41 Chapter 41
Chloe and Mackie went to Citarella Gourmet Market to buy groceries for Vernon. It was already late noon when they arrived, so it wasn't as crowded.
"Yay, yay! Grocery, grocery~," Mackie hopped happily as she followed her mommy putting a list of raw ingredients, spices, and dairy for the grocery.
Actually, Chloe and Mackie also went grocery shopping here. They would drive far from their mansion to the Upper east side, where Citarella and Grand Central Market were located.
Then, they would go to The Brown Hut for dinner, only the two of them.
Vincent rarely came home since he was busy with his business— with the side activity of sticking his dick to any chicks he met.
Sometimes, Chloe was tired of driving Mackie every morning and evening to her school, followed by buying groceries. When she was home, she had to cook and do laundry.
Though, at least there were a few female housekeepers and gardeners to clean the mansion every two days. Thus, Chloe was only obliged to cook for Mackie and wash the family's laundry.
But she did those by herself amidst her depression and intentional starvation for her diet, making her feel so weak, even nauseous at times.
She asked Vincent if it was possible to get a chauffeur, at least. But he refused, calling Chloe a thirsty whore because she would definitely fuck with the chauffeur in private.
Thus, the only man in their big house was Vincent.
'Ah, I think he also fucked a few of the maids. Maybe that's why he kicked me out of the house with Mackie a few times when he was in the house because he is fucking the maids in the living room,' Chloe reminisced the painful memory again.
"Mommy, Mommy!"
Chloe snapped out of her daze when Mackie called her, gently pulling the hem of her shirt, "Yes, dear?"
"Mommy, I want that!" Mackie pointed at a long fridge in front of them, specifically at yellow milk.
"Banana milk?"
"Un!"
"Okay," Chloe picked up banana milk for Mackie and then checked her shopping cart, "Ah, I also need to buy milk and yogurt."
Chloe started looking around in the dairy section. She hadn't seen milk in Vernon's fridge before, so she didn't know the brand he liked.
"I'll just take my usual," Chloe mumbled. "I hope he will like it."
Chloe picked two cartons of milk, but she suddenly heard someone commenting from behind, "That's not the brand that Mr. Phoenix Gray likes."
Chloe turned around and was surprised by the ebony beauty in front of her.
She was wearing a pink tank top that contrasted with her beautiful dark skin and short denim, carrying a shopping basket filled with groceries for one person. She looked very youthful when dressed like this, compared to her usual blazer style in the office.
"Diamond?"
"The one and only," Diamond responded with a thin smile on her luscious lips. She glanced at the shopping cart and asked, "Are you shopping for Mr. Phoenix Gray right now?"
"Yeah, I need to restock his fridge."
"Well, that means you have to start over. You bought many brands that he doesn't like. Mr. Phoenix Gray is a very picky eater. So he will throw away anything unsuitable for his plate," Diamond informed.
"Eh? He is a very picky eater?" Chloe was a tad surprised. Because if she remembered correctly, Vernon would eat absolutely anything that Chloe made, even the stuff a kid should've hated, like broccoli, green bean, or carrot.
"You don't know?" Diamond was even more surprised than she was. "He often criticized any food he ate, even if it was made by top chefs. He is so picky that I have to drive far to a restaurant he liked just to get his lunch. He would even notice if the seasoning was a tiny bit off!"
…
'Sounds like a hell of a boss to work with,' Chloe said in her heart. It made her wonder how much Diamond got paid to put up with all the craziness that Vernon did.
"Then, who cooks for him every day?" Chloe asked.
"Either he cooked his meals himself, or he would go to the restaurant that he was a regular, or told me to bring the food from the restaurant to his office," Diamond replied.
"Eh? You need to be the one who bring it to his office? No Ubereats?"
"He refused to use Ubereats. He said the taste would be different if it's delivered by random people he doesn't know! Like, damn, I'm working as your secretary, not daily food delivery!" Diamond started venting about her work burden. To put up with Vernon's shenanigans wasn't for the faint-hearted.
Even Chloe felt her pain just by how her tone and expression changed when she started talking about work-related stuff.
Diamond fixed her expression after realizing she was being a little emotional, "I can help you. I was the one who restocked his grocery in his penthouse before you came."
"Ah, thank you, Diamond!" Chloe was relieved that Diamond was here. She feared Vernon would yell at her if she bought the wrong stuff.
However, she didn't expect Vernon to be a picky eater either. f𝑟e𝒆𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗oѵ𝐞𝗹.c૦𝑚
'I have to ask him what's his likes and dislikes for food, so I won't make mistakes when cooking for him."
Chloe put the milk cartons back in the long refrigerator and picked the correct one under Diamond's instruction.
Before they left the dairy section, Diamond noticed the little girl that had been eyeing her while hiding behind Chloe's legs, "Is that your daughter?"
"Ah, yes, her name is Mackenzie, or people usually called her Mackie. Mackie, go and say hi to Miss Diamond," Chloe said as she gently pushed Mackie to the front.
Realizing that Mackie was scared and shy, she confirmed, "Don't be scared. Miss Diamond is Mommy's friend in the new job."
Mackie clenched her Mommy's jeans as she kept staring at Diamond, "G—Good afternoon, Miss Diamond…."