I admit I’m jealous. I want to be one of the extraordinary men surrounding Roxanne, standing shoulder to shoulder with her or even making her look up to me.
“Hurry up, Dr. Galloway.” Hector turned to give him a look.
Colby snapped out of his thoughts and composed himself before catching up to them, although he was mindful to walk a half-step behind them as a sign of respect.
Each of them took a seat when they arrived at the restaurant, and Hector suddenly spoke. “There’s another reason why I came today.”
Roxanne stilled, her eyes subconsciously snapping to Jack, recalling what he had told her over the phone.
Hector started in a grave voice, “Ultimately, it was my fault when the online rumors broke out. I should have tried to understand the situation better from Jack before deciding to stop both of you from seeing each other.”
Roxanne immediately denied, “It involves me, so Ms. Hightower would have found another way to attack me even if we didn’t meet. Don’t blame yourself, Old Mr. Damaris.”
Hector continued as if he hadn’t heard her, “The Damaris family is responsible for causing this, yet we watched with our arms crossed without helping, and that kid from the Farwell family had to step in to smooth things over. Speaking of, I have to thank him.”
Her heart tightened, and a frown marred her brows. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Who am I to object if Old Mr. Damaris wishes to express his gratitude to Lucian?
Colby had only discovered that Lucian was the one who had resolved the situation, and jealousy ate at him like acid.
Regarding the public outcry, all Colby could do was provide a few statements from the perspective of the research institute. However, they did not do much to help.
Somehow, the situation slowly began to die down. In fact, it was completely turned around after Harvey’s interview the next day.
Colby was humbled when he learned that Lucian was the one responsible and ashamed that he failed to help Roxanne with such a minor problem.
The man felt even more insecure when he remembered meeting Lucian at Roxanne’s house. If he was at Roxanne’s at that hour, they must be quite close!
Colby’s sense of insecurity instantly intensified when he thought of that.
He had thought he could stay by Roxanne’s side quietly, but when he saw how she could end up in another man’s arms and how unlikely he was to beat his competitor, he realized he could not be as selfless as he thought.
After chit-chatting with Roxanne, Hector changed the topic back to the project. “Dr. Jarvis, your medical knowledge is impressive even though you’re young. You even gained Professor Lambert’s favor. I can tell he sees greatness in you since he stood up for you without a second thought.”
Roxanne’s eyes were filled with respect for Harvey when she thought of the man. “Professor Lambert treats his students all the same. If any of my classmates were put in the same situation, he would’ve done the same thing.”
Hector was even more impressed with Roxanne after hearing that. “You’re already exceptional, so I’m sure you’ll become a role model to the young generation if you benefit from the project. Professor Lambert will be proud of you!”
“You’re too kind, Old Mr. Damaris. I promise I’ll do my best with the project,” responded Roxanne with a polite smile.
Colby, sitting beside Roxanne, instinctively turned to look at the woman when he heard Hector. She’s already way out of my league. If she manages to finish the project on her own, the distance between us will be even greater.
At that thought, Colby could not help but furrow his eyebrows as he voiced tenderly, “I want to improve myself with this opportunity too, so just let me know if you need anything. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
After his previous encounter with him, Hector had a good impression of Colby. Hearing that Colby was eager to assist with the project only made Hector like him more. “It’d be wonderful if you could lend a helping hand, Dr. Galloway. That way, I won’t have to worry about the medical field in our country dying out!” uttered Hector, whose eyes were filled with nothing but adoration for Colby.
Meanwhile, Jack gave Colby a strange look because he sensed something was off. I remember how this man used to keep to himself in the research institute, so why would he suddenly be so proactive?
On top of that, Jack had noticed Colby sneaking a few glances at Roxanne just now, so he was convinced that Colby had an ulterior motive for being so helpful.
However, he would rather not make an effort to guess what the motive was. Anyhow, Colby would have to come to me sooner or later if he wanted to be a part of the project.
With that thought in mind, Jack knitted his eyebrows slightly before extending an olive branch and pretending to be oblivious. “I’m grateful that you’re willing to assist us with the project, Dr. Galloway. This is a toast to you.”
Naturally, Colby had no problem with the peace offering, so he, too, downed his drink as a courtesy.
After lunch, Roxanne and the others returned to the research institute to continue discussing the details of their cooperation. When they came out of the restaurant, a flash of light flickered twice in a bush across the road before quickly disappearing.
The person hiding in the bush only stepped out after he saw the group leave in a car. Looking at the photos he had just taken with his camera, the mysterious man nodded with satisfaction before hurrying away.
At the Queen residence, Jonathan stood up in surprise when his butler entered the house with Lucian. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Lucian?”
Standing beside Jonathan was Frieda, who could not help but feel guilty when she saw Lucian because of her meeting with Aubree. Even her voice was shaky when she greeted the man. “Lucian…”
Lucian simply gave Frieda an indifferent look before shifting his attention to Jonathan. “Are you available now?”
Frowning slightly, Jonathan could tell that Lucian had something important to discuss with him. “Yes. Let’s talk in my study.”
After agreeing to the proposal, Lucian followed Jonathan upstairs to the study.
Frieda remained downstairs as she watched the two leave her behind. When she thought of how cold Lucian was to her, she clenched her fists angrily.
Only after Frieda heard the door shut did she cautiously head upstairs to eavesdrop outside the study.
“Any progress with Herbscape Group?” asked Lucian with a stern face as he sat on the couch in the study, watching Jonathan pour him a cup of coffee.
Jonathan froze for a while when he heard the question. Then he looked at Lucian in confusion. “About that… I thought you had given up on them, so I didn’t consider them.”
After that, Jonathan tried his best to remember what he and Lucian had talked about at Queen Group. Lucian made it clear that he planned to go with the flow, so why is he bringing up the matter now? He even came here on the weekend to discuss it.
“Herbscape Group is already in our crosshair. Why would we let somebody else have them?” asked Lucian rhetorically with a frown.
He had intended for Roxanne to realize her potential at Herbscape Group, but after what happened that morning, he changed his mind. To Roxanne, her job is more important than her children! I can’t let her go on like this!
Jonathan hesitated for a while before responding, “But I think Dr. Jarvis has already agreed to work for Herbscape Group as their technical advisor. If we were to make a move on them suddenly, she would probably—”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was silenced by Lucian’s fierce look.
Judging by how Lucian had reacted when Roxanne was mentioned, Jonathan could easily figure out what was going on.
After all, only Roxanne could change Lucian’s mind.
Jonathan could not help but wonder what had happened between the two in such a short time.
Still, he decided it was best not to talk about that and shifted the focus to the acquisition of Herbscape Group.
“With Dr. Jarvis as their technical advisor, the Damaris family and Dr. Jarvis are officially working together. I’m afraid it’ll take some time to acquire Herbscape Group.”
Naturally, Lucian was aware of the situation as well. “Damaris Group probably only managed to steal Herbscape Group from us because they had something Herbscape Group wanted. If we can make a better offer, Herbscape Group may reconsider.”
Jonathan nodded in agreement after listening to Lucian. Indeed, every business in the world is profit-driven, and Herbscape Group is no exception.
“Queen Group has more business dealings with Herbscape Group, so let me handle this,” said Jonathan while gazing at the man opposite him. What Lucian should do is go after Dr. Jarvis. It’s been such a long time, and the relationship between the two still hasn’t progressed. Even I’m starting to worry for him!
Lucian nodded noncommittally. “We’ll do whatever it takes to persuade Herbscape Group.”
Jonathan’s heart raced when he agreed to do his best. It seems that Lucian and Dr. Jarvis had a pretty serious argument. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said something like that.
With that thought in mind, Jonathan could no longer hold back his curiosity. “Did something happen between you and Dr. Jarvis again?” Lucian’s face turned solemn when Roxanne was brought up. “Nothing happened.”
Jonathan was skeptical about his answer.
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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