Chapter 209 Go Home
There was a specific reason Zachary saw that photo.
Apex Global Group was sponsoring this year's New Film Talent Awards. Oliver's entire focus was on film production—he couldn't care less about these events. And Quinley had just joined the company; she hadn't even had time to learn this stuff yet.
Zachary stared at the photo, brows furrowed, studying it for a long while. His slender fingers kept zooming the image in and out on his phone. His wife had actually shown up at the awards ceremony.
"Check out the winners of the New Film Talent Festival," Zachary instructed Lucas.
Soon, he had the list in hand.
"Mrs. Jennings accepted the award on behalf of a new director who apparently just got back from abroad. First year competing, but his skills are supposedly really impressive." Lucas filled in some extra details.
"Can you dig up information on this director?"
Zachary had the instincts of a bloodhound—the second anyone got near Quinley, every nerve in his body went on high alert.
"There's barely anything about him online, but we can confirm he's American," Lucas answered honestly.
Zachary tossed the photo onto his desk, clasped both hands behind his head, and sank into thought. Who was this director? What was his relationship with Quinley right now? She'd just started at a new company—was he there too?
He felt a stab of regret. Last night when Quinley mentioned finding work, he'd completely forgotten to ask which company.
"Find out where Quinley's working now."
Lucas took the assignment, but even by the end of the workday, he still came up empty. Oliver's media company had offices in Rosewood City, but it was registered in Canada. No matter how much Lucas dug, he couldn't find any record of Quinley's employment.
At six o'clock that evening, Zachary returned to Maple Estate right on schedule. He'd barely stepped into the entryway when Martha poked her head out from the kitchen.
"Mr. Jennings, you're back! Dinner will be ready soon—go ahead and relax for a bit."
Elise was helping cook. Holding a ladle, she also peeked out. "Didn't Cindy come back with you?"
"She's not home yet?" Zachary froze while taking off his suit jacket.
"Not yet. It's her first day at work—they're not already making her do overtime, are they?" Elise muttered to herself, then handed the ladle to Martha. "You handle the stir-fry. I'm calling Cindy."
She hurried out and grabbed her phone. The call rang for ages with no answer. Elise hung up and tried again. This time, Quinley picked up.
"Mom, what's up?"
Right now, Quinley was frantically preparing for tomorrow morning's meeting. Her first day had been absolute chaos.
"Cindy, when are you getting off? Dinner's almost ready, Zach is home—we're just waiting for you."
Quinley glanced at the time. Nearly six-thirty, but she'd only finished about a third of her work.
"You guys go ahead. Don't wait for me—I have to work late tonight."
"Overtime? It's your first day—why are they already keeping you late?" Elise sounded confused.
Quinley didn't have time to explain. "Mom, I'll tell you when I get home. I really need to focus right now—it's urgent. Gotta go." She immediately hung up.
In the living room, Zachary still stood waiting for news.
"Cindy says she has to work overtime. She told us to eat first."
Zachary let out a heavy breath. With Quinley not coming home, he had zero appetite. He loosened his tie, tossed it on the sofa, and headed for the study.
"You two eat. I'll be working in the study. Let me know when she gets back." He quickly disappeared into the study and locked the door.
In the kitchen, Martha was still busy. "Stop cooking—neither of them is eating now," Elise said listlessly.
Martha looked baffled. "Why not? Did they fight?"
"Zach's waiting for Cindy. Forget it, I'm not hungry either. Let's just wait till Cindy gets home." Elise wandered off to the sunroom.
But the wait stretched until nine o'clock that night.
In the study, Zachary finished two video conferences. When he finally checked the time after wrapping up, it was almost nine-thirty. And Quinley still wasn't home.
He couldn't take it anymore and called her directly.
"Quinny, where are you? Why aren't you off yet?"
Quinley was running around like crazy. She held the phone in one hand while rubbing her aching neck with the other. "Still at the office. There's a meeting tomorrow morning—tons to prep."
"When will you be done?"
His heart hurt for her. Quinley was basically the female version of him—when she worked, she was the type who'd kill herself doing it.
Quinley checked the time. "Probably another two hours."
Two hours meant eleven o'clock.
"Have you eaten?"
Zachary stood and left the study. He'd just decided he was bringing her food.
"No, forgot."
"Send me your location. I'm bringing you dinner."
He was already telling Martha to pack up food as he spoke. Though Quinley's head was swimming from exhaustion, she still remembered she was Oliver's assistant now.
"No need. I'll eat when I finish and get home."
"Come on, you have to eat. I'm done with work anyway. I'll bring you something and wait to take you home." His thoughtfulness warmed her heart.
"Really, don't. Just rest at home. I'll grab a cab when I'm done."
Quinley refused.
Zachary wanted to push back, but Quinley didn't give him the chance. "I've got to go. Still swamped. I'll call when I'm finished." She hung up.
"Mr. Jennings, the food's all packed," Martha said, handing him the thermal container.
He took it and headed straight for the door. Quinley refusing to share her location set off alarm bells. But just because she wouldn't send it didn't mean he couldn't find her. Ever since the last incident, he'd quietly put a tracker on Quinley's phone. Right now, her location showed the Revelation Building.
Zachary drove over and got there fast. It was a really tall office building. He stood in the ground floor elevator lobby, unsure which floor to hit.
He texted Quinley.
[Which floor are you on?]
But the message went unanswered, like it had vanished into thin air. He waited a while, then just got in the elevator and started searching floor by floor.
When he reached the seventeenth floor and mentioned Cindy's name, someone finally nodded at him.
"Ms. Promise has been crazy busy today. Hold on—I'll go get her right now."
Zachary didn't sit. He just stood by the entrance with the thermal container. The two young receptionists kept sneaking looks at him. He was tall and gorgeous, radiating this successful-guy vibe mixed with cool detachment. But the more distant he seemed, the more mysteriously attractive he became.
"Ms. Promise, someone's here to see you."
The receptionist knocked on Quinley's office door. She was glued to her computer, tweaking tomorrow's presentation slides.
"Tell them to wait. I'm busy," Quinley said without looking up.
The receptionist quickly backed out. "Sir, please wait here a moment. Ms. Promise is extremely busy right now."
They wouldn't let him through, so Zachary had no choice but to wait on the guest sofa. And he waited until midnight.
Finally, Quinley finished all the prep work and dragged her exhausted body out of the office. But the second she reached the lobby, she spotted Zachary.
"How did you get here?"
She was both thrilled and shocked. Zachary stood up and strode straight to her. Without a word, he took her hand and headed for the elevators.
"We're going home."