Once the doctor had cleared that Hazel was well enough to leave the hospital, the three of them leave the place with Hazel looking as if she could not wait to leave the place. Her face grew livelier as she stepped out of the hospital.
Seeing her expression, Neil then threatened that if she had kept her discomfort a secret from him again, he was going to take her to the hospital and in the end, Hazel had promised that she will tell her uncle immediately if something happened.
Because Edith had helped to look after Hazel in the hospital, Neil Mo had offered to drive her home. Knowing that he had wanted to show his gratitude, Edith had not rejected his offer. It was the weekend and she still had a place she needed to go to her extra classes afterward.
Neil Mo glanced at the rear mirror and looked at the two girls whispering among themselves.
His lips curled into a smile and soon it disappeared as the thought he had last night came back to his mind.
This incident made Neil realized how important he needed to hire a caretaker for Hazel. He could not let Hazel stay at his office and wait until he finished his work before the two of them will head home together.
Hazel was still a small kid and she will need a proper environment to grow up. Staying at his office until it was late night was not healthy for her. If he had to stay and work overtime, then, what will happen to Hazel?
Besides, with Nanny Ann recuperating after her accident, the little girl has been eating takeaway meals for the past few days. Although Hazel will not be deprived of food and clothing, the living environment that he can provide for her was not suitable at all.
When he had convinced his mother that he can look after Hazel while managing the company at the same time, Nanny Ann was still around and Neil had thought that looking after an obedient child as Hazel would be easy as he had his help. But now, Neil had to change his mind.
There were a lot of things that he needed to consider.
Neil realized that he needed help and that was how a thought had suddenly come to his mind.
Hazel was a sensitive kid and Neil wanted to hire the best caretaker for her. However, to find someone that Hazel could go along with would be difficult. It would take a long time before Hazel would be able to open up to someone.
His gaze went to the rear mirror again to look at the two girls on the backseat. Looking at how Hazel was leaning her head on her teacher's arms made his expression grew warmer.
Neil felt a tug in his heart and thought of his idea to hire the kindergarten teacher as Hazel's caretaker again.
It was just that… Neil was not sure how Edith was going to react when he proposed his idea.
The SUV entered a suburban area and stopped as it reached to Edith's apartment block.
Edith thanked Neil for the ride and bid her goodbye to her little student. However, as Edith stepped down from the SUV, she was surprised upon finding that Neil had stepped down from the vehicle as well.
"President Mo, is there something else?" Edith asked when she saw the conflicting look on the man's face.
Neil hesitated, then nodded. "Teacher Qian, I would like to hire you as Hazel's caretaker."
There was a long silence between them. The two grownups stared at each other for a full minute until Neil grew restless at the woman's gaze. Seeing that Edith had not answered him, Neil readied himself to hear her rejection.
Edith shifted her gaze towards Hazel who was sitting obediently in the vehicle. The little girl was staring at the adult with through the window, and wonder what was going on.
"A caretaker?"
Neil nodded again. "Nanny Ann had an accident and had to stay home and recuperate for at least two months. She is unable to look after Hazel."
A light flashed in Edith's eyes. She seemed to recall that there was one time that Neil had came over late to pick up Hazel from the kindergarten. He had explained that Nanny Ann was unwell, but she did not think that it was serious. "Then, who was looking after Hazel after school hour?"
"These days, I had Old Tang to sent Hazel to my office," Neil said before he explained his and Hazel's situation. "Teacher Qian, Hazel is someone who could not easily accept new people in her life. Even though I have been thinking about hiring a new caretaker for her, I still wanted her to be with someone who she can be comfortable with. Hazel had lost both parents recently and I am worried about her. Perhaps I was never close with Hazel when my brother was still alive, but seeing Hazel forcing herself to act grownup and not showing anything made my heart ached."
Edith turned to look at the little girl who was in the vehicle again. Their gaze met and Hazel shot her a happy smile.
"I see that you are quite close to her and this is why I am making this offer to you," Neil said.
After meeting the caretaker candidates and see the way Hazel behaved around her teacher, Neil would prefer to hire Edith instead. The kindergarten teacher had spent a lot of her time around Hazel and perhaps, she would know Hazel better than he knew his niece.
"Teacher Qian, I am not asking you to resign your job as a kindergarten teacher," Neil continued. "You can continue your job while looking after Hazel. If you agree to this, I can give you double what you make as a teacher at Sunflower Kindergarten."
Edith inhaled a sharp breath at his generous offer.
Double! She would receive a lot of money if she agreed to take Neil Mo's offer! Even if she had to stay with Hazel as her caretaker for a few months before Nanny Ann would return and resume her job, the money she received would be enough to cover her living and tuition expenses for a few months!
"Of course, you can negotiate with me your terms and conditions," Neil added when Edith did not give him her reply.
Suddenly, Edith found herself unable to answer to his irresistible offer. "That," she spoke after a brief silence. "President Mo, please give me some time to think of this offer."