Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
They decided on a time and place, and Christopher left the office to look after his father.
Once he was out of sight, Danika wiped the smile off her face. She took out her phone and called Zack.” Help me investigate someone. It’s Christopher Spade from Bardoff City.”
Christopher walked into the VIP ward. He wasn’t smiling any longer.
“You’re here.” Mr. Spade lay against the headrest with a few documents in his hands. He looked up at his son. Seeing his grim expression, he asked, “What? Has something happened at the Spades?”
“No.” Christopher shook his head and walked up to his father. “I invited Danika out for dinner,” he said.
Mr. Spade was hesitant. “Did she agree to it?”
Christopher hummed in response. He seemed calm and collected, which surprised Mr. Spade. “You don’t seem very happy.”
“She’s smarter than I thought. She saw through my pretense of liking her at once.” Christopher was mildly annoyed. That was the first time he had met such a smart woman.
Mr. Spade was calm. He said, “Isn’t that a good thing? You will not survive if you’re not smart in this society.”
Although he had a good impression of Danika, this was only because she had saved his father. Christopher had no other intentions. But once Mr. Spade woke up, he insisted on them forming a good bond and even told Christopher to pursue her. He couldn’t understand it at all.
“She just reminds me of someone I used to know.” Mr Spade reminisced.
Christopher was speechless. “Is that all?”
“I think she’s great. She’s an expert in the medical field, and she’s Mr. Birkett’s mentee. She’s a genius. You have nothing to lose, do you?” Mr. Spade looked at him.
Christopher had no idea what was going on in his father’s head. “Don’t bet on it. She’s not interested in me. She agreed to eat with me so that she could figure out what I was doing.”
“That’s good. That’s further proof that someone like her is hard to come by.” Mr. Spade was convinced of Danika’s suitability once more. Not everyone could dream of being a woman in the Spade household.
Christopher said nothing. Mr. Spade continued, “I’m not saying you must pursue her. You just need to earn her trust. Don’t ruin it.”
“Alright.” Christopher nodded.
When Danika came to do her rounds, the two of them had already ended the conversation. Mr. Spade looked at her warmly. “Dr. Zellweger, your medical skills are too great. It’s such a pity that you’re here in Parrington. Have you ever considered going to Bardoff City?”
“Thank you for the kind thought, Mr. Spade, but I think Parrington is pretty good. I don’t want to leave it anytime soon,” she replied.
Mr. Spade put on a face of pity, but he did not force it on her. “That’s alright. If you ever want to go to Bardoff City, give Christopher a call. He’ll arrange something for you. I guarantee you that it’ll be better than this.”
Danika glanced at Christopher, who nodded. She smiled. “Alright. I’ll call him if there is a need for it.”
“Good.” Mr. Spade said nothing more and closed his eyes, as if reminiscing his memories.
He thought of his past lover whenever he saw Danika. However, she was dead, and he had investigated Danika before. She was just someone who grew up in a small village in Parrington. She was not connected to his past lover in any way or form.
Perhaps it was all in his head.
Soon, it was six in the evening. It was time to get off work.
Danika packed up all her things and prepared to leave the hospital, but she didn’t expect Eustace to call.
“Is there something you need?” she asked as she packed up her things.
“How is Mr. Spade?” he asked. His tone was calm and neutral, as if he were a boss simply checking in on his employee.
Danika said truthfully, “All is well. He should be discharged in a few days.”
No matter what, Eustace was now one of the biggest shareholders of Parrington Hospital. Technically, he was her boss. If he asked her questions, she had to answer him.
Eustace hummed in response and lapsed into silence, which bewildered Danika. She noticed that it was almost time for her dinner with Christopher. She asked, “Is there anything else, Mr. Quincey?”
“Are you free tonight? I’d like to take you out to dinner,” he said. Then, he added quickly, “My grandfather wants to see you.”
He had no choice. He knew that if he invited her out to dinner alone, Danika would refuse. He had to bring his grandfather into this as a shield.
Danika frowned and said, “I can’t make it tonight. I’ll eat with him at the Old Mansion some other time.”
“Are you busy tonight?” Eustace asked, a little disappointed. Vincent told him that he had to take the lead, quell some of the dissatisfaction that Danika felt for him. That was why he mustered up the courage to call her, but now….
“Yeah. I’m busy.” For some reason, she felt a little guilty. A dinner date was considered business, wasn’t it? She comforted herself.
“Alright.” Eustace hung up. He was definitely disappointed, but it was fine. He had time.
Right as she finished her conversation with Eustace, Christopher appeared at her office door. “Are you done?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” She took her bag and left the hospital with Christopher.
They didn’t conceal the fact that they were walking together. It stirred jealousy amongst the hospital employees.
“Dr. Zellweger is so lucky. I’ve heard that Christopher is from the Spades of Bardoff City. They’re amazing.”
“How amazing? Is he better than Mr. Quincey?” The person who had spoken was a fan of Eustace’s. No one could be better than him in her eyes.
The initial speaker glared at her and said, “Although the Quinceys are the largest family in Parrington, the Spades are nearly at the same level in Bardoff City.”
“Hmph! I don’t believe it.”
Their discussion went on furiously. Danika, who had already left the hospital, knew nothing of it. She didn’t ask where Christopher was taking her to. After all, he couldn’t possibly kidnap her in broad daylight.
“Why did you marry Eustace Quincey? As far as I know, you two had no contact with each other before the marriage.” The air in the car was 100 stuffy for Christopher to sit back and stew in it. He just had to talk.
Danika retracted her gaze from the window and looked at him. “It was an arrangement made by the older generation.”
Danika actually didn’t know why her grandfather would make such a decision. He said someone would protect her this way, but Danika had not encountered any danger in these past twenty years. Why would she need to be protected?
She was the one who approached the Quinceys back then. When Old Mr. Quincey knew of her grandfather’s arrangement, he hadn’t refused. He had willingly let Eustace marry her.
She knew that this was not normal. But following her grandfather’s death and Old Mr. Quincey’s unwillingness to speak, she never figured out why.
“An arrangement made by the older generation?” Christopher was surprised. “I didn’t think that you would be the type to settle for an arranged marriage.”
In his eyes, Danika was a smart and independent woman. Women like her should be opinionated and have their own ideas about their marriage. Why would she…
Danika looked at him and smiled. “You talk as if we’re close.”
In reality, they knew nothing about each other beyond their names.
“We’re not close now, but we could be in the future.” Christopher didn’t take her words to heart and merely drove.
Danika said nothing more. She didn’t care about Christopher’s words at all. She didn’t think that they would ever be that close.
The car soon stopped at the entrance of the restaurant. They went in.
Outside the restaurant, Vincent got off his car. When he saw the two people walking into the restaurant, he was surprised. Hadn’t Mr. Quincey said that he would invite Danika to dinner? Why was Danika out here with another man? After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to call Eustace.
In a private booth, Christopher poured a glass of wine for Danika and smiled at her. “Would you like some wine?”
She shook her head. “I don’t drink.”
Although Danika knew she had a good alcohol tolerance, after what happened before, she understood that it didn’t mean she was invincible. Hence, she still had to be on her guard.
Christopher did not force her to drink and gave her a different glass. She took it and placed it on the table, not meaning to drink it.