Love or Die: CEO’ s Daily Dose of Swoon (Cordelia)

Chapter 11

Everard who was usually indifferent was shocked, but he calmed down instantly. He cracked a smile and took the two hundred bucks, saying, "The coffee beans are in the warehouse. Swing by after school to pick it up."

"Will do." Cordelia was brisk, turning on her heel and heading out. Catching sight of Little Fang's complicated expression, she let out a quiet sigh.

Little Fang must think his boss was a real Scrooge, huh? But it didn't matter.

Sanderson had given her a bank card loaded with a cool hundred grand. She was rolling in it!

As long as it was within reason, she didn't mind giving Everard a leg up. Everything was possible. If he was happy, maybe she could shake off a curse about her being blinded by love a bit sooner.

Once Cordelia had left, Calvert grimaced and asked, "Where's the St. Helena Coffee in the warehouse?"

All they had was that pile of condoms from the shelf display!

Everard shot him a look. "Call Hackett Griffin. You go fetch it."

Calvert replied, "…Right."

After speaking, he couldn't help but mutter, "Sir, Mr. Griffin's a good man in his sixties. Can't you just call him Mr. Griffin? 'Hackett Griffin' sounds…" His sentence took a sharp turn under Everard's gaze, "That…is away from your well-education!"

Everard ignored him and settled back behind the counter, picking up a book to read.

Cordelia walked into the school gates just as an Audi pulled up.

Hanley watched her fleeting figure, momentarily stunned, not getting out of the car.

Belinda, who had driven their son to school, was oblivious to his distraction and launched into a rant, "Only second place this time? What happened?"

Hanley kept a straight face, silent.

Belinda griped, "You didn't slack off all summer. There's no way you did poorly. Was it the Delaney family messing with you on test day? Thank goodness we switched our marital pledge, or you'd be dragged down to their level, marrying a nincompoop like that!"

Suppressing a surge of rebellion, Hanley pushed the car door open, "I'm off to school!"

"Okay," Belinda said, continuing to probe, "Who got first place this time? Juliana? You two are practically engaged. It's okay if she beats you once in a while."

Hanley had already stepped out of the car, but her words made him pause and turn, compelled to respond for some reason, "It was Cordelia."

"No doubt it was Juliana… wait, what?" Belinda was stunned.

Hanley looked away, puzzled by his sudden defiance. He was fed up with Belinda's nagging. Why hadn't she consulted him before calling off the engagement with the Delaney family?

The first class was with Latham, the teacher in charge of the class who liked to harp on discipline.

He called out, "Merry, didn't I tell you to dye your hair back yesterday?"

Cordelia's deskmate slumped on the desk, indifferent as a pig in the sun, "Sir, dying hair costs money. My folks took my bank card. How about you get it back for me first?"

Latham, red-faced with frustration, sighed, "Come to my office during the break, you and Cordelia."

Cordelia, hearing her name, looked up in confusion. Why did he summon her?

The two classes flew by, and Cordelia got a taste of how much of a headache her deskmate was. Merry was sleeping through class, gaming on her phone once awake, bluntly refusing to answer questions, to the point where the teachers gave up on her entirely.

When break time came and students headed out for exercises, Cordelia made her way to Latham's office. She nudged Merry who was still engrossed in her game, "Aren't you going to the office?"

Merry replied with a grin, "Nah, Mr. Latham won't do anything."

Cordelia paused, then asked, "Where is his office anyway?"

Merry looked up, puzzled by Cordelia's cluelessness, locked her phone, and stood, "Fine, I'll show you."

On the way, Merry's gossiping nature kicked in, "Mr. Latham is so henpecked. His wife takes his whole paycheck. He's still biking to work on that old clunker…"

"…Oh." Cordelia didn’t know how to reply.

They entered the office, approaching Latham, who smiled at Cordelia and said, "Just a moment, Cordelia."

He then opened a drawer and took out something wrapped in a newspaper. Unwrapping it revealed some change.

Pushing the cash into Merry, he said, "I'm not sure how much you need for the hair, but five hundred should cover it, right?"

Merry was taken aback, murmuring, "Mr. Latham, this must be your secret stash. Aren't you afraid I'll just hit the arcade with this?"

Latham smiled, "It's yours to do as you please."

Merry wavered her rebellious eyes, ultimately she took the money and left, "Fine, I'm off to the Arcade then!"

After Merry had gone, another teacher spoke up, "Why bother with her, Latham? Her parents have given up on her, and yet you…" ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Latham sighed, "If I don't look after her, who will?"

Turning to Cordelia, he asked, "Cordelia, I actually called you here to ask if you'd be interested in joining the math competition?"

Math competition? Cordelia was momentarily lost for words.

Latham leaned back in his chair, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he spoke, "The math challenge is going to be a tough cookie, that's for sure. We've got a prep course right here at our school that'll give you a leg up. It'll dive into the nitty-gritty, so if you're game, you'll need to attend and master the deeper concepts..."

The possibility of learning more sparked Cordelia. She nodded enthusiastically, "Definitely!"

Latham slid a registration form across the desk. "Alrighty then. Fill this out. There's an informal Galaxy Math Whiz Competition in a week, a good place to cut your teeth. Then, every Monday to Friday, for the last two study periods, head over to Room 301 in the lecture hall for the training sessions."

"Got it."

Cordelia stepped out of the office to find Merry leaning against the wall, absorbed in her phone, presumably gaming. She looked up with a grin as Cordelia emerged, "Let's roll."

It wasn't until they were halfway back to class that it dawned on Cordelia that Merry had been waiting for her.

As they entered the classroom, a sharp-eyed classmate spotted the competition form in Cordelia's hand and exclaimed, "Cordelia, you're signing up for the math competition?"

"You're about to join the ranks of the brainy elite like Hanley... Does that mean you'll be hitting the books with him for the last two periods every day?"

The room fell silent, the air thick with unspoken thoughts.

After an eternity, someone dropped a bombshell, "You're not still carrying a torch for Hanley, are you?"