Xavier, seeing the situation, did not dare to hide anything and spoke truthfully. "Mr. Mercer was so busy at noon that he forgot to eat, and his stomach problems flared up..."
His voice trailed off under Lance's warning gaze.
Of course, Deanna did not miss the small interaction between the two, feeling both angry and amused. She glared at Lance and huffed, "You don't take care of yourself, and now you're blaming Mr. Nelson for telling on you?"
"I do take care of myself. I was just too busy today and forgot," Lance quickly defended himself.
Unfortunately, Deanna didn't listen to him at all. She ignored Lance and turned to Mr. Nelson, saying, "Thank you for your hard work tonight. It's already quite late. Why don't you stay over? The guest room is all prepared."
"Alright," Xavier agreed. It was indeed very late, and driving back would take him more than half an hour.
After arranging for Xavier to settle in, Deanna helped Lance back to their room. "Go freshen up first. I'll get the acupuncture needles and give you a treatment."
"Thank you, darling. Sorry for the trouble," Lance said, wrapping his arms around Deanna and planting a kiss on her lips.
Deanna playfully glared at him, "Don't sweet-talk me. Today's matter isn't over yet."
With that, she turned and went to the medicine room. A few minutes later, she returned with an acupuncture kit and a bottle of medicine.
By then, Lance had already washed up and was sitting on the bed in a bathrobe, resting with his eyes closed. He only opened his eyes wearily when he heard Deanna's footsteps. "You're back."
Seeing him in such discomfort, Deanna's anger turned into concern. These days, Lance had been managing Mercer Group's affairs while also helping her oversee Vortex Technology. Additionally, he hadn't rested properly after taking their two children out for activities like hiking and climbing trees.
"Take this medicine. From now on, take one pill after every meal," Deanna said as she handed him the bottle.
Lance didn't ask any questions and took a pill from the bottle.
Deanna watched him and continued, "Lie down. I'll start the acupuncture."
During the process, Lance noticed Deanna's serious expression and thought she was still angry. He explained, "I was really busy today. It won't happen again."
"It better not. Vortex Technology is now on track. Besides other staff members, I plan to have Mr. Nelson return to your side," Deanna shared her plan.
Lance frowned slightly, clearly not in agreement. But before he could say anything, Deanna spoke again, "You don't need to worry about my company. If there's any issue, I'll call Mr. Nelson. Besides, I've been learning from him for so long; don't you want to see my capabilities now?"
Hearing this, Lance had no choice but to agree.
An hour later, after finishing the acupuncture treatment, Lance had already fallen asleep on the bed.
Looking at the sleeping man, Deanna felt a pang of heartache. She carefully covered him with a blanket before tidying up the room.
As for the business matters she originally wanted to discuss, she decided to wait until Lance felt better the next day.
The next morning, perhaps due to the acupuncture treatment, Lance overslept but looked much better than when he returned yesterday.
He glanced around the room and noticed Deanna was not there. Picking up his watch from the bedside table, he checked the time before getting up to wash.
About ten minutes later, Lance went downstairs and saw Old Ashley sitting alone in the living room.
"Good morning, Grandma," he greeted.
"You're up. How are you feeling?" Old Ashley asked with concern.
Lance knew that Deanna must have told Grandma about his discomfort. He smiled and said, "I took the medicine Deanna prepared and had a treatment last night. I'm feeling much better now. By the way, where are Deanna and the kids?"
"She went to drop the kids off at school and will be back soon," Old Ashley explained before adding, "There's breakfast kept warm in the kitchen. Deanna instructed me to make sure you eat it once you're up."
Hearing this, Lance didn't dare disobey.
Half an hour later, Deanna returned home to find Lance sitting on the couch in the living room, chatting with Grandma.
Both of them noticed her arrival.
Old Ashley tactfully stood up and said slowly, "I'll go for a walk now. I feel uneasy if I don't walk after eating."
With that, she leisurely disappeared from the living room.
Lance and Deanna both knew she was giving them space and couldn't help but smile wryly but said nothing.
Deanna walked over to Lance and asked with concern, "How are you feeling?"
As she spoke, she reached out to check his pulse.
Fortunately, his pulse was much stronger than last night.
Lance looked at Deanna's serious expression and smiled gently. "I'm feeling much better now. You don't need to worry."
Hearing this, Deanna glared at him playfully. "You know I worry about you? You just started recovering, and I haven't even begun the next phase of treatment. Yet you're already neglecting your health again. Do you still want to get treated?"