Moreover, he was just here for the diamonds, and since they needed Debbie to hold the fort, he did not press the issue in spite of his doubts.
‘I get it. Ladies always go for the sparkly stuff,” he assured her. “I might be leaving today. Again, call me if anything happens here.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” Debbie smiled.
James gave her a look and then turned to leave the conference room without a word.
However, his expression darkened as soon as he turned away, because he realized that she was being suspicious.
Nonetheless, he left the building after putting the diamonds in the safe inside Diarmuid’s office.
But with him and Diarmuid gone, Debbie was basically in charge now.
She stood before the glass panels, scowling as she watched James leave in his car.
She had been discreet for so long, but now that James noticed, she has to come up with something.
James might not show it, but she could tell that James had changed his opinion toward her already, and it would complicate things if she wanted to stay with Diarmuid.
There was a flicker in her eyes as an idea came to mind…
Over at Minerva, Mead Clinic officials interrogated Abigail as soon as she was brought back.
With solid evidence of her theft of their research data and her having no way to escape the accusations, a lawsuit was filed against her for breach of trust and causing monumental loss to the hospital.
But since it was not just Mead Clinic being affected, the Minervan government got involved as well.
The research concerned the entire medical development scene of Minerva and their position as a global power.
After the mess Abigail caused, there was no doubt they would bring down the hammer on her-especially when her allegiances clearly lay elsewhere.
“We’re looking at prison time if things get to worse,” Mick Gooding was saying.
Stephen Carr had spoken to him over the phone, and he wanted to help after learning that Abigail was in deep trouble. He had even gone as far as to seek out Diarmuid while asking his friends to discern the damage.
“Pregnancy is inconsequential to the laws here, and since Abigail is a foreigner, she might get slammed with espionage and treason,” Mick finished, feeling the weight of a very hairy situation already.
As Diarmuid listened to him dissect the situation over the phone, his expression remained impassive.
However, there was no way he could just do nothing and wait-no matter how grim things looked.
“I have a business relationship with the Raideens. I’m going over to see if there’s a solution.”
Mick nodded. “If you need anything, just ask.”
Diarmuid did not reply.
After reading Yvaine Lynd’s letter and finding out that she had fallen for Mick later in life, he had been unable to accept it at first, but eventually understood that it was just human nature.
Feelings develop over time spent together. It was absolutely normal-he would appear unsympathetic if he kept prying.
Moreover, he had already misunderstood Abigail because of Yvaine once, and he would rather not make more mistakes about that.
Erin Gooding had been eavesdropping on Mick’s call and learned that Diarmuid was coming to Minerva, even agreeing to meet at a cafe.
James would definitely be here as well, since he was Diarmuid’s lapdog.
As such, she sneaked to the cafe, pretending as if she was running into him when she saw that he was going to leave.
Smiling in greeting and seeing that it was just Diarmuid, she quickly asked, ‘ James isn’t with you?”
Diarmuid, however, did not have time for her, and simply sidestepped to stride past her.
For Erin’s part, she would not dare to mess around with Diarmuid now.
After all, she had neither the right nor the confidence-she was not Yvaine’s child, and certainly not Diarmuid’s half-sister.
Running up to him, she asked politely, “Look, I won’t bug you-l just want to know whether James came here with you.”
Diarmuid turned to look at her, and said, “No.”
“Why not? He still works for you, right?” Erin pressed, but Diarmuid-clearly impatient-did not answer this time.
Erin wondered if James had avoided coming because of her.
Could he be worried that she would stalk him again?
Cutting in front of Diarmuid, she asked, “Is he staying away because he doesn’t want to see me?”
“That’s his business and I wouldn’t know. Now, move!”
His tone was cold, and the savagery in his visage was a clear indicator of how he felt at the moment.
Erin stepped aside, grumbling softly, “Petty.”
Diarmuid seemed to hear her, but he did not say anything as he got into his car.
Bzzt—
His phone began to ring, and he answered.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Althoff, but we have a problem,” Debbie said from the other end.
Diarmuid remained impassive. “What is it?”
“James got into a traffic accident on the way to the airport,” Debbie said worriedly. “The doctors are operating on him right now, but he’s not out of danger yet.”
Diarmuid’s face fell right then.
James was in trouble? And it had to be now?He could not return at the moment either.
“Got it. Which hospital is he in?”
“Aiken. It’s a small hospital nearby, but he needed help urgently.”
“I see.”
Diarmuid hung up and quickly called Zachary.
Zachary might have quit his job as a doctor, but he had built a network in his time as one. Diarmuid would also have peace of mind with him keeping an eye on things.
Zachary was shopping with Ember at a store for luxury goods-since he was supposed to appeal to her emotionally in order to find out what happened to Lulu, it meant spending time and effort to earn her favor.
Ember was naturally basking in the sweet world he fabricated for her, thinking that all her hard work had paid off as she had finally won Zachary’s love.
“That looks really nice,” she said, pointing at a four-leaf clover bracelet.
Zachary beckoned for a sales assistant. “Could we try that on? We’ll buy it if it looks good.”
Ember wrapped her hands around his arm, grinning ear to ear. “You’re so wonderful, Zachary.”
He forced a smile. “As long as you like it. Also, we’re married, so don’t hold back.”
Ember’s heart could melt from Zachary’s charm then-she had gotten what she wanted!
Suddenly, Zachary’s phone rang.
He whipped out his phone, and seeing that it was Diarmuid, he told Ember, “I need to take this.”
Ember nodded tamely. “Okay.”
Zachary made sure to get somewhere quiet before answering. “Hello?”
“James was involved in an accident. He’s at the hospital now-go check on him.”
“What?!” Zachary exclaimed in disbelief.
He had bickered a little with James, but it was inconsequential and they were certainly not at odds.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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