Valeria concealed her phone and took a peek at William. She immediately reverted the message upon seeing that William was not aware of her unusual behavior, “I’m quite busy now. Let me call Abbie first and update you about it later.”
Their car finally made a stop at the entrance of the old estate. Valeria hopped off the vehicle and said, “Honey, you can leave now. Do remember to come back early for dinner tonight.”
William paused for a moment and muttered to himself, “But, it’s almost lunchtime now. It’s weird for Valeria to not propose the idea of having lunch together, right?”
He glanced at Valeria with a suspicious look on his face. On the other hand, Valeria innocently assumed that William did not catch her texting Thomas red-handed. William had a complex feeling upon seeing her entering the house with a smile.
He sat in the car and did not move an inch. Bobby, who was driving, also got out of the vehicle and asked, “Mr. Howard, don’t you want to head in as well?”
“I do, but my wife forbids me to set foot into the house. Didn’t you hear what she just said?” William mocked at himself and continued, “I’m getting less important in this household as the days go by. I shall listen to whatever my wife says. I should skip lunch and work my a*s off!”
“Mrs. Howard may have lost track of the time,” Bobby came up with an excuse.
“It’s fine, I know what is going on in her mind. She was texting someone just now and there must be something fishy going on.” William then instructed Bobby, “I’ll be heading to the company now. Do keep a close eye on Valeria as she is behaving somewhat strangely.”
Bobby nodded and watched William drove the car away.
Valeria entered the living room while sending a message to Abbie. “Thomas has arrived. I have received a text from him this morning saying that he brought lots of local specialties for us as well. You are aware of it, aren’t you?”
“Yes, he gave me a call just now and suggested to treat us lunch. Is your husband okay to allow you to join us for a meal? I realized that William seems to dislike him very much.”
“Don’t worry about it as I can come up with something. Let’s meet at our usual place then. You shall head there first as I will be slightly late.”
Valeria went into the study room to look for Hayden after finished replying to Abbie. “Dad! I’m home!”
Hayden raised his head with a gentle look on his face. “Are you hungry? I can instruct the servants to prepare something for you right away.”
“Dad, I’m not in the mood to have lunch at home today. How about we head out for a meal instead? I shall treat you to a big feast!”
Hayden grinned merrily upon hearing Valeria’s offer to treat him lunch. He swiftly agreed, “Alright, let’s have lunch out today. However, it would be my treat instead!”
“You are always keen to have meals in fancy restaurants. How about this? We shall change things up today as I know lots of hidden gems around the area. Let’s call Abbie and have her join in the fun as well.”
“No problem,” Hayden replied and happily went to change his outfit. He had a soft spot for daughters and used to adore Savannah so much as she was his only daughter.
His daughters-in-law were intimidated by him and had kept a distance from him including Valeria. Hayden had been thinking for quite some time about how to be much friendlier with Valeria. He was currently overjoyed as Valeria extended an offer to have lunch with him.
Valeria was also in an uplifting mood as everything was going according to plan. She was no longer worried that William would give her an earful since Hayden would be having lunch with her as well.
Hayden dressed up and got into the car with Valeria but she refused Bobby to take the wheel. Bobby was confused and gave William a call, “Mrs. Howard and your father are heading out for lunch together. However, she did not want me to follow them along.”
William was surprised upon hearing about this. Valeria suggested having lunch with Hayden despite feeling afraid of him. William was confident that something shady must be going on.
He immediately replied, “You can always tail them and see what exactly is going on.”
Lucas was instead the driver while Valeria and Hayden were seated in the back row. Valeria was busy telling Hayden about what had happened in the hospital just now. He sneered upon hearing the argument between Gavin and Archer because of Raelyn.
“Your grandpa used to lecture me a lot in the past. Why is he not following his own advice then? There is a phrase of being easier said than done. It’s a piece of cake to offer suggestions without stepping into one’s shoes. However, things would be totally different if one gets to experience it himself.”
“Dad, Raelyn must be planning to get some money from my grandpa. How do you think that we can prevent it from happening?” Valeria had sought Hayden’s advice.
“I’m afraid that this is a rather difficult issue to resolve. I have known him for many years and he is a softie. Your grandpa is much more lenient to your aunt compared to your father. He would definitely give way as long as Raelyn puts up an act to him.”
“Are you indicating that there is no way to make Raelyn back down?” Valeria asked bitterly.
“Don’t worry about Raelyn as there is no chance for her to turn things around. She is only in for the money and you need not feel agitated if your grandpa chooses to help her out. After all, she is the daughter of your grandpa and he would not have the heart to see her suffer.”
Valeria was still feeling rather dissatisfied. What if Raelyn still intends to scheme against others upon getting ahold of the money?
She sat there blankly as it was useless to dwell on it much further. Abbie then gave her a call, “Valeria, are you here yet?”
“I’ll be there in just a minute!”
The car eventually stopped at the entrance of the restaurant. Hayden got out of the vehicle and nodded upon glancing at the surroundings. “Not bad, this place is pretty quiet.”
“Dad, the dishes here are amazing and authentic despite the non-glamorous environment. You’ll definitely agree with me after tasting it real soon.”
“Is that so? Well then, today is indeed my lucky day.” Hayden grinned and gestured Lucas to follow along.
Valeria was leading them towards the restaurant. She swiftly gave Hayden a heads up upon thinking about Thomas, “Dad, Abbie is not alone today. One of her friends would be joining us for lunch as well.”
“Really? Could it be Abbie’s boyfriend?” Hayden asked.
“Well, not that kind of a boyfriend. They are just friends but he is a well-mannered person. He came to visit Abbie but had also brought lots of local specialties from the countryside for me.”
“Is that so? Are you saying that he lives there as well?” Hayden asked as he was extremely curious. It was a rare sight for Abbie to know such a person as the Clark Family was from a wealthy household. Could it be possible that the man just wanted to benefit from Abbie?
“He used to live in the countryside during his childhood phase.”
The three of them chatted and eventually entered the private room. Abbie and Thomas were seen to be exchanging conversations. The pair immediately stood up and greeted Hayden upon seeing him.
Hayden smiled towards Abbie but had a surprised look on his face upon seeing Thomas.
Thomas decided to ignore the bizarre expression on Hayden’s face. He smiled politely and said, “Mr. Howard, hello there! I am Thomas Gurney!”
“Hello, Thomas!” Hayden composed himself and took a seat. The waiter then began to serve them lunch.
Thomas was very considerate during the meal. He was polite and caring towards the guests.
Hayden’s impression of Thomas had grown at an exponential rate. He had exchanged contact numbers via WhatsApp with Thomas way before the lunch session had ended.
Thomas took out a giant container from the trunk of his car before bidding goodbye to them. It contained lobsters, homegrown chickens, wild eels, as well as fresh mushrooms and fruits all for Valeria.
Hayden stroked his beard and chuckled. “How generous of you! Do feel free to pay a visit to my house when you have the time!”
“Alright, I will definitely visit you when I am free,” Thomas replied graciously.
Lucas ignited the engine while Thomas stood there and watched them eventually leave the restaurant. Lucas asked as soon as they drove out of the parking lot, “Mr. Howard, I feel familiar upon seeing Thomas. What do you think?”