“You really don’t need me to do anything?” Zachary looked at Nicole’s pale face and asked anxiously.
Nicole’s expression was firm, and her dark eyes flashed with a hint of resolution. “No, you don’t need to come forward for this kind of trivial matter. I can solve it myself.”
Zachary couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the rare scene of her being serious about matters outside of work. “You have a point. After all, you’re our chief designer. This much is nothing for you.”
Though Nicole could hear him holding back a laugh, she didn’t say much and asked about her son instead. “How’s Hayden doing?”
“He was still sleeping when I went back. I’ve assigned a caretaker to watch over him. He’s fine,” Zachary answered.
After he sent Hayden home, he immediately rushed to Gardner Corporation because he couldn’t relax whenever he thought of Nicole’s worryingly pale complexion.
“Right, I remember that you have quite a few houses within the country. My house isn’t quite safe anymore. Why don’t you get us a place to stay for the time being? We can think of it as a business trip,” Nicole said. She wasn’t sure how Queenie and the others managed to find her house, but she couldn’t continue to live there anymore.
Most of the houses Zachary bought in the country were in high-end residential areas, so there wouldn’t be a problem with security at least.
If she had known that such a thing would happen, she wouldn’t have tried to look for a quiet place to live back then. If she bought a house in a high-end community in the first place, the thugs wouldn’t have been able to break in.
“The villa I live in now is close to Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel’s local company. Besides, there are many rooms,” Zachary said lightly.
Nicole raised her eyebrows and asked, “Must I stay with you?”
“It’s always safer to have a man in the house. Besides, I won’t do anything to you, right?” Zachary said with a smile.
Nicole didn’t turn down Zachary, and she went to his home. She was far too exhausted; she practically fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Her sleep was deep. After her eyes closed, her mind descended into darkness.
Nicole had no idea how long she slept, but she felt weak and lethargic when she woke up. It seemed that she had slept too long. Then, she got up and leaned against the headboard before checking the time. She had fallen asleep at noon yesterday and only woke up at ten the next morning. No wonder she felt boneless. Nicole rubbed the bridge of her nose. At least she didn’t feel spacey anymore after all that sleep. However, the hunger from not having eaten in a long time was uncomfortable. Thus, she got out of bed and went downstairs.
This was Nicole’s first time inside Zachary’s home. The interior of the house was simple, not one bit of ostentatious luxury to be seen and it put her mind at ease.
Nicole could hear bright laughter even before she went downstairs in her slippers. She stood by the top of the stairs and looked down, only to see Zachary and Hayden playing happily on the couch by the window.
Zachary was dressed in a white shirt. His black hair fell in soft waves around his face, and a genuine smile was seen tugging at his lips. Warm golden sunlight streamed in from the window, illuminating his face and making him look soft and gentle.
Hayden, on the other hand, had his arms wrapped around Zachary’s neck, whining for Zachary to play with him.
They indeed looked like father and son.
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, both of them looked up in unison. Hayden stretched his arms out toward Nicole. “Mommy!”
Nicole smiled as she briskly walked over and carried her son. Seeing that the red flush had left his face and he didn’t seem to be in pain, she felt relieved.
“Nicole, Ms. Alicia has made breakfast. The food is still warm. You should have something to eat first,” Zachary said in concern.
Although Zachary had always been this nice to her, this was their first time staying together. It was understandable that Nicole felt unused to it.
…
On the other hand, Joseph often frequented nightclubs and the like, so naturally, he had quite the network. Back when he embarrassed himself at the F&M Apparel annual dinner, the incident spread like wildfire in the fashion business. Mann Clothing Co. ended up losing many orders for the next season, and his father had nearly whacked him because of that.
This incident alone caused Joseph to be in a foul mood, but he never expected the thugs he had found for Queenie to come to him with some new information, telling him that those involved were in jail now. If Joseph had no way of bailing them out, then they would just bring everyone down with them since no one would be safe from their wrath. And because of this, Joseph was having a headache.
After he ended the call, he immediately dialed Queenie’s number.
Queenie was still hung up over being unable to kill Nicole’s son. When she saw Joseph’s call, she became even more irritated.
“Queenie, what on earth did you order those thugs I sourced for you to do?” Joseph asked her through gritted teeth.
Those thugs had some level of influence. Regular people would be afraid of them to some extent, but this time, the thugs were in jail. From the sound of things, they might be in there indefinitely.
“It’s nothing important. What are you panicking about?” Queenie couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“They all got arrested. If I don’t help them to get out of there, we’re going to be dragged down!” Joseph said irately. He had only tried to get on her good side because of how useful she would be to him, but he never thought that she would end up causing so much trouble.
A shocked look flashed across Queenie’s face. “I thought that b*tch, Nicole, said she wouldn’t pursue the matter anymore?!”
“Nicole? Lisa?” Joseph felt his vision darken. Queenie had actually gotten the thugs to go after Lisa?! He felt his limbs go cold and numb, as if they had been weighed down with lead. Even his breathing turned labored.
If anything happened to Lisa, F&M Apparel and Gardner Corporation wouldn’t be the only ones ticked off; the entire fashion industry would be after their heads!
Queenie lowered her head and mulled things over. Suddenly, a thought seemingly hit her. “This afternoon, the usual place. I have an idea to ensure that Nicole won’t continue to interfere.”
Nicole was only reenergized after a few days of rest. In order to thank Colton for his help, she prepared to settle into Gardner Corporation after the mid-winter holiday.
Zachary frowned slightly when he heard that she wanted to go to Gardner Corporation, a little displeased by that. “Just stay here at F&M. I’ll send someone else to talk with Gardner Corporation.”
Nicole laughed. “Colton gave me a big hand this time. I can’t possibly owe him.”
Seeing how determined she was, Zachary acquiesced in the end. “If there’s anything that’s bothering you, remember to come tell me.”
“You’re making me feel like I’m tattling on someone to my parents.”
…
Back to Joseph’s side.
All Joseph could do now was pretend that everything was fine while attempting to salvage the situation. He had already offended Nicole during F&M Apparel’s annual dinner, and now he was being dragged into Queenie’s terrible hare-brained scheme. If he didn’t resolve this, he – no, the entire Mann Family would go down in flames!
He couldn’t just sit around and wait for his own end to come. Thus, the only choice he had was to follow Queenie’s words and meet her.
The afternoon sun was a little strong today. Joseph sat by the window in the cafe as he waited for Queenie. She had a gigantic pair of sunglasses on when she came in. The moment her butt touched the seat, Joseph tore into her.
“What on earth did you make them do?!” Joseph asked with a stony face. That group of thugs weren’t saints either; they’d do anything so long as they got their money.
“Oh, that’s irrelevant. I’m here today to tell you some good news.” Queenie’s lips curved up into a smile, her eyes twinkling. She had already thought about it when she was home earlier. Last time, she had gotten someone to tamper with the paternity test for Nicole’s son and Colton. Now, all she had to do was shove Joseph into the picture and make Nicole think that he was Hayden’s father. Everything would be fine after that.
“What good news?” There was a hint of disbelief on Joseph’s face as he stared at Queenie with a cold expression.
“Nicole has a son. Do you know that?” Queenie asked.
Five years ago, I told Nicole that the one she slept with was Joseph. As long as Joseph can reel Nicole in, then Colton will still be mine! The smile on Queenie’s face grew wider at this thought.
“Yeah, what about it?” Joseph asked, not quite understanding as he took in Queenie’s wide grin. Nicole had brought her son with her the last time she saw him, and Joseph had met the boy. He remembered he even called the boy a bastard then. Recalling the memory, he wanted to slap himself so badly.
“If you hadn’t told me last time that Nicole isn’t Lisa, I wouldn’t have embarrassed myself in front of her!” Joseph grumbled through gritted teeth. If it wasn’t for Queenie’s interference, he wouldn’t have gotten on
Lisa’s bad side.
“Actually, Nicole’s kid is your son,” Queenie said languidly, unaffected by Joseph’s ranting.
Joseph froze then, disbelief written on his face. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he frowned. “What kind of crazy juice did you drink?”
“Did you sleep with a woman five years ago after having some wine?” Queenie asked steadily.
Joseph pretty much didn’t have a long-term partner. One would need more than two hands to keep track of all the women he had shared a bed with. He wouldn’t be able to remember if he did sleep with someone five years ago after having something to drink.
He leaned back then, and slung an arm over the back of the chair. “My memory doesn’t go that far back.”
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