Chapter 37 You're Meddling Too Much
Alicia inquired of Martin, "Grampa, do you know Lee? Lee Jones, who looks around the same age as you, and lost his left hand."
Upon hearing the mention of Lee, Martin appeared visibly shocked. The fork he was holding fell from his hand and clattered onto the floor. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he questioned Alicia, "Have you seen Lee? Where is he?"
Alicia was surprised by Martin's reaction and informed Martin, "Lee is the janitor of the apartment where I reside."
"Take me to him!" Martin demanded, instructing Carl to ready the car.
As they drove to Alicia's apartment in the city center, Alicia inquired curiously of Martin, "Lee is your acquaintance?"
Martin responded, "Lee is a friend who once saved my life during the war. He lost his left hand while rescuing me. After the war, I invited him to come to Wilton Pack, where he served as my first Beta and acted as a bodyguard for my two sons. However, he left thirty years ago, leaving behind a letter of resignation, and I haven't seen him since."
Alicia was stunned by the revelation of the bond between Martin and Lee. She was excited at the prospect of their reunion. However, upon arriving at the apartment, they were informed that Lee had departed just five minutes earlier.
The nearest subway station was located 1.5 kilometers away from the apartment, meaning Lee couldn't have gone too far. Alicia declared to Martin, "He must be on his way to the subway station! Grampa, wait for me here. I'll go after him."
Alicia ran in the direction of the subway station and quickly caught sight of Lee halfway there.
"Lee!" Alicia couldn't contain her excitement at the sight of him.
"Hey, Alicia, what brings you here? Aren't you working today?" Lee exclaimed with delight upon seeing her.
Breathless and clutching Lee's arm, Alicia informed him, "Gra, Grampa, No, Mar... Martin's waiting for you."
At the sound of Martin's name, Lee's smile faded, and he asked, "How did he know I was here? Did you tell him?"
Alicia recounted, "I stumbled upon your photo accidentally, and I assumed that you and Grandpa were acquainted. Once he heard your name, he insisted that I bring him to you immediately. I'm sorry."
Lee let out a sigh, and he was just about to instruct Alicia to return and inform Martin that she hadn't found him when a black Mercedes pulled up beside them.
"Martin?" Lee exclaimed his best friend's name when he observed an elderly man walking out of the Mercedes with the aid of a cane.
Alicia spun around and discovered Martin was already there.
Martin walked towards Lee eagerly, his eyes reddened with excitement as he hugged his old friend whom he hadn't seen in decades. "Long time no see, you old bastard!"
Lee couldn't help but be emotional as he heard the familiar moniker. "You stubborn workaholic!"
Alicia was relieved to witness Grandpa and Lee reuniting, and she was glad that her good intentions hadn't resulted in any negative outcomes.
When she glanced at the park clock, she realized she was running late. "Grandpa, Lee, I have to leave now. I'm going to be late."
"I'll have Carl drive you," Martin said gratefully to Alicia, motioning Carl to give her a lift to the office.
Just as Alicia reached the elevator doors, she bumped into Rhett.
Rhett glanced at his watch and pointed out, "Alicia, you're ten minutes late."
Alicia apologized immediately, "I'm sorry, Mr. Rhett. I had to deal with a sudden emergency this morning."
"I've contacted Alpha Scott, and he's only available this Friday night. This will be our last opportunity," Rhett informed Alicia.
"Absolutely, I'll be there!" Alicia replied without hesitation.
During lunch, Nadia joined Alicia and whispered in a mysterious tone, "Allie, you mentioned Caroline this Monday, and I found her. She is the daughter of the president of Sapphire Bank."
Alicia recalled Sapphire Bank as a known local commercial bank where several firms in Los Angeles and surrounding areas opened their business accounts, including Shinfancy Studio.
Nadia surveyed the surroundings and then disclosed the gossip, "Withdraw your money from Sapphire Bank if you have an account there! Last night, I stumbled upon a rumor from a real estate agent on the internet. Mr. Heather was urgently selling his properties and luxury cars and only accepting cash. However, the source was quickly blocked from that social media platform."
Alicia was concerned by Nadia's revelation, "Have you informed Mr. Rhett? We should tell him just in case."
Nadia shook her head and said, "That post vanished rapidly, and I didn't have a chance to take a screenshot. But even if I informed Alpha Rhett, I'm afraid he wouldn't believe it's true. After all, it's improbable that the bank would go bankrupt."
Alicia nodded, conceding that Nadia had a valid point, but deep down, she had a nagging feeling that the rumor may not be fake.
It wasn't until Thursday night, as she scrolled through social media, that she stumbled upon the news. "Sapphire Bank savers, beware of your savings!" blared the headline. Alpha Thomas of Sapphire Pack was liquidating his properties and luxury cars at discounted rates to repay his debts.
She quickly found Damian's number and sent him a message. "Hey, have you heard about the news on Sapphire Bank?"
A few moments passed before Damian replied, "I've been gone for three days, and you're asking me about the bank instead of telling me you missed me?"
Alicia felt a twinge of guilt. "I called you on Monday night, but you were unavailable. Will mentioned that you were strong, so I didn't worry too much."
Damian responded with a voice call, and Alicia answered. She could hear the blaring music and the sound of raucous laughter through the receiver.
Alicia didn't have a chance to ask Damian where he was and Damian ask in a flat tone, "Do you have a deposit at that bank?"
"No. But Mr. Rhett, I mean Shinfancy's corporate account is there. The news is warning depositors to be careful with their savings. Is it true?"
"Why do you care?" Damian raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't contacted her for the past three days and waited for her to contact him. But now Alicia was calling him just for her boss and a small pack with only twenty members.
Perceiving Damian's sour mood, Alicia felt perplexed but explained, "Shinfancy is Mr. Rhett's life's work, and it's where I and my colleagues are employed. If the bank collapsed, it would affect Shinfancy. And my colleagues and I would lose our jobs. Mr. Rhett's hard work would go to waste."
Alicia's explanation seemed to irritate Damian further. She expressed her concern for another Alpha, fueling Damian's suspicions from the previous night.
Ellis had reported to Damian that Alicia had helped Martin find his long-lost friend, Lee, the apartment janitor. And last night Martin had told Ellis that if Alicia ever wanna leave the Wilton Family in the future, Tobias and Ellis would have to support her wholeheartedly.
Hearing this, Damian began to suspect that Alicia's recent association with Martin was a ploy to gain Martin's trust and use his influence to get rid of Tobias and even her mate. Both of them were him.
"Don't you think you're meddling too much?" Damian snapped.
Confused by Damian's outburst, Alicia frowned and retorted, "I don't think so. This is about my job and the future of a pack."
"You've married into a top wealthy family. Your rich husband gives you a luxury car, and you dine with the powerful Alpha Martin from the Wilton Family, who trusts and approves of you. How could losing your job possibly affect you?" he said, dripping with sarcasm.
"I can't believe you just said that. Wait, how did you know I was having dinner with Martin? Did you spy on me?" Alicia stood up in surprise, searching for any hidden monitors in her apartment, but found none.
Damian had a ready-made excuse to prevent Alicia from suspecting that he knew too much. "I don't need to spy on you. I can learn your schedule from my friend," he replied coolly.
Alicia guessed that Damian was referring to Ellis. She had to think Ellis must have been the type who liked to chatter with others.
On Tuesday night, he had told Tobias about her dinner with Martin, and Tobias had cautioned her against getting too close to Marin. It was likely that Ellis had also spilled the beans to Damian. As a result, Damian taunted her with the affair.
"How many times does Ellis have to share this with others to make him happy?" Alicia muttered to herself, looking up at the ceiling helplessly.
She then attempted to explain to Damian, "Alpha Martin is Tobias' grandfather. So what's wrong with my grandfather inviting me to the pack house for dinner?"
After that, Alicia returned the question Damian had asked her to him, "Don't you think you're meddling too much?"