile.
Before she could say anything else, a small head popped out from behind her back.
“Who’s this, Mommy?” Josephine stared at the man in front of her before asking bluntly, “Your boyfriend?”
Caleb’s and Courtney’s expressions changed simultaneously the minute they heard that. That was especially the case for Courtney, who dragged her daughter out from behind her back before scolding, “What are you saying? This is my friend! You can call him Mr. Menzie.” With that, she turned to apologize to Caleb. “I’m sorry. She means no harm. This is my youngest daughter.”
“My name is Josephine Somerfield,” Josephine added boldly, staring up at Caleb.
Then, another small head popped out from behind Courtney. “I’m Tina Hunter.”
Courtney put her hand to her forehead. “My second daughter,” she elaborated.
With a small smile, Caleb complimented, “Your daughters are very cute.”
“Mommy, why are you making Mr. Menzie stand at the door?” Josephine batted her eyelashes. “Won’t you let him enter?”
Knowing what her daughters were up to, Courtney gave up and simply decided to invite him in. “Well, come in then, Mr. Menzie. I’m going to buy some ingredients; you can have dinner with us tonight.” With that, she glanced toward the bedroom and shouted, “Come and greet our guest, Angie Grant! Make him some tea.”
“Alright! I’ll be out after this fight.”
Instructions thus delivered, Courtney left the house.
“So, your name is Josephine Somerfield and yours is Tina Hunter. Your sister is Angie Grant. Why do all three of you have different last names?” Caleb was hung up on the details due to occupational habits.
Again, Josephine batted her eyelashes. “Because we have different fathers!”
“That’s not true,” Tina immediately denied. “Angie and I have the same father, and Josie and I share the same daddy, but we each have two fathers.”
Not completely understanding her meaning, Caleb looked at her in puzzlement.
At this moment, the door opened from the bedroom and a tall young woman walked out. Upon seeing Caleb, she immediately let out a warm smile. “Are you Courtney’s boyfriend?”
Of course, Caleb’s expression only became more bewildered when he heard that. “You call her ‘Courtney’?”
“Uh…”
Meanwhile at the supermarket, Courtney bought slightly more fruits and vegetables than usual to make up for the presence of a visitor. As she stared down at the two gigantic shopping bags next to her after checking out, she instantly regretted not asking Caleb to come along with her. At the very least, he would be able to do the hard labor for her.
Toting the two shopping bags out of the supermarket, she realized that the square in front was somewhat noisy. There were many people out and about this evening, from skateboarding youth to children chasing their pets. Across the square, the classical music of buskers and the street music of street dancers clashed fiercely.
As Courtney idly wondered whether there was some kind of event going on, she saw a row of Pikachus waddling their way onto the square and quickly occupying its center. Suddenly, the music changed into her favorite anime theme song and the row of Pikachus began to dance exaggeratedly to the music.
Because the dancers’ limbs were confined inside the doll costumes, the waving motions of the short Pikachu arms were extremely cute. In an instant, a gaggle of girls was gathered in the square, oohing and aahing while filming at the same time.
As Courtney became engrossed in the spectacle, she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Dr. Hunter.”
When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Caleb walking toward her with Josephine holding onto his left hand and Tina holding onto his right. The three of them looked like a happy family.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise. “With the kids, no less.”
With a smile, he explained, “I was afraid you’d be unable to carry the items you bought, so I came to help. These two came along because they were tired of waiting at home. Now, give me your bags.” With that, Caleb took the two bags from her and carried them with much more ease than she had. “What’s going on in the square? It seems busy.”
“Maybe there’s some kind of event going on.” Courtney said as she stared at the team of dancing Pikachus in the distance. “Previously, there’d be an event every month on behalf of the supermarket. Do you want to watch them dance for a bit?”
“I do!” Tina shouted next to her.
“Oh—do you?” Courtney asked with a mock-glare, pinching Tina’s nose and wiggling it. “So, you wouldn’t come to the supermarket with me but now that Mr. Menzie is here, so are you. What do you mean by that, young lady?”
“It’s Josie who wanted to come out. I only came along because I was afraid she would get lost!” Tina protested self-righteously, using her younger sister as a shield.
Calmly, Josephine crossed her arms and retorted, “I only came because I was afraid Mr. Menzie wouldn’t know which door Mommy would leave the supermarket from. You came because you wanted to play, Tina. We have different aims.”
As he watched the children argue, Caleb couldn’t help chuckling. “Kids are very interesting.”
Although she did not want to ruin the mood, Courtney still had to glance at him meaningfully and remind him, “I don’t think Chief Hass wants children, Mr. Menzie. What are you going to do if you get together and she still refuses to have children?”
“Then we won’t have kids.”
Because the music was too loud, the two of them had to lean in close to hear what the other person was saying. Since they were so deep in conversation, they failed to notice that the lead Pikachu in the square had suddenly stopped dancing and was staring at them, motionless.
