Meanwhile, inside the CEO’s office, Isabella was sitting in the boss’s chair behind the large desk, sipping freshly brewed coffee and playing games on Andrew’s computer. Andrew’s computer was top-notch, and there wasn’t a hint of lag while gaming.
Isabella was thoroughly enjoying herself, unaware of how much time had passed until the office door opened from the outside and Andrew walked in with a file in hand. Seeing Isabella in his chair softened his otherwise stern expression.
“You’re done with the meeting,” Isabella remarked upon seeing him. She closed the game and rested her arm on the desk, propping her chin up to look at him. “Andrew, your computer is great for gaming.”
Andrew shook his head with a smile, feeling a bit helpless. The information on his computer was valuable enough to buy half of Ithaca town, yet only Isabella dared to use it for gaming.
“If you like it, I’ll have Nathan buy one just like it for you.”
“Great!” Isabella nodded with a smile, standing up and sidling up to him, clinging to his arm affectionately. “My dear husband, you’re the best.”
Andrew reached out and gently tapped her nose with his long fingers. “Hungry? Let’s go eat. Ryan said a new Chinese restaurant opened across from the company and the food is pretty good.”
“Sure,” Isabella agreed.
Andrew gracefully retrieved his suit jacket from the coat rack and put it on, then took Isabella’s hand and led her out of the office.
Isabella obediently let him lead her, talking as they walked, “David has already been detained by the police. With his scandal breaking out, I might face some trouble.”
Isabella was a public figure, and any minor issue involving her would be sensationalized by the media. With the news of David’s downfall, another commotion was inevitable. Just thinking about being chased by reporters gave her a headache.
Andrew gently squeezed her hand, his tone calm and gentle. “Don’t worry. A minor deputy mayor won’t attract too much attention as long as the media doesn’t deliberately hype it up. I’ll have Charles negotiate to suppress the news as much as possible.”
“Okay,” Isabella nodded, though her beautiful brows were slightly furrowed.
“Isabella, what’s wrong?” Andrew asked.
“Victoria said that you would despise me because of David’s situation.”
After hearing this, Andrew chuckled helplessly and lightly stroked Isabella’s shoulder. “You believe what she says? Isabella, do you lack confidence in yourself or in me, hmm?”
“Then you give me some confidence…” Isabella looked up at him with a charming expression, then stood on her tiptoes and lightly kissed his lips.
By this time, they had already walked out of the office and were standing in the open office area.
Andrew’s handsome face showed a rare hint of embarrassment, and the tips of his ears reddened slightly. His usual image in the company was one of wise decision-making, calm self-assurance, and unapproachable authority. Isabella’s public kiss directly pulled him down from that pedestal. Andrew would likely have to rebuild his image from now on.
“Isabella, this is a public area,” Andrew said, looking down at her with a gentle smile in his eyes.
“Which law says you can’t kiss your own husband in public?” Isabella blinked her eyes and smiled.
“Girls should be more reserved,” Andrew said with a helpless smile, his hand brushing over her head.
“Let’s go eat. I have to visit the branch office this afternoon,” Andrew added.
“Okay,” Isabella nodded, affectionately holding onto his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the elevator.
At the same time, Scarlett stood not far away, watching them display their affection publicly. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to walk over, but her phone suddenly rang from her bag.
A woman’s rude and scolding voice came through the phone, making Scarlett’s expression turn very unpleasant. After hanging up, she no longer cared about finding Andrew and quickly turned to leave.
After leaving the Turner Family Foundation, she took a cab to the hospital.
The car stopped at the hospital’s main entrance, and Scarlett hurriedly opened the door to get out, but the driver called after her, “Miss, you haven’t paid the fare yet.”
One foot already on the steps, Scarlett quickly turned back, rummaging through her bag for change and handing it to the driver. “Sorry.”
After apologizing, she ran up the steps and entered the hospital.
Scarlett waited for the elevator for a long time without success, so she ran into the stairwell. Wearing high heels, she climbed six flights of stairs, arriving at the ward out of breath, only to be met with a barrage of scolding from her mother-in-law.
“Scarlett, your husband had a follow-up exam today, and you completely forgot! Do you care about him at all? Do you care about this family?!”
“Sorry, Mom, I’ve been really busy with work lately,” Scarlett said, her lips pressed into a thin line, her head bowed in submission.
“You always use work as an excuse. I think you, as the Taylor family’s daughter, never really respected us. Do you feel that marrying my son is unfair to you? But why didn’t you marry Andrew instead of my son…”
“Mom, could you please stop,” Jorvik, sitting in a wheelchair, appeared at the door of the ward.
Jorvik was just in his early thirties, very handsome, and in terms of looks, he was not inferior to Andrew. However, his eyebrows carried a bit more hostility.
Sitting in the wheelchair, he frowned at his mother.
She snorted but said nothing more.
Scarlett’s feet hurt from wearing high heels, and she wobbled slightly as she walked over to Jorvik. “I’m sorry, Jorvik. I was in meetings all morning and got back late.”
“It’s okay. Thank you for your hard work,” Jorvik smiled slightly.
“I’ll take you to the examination room,” Scarlett said, reaching to push the wheelchair.
“I’ll take Jorvik to the examination room. You need to settle this month’s treatment bill. The nurse has reminded us several times already,” Jorvik’s mother threw a bill at Scarlett.
Scarlett took the bill and frowned instinctively at the amount.
For years, she had been working herself to the bone, yet her account balance was always zero. Jorvik was like a bottomless pit, never to be filled.
Even though the doctor had said that the chances of Jorvik’s legs recovering through rehabilitation were slim, his mother refused to give up, insisting that Scarlett owed this to Jorvik.
“What are you standing there for? Out of money again? You have money for cosmetics but not for my son’s treatment?” Jorvik’s mother said sharply.
Scarlett sighed, said nothing, and took the bill to the first-floor payment counter to pay the fees.