“Why are the two of you here? Where’s that Fiona woman? Isn’t she going to apologize?” demanded Samson.
“Director Bethan, how are we going to take care of this?” asked Zayne.
Bethan could not help feeling guilty when she met their earnest gaze. The three of them, including Arianna, were her assistants. They were the only three people in Morrison Group that committed the entirety of their time and effort to her.
However, Arianna was injured while Zayne and Samson were worried sick, and Bethan could not even manage to get Fiona to apologize.
Zayne noticed Bethan’s expression and seemed to realize what had happened. He let out a somewhat disappointed sigh and said, “It’s okay. She’s President Morrison’s girlfriend, after all. I’m not surprised that everyone in Morrison Group has her back.”
Samson immediately gritted his teeth in fury. “F*ck. If we weren’t in Banyan City and instead overseas in my home country, she would’ve been dead by now! “
“That’s enough! “
Before Bethan could say anything, Shannon immediately frowned and shoved Samson’s shoulder forcefully. “How can you say that? You wanted to get rid of her, and now you want her dead. If it weren’t for you, Fiona wouldn’t have gotten angry! Now Arianna is injured, and everyone in Morrison Group thinks she tried to scare Fiona on purpose! Don’t talk nonsense like this! “
Samson froze for a moment, then snapped, “Am I not even allowed to talk now? Bethan was mistreated by Brettley and didn’t retaliate, but that doesn’t mean I’m a coward, too! I just want to get back at Fiona for hurting Arianna. What’s wrong with that?”
Shannon glared at him. “Do you think Director Bethan needs your help? Don’t you know what happened to her family? If she offends Fiona and gets fired from Morrison Group, who’s going to pay her son’s medical bills? Will you?”
Bethan felt exasperated by Shannon and Samson’s arguing. “That’s enough,” she said, frowning as she separated the two from each other. “This is a hospital. You shouldn’t argue here.”
She then smiled a self-deprecating smile. “Both of you are right; everything that happened to Arianna was my fault. If I hadn’t come back to work to earn money for my son’s medical bills, none of this would’ve happened.”
With that, she turned to glance at Samson. “What you said was right, too. I am a coward, but I don’t need your help. If you feel embarrassed to be working under someone as cowardly as me, then I’ll buy your flight tickets home.”
Without a second glance, Bethan pushed the door open and strode into Arianna’s ward.
Samson stood motionless, watching her leave. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.
For some reason, Samson thought the way Bethan looked when she walked away was lonely and desolate.
Shannon shot him another glare and followed after her.
“Hiss–! “
Inside the ward, the doctor was still applying medication to Arianna’s wounds. Hearing the door open, Arianna turned around. She forced out a somewhat pained smile when she noticed it was Bethan and asked, “Director Bethan, what are you doing here? This is just a small injury. You didn’t have to come to visit me.”
Bethan glanced at Arianna’s back, which was so severely scalded that it had already blistered. “I ‘m going to give you two weeks paid leave, ” she spoke in an aggrieved tone. “Stay home and rest so you can recover soon.”
As soon as she heard this, Arianna furrowed her brows. “No. Aren’t you about to start a new project soon? This is when I’m needed the most, so how can I possibly take such a long break? I know I was scalded, but the wound is on my back, so it won’t interfere with my work at all…”
Bethan could not help feeling even more guilty when she heard Arianna’s words. She gently held onto Arianna’s hands and sighed. “It’s just two weeks. It won’t affect much. Besides, my son will be getting his surgery soon, so I won’t be able to concentrate on work either. We’ll officially start the project in two weeks. You should take this time off to rest.”
Arianna bit down on her lip. “Two weeks is a little long. Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Of course.”
Bethan sighed and was about to say something, but the doctor suddenly frowned and glanced at Bethan and Shannon. “This girl hasn’t eaten her breakfast yet, and it’s already noon now. If you really want to take care of her, you should go buy her lunch.”
Then, the doctor sighed and added, “Those two young men outside both have crushes on her, but they don’t know how to take care of her at all.”
Bethan and Shannon exchanged a glance, then burst out in laughter.
The doctor was right. Even though both Samson and Zayne were interested in Arianna, they did not know how to treat a girl right at all. It was already noon, but none of them had the common sense to buy her lunch.
Bethan and Shannon both shot Arianna teasing glances and asked, “Do you want to let them know you’re hungry so they’ll buy you lunch?”
Arianna immediately shook her head.
Bethan and Shannon had not eaten either, so they decided they would go downstairs for lunch with the two men and bring some food for Arianna on their way back.
Samson did not seem in high spirits, probably because Bethan had scolded him a while ago for arguing with Shannon. He was not paying attention to where he was going at all, so as soon as they stepped foot in the hospital’s cafeteria, he accidentally bumped into a middle-aged woman.
“Watch where you’re going, young man! “
Having spilled her food all over herself, the woman immediately frowned and grabbed hold of Samson’s collar in anger. “You’d better pay for this! This dress I’m wearing is a gift from Ms. Blake! It costs fifty thousand dollars! You’d better pay for this! “
When she heard the name–Ms. Blake–coming out of the woman’s mouth, Bethan furrowed her brows and glanced in their direction.
She had seen this woman before.
This was the woman who was in the mall with Fiona. Could she be Fiona’s maid?
What an unpleasant surprise.
“Aunty, it was all just an accident. Even if your clothes are expensive, there’s no need for us to pay the full price in compensation, is there?”
Although Zayne was not the oldest among the four, he was the calmest and most reserved one. He continued to persuade the woman, “It’s not a large spill either, so the clothes will still be wearable after dry-cleaning it. The average dry cleaner in Banyan City charges about eighty to a hundred dollars, so why not let my friend give you two hundred dollars in compensation for your dry-cleaning fees? How does that sound?”
Shannon could not help feeling stunned when she saw the way Zayne smiled courteously at the woman. This young man, who wore glasses and spent most of his time immersed in his work, was surprisingly calm and gentle when dealing with difficult people.
“Two hundred dollars for my dry-cleaning? “
The woman, alas, was still dissatisfied with Zayne’s offer. “What difference do two hundred dollars make? Who do you think I am?”
She gave all four of them a once-over.
“Tsk, tsk. “
She snorted in indignation and looked at them with an expression of contempt. “All four of you are well-dressed and seem to be well-off. How can you not be able to pay fifty thousand dollars in compensation?”
This middle-aged woman had a loud voice, so naturally, everyone else in the cafeteria looked over in their direction. Seeing that she had garnered the crowd’s attention, the woman continued triumphantly, “You bumped into me and ruined my fifty thousand dollars dress, but now you refuse to pay for the damage… If you’re poor, don’t be so haughty! You guys look well-dressed, but I bet you can’t pay for my dress even with all four of you combined.
“What a pity. I’m not a successful businesswoman at all. I’m just a maid who looks after Ms. Blake and takes care of her, yet I earn more than you. What a joke! “
Shannon’s expression darkened as soon as she heard this. Even Zayne, who usually maintained his cool even in tough situations, looked displeased.
This was just a small matter, but why was this woman trying to blow everything out of proportion and look down on them?
50,000 dollars was not a big sum to either of them at all, but they did not think it was reasonable to pay this amount over a dirtied dress. This was daylight robbery!
Samson snorted in indignation over the woman’s condescending attitude and glanced at her. “It’s just a spill, but you want me to pay for the dress at full price?”
“What else would you suggest?”
The woman scoffed. “If you can’t afford to pay for this, then just admit it!”
“Of course I can! It’s just fifty thousand dollars. It’s no problem at all! “
Samson pointed at the woman’s soiled dress and said, “But if I paid you the full price, doesn’t this make the dress mine? Why don’ t you take off the dress right here and give it to me? If you do so, I’ll gladly pay you that fifty thousand dollars compensation! “
The woman blushed scarlet when she heard this.
Even though it was already late summer and about to turn fall soon, the weather was still hot. Moreover, there had been a heavy downpour yesterday, so the weather in Banyan City was exceptionally warm.
Therefore, this dress was the only layer she had on. If she took off the dress in public…
As soon as she thought of this, the woman pointed at Samson and barked, “How dare you suggest this, young man? You’re young, so why don’t you spend your time on something more meaningful than harassing women like me? You dirtbag! “
Bethan furrowed her brows. As much as she wanted to agree with Samson, she still found his words disrespectful. Even though the woman was hostile and difficult, she was still an elder. Samson’s suggestion was disrespectful and even bordered on harassment.
Bethan pulled Samson behind her and said, “Don’ t talk so much nonsense.”
With that, she lifted her head to stare at the woman before her. “Even though my friend was harsh just now, please don’t misinterpret his intentions –he was just spouting facts. You told us this dress you’re wearing is worth fifty thousand dollars. Now that you want us to pay the full price in compensation, it’s equivalent to buying it entirely. What if we compensated you, and you got the dress cleaned after receiving the money? That doesn’t seem fair, does it?”
The woman’s expression darkened when she heard this. She glared at Bethan and snapped, “Fifty thousand dollars is compensation for ruining my clothes. Why do I have to give it away to you?”
Then, she took out her phone. “There are four of you and I stand alone, so I won’t be able to convince you otherwise, but I’ll call Ms. Blake now and get her to settle this once and for all! Ms. Blake has a wealthy and powerful boyfriend, you know. In the future, when she marries her boyfriend, she’ll become the most respected woman in Banyan City. Since I’m her most trusted and loyal servant, you’ll definitely reap the consequences of offending me!”
With that, the woman dialed a number and stepped aside to make a phone call. “Ms. Blake…”
“Ms. Blake? “
As soon as the woman left, Samson, Zayne, and Shannon exchanged glances and, after a moment, turned to look at Bethan altogether. “Is this… the Ms. Blake that we’re thinking about?”
Bethan smirked. “It is.”
Letting out a yawn, she made her way past the crowd and sat down at their designated table. “Come on, let’s have lunch.”
The three of them were speechless at this sight.
“I can’t believe you still have the appetite to eat. “
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.