Although Weston and his grandmother repeatedly refused, Uriel insisted, crying and throwing a fit until he managed to get them a VIP ward.
Knowing that she had cancer, he insisted that the hospital use imported medications and arranged for three caregivers to take shifts looking after the old lady.
Uriel didn’t know what kind of relationship Darnell had with Jane, but he understood that if he didn’t please Darnell, he would be the one to suffer the consequences.
As for his Uncle Gavin, he had completely forgotten about him, and Monica was driven away by Uriel. He swore to Darnell and Weston that he would never have anything to do with Monica again.
Weston felt a bit disgusted by Uriel’s callousness towards Monica, but as Darnell said, it was their own matter. As an outsider, he didn’t want to interfere.
After Weston and his grandmother were settled in, Darnell instructed Weston to stay in touch with him before driving away from the hospital.
When he reached the company building, the clock read ten-thirty.
Darnell felt guilty about being late, so he quickly got out of the car and hurried towards the entrance of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
However, on his way there, he spotted Areli, the proud and striking woman, stepping out of a luxury car with a handbag in hand as she approached the building.
Darnell smiled and rushed over to greet her. “Miss Fanshaw, good morning!”
Areli glanced at Darnell, her tone icy as she replied, “You finally come to work! I thought you’d be hiding for a few days.”
“Well, it’s practically the same as hiding now. It’s almost lunchtime, so your presence or absence makes no difference.”
Clearly, she was aware of the layoffs in the sales department.
Ignoring her sharp gaze, Darnell maintained his cheerful demeanor. “I didn’t commit any crimes, so why would I hide?”
“I’ve been out of the office these days because I was signing a big contract. It took a lot of effort to secure this major client, and I expect an additional hundred million in revenue by the end of the month.”
To impress her, Darnell decided to mention the deal with the Apex he had secured ahead of time.
Areli paused, slightly taken aback, “You secured a contract worth a hundred million?”
“Yes!”
Darnell beamed with pride. “But you’ll have to wait ten days. Rest assured, if it doesn’t materialize, you can do whatever you want with me.”
“That’s what you said.”
Areli snorted, heading toward the elevator with her handbag. “If I don’t see that hundred million by the end of the month, I’m going to strangle you.”
“Honestly, strangling you might save me some trouble. If we have a few more rounds of those layoffs you orchestrated last time, I might be scared to death long before the headquarters fire me.”
Darnell followed her, saying, “I’ll accept the punishment, but if I land the deal, shouldn’t you give me a reward?”
Areli ignored him and stepped straight into the elevator.
Darnell followed her into the elevator, pressing the button. “Miss Fanshaw, if there’s no material reward, can I at least get a kiss?”
“Shut up!”
Areli snapped, “You’re Judith’s boyfriend. If you keep flirting with me, I’ll report you and have her break your legs!”
Darnell muttered, “She’d probably want to break my legs even without this.”
Thinking about Judith, who hadn’t replied to his texts, made Darnell’s head throb.
Areli blinked. “What do you mean?”
Before Darnell could respond, the elevator jolted and stopped. He patted the metal door and pressed the buttons again. “Damn! Are we stuck?”
Areli took out her phone and called for help.
After her call, Areli’s face turned slightly flushed. Clearly, something was off.
Darnell stared at her. “Miss Fanshaw, you’re not being drugged again, are you?”
“You’re the one who’s being drugged.”
Areli shot him an annoyed look and added, “I have a special case of claustrophobia. When I’m stuck in a confined space, I start feeling uncomfortable.”
Darnell’s eyes lit up. “What? You have claustrophobia too?”
Areli frowned, “Why do you add the word ‘too’?”
Darnell cleared his throat. “Miss Fanshaw, do you want me to help you by giving you some chest compressions or performing artificial respiration?”
He remembered that Lillian had been revived with chest compressions before.
Areli almost kicked him. “What are you thinking? This is mild. Just chatting with me will help distract me.”
Darnell’s face fell. “Alright, what should we talk about? How about discussing your past, Miss Fanshaw? How old were you when you kissed a boy for the first time…”
“Shut up!”
Areli’s expression darkened. “I have nothing to talk about. Let’s talk about you instead. What’s your background?”
Darnell sighed. “Me? What background? I’ve told you many times-I’m a soldier, an invincible warrior. It’s a pity you don’t believe me.”
Areli interrupted, “I think we should just stand quietly.”
Darnell let out a long breath and casually glanced at Areli, his eyes glinting with mischief.
The elevator was hot, and Areli took off her jacket, revealing a shirt beneath that outlined her figure clearly.
Darnell murmured to himself, “They look even bigger.”
Areli seemed to notice, feeling a bit awkward. She was unsure whether to place her hands over her chest or let them drop.
At that moment, Darnell’s left hand suddenly darted out and pulled, causing Areli’s shirt to tighten, and the middle button popped off.
Darnell now held the button in his palm, clearly having yanked it off.
With one less button to restrict her, Areli’s fair chest was partially exposed, and her cleavage was eye-catching.
The lace bra was teasingly visible, a tempting allure for any man.
Feeling a sudden chill, Areli instinctively pressed her shirt and glared at Darnell, “What are you doing?”
Darnell held up the button and chuckled, “I was worried you might faint from the pressure, so I thought I’d make a joke.”
He fixed his gaze on Areli’s shirt. “Should I sew it back on for you?”
Areli grabbed her handbag and swung it at Darnell twice. “You bastard! Your jokes are getting more inappropriate. I’ll kick you out of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals one day.”
She slightly turned her body to avoid any more exposure and then put her jacket back on to cover up.
Darnell looked dejected. “Miss Fanshaw, I’ve contributed too, you know.”
Areli snorted, “How can you talk about your contributions? How many days a month do you even work? Is there any executive who acts as sloppily as you do?”
“As the head of the sales department, do you even know how much has happened in the company these past few days?”
“I called Lillian several times to discuss work with you, but you were never in the office.”
She recalled something and asked, “By the way, have you been bullying Lillian? She gets upset whenever you’re mentioned.”
Darnell’s lips twitched slightly. “I had some misunderstandings with Lillian. I wanted to explain, but there hasn’t been time, so she’s…”
Before he could finish, Areli warned softly, “Lillian is a good girl. If you can’t give her a future, don’t toy with her feelings.”
Damn! Now it was turned into him toying with feelings?
Darnell replied, “Don’t worry, Miss Fanshaw, I won’t act recklessly.”
Areli didn’t say anything more and stood quietly. The atmosphere was a bit awkward when, suddenly, the elevator started moving again, and the air conditioning kicked in.
Areli and Darnell quickly arrived at the eighteenth floor. As they opened the door, Darnell let Areli go first.
As she stepped out of the elevator, Darnell gently squeezed the button that had split in half, revealing a tiny electronic component.
A smirk crossed Darnell’s lips as he slowly brought the button to his mouth, gathering his breath before shouting, “Ah!”
The sound echoed mightily, startling Areli.
The listening bug vibrated with a buzzing noise.
Then, Darnell crushed the micro listening device in his hand, turning it into fragments that fell to the floor of the elevator, vanishing without a trace.
Areli returned, her pretty face darkening in anger. “Darnell, what was that shout for?”
Darnell rubbed his stomach and chuckled, “I wanted to sneeze, and it accidentally came out as a shout.”
Areli glared at him coldly. “Crazy man! Pay attention to your image.”
After that, she turned and walked toward her office, Darnell hurriedly followed her, his mind racing.
Damn! Toby even put the listening bug in Areli’s button.
At almost the same moment, in a rundown apartment in Whiteville, two men from Baycliff were lying on the ground, clutching their ears in agony.
Their eardrums had been shattered by Darnell’s shout.
Toby looked at the red dot disappearing from the screen and then glanced at his two wailing subordinates, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Shit!”