Deanna noticed her grandmother's displeased expression and quickly explained, "Don't listen to Gregory's nonsense. Mr. Mercer and I are innocent. It was the kids who insisted Mr. Mercer stay and sleep with them."
"But mommy still slept with uncle," Chloe said, blinking her eyes innocently.
Her innocent look left Deanna speechless.
At this moment, Julia was gloating nearby.
Deanna glared at her angrily, "Did you teach them this?"
"How could you accuse me? It's clearly your own children who can't stand your irresponsible behavior," Julia retorted, defending herself.
Deanna was so furious she couldn't speak, pointing at Julia for a long time.
Seeing Deanna rolling up her sleeves, Julia quickly made her escape, saying, "Deanna's going to hit me. Grandma, I'll visit you another day."
"Don't run if you have the guts!" Deanna shouted angrily at her fleeing friend.
Julia heard her and, feeling safe, taunted back, "I don't have the guts, so I'm running. If you're not satisfied, come catch me!"
Deanna was exasperated and shouted, "Don't come back if you run away!"
Unfortunately, Julia didn't hear this last remark.
The two children, seeing their mother so angry, stuck out their tongues and hid behind Old Ashley.
Deanna noticed their small movements and looked at them sternly.
"Don't follow your godmother's bad example. Otherwise, next time, I won't take you to play with Mr. Mercer!"
This threat hit the children's weak spot.
They were planning to find opportunities to match make their mommy and uncle.
After Lance left, he didn't go home to rest but went straight to the company.
He had hidden from Deanna that it wasn't an evening engagement but a company crisis.
Upon arriving at the company, Lance asked in a deep voice, "What's the situation with Owlimited?"
Xavier quickly browsed through his iPad's email. "The containers we sent were once again held up at the dock. Our representative tried to negotiate, but Aislan didn't provide a specific reason for holding the goods."
Xavier summarized the email content and reminded with a troubled expression, "If we can't retrieve this batch on time, we'll face huge penalties. In the worst case, Owlimited might withdraw from the New York market."
Lance's expression darkened. "Investigate Aislan's management and find out who he's met recently. Also, book me the earliest flight to New York tonight."
"Are you sure you can handle it physically?" Xavier asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," Lance replied dismissively.
Despite his words, Lance went to see Deanna before leaving as a precaution.
Seeing him at the door, Deanna was surprised. "Mr. Mercer, didn't you say you had an engagement tonight?"
"The engagement was rescheduled. I have to go abroad for a few days and didn't want to delay my treatment, so I came for a session and to get some more medicine," Lance explained briefly.
Deanna couldn't help but ask with concern, "Is it a long trip?"
"If things go well, I'll be back in about a week. If not, it might take longer."
Hearing this, Deanna became worried. "Is it serious?"
"Don't worry. I can handle it," Lance said with a reassuring smile.
He looked at her gently and added, "I'll bring you a gift when I return."
"No need..." Deanna hesitated to refuse.
Lance noticed her discomfort and continued, "Not just for you, but for Gregory and Chloe too."
Hearing they would get gifts too, the children perked up from their disappointment about Lance's trip.
"Thank you, Uncle. We'll miss you," they said sweetly while trying to say nice things about their mommy.
Lance smiled warmly. "I'll miss you too, and your mommy."
His gaze lingered on Deanna as he said the last part.
Deanna felt shy and awkward under his gaze. "Let's start the treatment," she said quickly and walked towards the room with hurried steps.
Lance smiled and followed her.
The treatment went smoothly.
An hour later, Lance left the apartment with Deanna's newly prescribed medicine.