บท 9: Going To Look For Justin
Natalie returned to Mia's home, her clothes and hair drenched.
"My god, Nat, what happened?" Mia exclaimed to see Natalie like this. "Did they bully you?"
Natalie entered the home, shaking her head. "Bully me? They can dream on," she hung the car key on the hook before walking to her room. As she changed into a fresh pair of clothes, she explained everything to Mia, who had followed her inside and settled into a chair.
"You did well." Mia's voice was full of admiration. "Now you can work for me, right? You ditched your friend to work for that jerk Ivan, but now you have to work for me."
Though Mia came from a wealthy family, she was determined to build her own cosmetics company without relying on their help. Just like Natalie, she preferred to rely on her own abilities.
"Alright," Natalie agreed in a tired tone only to have Mia jump into excitement and hug her tightly.
"Let go," Natalie frowned, feeling slightly suffocated.
Mia let her go, her face brimming with happiness, "Since you've agreed to work with me, I have good news for you."
"Nothing can be good news unless I catch that jerk Aiden Hendrix and beat the crap out of him," Natalie commented lazily, slumping onto the bed, feeling exhausted due to tiring events from the morning.
"Well, that other jerk in your life seems to be in the city," Mia said, her voice serious. "Aiden Hendrix, I mean, Justin Harper, is in Imperial City."
"What?" Natalie suddenly felt a surge of energy course through her body as she jumped out of bed. "Tell me where he is. I'll go to him right away." She could not wait to solve the mystery of her marriage.
"Girl, calm down," Mia's voice was gentle. "He's not someone you can meet just because you want to. No one knows about his arrival in Imperial City. It's just that my father is close to James Harper, so he found out and happened to tell my brother, who will be handling business matters with the Harpers here. No one knows where he is at the moment."
"If he's that great of a businessman, then I'm sure he's the usual workaholic bastard and must have gone directly to his office to start working already," Natalie said, ready to leave. "I'll go to his office."
"Do you know where—?"
"Who doesn't know where Harper Group's headquarters is located?" Natalie didn't wait for a moment, grabbing her car keys and leaving the house.
Harper Group Headquarters was situated in the city center of massive iconic skyscrapers that showcased the extravagant wealth of the Harper group. Though their main business was established in the Bayford city, they were moving their base to Imperial city with a new Global CEO of Harper group ready to take over.
Natalie entered the headquarters building and approached the reception desk, where two perfectly dressed and elegant receptionists sat behind the massive desk.
"How can I help you, miss?" one of them asked, offering Natalie a pleasant, welcoming smile.
"I want to meet Mr. Justin Harper," Natalie stated directly, without any hesitation, as if it were her right to meet him.
The receptionist offered her a puzzled look. "Miss, you must be mistaken. Mr. Harper is not here."
"Then where can I find him?" Natalie asked.
The receptionist shook her head. "No, I mean…"
"Wait!" another receptionist interrupted. She whispered something to the first receptionist and showed her mobile screen, making the first one's expression change.
"Let me deal with her," she whispered, and the first receptionist agreed.
The second receptionist then proceeded, casting a judgmental gaze at Natalie. "Miss, may I know your name, please?"
Natalie somewhat guessed what was going on but remained unbothered. Considering how pathetic her life had been in the past, she was used to receiving such gazes from others and remaining unaffected by them.
"Natalie Ford," she answered.
The two receptionists exchanged glances. The second one began, a mocking smirk playing on her lips. "So, Miss, you are that infamous bride from the trending news who betrayed her groom. Natalie Ford?" Her voice was loud enough for a few people around to hear it clearly.
Everyone turned to look at Natalie, whispers buzzing around the reception area.
Unaffected, Natalie passed her a bored gaze. "Yes, I am that same Natalie Ford. If I have satisfied your curiosity, will you answer my question already?"
"Miss, Mr. Harper is not here," the first receptionist still replied politely, trying to resolve it quietly. But the second one chimed in, "Even if he were here, we wouldn't allow a woman like you to meet him. Who knows, the next thing you'd say is he's your husband."
"What if I did say it?" Natalie asked, her tone calm and composed, her clear eyes looking at the two with confidence, almost making them think she was telling the truth.
"Miss, there are plenty of corporate offices here, and you can try this on the rich heirs of other families, but Mr. Harper is simply out of your reach. If you're done, please leave quietly, or we'll have to call security," the second receptionist warned disdainfully.
Natalie felt a surge of annoyance. All she wanted was to meet Justin Harper once, but why did it feel like she was asking for something impossible? She felt like slapping her wedding certificate on the receptionist's face to shut her up, but she had forgotten to bring her bag with her.
"Miss, believe me, Mr. Harper is not here," the first receptionist said politely, assuming her role as a good receptionist.
Natalie could see she was not lying. "Alright, I will return again tomorrow," she said, and left.
—--
Meanwhile, in the presidential suite of one of the luxury hotels.
Justin was busy working when his assistant, Noah, brought him a coffee.
"How is the investigation going?" Justin asked, sensing Noah's presence as he entered the study.
"Our people are working on it. We will have every detail by tomorrow morning," Noah informed, placing the coffee mug on the desk.
Just then, Noah's phone rang, and he looked surprised by what he heard. Justin noticed the change in Noah's expression and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Mister Harper, today a woman came to the head office looking for you," Noah replied, seeming to have more to say.
Justin was surprised. "But no one knows I'm in the Imperial city. Who is the woman?"
"Her name is Natalie Ford," Noah answered, watching for Justin's reaction, which matched his own surprised one.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. They are sending me a video. We can see if it's the same Natalie Ford we are looking for."
Noah received an email and opened it on the tablet. He handed it to Justin while watching the screen himself. In the video, they saw the familiar face of the woman they were searching for. The video captured Natalie's entire conversation with the receptionists.
Justin's deep eyes fixed at her, observing her carefully. The way she spoke, and behaved, she was confident with what she was there for. Despite the receptionists mocking her about her latest scandal, she remained unfazed, solely focused on her task. She gave the impression of a woman who knew her worth and not the kind to allow others to bully her.
Now the question was, why was she looking for him and how did she know he was in the city? Surely, it could not be because he was actually her husband. But her reaching out first made his life easier; he didn't need to look for her now.
The corner of his lips rose when he heard the last line she said to the receptionist.
'I will return again tomorrow.'
Justin turned to Noah. "Tomorrow, bring her directly to me."
"Yes, Mr Harper."
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