Rachel shook her head. My stomach feels sick. Maybe I ate something bad.
“Let’s order something that goes easy on your stomach, then.”
As her gaze drifted away to a spot far away, Rachel could see Amber having dinner with Justin. Because of the distance, she couldn’t hear what they were saying at all, but she could clearly see him
Unknowingly, her hand was gripping the tablecloth underneath the table tightly. Although she was aware that Justin was merely putting up a show with Amber, she was still upset.
Since when did every move that man made affect her heartstrings so greatly? In addition, his contact with any woman would break her heart.
For some unknown reason, she suddenly thought of Gloria. If he could act that attentive with Amber even though it’s just a pretense, then how is he treating Gloria? she wondered.
“What are you looking at?” Hans asked, twisting his head backward as he followed her gaze, but she suddenly grabbed him. “What happened?”
Let’s go to another restaurant. A dark shadow hovered over her eyes.
At night, when all the Burtons had already turned in for the night, Rachel went downstairs to make herself a cup of tea. She ran into Justin who had just returned.
You’re back so late.
“Yeah,” Justin uttered, taking off his jacket and tossing it casually on the couch.
Seeing that he wasn’t going to bother about her, Rachel felt snubbed, and she strode into the kitchen to make her tea with a gloomy look on her face.
Recently, she had spent several late nights as she was busy gathering information about Hudson Pharmaceuticals.
With only the wall lights turned on, the kitchen was a little dingy, and Rachel opened the overhead
cabinet to look for the tea leaves while waiting for the water to boil. After she finally saw the container, she realized that it was placed furthest on the inside, and it was difficult for her to reach it with her height.
A long arm stretched over her head and leaned against the cabinet door. In a nonchalant voice which carried a soft tobacco scent, he asked, “What do you want to get?”
The smell of the man’s cologne traveled up her nose, and she felt a tight squeeze at her heart; even her shoulders shuddered along.
She pointed at the spot, and Justin passed her the tea contalner.
Thank you. She wanted to offer him a cup when she remembered that he always liked the tea she made.
But before she could, he asked, “How are things golng with Hudson Pharmaceuticals?”
Rachel’s fingers, which were about to sign something, turned stiff, and she tasted something bitter from her throat. I found some loopholes, but they aren’t enough to hit any critical points. Jefferey and his employees still don’t trust me at the moment, so maybe I still need to work on it.
“No hurry. The people from the Investigation Bureau are also investigating Hudson Pharmaceuticals. I can still wait a little.”
After giving him a nod, she suddenly remembered what happened at the restaurant and couldn’t help but ask. Are you still in contact with Amber recently?
Jerking his head to look at her with a thoughtful look in his eyes, he asked, “Why?”
It seems like Jefferey is planning to use her to get the information on the tender from you. So, you should be wary of her.
“How did you find out about this?”
Stunned, Rachel noticed that Justin didn’t seem one bit surprised at all. She recollected herself. I heard it by chance. Forget it if you don’t believe me.
The sound of water boiling echoed in the kitchen, and she hurriedly turned around, rushing over to the boiling water. As Justin watched her back while she was busy, the knot between his brows turned tighter. His profile under the lighting appeared especially deep-set with a hint of aloofness.
leaving earlier this evening popped up in his mind. “Did you hear about that this evening?”
Upon hearing the voice from behind her, Rachel stopped her hand mid-air while she was pouring herself tea.
“Where did you go this evening?”
I had dinner with a friend.
“Which friend?” Justin asked in a growl, taking a step closer to her. “Do I know him?”
With her waist against the kitchen counter, she had no other place to retreat.
Placing his broad palms on both her sides, he leaned down and warned, “Rachel, I did promise you that we’re merely cooperating with each other, but this doesn’t mean that you can go out on a date with another man in a public place without any care. Don’t forget that you’re Mrs. Burton now.”
There’s nothing else between us. We’re just friends.
“You don’t have to explain it to me, so keep those words for now. Explain it to the media when they’ve snapped pictures of you.” His voice was incredibly icy, and there was not a shard of warmth in his eyes. Spitting each word, he added, “As long as you don’t find it troublesome.”
Rachel was wholly frightened.
“If there’s an opportunity, remember to find out about Hudson Pharmaceuticals’ situation from that friend, Officer Hawkins, of yours.” With that said, he left the kitchen with his jacket in his hand.
Then, Rachel heard the sound of footsteps drawing further away in the living room as she held her clammy palms tightly. When she heard the door closing upstairs, she suddenly twirled around and started retching into the washbasin. By the time she was finished throwing up her stomach juices, she had already lost every ounce of energy left.
At the same time when she was having the bitter aftertaste in her throat, her chest was also feeling tight with bitterness. A sharp sting stung her nose and her eyes turned red, then tears started falling
into the washbasin beneath. She had no idea why she was so upset. It was as though she was being strangled and her heart was feeling wave after wave of sharp pain.
The next day, Frankie passed a document to Justin in the office and said, “President Burton, this is the information you asked for about the tender.”
“Make a reservation for lunch today and find an opportunity to put this in an appropriate place,” Justin instructed.
In reply, Frankie nodded, understanding what he was planning.
“Is there anything else?” Justin asked, casting Frankie a look when he saw that he didn’t leave yet.
Hesitantly, Frankie said, “It’s nothing else, actually. It’s just that, didn’t you find a mini detectaphone from your car the last time? I was thinking about it afterward and remembered that Amber was also in your car before that.”
Justin lifted his head, the look in his eyes shifting.
“Mrs. Burton doesn’t have many chances to contact Jefferey, and was hospitalized before that. So, I Investigated the surveillance at the hospital and saw that Jefferey had been there before, but a fight broke out between them, and this is what I discovered.” Then, he took out a USB flash drive and passed it to Justin.
Justin plugged it into the computer and opened the file. It showed the surveillance footage in front of an elevator in the hospital, and the time was the day Jefferey went to look for Rachel. In the video, Jefferey clearly looked furious, and he threw something into the bin. However, when the elevator doors closed, a person wearing a white robe appeared out of the emergency staircase next to it and retrieved that thing after rummaging through the bin.
“That’s Amber,” Frankie said, his volce echoing in the office. He was a little uneasy because he only found out the truth after this incident had passed for quite some time.
Staring at the frozen image on the screen, Justin looked grim. “I got it. Get back to work for now.”
“Okay.”
After Frankle left, Justin was deep in his thoughts for a long time, looking distracted.
In the afternoon, Rachel went looking for Justin to report about her Investigations on Hudson Pharmaceuticals.
Knock knock, knock
“Come in.”
His office was huge and old-fashioned. Built and designed in an outdated style, it was not only dreary but lifeless, and this was the first time she visited his office.
