<b>Chapter </b><b>31 </b>
Jeffrey shot Stanley a sideways nce.
Stanley froze. ‘Oh my god. Did I just say that out loud?‘
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“I mean, your gifts are always so special. Someone like me, who didn’t really help, doesn’t deserve a gift from you,” he exined quickly, afraid he’d signed his own death warrant by speaking without thinking.
Jeffrey said coolly, “Nonsense. Just bei
Mr. Garcia gets you at least ten.”
Stanley tried to argue, but the moment he met Jeffrey’s t, unreadable stare, he instantly backed down. “My mistake,” he
said.
Gregory cleared his throat softly from the driver’s seat.
“Stopughing,” Stanley snapped, quickly changing the subject. “Or I’ll have your boss send <i>you </i>a hundred of ‘gifts.“”
“Mr. Hanson has always been fair and reasonable,” Gregory replied seriously. “He isn’t swayed by petty words. Or you
think he is?”
“Suck–up,” Stanley muttered through gritted teeth.
Jeffrey nced sideways at him. “Don’t mess with my guy.”
Stanley fell silent. If it weren’t for the drama, he wouldn’t stay in the car for another second.
A little further down the road, Gregory asked, “Mr. Hanson, Ms. Jensen’s car is heading toward Samuel’s martial arts ss. Should I take you and Mr. Garcia home, or would you like to go see Samuel?”
“To see Samuel, obviously,” Stanley cut in. “I haven’t seen him since I got back to town.”
Gregory nced at Jeffrey in the rearview mirror. When he got no objection, he followed Stanley’s directions.
Meanwhile, Reba hadn’t arrived yet. Sitting quietly in the back seat, she gazed out the window, lost in thought. For a moment, it almost felt like she was heading home from school on a break.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a message from Jessica: [Forgot to tell you something important yesterday.]
Reba: [What is it?]
A voice message from Jessica yed, “That stingy, ridiculously narcissistic jerk with a godplex is back.”
Reba frozen Yeats?
Just then, the car pulled up outside Samuel’s martial arts studio. She paid the driver and stepped out, typing a reply to
Jessica.
Halfway through her message, a blur of motion rushed toward her. Before she could even see who it was, she was pulled
<b>13:26 </b><b>Wed</b>, <b>17 </b>Sept
into a warm, strong hug that carried a faint scent of clean cologne.
“Becky!” a cheerful male voice rang out.
40<b>% </b>
Reba pushed him back. Sunlight glinted off his handsome face, his eyes crinkling with a smile, his short hair as messy and carefree as she remembered.
n?” Reba was surprised. Jessica had just mentioned him, and now here he was–right in front of her.
“I’m surprised–and genuinely happy,” Reba admitted honestly, her gloomy mood from earlier lifting almost instantly.
“After all these years, you haven’t changed at all,” Reba said, genuinely happy to see her old friend.
She, Jessica, andn had grown up together. Reba had stayed in Jsburg for college at Amelia’s request, while Jessica andn went abroad to study. Not long after graduation, Reba got married.n moved overseas the year after
her wedding.
It had been four years since Reba andn hadst seen each other. But thanks to their non–stop group chats, it felt like no time had passed at all.
“The world might change, but I don’t,”n said confidently.
Reba chuckled.
“Just visiting. But he’s probably done with lunch and taking a nap now. I’ll pick him up after six,” Reba said. She checked the time and nced at his suitcase. “You must be hungry.”
“I’ve been busy nning this surprise since Inded. Didn’t have time to eat,”n said matter–of–factly.
Reba smiled, “My treat.”
She hade here on impulse. After dealing with Richard’s mess, she thought seeing Samuel might lift her spirits. Whenever she felt down, being with her son always helped.
But now, with an old friend suddenly back in town, the weight of the afternoon began to fade.
“No way.”n grabbed his suitcase, his tone as straightforward as ever. “If Jessica finds out I let you pay, she’d fly back just to tear me apart.”
A wave of warmth and familiarity washed over Reba. She hadn’t felt this light in days–it was like seeing sunlight break through after a long storm.
“Come on, I’m treating you,”n said, guiding her toward his car.
<b>07:01 </b>
wed<b>, </b>17 Sept
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To achieve this surprise reunion, he’d had his car delivered to the airport while he hunted for Reba’s location. Luckity, his efforts had paid off–he’d found her.
Little did the two know, their every move was being watched clearly from a ck Maybach parked not far away.
The atmosphere inside the luxury car was freezing. Stanley nced sideways at Jeffrey’s icy expression and held his breath, mentally cursing Gregory, ‘Why did you have to drive so fast? It’s not like we were being chased.’
Gregory hated himself even more. ‘It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t meet again. Why did I floor it?‘
Stanley couldn’t take the tension anymore. He cleared his throat and said, “You know what–I just remembered something urgent at the office. I should probably head back now.”
As he spoke, he subtly tried the door handle with his right hand, only to find it was locked.
Gritting his teeth, he shot a re toward the expressionless assistant in the driver’s seat. “Gregory. Open. The. Door.”
Gregory pretended not to hear a thing. If he opened that door now, he’d be the only one left to face Jeffrey’s fury. And with the mood this tense, he knew he wouldn’t survive it.
“Follow that car,” Jeffrey said coldly, his eyes fixed onn’s shy supercar–all show and no real substance.
“Okay,” Gregory replied.
Stanley, eager to avoid theing storm, nced over cautiously and said, “How about you drop me off first? I can find my way back.”
“In a hurry?” Jeffrey’s tone was t, giving nothing away.
“Kinda,” Stanley admitted hesitantly.
“Then stay anxious,” Jeffrey said without looking at him.
Stanley was left speechless.
Gregory wisely stayed silent, focusing intently on the road.
Sitting right in the middle of the tension, Stanley made a firm resolution: he had <i>to </i>break his bad habit of being so nosy and loving drama.
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