Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Ryan asked again, "So, have you ever studied accounting?"

Molly replied, "Not really my thing."

"What can you do then?"

"I can learn."

Ryan remembered the CEO's advice: "Ryan, when Molly comes to your team, just stick to work talk. Keep everything else to a minimum."

Thanks to that heads-up, Ryan said right away, "Alright, since you're new to this, let's start from square one."

Ryan handed Molly a stack of forms. "Print out 40 copies and put 5 on each desk."

Molly pouted but took the forms and headed to the printer.

Seeing the young lady busy, Ryan's assistant rushed over. "Manager, are you really going to treat the young lady, um, I mean, the lady of the house like this?" It felt awkward whichever way it was said. Later, Ryan simply said, "Just call her the young lady."

"Manager, if you order her around like this, won't she get mad and complain to the CEO?"

Ryan glanced out the window at Molly, who was already knee-deep in work, and chuckled, "Nah, Molly's not like that."

With the manager not worried, the assistant held back any further comments.

Later on, when it was clear Molly didn't have any airs about her, she overheard some office gossip and instantly pulled up a chair to join in. "Where'd you hear this gossip? The version I got from the admin department is totally different." "What's your take, young lady?"

"Cough, cough!" Ryan came out of the office, clearing her throat.

Everyone quickly scattered.

At lunch, Molly sat with the group. "I heard Mr. Vincent from the design department is seeing his assistant. Why did you guys say it's Miss Nina?"

Ryan went up to the CEO's office, and as soon as she walked in, Coleen asked, "How's Molly doing in your department?"

Ryan grinned, "CEO, didn't you know your daughter's a social butterfly? I thought she'd be awkward and was planning to bring her up for lunch with you. But when I checked, she was already mingling with everyone, chatting it up. Didn't have the heart to interrupt." Coleen felt relieved, "Oh, she's still young and playful. She can spin a tale about the smallest things. Remember when she first came to the company and saw the low salary in the department I placed her in? She packed up and reported to the finance department for a whole morning."

Ryan laughed at the memory, "I ended up taking her in."

Coleen suggested, "Ryan, why don't you officially take her under your wing and teach her finance?"

Ryan felt a bit anxious, "I'd be nervous about that. I mean, guiding Molly here and there is fine, but she's now the Cedillo family's young lady, the Byrne family's daughter-in-law, and my future boss. How could I dare teach her?"

Coleen smiled as she stood up, "Don't give me that. Sure, she's a Cedillo and my daughter, but you're her aunt, and she's your niece. Plus, I know your expertise. You're my right-hand woman now, and you'll be hers in the future. If you're not there to guide her, I can't feel secure leaving the company in her hands."

With just a few words, Coleen had secured a strong ally for her daughter and found her an experienced mentor, stabilizing the workforce's confidence in the process.

When it came to financial matters, Coleen trusted Ryan and hoped for a closer relationship between her and her daughter, supporting her takeover.

That evening, Coleen brought her daughter to officially start the mentorship.

Molly was thrilled, "Yes, yes, I'd love a mentor. It's great having someone in my corner, like Mia did. Mom, you should've let me learn from Ms. Villanova sooner. I'd have my accounting certification by now." Coleen replied, "It's my mistake. Now, toast to your mentor."

Ryan felt a new sense of responsibility, guiding her apprentice daily. "Molly, this data's off. Recalculate the earnings. I'll give you a formula. Come to my office later, and I'll walk you through the principles." Molly was eager to learn, running straight to the office with questions.

On the weekend, Molly went home. During a family chat that night, she bragged, "You wouldn't believe how strategic Coleen is. I think I got my dad's straightforwardness and my mom's canning. Do you know how well Coleen handles people at the company? Ms. Villanova is my mentor, and some people tried to stir trouble, thinking my mom only cared about the finance department. But my mom's got eyes everywhere. When she heard about it, I thought she'd patch things up, but she called everyone together and let them have it. Oddly enough, everyone got closer after that."

Mia was snacking on grapes when her son toddled over, trying to snatch them from her hand.

"I'm just curious, who's behind this?"

"Who else but Saul, sent to the outskirts." Molly also grabbed a bunch of grapes, tempting her little nephew, "Henry, come to Auntie." Anya, a bit slow to catch on, pondered why as the family switched topics.

"What's Chad been up to lately?" Hansen asked his daughter.

Molly replied, "Not sure, seems a college girl got scammed. Chad thought it was too gruesome to share."

"Auntie, I heard about this gossip," Anya raised her hand.

Among students, gossip spreads

like wildfire. Even Anya, usually out of the loop, heard it through class and department group chats. "A girl from a different school got duped by a guy claiming to be a rich kid. Said his family was abroad, and he was always flying out for startups and investments. Then he claimed his family wanted to toughen him up and wouldn't give him money. He convinced her to take out a loan, even a shady one.

The girl got pregnant, and the guy lied, saying marriage was just around the corner. As long as the baby was born, his family would reward her with millions. She took the loan, but when the scam was exposed, the guy turned out to be a loan shark, used her, and moved on to the next target. She attempted suicide but got caught by a clothesline, though she lost the

baby."

This kind of gossip usually has everyone hooked.

Henry took a bunch of grapes from his aunt, swinging his chubby legs, and slowly made his way to his dad, offering him the grapes.

Naomi sighed, "These kids, so naive."

Mia and Molly didn't comment on the matter, just another case of students being tricked into loans.

Mia said, "We really need to boost legal awareness."

Molly added, "And host seminars on spotting scams."