Chapter 281

Kathy was dragging out her words, joking right in front of us.

Royce gave a helpless smile but nodded at Kathy's comment. "Yeah, she's still a kid at heart."

After saying that, Royce gave me a long look before walking away.

I was still in a daze even after Royce's figure disappeared from sight.

Did they just call me a kid right in front of me?

I've already had four kids and been through a marriage, yet they still see me as a child.

Kathy waved her hand in front of my face. "What's up, Caroline? Don't tell me Royce's words got you all flustered."

I snapped out of it and playfully pushed Kathy.

I had to admit, getting a spa treatment really helped us relax.

Kathy was glowing now too.

I touched her face. "Don't you think your skin feels so much better after the facial?"

Kathy nodded, her eyes lighting up. "You noticed it too, right?"

She grabbed my hand and started walking back. "I've decided, we should get a membership here at Joanna's spa. We can come here to relax and get treatments whenever we want."

"Are you kidding? We already have top-tier VIP cards here."

I had to say, Joanna was really generous with her friends.

Not long after we met, she had her assistant send us beauty cards.

The cards were permanent and unlimited.

The assistant even told us that Joanna had these cards specially made for us, and no one else could use them even if they found them.

When we first received such a valuable gift, Kathy and I were stunned.

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but say, "Thank goodness Joanna's okay... I would be devastated if such a good friend got hurt."

Kathy's eyes widened. "The test results are out?"

She whispered this almost directly into my ear.

I nodded, remembering what Royce had told me earlier. I quickly recounted our conversation to Kathy, focusing on the part about Joanna.

Besides Joanna being okay, Royce had also shared some intel with me.

"And ever since I found out about this, I've had Royce keep an eye on Ronnie."

I glanced around as I spoke quietly to Kathy.

Honestly, when Royce first told me, I didn't think it was a big deal. But now, talking to Kathy, it seemed more significant. "You know, Ronnie has landed several big deals in the past year and has been moving up the ranks."

Kathy scoffed. "What's so special about that? He's always been capable and knows how to work the system. Plus, after marrying Joanna, with Oscar's influence, it's no surprise he'd get a boost."

We never had a great impression of Ronnie.

We heard that in the first year of his marriage to Joanna, Oscar had already given him many benefits, but he still wasn't satisfied and kept pushing Joanna to ask Oscar for more help.

Of course, we only learned about this later from Joanna herself, after we became closer friends with her.

I told Kathy, "My initial reaction was the same as yours, but think about it. For him to achieve so much in just a year, someone must be giving him a significant push."

Given his usual personality and abilities, this shouldn't be normal.

"But he was stuck at the same level for years, no matter how much Joanna's family helped him."

Kathy finally understood what I was getting at.

She turned to me, shocked. "You mean, Ronnie's rise is because of his connection with Maeve, and her network helped him?"

Kathy suddenly covered her mouth.

I was about to say more when the door opened, and Joanna walked in.

"What are you two whispering about out here? If I hadn't heard your voices and asked him to open the door, I wouldn't have known you were back."

It seemed Joanna hadn't heard our conversation.

Kathy and I exchanged a glance and walked inside without saying anything.

Kathy stretched. "Nothing much, just Caroline's sweet boyfriend came to see her... I happened to be looking for someone and saw him! We just chatted for a bit. I was teasing Caroline about it. Even during a spa day, Royce couldn't stay away and had to come check on her."

She gave Joanna a mischievous smile.

"But Joanna, I have to say, after seeing Royce today, I think we need to change our impression of him... He seemed a bit serious in front of Caroline today, not just the overly gentle guy we thought he was."

I followed Kathy's lead. "Royce isn't just a gentle guy. I'm surprised you all think that. He just acts cute around me, but he's always been reliable when it comes to important matters."

Joanna looked at us and laughed. "True... Without Royce's help, Caroline wouldn't have had such a smooth divorce. We owe him a lot."

I laughed and grabbed Joanna's hand. "Exactly, Joanna, you hit the nail on the head."

Kathy pouted. "Maybe that's just the charm of a couple."

Joanna added, "But he really is gentle with you. We're just joking around, we don't have any issues with him. At our age, we should be looking for someone like that."

"Our age... We're not that old." Kathy was the first to object.

Joanna sighed.

"How are we not? But we do know how to take care of ourselves, so we have an advantage."

"You have no idea how many young girls come to my spa every year for beauty treatments. I never had that awareness when I was young."

I lay down, letting the attendant give me a comfortable massage. "Stop it, Joanna. You've always had a good life, and you don't look a day over thirty. If anyone's old, it's me, with all the stress I've been through."

And just like that, the topic was dropped.