Chapter 77 The Call Came at a Very Inconvenient Time
"Mr. Smith, what the heck happened?"
Harold hadn't noticed the silver needle in Emily's hand. Spending most of his life abroad, he had no clue about the power of acupuncture needles.
So, he just assumed James had suddenly lost his marbles.
Emily calmly stashed the needle away, a sly grin on her face. "Oh, nothing serious, probably just a mental meltdown."
James was in so much pain that his face twisted, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Emily glanced at him coldly before turning to Harold. "Mr. Rogers, why don't we move somewhere else to continue our discussion? I’ve got a new project I think you'll find really interesting."
Originally, she hadn't planned to target James, but now she was changing her mind.
She and Bianca had been at each other's throats for a long time. James siding with Bianca meant they were destined to be enemies for life. To weaken Bianca's support, James' inheritance was out of the question.
Harold had been impressed by Emily's earlier projects. Seeing her confidence now, he believed she genuinely had something good.
His deep-set eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Sure, I'd love to work closer with you, Ms. Johnson."
Emily nodded.
The three of them ignored James and walked out.
Bianca, hearing the commotion, quickly ran off.
As Emily walked out the door, she caught a glimpse of a pink dress disappearing around the corner.
Her eyes flashed with a cold light.
James and Bianca were inseparable, always together wherever they went.
Emily didn't chase after Bianca. The three of them left.
Bianca was panting heavily, feeling for a moment that Emily had spotted her. Once she caught her breath, she frowned. Why had she hidden? Even if Emily had seen her, so what?
Bianca felt frustrated. Since her near-drowning incident, Emily had become more formidable, and Bianca had unknowingly started to fear her.
But now wasn't the time for such thoughts. Bianca wanted to check on James.
She peeked into the room.
James, his face twisted in pain, finally regained his composure and turned to leave.
Bianca noticed the slap mark on his face, surprised but not sympathetic.
She harbored resentment. James had claimed he had important matters to attend to, but was this important matter seeking out Emily? What did Emily have that he couldn't let go of?
She didn't reveal herself to James. She couldn't let him know she had followed him, and besides, she felt a bit resentful. Let him suffer a bit for now.
Bianca went downstairs and got into her car. When James came out and got into his car, she followed at a discreet distance.
Even with his face injured, James didn't settle down. Once back at his place, he called his assistant, Jace.
"Find out Emily's recent schedule and who she's been meeting."
Emily was right under his nose, yet she had connected with someone like Aaron and, through him, met Harold. Aaron's background must be significant; otherwise, Mr. Rogers wouldn't show him respect.
The more he thought about it, the darker James' expression became. It felt like something he had always controlled was slipping away, and it infuriated him.
Jace, sensing James' displeasure even over the phone, didn't dare question him and immediately started investigating.
James wasn't done yet. He went to the front desk to get Emily's room information.
Since Emily's accommodation was arranged by Daniel, the hotel didn't respond immediately but instead called York to explain the situation.
The hotel manager, knowing James was from the Smith family, didn't want to offend him. But Daniel was even more intimidating.
York reported the situation to Daniel.
"Mr. Smith, James wants to find out Miss Song's room number. The hotel called to ask if they should tell him."
Daniel's eyes flashed with coldness. "Since when does the hotel freely disclose guest information? Haven't they read the employee manual and rules?"
The message was clear. York relayed Daniel's exact words to the hotel.
The manager, understanding Daniel's intent, firmly replied, "Sorry, Mr. Smith, but we can't disclose guest information."
James waited a while, only to receive this response. He laughed angrily, which aggravated his facial injury, worsening his mood.
"Fine! You're the hotel manager, right? Looks like this position doesn't suit you anymore."
He stormed off, leaving the staff sweating in fear. They couldn't help but look at the manager. "What now? Will you really get fired? If the Smith family wants you gone, finding another job might be tough!"
The manager wasn't worried. James had a high status, but compared to Daniel, it was like comparing a commoner to a CEO. As long as he followed Daniel's orders, not only would he keep his job, he might even get promoted.
Thinking this, the manager smiled mischievously. "Send some medicine to Mr. Smith. I noticed his face was still swollen."
He was curious about who had dared to hit James. Could it have been the Emily James mentioned?
The medicine was delivered to James, who, still furious, threw it away. "Get lost! It's too late to try to please me now!"
The commotion made Bianca think it was the right time. She couldn't really abandon James, so when the medicine was thrown out, she took it and knocked on James' door.
"Leave me alone before I get angrier. Go away..."
"James, it's me. Who made you so angry? Seeing your face, my heart aches! No matter how angry you are, you can't ignore your health, can you? Let me in to help you with the medicine."
Bianca's words were humble, her expression pitiful.
James, realizing he had just taken out his anger on her, calmed down a bit. He softened his expression and let her in.
Alone in a room, with the intimate act of applying medicine, things quickly escalated. James, needing an outlet for his anger, and Bianca, offering comfort, soon found themselves entangled on the bed.
Just as things were heating up, an urgent phone call interrupted them.
Frustrated and unsatisfied, James' face darkened. Seeing the caller ID, he still answered.
Jace was perceptive and wouldn't call unless it was important.
James answered, "This better be important."