Chapter 331 Can't Take Me?
At exactly 1 PM, Thalia put on light makeup and headed out on time, wearing a face mask with her hair down and no hat.
"I'll go up myself, you wait downstairs."
"Call me if anything comes up," John reminded her. Thinking about what William had said about things being unsafe lately, he didn't dare let Thalia get too far away.
"How could Penelope get into a car accident out of nowhere? Didn't she say she was coming to see her daughter? How did she end up in an accident? And after the accident, nobody even called us. What is Zephyrine thinking? The Carter family gave birth to her and raised her, and in the end, she can't even be counted on for something like this?"
In the elevator lobby, Thalia was looking down at her phone. When she heard the complaining voices of the women beside her, she looked up at the elevator doors in surprise and used the reflection to see who was standing next to her.
"No matter what, Penelope is her real mother. What kind of thing is she doing? Making us come all the way from Regal City to take care of her, and her own daughter can't do it?"
"Alright, we're already here, say less."
"So annoying."
"Who wants to come to Emerald City?"
"Let's drop off the luggage first, then go to the hospital. People back home are still waiting for news from us!"
"Waiting for our news - why don't they come themselves?"
As the two women grumbled, the elevator doors opened.
All three entered the elevator, and the complaining continued. "I don't know what's the point of Penelope coming all the way from Regal City to find her. The Lowe Group has been sold off, and Zephyrine is completely useless now. All these years, if Zephyrine hadn't been somewhat useful to the Carter family, Penelope probably would have kicked her out long ago."
"Without money, what use is she?"
The two got off on the twentieth floor. Based on their appearance, Thalia figured they must be daughters-in-law of the Carter family.
They already treated Zephyrine this way, yet still hoped to get benefits from her. How interesting.
This Zephyrine is pretty stupid too! Supporting this family for so long, and they still look down on her.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, is everyone here?"
"Just arrived."
"Let's go in."
Thalia had meetings at the hotel all afternoon.
When it was time to leave, everyone suggested having dinner together, but the director turned it down.
His point was that nothing was finalized yet, and he didn't want the media catching wind of it.
When Layla saw Thalia coming out, she walked up to her. "Want to have dinner with people from the company tonight?"
"We haven't had a group dinner in a while."
"You arrange it, I'm good with anything."
Thalia got to the parking lot first. Just as she was about to get in the van, she opened the car door and saw William sitting inside, looking at something on his phone.
It startled Thalia.
"What are you doing here?"
"What day is it today?"
"Back to the Brown Mansion."
Thalia slapped her thigh. "Oh no."
"Not going?"
Thalia was at a loss. She hadn't said anything, yet William knew everything.
"Layla just suggested having dinner with colleagues."
"Can going back to the Brown Mansion be postponed?" Thalia blinked at William.
The man's face turned cold, his gaze on Thalia icy. "Are you just too casual about everything, or do my matters not deserve your attention?"
"I really forgot!" Thalia mumbled, looking at William. "Then I'll cancel the dinner here."
"Forget it, dinner first." The man said while resignedly taking out his phone to make a call.
"Should I have John take you back first, and I'll go with Layla?"
"What? Can't bring me along?"
"I'm afraid we'll make the news."
"So much trouble."
When they arrived at the dinner spot, William didn't even get out of the car, because the place Layla had chosen was an outdoor food stall.
Groups of ten or more got covered seating, but fewer than ten people sat in the open air.
When William saw the place, his face darkened considerably.
The look he gave Thalia could have killed her.
Thalia's body was at the dinner table, but her mind was in the car, because William was waiting in the car by the roadside. She didn't enjoy this meal.
Less than half an hour in, Thalia made an excuse and left early.
Walking with her head down, fiddling with her phone to call John and have him bring the car over, she accidentally bumped into a man.
Before she could look up, a server behind the man carrying hot soup stumbled because the person in front lost balance. In panic, the server dodged, and a full bowl of hot soup spilled all over the man's back.
Thalia jumped back in fright and looked up.
A bowl of steaming hot soup had spilled all over Michael's back.
Whether this encounter was accidental or intentional, Thalia needed to handle it properly now, to avoid him asking her for favors later.
She walked behind Michael and pulled up his shirt to keep it from sticking to his skin.
"Ms. Smith, I should go rinse with cold water now."
"This way," Thalia pulled him toward the entrance. This kind of place didn't have strict facility management - the owner had set up a hose by the door, which Thalia spotted.
She turned on the faucet and let it run over the man's back.
When the water hit, the man's strong muscle lines became clearly visible. In the past, Thalia would definitely have taken a moment to appreciate the view, but now she wasn't in the mood.
"I can do it myself."
"No, let me."
"Ms. Smith, being so hands-on?"
"Not really, just afraid you'll try to scam me. I feel safer doing it myself."
Michael paused, then couldn't help but laugh. "So that's what kind of person I am in your eyes."
"I don't know you well. Better safe than sorry, right?"
"I just saw you in a hurry? Were you leaving? I can do this myself; you go ahead."
"Let's solve the problem first."
"Looking like this, I definitely need to go to the hospital. Do you have time to go with me?"
It wasn't that she didn't have time - she just didn't want to.
Seeing that Thalia didn't answer, Michael thought of a solution. "If you have things to do, go ahead. If you're really worried I'll scam you, leave me your number and I'll send you the hospital bill for reimbursement."
"That's not necessary..."
Michael wasn't bothered by the rejection, instead he nodded. "True, that would look even more suspicious. How about adding each other on WhatsApp?"
Thalia pulled out her phone. "Give me your bank account number."
Michael complied.
[Deposit received: $50,000]
"Fifty thousand dollars should be enough for medical treatment. If it's not enough, I'll make it up next time we meet."
Thalia handed him the hose. "Half an hour, remember."
So she wasn't clueless after all.