After a moment of silence passed, Hailey further queried Geoffrey regarding the accident's badly hurt workers.
She asked, "Geoffrey, were the two workers in a coma locals or from overseas?"
"They were foreigners immigrating hereafter accepted to work for us," Geoffrey replied. "What's wrong?"
Geoffrey was curious about Hailey's plan. He has known this girl all his life, so he is sure that Hailey would do something for those workers.
Hailey ponders for a moment. She carefully weighs the idea she comes up with.
"Geoffrey, why don't we help someone from their family come over? They must feel devastated, and it's the least we could do to ease their worries. Manager Brown should assign someone to work on papers for the family representative's visa and expenses."
"Hm… That was a great idea, Hail. I will contact Manager Brown to work on it immediately!" He knew it. This girl would not just sit around.
"Thank you. I could not be at peace, knowing the family of these workers have no restful days, thinking about their injured family."
"And you… Stop worrying too much, okay? We will do everything we can. I'll be more worried that you will keep thinking about the mishap as well," Geoffrey's comforting words to Hailey. Honestly, this is Bryan's role; he is the first man Hailey runs to before her dad. Geoffrey thought, he added. "I'm furious at Bryan because he neglects his work because of the same woman that caused your heartbreak."
"I'm not heartbroken anymore, so there's nothing you have to be concerned about. It's not worth mentioning either."
"I'm hoping that was true, Hail. I don't want to see you were protecting Bryan instead, and you were saying all of this now, so we stop hating him and beat him again."
"Nah. I'm totally over it. I'm totally fine now." She does. Everything that happened in the past was just a bizarre event in her life now she could laugh at. "Well then, I must end this call so you can continue your work. I'm sorry if I burden you with more tasks that are supposed to be my responsibility."
"What are you talking about? It's not your fault, although you have to take action on Bryan's negligence. I can punch him one more time if you allow me."
"You just wanted to use it as an excuse to beat him up."
"I would not deny it." Geoffrey chuckled as he admitted it, which made Hailey giggle as well. It gladdens Geoffrey to hear Hailey laugh.
"Director Wilson, the meeting is about to start. Everyone is already waiting for you."
Hailey picked up a female voice in the background. She recognized Geoffrey's secretary.
"Alright. I don't want to keep you away from your work. I will call from time to time to hear the progress of the injured workers. I wanted to meet them and will try to visit soon."
"Okay, Hail. See you soon, then? I have to go now to start the meeting."
After a bid goodbye to each other, Hailey ends the call. She heaves a long sigh to lighten the worries she feels at the moment.
She needs to go home soon to make sure that everything is alright. Even if Geoffrey assured her to take care of the matters, it was her sole responsibility to ensure that her men worked seriously and the accident wouldn't happen again. And Bryan is not exempted from this matter.
She must visit Australia to meet the injured workers and call for a Board Meeting. But what excuse can she tell Vince?
'Ugh! Pitt should hurry his investigation and find Eva!'
~ ~ ~
When Hailey returned to her friends, they noticed the sadness in her eyes. The three girls exchange glances. It was Hazel who could not behave, not to ask what bothered her.
"Hail, what happened? You were gloomy after you made a call. Is there some problem with your family?"
Hailey nodded. She pursed a sad smile and said, "Just a minor accident," she said.
"Are you sure that's all?"
Hailey smiled. "Yes. It's all right. I feel my aunt's sadness." She lied. But she has no other choice.
Honestly, she doesn't want to lie to her friends. But it's not the right time to tell them the truth. Maybe the time would come…
~~~
Now that the afternoon field activity has ended, it's time for them to return home, and most of them have to get their car back to the university.
Hazel and her friends plan to have dinner in a fast-food restaurant near the university before heading home, but Hailey refuses as she has to make dinner for Vince.
Hailey sent Vince a message to ask him when he would come home. She also includes in her message that she might be home late as they may be stuck in traffic on their way back.
However, instead of a reply, Hailey's phone rang. She checked the caller, and it was Vince. She was lining up to climb onto the bus, so she excused herself and quickly answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi… Are you going back to the city now?"
Hailey could sense something different in Vince's voice, hinting that Vince was not in a good mood. So then, she cheerfully replied, "Yes! The bus is leaving soon."
"Great timing. I'll be there in about five minutes."
"Huh? Do you mean that..." 'Vince is picking me up? No. Vince is coming to the resort!'
It surprised her a bit. He is too busy at work outside the central city, far from his company. Maybe just a coincidence, and he is nearby.
'Or maybe, he needs me to escort him for a dinner meeting with his business partners? Or… Ah!'
She doesn't want to assume, but she has a bad feeling. Vince came because of what happened earlier.
Honestly, she has all these ideas because Vince has no reason to act like a real boyfriend unless for a show-off purpose to reach the media or let someone recognize her as Vincent Shen's girlfriend.
"Hailey, come on!" Liza calls out to her after all the students are inside the bus.
Hailey turned around to face Liza while pointing a finger at her phone. Liza figures out that it was Vince on the phone. Not that long, a black sports car is coming toward Hailey.
A worried look in her eyes flashed for a moment, then she pursed a smile on her lips, staring at the car parked in front of her.
She bit her lower lip and settled her heartbeat. Vince didn't drive his Maybach coming here. Instead, it was his latest black Lamborghini Aventador.
And because she was standing across the parking lot, opposite the school buses, all eyes were like watching a romance drama when the ML picked up the FL.
Suddenly, everyone took out their phone to take a photo. However, on the bus where the first-year college students are, Hazel casually coughs and says...
"If you don't want to face the consequences, I better delete it."
Everyone growled in protest. But they know better than they could not post it on social media and spread gossip.
Meanwhile, Hailey could still not believe that Vince was picking her up. She keeps convincing herself that maybe he has some business matter in the resort or something.
When the car door opens and Vincent gets out of the car, she holds her breath.
Hailey hid her emotion when Vince walked toward her.
She gathered her thoughts in one place to prepare herself. She knew the game, and she must do her act when they were in public like this.
"Hi! You're here!" Pursed a sweet smile across her lips. When Vince lowered his head and kissed her left cheek, Hailey held her breath.
'Of course, it was only for a show!' Hailey reminds herself.
Hailey blushed when Vince scanned her from the head down to her shoes. She did not perceive that Vince would pick her up today, so she didn't think of an excuse to give him.
When she left home this morning, Vince knew these were not her clothes. But why does she have to change her clothes?
Well, it was better than seeing her look earlier. Gladly, she still has extra clothes left in the resort's suite that belongs to Vince. She showered and changed into a comfortable dress, replacing her pink Converse shoes, now wearing a green stiletto.
"Um... About the clothes..." Hailey attempts to explain, but she stops talking when Vince raises a hand.
His eyes sweep to the three buses that park across them. Later, the bus, one by one, left the resort.
Hazel, Nadia, and Liza wave at her. Hailey nodded and waved back to her friends.
Everyone didn't hide their curiosity—every pair of eyes staring at them when the busses passed them.
Now that they were alone in the parking area, Hailey brightened her smile.
"So? It's time for us to go as well?"
The uneasiness she felt was still there. Now that no one is around, Vince's smiles disappear from his face and replace them with a grave expression.
'He is truly mad, does he?' Hailey mused inwardly.
She doesn't need to guess. It is indeed that someone in the resort reported to him what happened earlier.
"Oh, what happen earlier?"
"Since you were here, I can go home straight. Then I could start cooking early. What dish did you prefer tonight?" Hailey did her best to sound and look sweet. It is the charm she used to coax her father, Bryan, and the boys.
However, Vince remained expressionless in front of her. Another moment passed, and Hailey heard Vince hurl a long sigh.
"Forget making dinner tonight. We can dine out. But before that, there's something I wanted to do."
Hailey remained silent. There's no enthusiasm in Vince's tone. It means what he is about to do is to be feared…
And before she could ask Vince, he already took her hand and pulled her toward the car.
"Let's go."
"Where to?" Hailey asked, pretending she did not know what was going on. She guessed it related to what happened, so she hoped Vince just let it off and leave this place. To what he is acting right now, Hailey was sure that Vince heard about the encounter today. "Can we just leave now?"
"Not until I'm done," said Vince. He drove his car toward the resort's main building, where the private halls and suites are located. He parked at the entrance, and before getting out of the car, he told Hailey, "Stay in the car."
She wants to raise a protest, but Vince has already slammed the door closed. Biting her lower lip, she pondered whether to follow him.
It's not the first time someone insulted her as Vince's woman. In the past, Vince would deal with them in silence. But today, she was nervous. Vince's expression when he gets out of the car is the same as the last time...
Meanwhile, climbing the patio, displeasure was written on Vincent's face. Earlier, he was in the middle of a meeting when he received a video. After watching it, he wanted to kill that person who treated Hailey like trash.
"President Shen!"
The manager of the resort rushes to meet Vince halfway. He looked like he was going to piss on himself.
"Where is he?" With rage in his voice, Vince asked the manager. When the manager didn't reply, he glanced at him with fury. "Do I need to repeat myself?"
Shuddering, Vince's cold voice sent him to hell. The manager, Edgar Reid, knows that he must obey him. After all, the Shen family is an investor in this resort.
It pressed Edgar Reid between two giant rocks. However, he is more afraid of the family background of Vincent Shen.
Leading the way, Edgar wipes the beads of sweat on his forehead. He brought Vince to one of the VIP rooms and opened the door for him.
The moment he stepped inside, Vince swept his eyes in the hall. He fixed his gaze on a particular person, the one he saw in the video.
They formed a group of 16 people: 9 men and seven females. When everyone fell silent, one gathered the courage to greet Vince.
"President Shen! What an honor to have you!"
The man named Ken Gutierrez stood on his feet. But the rest couldn't dare to move or breathe. It appears to them that Vince's facial expression is like someone who is about to murder someone.
Instead of replying, Vince only ignored Ken but shot sharp stares at the host of this exclusive party.
Sensing that burning stares shooting at him, Howie Gu lifted his head and glanced at the door. At the sight of Vince, Howie smiled awkwardly, but arrogance in his eyes remained.
He sat on the couch he was seated at, then strides to meet Vince halfway. "Welcome, President Shen! I thought you were busy at work, so I didn't invite you. But come and join us!"
Howie Gu was overconfident. It was what his friends thought.
Honestly, they could not think of why someone like Vincent Shen would have spare time to join them today. Shen and Gu were not a close family unless the Shen prince appeared in their private room because one of them offended Vincent.
It answered their question too soon. Those who remained seated stood on their feet and stepped backward. The female gasps in shock, and most of them hide behind the men.
*
Vince walked straight to Howie Gu. The moment he had a glimpse of him. Only one thing is on his mind; to beat him up.
And to Howie's surprise. He couldn't react quickly when his body made contact with the floor.
Vince kicked Howie on his stomach using his right foot, and no one could dare to help him. Howie lay flat on the floor, still surprised by what just happened. Vince kicked him out of the blue.
When he comes back to his senses, Howie attempts to get up. He reaches for his stomach when pain ripples his body.
Howie was cursing Vince. And before he could sit up, he received another kick from Vince. This time, Vince steps on his chest, pressing him to the floor.
"What is your problem!?" Howie shouted. He attempted to look fierce despite the pain he felt in his body and a bit of fear forming inside his chest.
However, Vince keeps pressing his foot on his chest. The tip of his shoe points at his throat, making breathing hard.
"Vince!" Later, a woman rushed to the room and pulled Vince away from Howie.
Hailey didn't wait for Vince to come back. She followed him, and the scene she saw shocked her. Vince is stepping on the man's throat, firmly pressing him to the floor. "Stop! It's not worth wasting your energy on him!"
She begged Vince, pulling his arm. But Vince was like a huge rock; she could not move him!
"No one can insult my woman!" Since bellowed. His voice echoed in the entire private room and sent shivers to every person present.
Hailey was rendered speechless. A scene like this is not new to her. It's just an ordinary act.
Bryan, Geoffrey, Leo, and the other boys beat the people who would bug her and attempt to take advance of her. But this time, it was someone considered a stranger man who protected her other than the boys, which filled her chest with warm feelings she had never felt before being a woman.
It touched her heart that Vince takes revenge on people that humiliate her. Surprisingly, it gives a different feeling than she felt around Bryan and the others.
She felt more special... and loved?
Remembering these facts, Hailey snapped herself to wake up. She stared at Vince, who looked determined to beat up the guy. But to think it over saddened her; it was only an act.
"Vince…" Hailey called his name one more time.
But Vince only shrugs her hands. He kneeled on one knee, and one foot remained on Howie's chest.
Helpless, Howie wanted to scream at his friends to help him. But everyone didn't even dare to watch the scene but turned their heads in different directions.
Howie could not believe that his friends were useless. It enraged him. But at the moment, his life was at stake.
"I... I'm sorry... I didn't know that she was your girlfriend. It was just a joke!" Howie tried to apologize for his lack of air. He felt like the air passage in his lungs was blocked, and it was because Vince put his weight on his chest and throat.
"Your apology is useless!" Vince hissed. He went on. "But since you just came back to the country. I will give you two options."
"Anything! Please!" This time, Howie swallowed his arrogance but submitted to Vince. The way the guy was looking at him was like daggers cutting his pride as a man.
"Very well, then. So listen carefully. First, you should regret coming home to P Country. Second, you should regret that I've seen you in Metro City."
Howie remains silent. He's trying to process the words Vince told him. And he doesn't like it because that was not an option but a threat!
It was a warning that he should not step on Metro City from now on!
*
Even though Vincent had left already, Howie remained on the floor, frozen, staring at the high ceiling of that hall. He just came back to his senses when someone stressed him out.
"Idiot! What did you do, and you offended Vincent Shen!? Did you dare to touch his woman?"
"No wonder Carl refused when Vince's mom asks him for help seducing Hailey."
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