Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Chapter 98 If She Behaved
Daphne froze for a moment. “Me? How can I fix things?
“Don’t you have some of Alvarez Corp’s shares? You can sell them and fill up the missing sum on Seth’s behalf,” Lewis explained.
Eyes widening, Daphne clenched her jaw and thought, “My shares? B-But that’s the only thing that secures my status in the Alvarez family! I’ll be nothing to my family members if I sell them.”
Lewis leaned back against the chair, casually stirring the coffee while fixing his gaze on the former. “Is it too much to ask? Oh, well. I guess there’s nothing else we can do. It seems your husband isn’t as important to you as your shares.”
“But the measly portion of shares I have don’t amount to much money.” Daphne pursed her lips while a knot formed in her chest.
“We can still use it to fill in the gap and brainstorm other solutions if there’s still an outstanding amount.
All color drained from Daphne’s face just then. It ripped her heart apart to choose between her shares and her beloved husband. Unable to decide, she murmured, “I need more time to think about it.”
“Sure, but don’t take too long because you’re running out of time. Seth might run away from home if things escalate badly. By then, I doubt you can find him.”
Upon hearing that, Daphne tensed, feeling slightly more willing to sell her shares. It took a moment before she replied, “Well, who do I sell the shares to? Who could give me that much. money on the spot?”
“I can find someone who will-that is, if you’re willing to sell them to me,” Lewis stated.
Daphne’s gauging gaze drilled into Lewis. She couldn’t see any malice hidden in his eyes, nor could Daphne tell if he was genuinely helping her. Nonetheless, Lewis was still her older brother, and she would never doubt his motives. After a pause, she gritted her teeth and stiffly inhaled. “I’ll give you an answer by tomorrow.”
Not a word came from Lewis as he smiled.
At that point, Daphne couldn’t bear to sit with her brother anymore. She packed up the documents and got ready to leave,
Before she could, Lewis reminded her, “Don’t tell anyone about this, including Seth. You know what will happen if Dad finds out.”
Every muscle in Daphne’s body froze. She gripped the document tighter while shooting to her feet and storming off.
It was 4.00 pm when Lewis arrived at the company. He had just entered his office when Sophia knocked on his door. “President Alvarez.”
Lewis casually flipped through the papers on his desk while he asked, “Where are the documents with the companies’ information?”
“Oh, I had someone sort it out. I’ll have it sent over at once.” While saying that, Sophia picked up the phone on Lewis’ desk and dialed the company’s internal line. “Josephine, where’s the document I asked you to organize? Print a copy and bring it over if you’ve finished sorting through it. There’s no need to email it to me anymore. President Alvarez wants to see them now.”
Lewis froze when he heard Josephine’s name.
Meanwhile, Sophia hung up and turned to smile at him, saying, “Oh, I was about to inform you that Josephine has returned to work today. I asked her to do some simple tasks since she didn’t have anything to do. I figured it was better than letting her laze around.”
Lewis’ face was devoid of emotion as he responded, “I don’t care for your department’s affairs. You don’t have to report it.”
“Sure, I won’t do it anymore.” Sophia glanced over and noticed he was still looking at his desk, so she asked, “What are you searching for, President Alvarez?”
“A box.”
“A red one?” This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
“Yes.”
Sophia thought momentarily before saying, “I think I saw it here.”
She approached his side and knelt to inspect the unlocked bottommost drawer where important documents got placed. After digging through the items, she held up a red box. “Is this it?”
Lewis took it from her hands without so much as a glance. “Yes.”
That was when Josephine knocked on the office door and entered with the printed document. She first saw Sophia standing up from beneath Lewis’ desk. Seeing the two stand so intimately with each other made Josephine tense, her fingers gripping so tightly onto the document that her knuckles turned white.
Chuckling, Sophia asked, “Why didn’t you knock? I was helping President Alvarez look for something.”
Josephine’s lips thinned into a line as she looked at Lewis, who frowned but said nothing. With her head hung low, she placed the document on his desk before bowing and leaving.
Sophia kept her eyes on Josephine until the latter left. Immediately after, she looked down and realized Lewis was staring at her. She instinctively brought her hands up to her cheeks.
What’s wrong, President Alvarez? Is there something on my face?”
That didn’t stop Lewis’ stares. His gaze was so intense that it made her feel slightly guilty, like she had done something wrong. Before she could dwell on her emotions, Lewis abruptly looked away while speaking lowly. “Miss King, I suggest you focus more on work.”
Sophia stiffened; even her smile faltered slightly. Even so, she maintained a calm composure as she replied, “Understood.”
She then exited the office, her heels clicking loudly against the floor. Once she was outside, her polite smile became a little crooked with malice.
Josephine sat before her computer in a daze, watching it until the screen went dark when someone knocked on her desk, saying, “Hey, work’s ended.”
Only then did she nod at the person while getting up to pack her things. Suddenly, her phone. chimed with a text from Sam, the lawyer. It was a simple text that read, “She’s hospitalized.”
Attached with the text was a hospital address and patient room number.
Josephine’s jaw clenched as she knew who Sam referred to in his text. Not daring to waste a second, she grabbed her things and dashed out of the company.
Many people were hailing cabs near the main road, so Josephine struggled to get one for herself. All she could do was run further down the street and book a taxi service on her phone. As if her luck weren’t bad enough, it started to drizzle as she waited for her car, so it wasn’t long before beads of rainfall dotted her head.
Just then, a Bentley pulled up beside her. Its window rolled down to reveal Lewis’ face as he held the steering wheel and turned to face her. “Why the rush? Get in.”
Josephine stared at him for some time, then shook her head while gesturing, “I have something to do.”
“What is it?”
Brows furrowing, Josephine signed, “I’m going to see Mrs. Jinkins in the hospital.”
Lewis narrowed his eyes while his voice grew frostier all of a sudden. “I said get in!”
Josephine stood in the rain, her drenched clothes highlighting her frail body. Despite that, she pleaded with him to let her be with a stubborn. gaze.
Yet, Lewis didn’t budge. His tone remained cold as he growled, “Don’t make me say it three times.”
Josephine fiddled with her thumbs before opening the car door and getting inside. She figured he would agree to let her visit Mary if she behaved well enough. After all, there was no doubt that Lewis could permanently forbid her from seeing Mary if she had gone against him.
Soon, Lewis drove ahead. Alas, congestion filled the roads, causing him to move less than half a mile in 20 minutes. He frustratedly rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, then leaned back into his chair while smoking. Grey fumes slipped out of his lips and billowed into the air outside. Some of it stayed inside the car, wafting over to Josephine, who fought her urges to cough.
She then reached out to grab his sleeve.
Lewis turned toward her, then looked away as he curtly rejected her plea, “Forget about it.”
The more Josephine thought about Mary’s condition and the latter’s horrible son, her heart writhed. Unable to tolerate it anymore, she pulled Lewis’ sleeve again.
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