Out of Control: Into Your Everything-Chapter 61: Quite Concerned About Her

"I’m not really sure. I only heard it by chance, like Mrs. Ford was hospitalized a while ago, and apparently she was acting really oddly."

Yana stopped talking after she said this.

After all, there was no proof—honestly, it’s just their family stuff, and if word somehow spread outside, who knows what kind of mess it would cause.

Scarlett Shaw naturally didn’t ask any further questions.

It’s just, she had barely slept last night, and after a beer, her head was killing her, so she said goodbye to Yana.

What she didn’t expect was that the headache hit her full force the next morning. Not only was her head foggy, but her body felt as heavy as a rock, clearly the symptoms of a bad cold. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Scarlett figured it was probably from catching a chill and drinking, not some infectious illness.

So she forced herself to get out of bed, feeling dizzy and unsteady, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

But she didn’t stand firmly and fell down.

Luckily, she reacted quickly enough to brace herself with her hands, otherwise if her head had hit the ground, she could’ve been done for.

Still shaken, Scarlett didn’t dare push herself anymore. She went back to bed, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and messaged Skyler Miller to request sick leave.

Skyler responded quickly, telling her to rest well and not to worry about work.

Scarlett felt all warm inside.

Touched, she replied: Skyler, you’re really the best.

Having a boss who approves your leave in seconds and doesn’t make a fuss—how lucky is that?

Over at Veridian—

Skyler Miller had just printed out the meeting materials and said to Lily, "Lily, take the laptop to the conference room."

"Sure."

Lily turned back, noticed Scarlett’s desk was empty, and asked,

"Skyler, did Scarlett not come in today?"

"Yeah, she’s sick and asked for sick leave."

"Oh, I see." Lily looked worried, thought for a moment, then said, "This is actually the first time I’ve seen her take sick leave. She used to push through even when she wasn’t feeling well. Is it serious this time?"

Skyler thought about what Lily said, found it reasonable, and said, "How about we go check on her after work?"

"Great idea!"

Lily carried Skyler’s laptop upstairs to the conference room. As soon as she plugged in the cables, Aaron Carson walked in and looked surprised to see her.

"Where’s Scarlett?"

He remembered that it was always Scarlett who handled this before.

Lily: "Scarlett took a sick day today."

Aaron frowned. "She’s sick?"

Lily rarely dealt with Aaron Carson directly.

To her, Aaron was Julian Ford’s special assistant—cold and ruthless, the big boss who’d skin you alive.

And what annoyed this boss most? Subordinates asking for leave, obviously.

Plus, Aaron’s frown was so deep right now, he clearly was already in a bad mood.

So she quickly spoke up for Scarlett, "Scarlett almost never takes leave. She didn’t even use her vacation last year. She must really be sick this time, just couldn’t push through."

Aaron mused, "Is that so."

Scarlett’s sick leave was something Aaron made a mental note of immediately.

After the meeting ended, he brewed a pot of hot tea, brought it to the president’s office, and set it down on Julian Ford’s desk.

"President Ford, it’s been freezing lately. It’s easy to catch a cold. This tea’s from my home and is good for warming up."

Julian was looking down at some data reports. Hearing this, he didn’t look up, just made a sound in reply.

Aaron poured tea for Julian.

He took a glance at the computer screen too.

"Are you reviewing the acquisition plan from the investment department, President Ford?"

"Yeah."

"I just stopped by the investment department. Didn’t see Scarlett there. They mentioned she called in sick."

Aaron finished pouring tea, watching Julian Ford’s expression carefully.

Julian’s hand paused briefly as he picked up the tea cup, but his face didn’t change. He kept his eyes on the data with full focus.

"President Ford, about Scarlett—"

Aaron didn’t finish his sentence before Julian suddenly glanced up at him.

He instantly held his breath and didn’t dare make a sound.

Julian Ford: "You seem pretty concerned about her."

"..."

Aaron didn’t dare say more, just sighed quietly to himself and backed out of the president’s office.

Getting the boss to soften up? Not easy at all.

Sigh.

All he could do for Scarlett was this much, given his limited influence.

If Scarlett, who’d slept the entire day from her headache, ever heard Aaron’s green-tea-like inner monologue, she’d probably jump up and kick him straight out of Veridian’s executive assistant’s office.

She was this sick, and Julian Ford was the number one culprit. Counting on him to suddenly care about her?

That’d be a fairy tale.

When Scarlett woke up, the sky outside her window was already a rosy red from the sunset.

By habit, she reached for her phone.

There were work messages from colleagues in other departments on WhatsApp. Scarlett replied with a few key points, when suddenly the doorbell downstairs rang.

She pulled on a jacket, got out of bed and went downstairs, and peered through the peephole to see Skyler Miller and Lily.

She quickly opened the door.

"Skyler, Lily, what are you two doing here?"

Scarlett was surprised and delighted.

"You rarely take sick leave, so Lily and I figured you must be really sick and wanted to come check on you."

Skyler put her bag down on the kitchen counter.

"You haven’t eaten all day, right? We bought some meat, fish, veggies, and hotpot base—we’ll make hotpot for you."

Scarlett’s mouth really started watering at the word hotpot.

Eating hotpot at home in winter—nothing better.

The three divided up the work, washing and cutting veggies, prepping the soup base. Soon they were all sitting around the small table, ready to eat.

Lily brought out some beer, poured herself and Skyler each a glass, and gave Scarlett a glass of juice. The whole scene was full of laughter and warmth.

"Cheers!"

Just as their glasses were raised, the doorbell rang again from the entryway.

Scarlett put her cup down and went to answer the door.

She was surprised to see Aaron Carson at the door. "Rhonda?"

"I heard you were sick, so I came to check on you."

Aaron had just dropped Julian Ford off at Cloud Mansion.

God knows, all the way from the office, he’d been secretly hoping the boss might just soften up a little and show up at Scarlett’s place himself.

But of course, that was just wishful thinking.

Julian Ford was cold as ice; didn’t seem to care one bit about Scarlett’s situation.

After dropping him off, Aaron hesitated, then decided—since he was partly to blame for Scarlett standing in the cold wind for two hours—he should stop by, so he picked up some fruit and milk and came over.

Scarlett was surprised but still felt warmed by the concern.

She smiled, "Have you eaten? Come join us for hotpot."

Aaron: "Are you sure it’s not a bother?"

Scarlett: "Of course not, the more the merrier."

"The more the merrier?"

Aaron glanced into the house and finally saw Skyler Miller and Lily sitting around the hotpot.

Skyler greeted him.

They were all colleagues, so Aaron didn’t stand on ceremony. He was even a bit relieved Julian Ford hadn’t come—otherwise, things really would’ve been awkward.

"Assistant Carson, do you want beer or juice?" Lily asked.

Aaron chuckled, "I drove, so juice is good."

"I drove too, but I’m still drinking." Skyler pointed at the bottle. "Lily, pour Assistant Carson some beer."

Scarlett shot Aaron a ’good luck’ look.

Her Skyler was great at everything—except holding her liquor.

Scarlett was sick so she couldn’t drink, but with Aaron here, could he escape?

The three glasses became four, and the atmosphere was even more cheerful than expected.

Lily popped a piece of beef into her mouth and asked curiously, "Assistant Carson, turns out you and Scarlett are great friends. She gets sick and you come right over to see her."