That evening, Lance went to pick up the two little ones as promised.
However, when they returned, Deanna was nowhere to be seen.
"Great-grandma, where's Mommy?" The two little ones curiously looked at Old Ashley, who was sitting in the living room.
Old Ashley smiled and said, "Your mommy said she'll be back late today. Old Hughes invited her to dinner."
Hearing this, Lance raised an eyebrow. It was unusual for Old Hughes to invite someone without informing him.
As he pondered, Old Ashley's muttering voice reached his ears again. "I don't know what Old Hughes is thinking, suddenly playing matchmaker and insisting on introducing Deanna to Old Wright's grandson."
After saying this, she took the two little ones to wash their hands and prepare for dinner.
Lance stood there, unsure if Old Ashley had said those words intentionally for him to hear, but he felt quite displeased about the situation.
Without further thought, he took out his phone to call Deanna, wanting to ask where she was. However, the call didn't go through.
Lance frowned. Before he could redial, Old Ashley called out, "Mr. Mercer, why don't you come in? Dinner is ready. Just wash your hands and you can eat."
"I won't be joining for dinner. You all eat. I have something to take care of," Lance said before turning and leaving.
Downstairs, Xavier noticed Lance's grim expression as he got into the car and asked with concern, "Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine," Lance replied dismissively while dialing Deanna's number again. He couldn't believe she wouldn't answer his call, but reality proved him wrong.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable."
At the mechanical voice, Lance's face darkened even more. Frustrated, he hung up and called Efrain instead.
"Lance..."
"Where are you and Dr. Deanna right now?" Lance interrupted with a stern tone.
Efrain was silent for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating something. His hesitation made Lance misunderstand, his gaze turning colder. "What, trying to undermine me? Do you think with Old Hughes backing you, I won't dare to confront you?"
"So you're serious about Miss Jones?" Efrain asked, trying to suppress a laugh.
Lance didn't answer directly. "That's my business. Tell me where you are!"
"Alright, I'll tell you." Efrain then gave an address.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lance hung up and instructed Xavier, "Head to Wharf Avenue."
Xavier nodded and accelerated. Although Mr. Mercer hadn't said much, Xavier could piece together what was happening. It seemed Dr. Deanna wasn't home because Old Hughes had taken her for a matchmaking dinner.
But this didn't make sense. Old Hughes knew about the CEO's feelings for Deanna; why would he introduce her to someone else? Unable to figure it out, Xavier drove as quickly as possible to get Mr. Mercer to the destination.
Upon arrival, Lance got out of the car with a cold expression and strode into the restaurant. His intimidating presence startled the staff who came to greet him, making them think this handsome man was here to cause trouble.
"Sir, how can I help you?" one of them asked nervously.
"Where is Room 8?" Lance's stern gaze made the staff member almost breathless.
He pointed in a direction and said cautiously, "Go straight ahead and turn left at the end; it's the third room."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the man's rigid back disappear down the corridor.
Lance quickly found Room 8 following the staff member's directions. He pushed open the door and was momentarily stunned by what he saw.
Deanna was alone in the private room with a table full of sumptuous dishes.
Deanna looked at Lance in surprise but quickly regained her composure and smiled. "Mr. Mercer, since you're here, why stand at the door? Come in and sit."
"Why are you here alone? Where's Efrain?" Lance walked towards her with a frown.
Deanna sighed helplessly at his question. "Mr. Wright didn't come. It was all Old Hughes' doing."
It turned out that Old Hughes had pretended to introduce her to someone and even took her phone so she couldn't answer Lance's calls.
Hearing this, Lance's face darkened even more.
Deanna found it amusing but also felt a strange feeling.
"You..."
"Dr. Deanna..."
They both spoke at the same time and looked at each other.
Deanna chuckled softly. "Why don't you go first, Mr. Mercer?"
Lance didn't refuse and looked at her intently with dark eyes.
"What do you think of me?"
"Mr. Mercer... in what way?" Deanna felt inexplicably nervous under his deep gaze.
She swallowed hard, her heart beginning to anticipate what he would say next.