Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
He hadn’t noticed the call had ended. And he didn’t know how he had managed to walk to Danika’s door. He raised his arm, prepared to knock, but he simply couldn’t find the courage.
The next day, Danika prepared to leave for work.
She lowered her head and noticed the ash at the foot of the door. She remarked, “Which ignorant fool was this, scattering smoke ash at my door.”
Eustace opened his door and froze. It was only when Danika walked into the elevator that he rushed in, taking the same elevator ride down.
When she saw him, her face soured at once. She turned away, ignoring him.
“It was my fault yesterday. But you slapped me, so we’ll call it even.” Eustace had thought up a hundred ways to torment Danika after the slap, but after Paul’s phone call, all of his anger had subsided. He didn’t know how best to face her.
She was a little surprised to hear that he wasn’t going to bear a grudge against the slapping. Since when had he become so generous?
She had prepared herself to be at war with Eustace, but now he wanted to clear things up.
“It’s the weekend. Are you free to share a meal today?” he asked. His attitude was surprisingly pleasant. Danika was suspicious. Could he have swapped personalities? Why had he changed so much in just one night? However, she said icily, “I’m sorry, Mr. Quincey. I have work today.”
“It’s the weekend. You don’t have to work,” Eustace said.
“You don’t, but I do.” She glanced at him. She still had to perform rounds at the hospital.
He could tell that she wasn’t in a good mood. He didn’t take it to heart, merely saying, “I just invested in Parrington Hospital. I am now one of the biggest shareholders. I’ll decide when you can rest.”
Danika was too stunned to speak.
Her phone rang at this moment, and she took it out. It was the hospital director calling. She picked it up, not daring to delay his time. Very soon, she hung up and glanced at Eustace with even more suspicion.
The director had called to tell her that she could rest on the weekends, and unless there was an emergency, they would not contact her.
“Well? You have the time now, don’t you?” he said once more. He knew that the hospital had already notified Danika.
While she was exclaiming to herself about how great it was to be rich, she refused without a moment’s hesitation. “I don’t. I can do other things even if I’m not working.”
Her other tasks were infinitely better than going out to eat with Eustace.
Were they even just because he said so? What right did he have?
Slapping him just wasn’t enough.
When Danika thought her refusal would make him angry, he shook his head in mild exasperation. “Alright. You can do your stuff. I’ll ask you out some other time.”
“I’m busy on that day, too,” she said.
“I didn’t say which one.”
“It’s all the same.” She made it clear that she did not wish to eat with him.
He wasn’t stupid. He knew what she meant. He had just told himself that he couldn’t be angered by her, but right now, it was really hard to control himself.
Thankfully, Danika did not give him the chance to explode.
The moment the elevator reached the first floor, she walked right out and hailed a cab, disappearing from his sight.
Eustace didn’t know where to direct his anger..
“Mr. Quincey,” Vincent said. The car stopped in front of Eustace.
Instantly, Vincent felt a chill blowing over him, and he shivered.
Had he done something wrong? Why did he feel like Mr. Quincey was glaring at him?
Scared but composed, Vincent entered the CEO’s office with Eustace.
“Any results on the whereabouts of my ex-wife?” Eustace stared at Vincent and asked in a flat tone. For Vincent, Eustace’s calmness was much more terrifying. He wondered what had happened to his CEO. Eustace had rarely asked about his ex-wife in the past, but he started taking an interest in her after the divorce.
Vincent shook his head and stammered, “N-No.”
As expected, Eustace’s brooding eyes darkened after hearing that. He asked, “What’s her name?”
“Danika Zellweger,” Vincent answered and heard Eustace take a deep breath, as if he was holding back.
“And you’ve never met her?” Eustace pressed on.
Vincent shook his head again and explained, “She had never dropped by at work. And you had never been to the Quincey Mansion. It’s not surprising that I’ve never met her.”
When Danika needed something, she would communicate with the butler, Warren, from the Old Mansion. She had no reason to talk to Vincent at all.
Out of the blue, Eustace grabbed a file and threw it at Vincent. “What good are you? You’re taking forever to find her. You were unaware even when she was right in front of me!”
Vincent dared not dodge and was momentarily dazed after being hit. He was also taken aback by Eustace’s remark. “What do you mean when she was right in front of you?” He was confused.
*Danika Zellweger and Dr. Zellweger. Sounds familiar? Does that ring a bell?” Eustace was fuming and spitting fire. A petrified Vincent struggled to hold himself together. “Dr. Zellweger… Could she be your ex-wife?”
Eustace was silent, but the answer was clear. On the other side of the door, Faye, who was about to enter, stopped in her tracks, shocked.
“How could it be? Danika Zellweger is a countryside bumpkin, but Dr. Zellweger is a globally famous brain surgeon and the last mentee of Mr. Birkett. They are two different people!” she gasped internally. Her shock was understandable, for no sane person would make the connection between Danika and Dr. Zellweger. Eustace glared at Vincent and shouted, “That’s what I wanted you to investigate! If you don’t get to the bottom of it, you’re fired!”
“Yes!” Vincent nodded gravely, equally curious to clear up the mystery.
After he left, Eustace texted Warren with a photo of Danika in the hospital. Soon, he received a reply that cleared all his doubts. “Mr. Quincey, that is indeed Mrs. Quincey’s photo,” Warren wrote.
That was the first time in many years that Eustace felt emotional turmoil. He had no idea how to face her now.
Faye hid her shock and knocked on the door. She entered the office and asked, “Eustace, what’s wrong?” “All good. Why are you here?” He shook his head, deciding to keep Danika’s matter a secret. Faye walked up to him with teary eyes. “About my dad’s company-”
“Faye, your dad committed a crime and should be punished by the law. You ought to know better,” he cut her off. He had no patience for her parents. Had it been a minor issue, he wouldn’t mind doing her a favor so she could focus on her recovery. When he realized the issue was trickier than he had imagined, he refused to get involved because it was not worth it.
Faye clearly understood his reasons, but she wanted to bring up the topic of the fines anyway. However, he shut her down by saying, “Thankfully, he only got slapped with a fine. As long as he returns the amount he owes and gets his financial house in order, he won’t go to jail.”
She bit her lips and mumbled slowly, “But the fines are hefty. My dad… can’t pay the fines.”
He frowned at her admission and shot her a glance. “It’s just a few hundred million. How could Lawrence Solutions not afford that?”
“My dad…”
“Faye, you’re an adult. Have a mind of your own, and don’t listen to everything your dad claims,” he cut her off in displeasure, which gave her the jitters. That was the first time he had spoken to her harshly in many years.