Chapter 428 Why the Change of Mind?
Why the hell should I be scared of you?! Courtney really wanted to just grab the pen holder on the desk and stuff it into Alexander’s mouth.
Fortunately, he left after saying those words. Then, Courtney anxiously waited until her shift was over at 3. When Dr. Wolfe came for his shift, she left without so much as a greeting.
She had to go to work as usual at 9, so she took her rest in the sleep room for doctors. She did feel tired after a whole night’s shift, but when her head hit the pillow, the sleepiness left her. She had anticipated that she would bump into Alexander after coming back, but she didn’t think that it would happen so soon. Only one month had passed before she encountered him and Scott in the hospital.
She had wondered for 5 years but still never came up with an answer for the impossible problem of how she should face him when they would meet again.
It wasn’t entirely true that time healed all wounds; the prerequisite for that saying was that you mustn’t see that person for a long, long time. The time period in question would vary from person to person, too. Depending on how much the person had affected you. While some people would take a few months to recover, some would need years, and some would even spend their entire life trying to heal.
It was finally daybreak, so Courtney got up from the bed. When she looked in the mirror, she saw her bloodshot eyes even though it was just 7 in the morning.
Before going to work, she paid a visit to the heart surgical department and asked Linda to recover the shift schedule.
“Why the sudden change of mind?” Linda was curious. “Are you finally acknowledging that Mr. Duncan is your dad?”
“He really isn’t my dad.” Courtney frowned. “Dr. Hass, can you be more realistic? That old man is in his 80s, and I’m just 29 years old. How can he have an illegitimate daughter in his 60s?”
“It’s not entirely impossible. There have been cases…” Linda was quite ready to inform Courtney of a man’s active period, but when she saw the latter’s darkening expression, she shut her mouth. “Never mind, I’ll adjust the schedule for you, but remember to take my place for the blind date this Saturday.”
Courtney inhaled deeply. “Dr. Hass, if you keep up with this nonsense about illegitimate children, I’ll tell Nurse Simmons about me taking your place for the blind date.”
Hearing the words ‘Nurse Simmons’ was enough to make Linda go pale. “That’s just too cruel, Dr. Hunter.”
“I’m just returning the favor. You threatened me, so I have to protect myself somehow.” Courtney glanced at her. “I’ll only do this blind date thing for you once, and there will be no ‘next time’.”
After leaving the department, it was still early, so Courtney made her way back to the sleep room. This time, she caught the scent of buns and breakfast pudding.
Her colleague, Dr. Shelton, was biting into a bun as she waved at Courtney when the latter entered. “I was wondering where you went. Come and eat! The buns and puddings are freshly bought from East Street. You know, the one with terribly long lines.”
Courtney had just returned to this country not long ago, so she didn’t know much about good eateries around the hospital. As she heard that, her curiosity was piqued. The moment she ate some of the pudding, she realized that it was truly delicious.
“Thanks.”
“Why are you thanking me?” Dr. Shelton pushed her black-rimmed glasses as she smiled. “I’ve been working in the emergency department for so long, and only my husband has sent me breakfast. But you just did one nightshift, and there’s already someone buying breakfast for you. Must be nice.”
Courtney was stunned. “This was for me?”
“Obviously.” Dr. Shelton pushed the buns in her direction. “I was coming over from the emergency department, and a guy blocked my way. He asked where you were, and when I told him that our sleep rooms are off-limits to unauthorized personnel, he insisted that I deliver this to you. It’s a good thing that I came over early to share your breakfast, so I just brought it over.”
Courtney had a perplexed expression when she looked at the bun and pudding in her hands. It wasn’t too difficult to guess who the sender was.
…
At Sunhill Headquarters.
The morning meeting had just ended, and a few department managers looked quite cheerful as they walked out of the venue which was a stark contrast to their usual frowns. Besides that, the two directors in finance left the elevator together.
“President Duncan seems to be in a good mood today. We made two mistakes in the financial planning, but we couldn’t print new ones because of the urgent meeting. I thought for sure that we’d be chewed out for it, but President Duncan actually didn’t say anything about it.”
“Maybe he didn’t notice? Lower your voice or President Duncan will hear and get reminded about it, then he’ll call you over to reprimand you.”
“That’s impossible; President Duncan never makes mistakes! His eyes are sharper than a scanner, and he can spot mistakes right off the bat. He must be in a good mood. Have you noticed that he kept looking at his phone today?”
The main finance director looked around, then said in a hushed voice, “Someone saw President Duncan on a blind date a few days ago, right? Is he in love?”
“Really? Ever since that failed marriage 5 years ago, President Duncan has been single all this time. No one else knows, but since we’re old-timers at this company, we both know about that event, right? Now that we’ve changed out most employees, what can these younglings see? They probably think he’s discussing business with a client.”
At the mention of that, the main finance director sighed. “Thanks for the reminder; I almost forgot about that. You’re right, but I never understood why the decision changed so quickly. The wedding date was set and the invitations were already sent, but they just called it off.”
“It probably had something to do with the little master.”
“Young President Duncan?”
“Yeah. They came up with a lot of theories, but most claim that the fiancée wasn’t too nice to Young President Duncan. She hid it well, so President Duncan never noticed. However, he finally realized something was wrong right before the wedding, so they canceled the marriage.”
“Really? Why do I think that it’s not the case?”
“It’s all history now, and we’re not even involved, so let’s not discuss this anymore. Someone might hear.”
The vice finance director was right, for someone had listened in on their conversation in full.
Just around a corner near the elevators, a youth of 12 years old was dressed in a neat suit. A young assistant was beside him, and they both stayed completely still like statues behind a large bonsai plant.
“Young President Duncan, don’t worry about it too much. It’s just the usual office gossip.”
The youth was just a young child, and his face still retained its childlike features, but the look in his eyes was extraordinarily calm. He didn’t seem particularly disturbed at the words. “I despise such gossip. If my mother came back and heard these things, she would be upset.”
“I will remind them later.”
“It’s okay.” The youth’s gaze turned cold. “Post an announcement stating that starting from today, if anyone discusses President Duncan’s private life, their annual bonus will be deducted as soon as they are found out.”
The assistant was dumbfounded. “I don’t think that’s appropriate. Those who are clueless about it will think that President Duncan’s private life is problematic.”
“Why are you worried about that? That’s his secretary’s problem.”
“Understood. I’m on it.”
Then, the youth went silent.
