“Thank you for the gown. I’ll definitely wear it during the wedding,” Jolly continued calmly. “I should be holding the event overseas, though. Do come if you can make it.”
Julia smiled warmly, though she didn’t agree, nor did she decline the invitation. She realized Rachel had been quiet ever since she came in. All she did was sip on the tea, so she changed the subject, “You seem to get along well with Jolly, Miss Hudson. I heard she’s your assistant?”
“I’m surprised you know so much about my company even though you never socialize.”
“My friend told me that. It seems that this is old news to everyone.”
“True. She is the daughter of Carter Enterprise’s boss. It might not look too good if she’s just an assistant.”
“Hey, your friendship comes first. She’s your best friend, isn’t she? Both of you can help each other out in the future.”
Rachel nodded. “Oh, speaking of which, I need to thank you, Mrs. Bowman.”
“Hm?” Julia cocked her eyebrow in confusion. “For what?”
“I was going through the things my dad left me and found some handwritten records. Someone saved Hudson Pharm a few times before. They even injected a lot of funds into the company too. According to the journal, it was all related to you. I bet my dad was great friends with you.”
“A handwritten journal?” Julia’s face twisted into one of shock, and it was clear that she wasn’t as calm as she was just a moment ago.
“Yeah. It was something my father wrote. He wrote tons of stuff in it, and I’m going through them. Most of them are just trivial stuff, though. It’s like a diary.”
“He mentioned me?”
“A few times. He said he needed to repay his debts. Big debts. He must have been great friends with you, or you wouldn’t have lent so much money to him.”
Mrs. Bowman gave her an appraising look. However, since she was a seasoned businesswoman, she quickly regained her composure thanks to her experience in the business world. “Are you sure he was talking about me? You might be seeing things. He has never taken any loans from me.”
“Is that so?” Rachel lowered her gaze thoughtfully. “Maybe it was a misunderstanding then.”
“I did talk to your father a few times. He was my business partner for a while, too, but no more than that. You might have misunderstood things, Miss Hudson. I know you because you’re Jolly’s best friend.”
Well, someone’s in a hurry to deny everything. Rachel stopped pestering her about the matter. Therefore, she smiled politely as she replied, “Well, it looks like I have Jolly to thank, then.”
“You’re a capable woman. And you took over Hudson Pharm at your age too. It’s impressive. Please, visit whenever you can.”
“I will.”
“What do you think about today’s race?”
“Not bad.” The ladies nodded.
They didn’t get to see too much, though. Steven interrupted them almost right after the race started. They went to the banquet hall after the race came to an end, and then Julia called them to the teahouse.
They made some small talk. Julia asked Jolly about her parents and showered her with concern like some benevolent aunt. If Rachel didn’t know the club had some dark business dealings, she would never believe this soft-spoken woman was a smuggler. Janice said she was going to rid Riverdale of all smugglers. Rachel clenched her fists and resolved to help her out until the end.
“It’s getting late. Please, do stay for dinner.”
“Maybe next time, Mrs. Bowman. We have something to settle back at the company.”
“I’ll get someone to give you a ride, then.”
“It’s alright. We have our own vehicle.” Jolly was putting on an act as easily as she was breathing. She declined Julia’s offer and left the club with Rachel. While they were on the way to the parking lot, Jolly asked, “She has utterly denied her connection with Jefferey. Did we do something wrong? Were we being a little too pushy? She’s probably suspecting us now.”
“Nah. She never believed me in the first place. It’s fine that she suspects me, but I don’t think she can stay that calm anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“She probably doesn’t believe my bullsh*t, but she might think, ‘hey, what if it’s real?’ What would she do then?”
Jolly put some thought into it and realized what Rachel was getting at. “She’s going to transfer the funds.”
They had no idea how Jefferey gave Julia so much money, but they knew the club wouldn’t move the funds in one go. Perhaps they hadn’t moved a single cent due to the risk. They might have stashed it away somewhere and were waiting for the danger to pass before they made any moves. Things were different now, however. Julia thought Rachel had realized Jeffery’s deals with them. She might not know how they laundered the money, and she probably thought they were regular loans, but it was still a start. Julia couldn’t guarantee she would be safe from being apprehended.
“I’ll get a whole team to keep an eye on them.” Jolly took her phone out and was about to make a call.
However, Rachel held her back and silenced her, telling her to look in the car’s direction.
Someone’s there! Jolly froze up for a moment.
It was almost dark, and they parked their car in the corner of the open-air parking lot. A flower bed stood beside it, and there was obviously someone hiding in it. A part of a silhouette was standing near the front tires, unmoving.
The ladies exchanged a quiet look. One took out a pepper spray, and the other palmed a taser. Oh, you want to eavesdrop, huh? We’ll knock you out and drag you away for questioning. They exchanged one more look and split up. One went to the front, while the other went through the back. They were going to flank the eavesdropper.
Rachel went from the front. She hid her taser behind her back and slowly approached the car. She could see his shoes. It was obviously a man in a pair of sneakers.
At this moment, the silhouette made an aborted movement.
“Who’s there?” he asked. He had just stuck his head out, and Rachel almost hit him with the taser, but he reacted quickly and took a step back.
Rachel let out a roar and swung her taser at him, but the guy held her hand quickly.
“It’s me!”
Hey, that sounds familiar. She looked up. Steven?
Steven was happy to see her. “I’ve been waiting for you. I—”
“Look out!” Rachel warned him, but it was too late.
Jolly charged from behind. Nobody could stop her even if they tried, and to make things worse, Steven turned around. Jolly sprayed straight into his eyes, and he screamed. Steven covered his eyes, and Jolly sent him flying into the flowers with a kick. The poor guy fell face first and faced the ladies with his backside.
“You perv! I’ll kick your *ss!”
Jolly was going to kick him again, but Rachel shouted, “Jolly, he’s on our side!”
