Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
Eustace was slightly disappointed that she avoided answering his question, but he wasn’t too upset because he understood her intentions. When they were both successful, she’d be willing to get into a relationship with him.
“Sure,” Eustace agreed with her decision. He wouldn’t easily give up as long as there was a chance. She smiled, satisfied at their agreement to pursue their goals and meet at the peak of their success.
“So.I’ll go home now?” She pointed at the door as she prepared to leave. He didn’t want her to leave, but he didn’t stop her after she had made her intentions clear.
“If Jolene Zellweger pulls tricks on you again, let me know, and I will teach her a lesson for you,” he added.
She shook her head at him. “You’d better not show up in front of her for now. She’s vindictive. Since she can’t lay a finger on me, she’ll only vent her anger on you. She’ll give you trouble for the time being.”
After a few setbacks, Jolene had gotten a better idea of who she should hire to deal with Eustace. As the daughter of the Zellweger family, she could easily pay some men to do so. Eustace was in danger, as Jolene might hire someone to assault him at any time
She Can’t Lay a Finger on Me Eustace understood her concerns but remained calm. “Don’t worry. I can handle it.” “Okay. Call me if anything happens. At this point, she can’t lay a finger on me, at least not in public.’ As long as Graham was on Danika’s side, Jolene could onlymake her moves in secret. Feeling touched by her concern, he smiled at her. “Okay.” He sent her to the front door and watched until her car was out of sight. Then, he went back inside.
The two were too busy to meet up in the following days. Danika was occupied with Jeneration Group’s headquarters move. Meanwhile, Eustace was busy with moving the headquarters of Quincey Group to Bardoff City and dealing with the Glasses’ harassment. Unlike what Danika had feared, the Glasses didn’t send anyone to harm Eustace. Instead, they made their move in the field of business in an attempt to bankrupt him. Despite their efforts, it would take much more to bankrupt Eustace. Even so, life wasn’t smooth sailing for him, who had to dedicate most of his time to work and didn’t have time to meet with Danika. Once Danika and Jade confirmed the place for the headquarters office, they started assembling talents for the company. The other office at Parrington would be designated as a branch after this. Danika was slightly relieved after she was done with all the work. She could finally have some breathing space with Jade and Alfred taking care of the company. Alfred’s capability was much appreciated and acknowledged, for things might not have gone smoothly without his assistance.
Danika left her office and decided to hail a cab to Zellweger Inc. Once she wrapped up her work in Bardoff City, she planned to take a trip to Parrington to take care of the branch office and rescue Stephanie from Paul. Before that, she needed to check with Graham’s schedule because she had promised to bring him to Parrington. Before she could get a cab, she received a call from someone that came as a surprise. “James?” “Danika, are you busy now?” His gentle voice was music to her ears. “I’m just done with work. Did something happen?” she asked with a hint of worry. He smiled and said, “Nothing! I want to treat you to dinner tonight if you’re free.” She was caught off guard by his invitation. They were on good terms in the past, but they rarely had the chance to meet up in person. Now that she was settling down in Bardoff City, she might come across him more often. “Sure, but I should be the one who buys you dinner.” She had completely forgotten to treat him to dinner in the frantic days before. As she was on a call with him, she seized the chance to meet up with him. She had decided to head over to Zellweger Inc after dinner because there were no urgent matters on hand. James didn’t object to her suggestion. It mattered more that Danika agreed to have dinner with him than who was paying. After they decided on a restaurant, he offered to pick her up, but she refused as she had called a cab. “James, let’s meet there.” “Great.” Learning that, he didn’t insist on fetching her-there would be ample opportunities to do so down the road. After she ended the call, Danika checked the news online and instantly saw the latest update on the Glass family
What a Load of Crap
The branch office of the Quincey Group was relatively unknown in Bardoff City, as it was less influential relative to the many big names. However, as most people paid attention to the developments of the Glass family, they noticed that the family had been making moves against the Quincey Group, which piqued their curiosity.
The outsiders mistook the actions for the Glass family’s ambition to acquire Quincey Group, but only Danika knew that Rowena and Jolene were behind the recent moves. Worried that Eustace would struggle to fend off the attacks, Danika wanted to call him out of concern but held back in the end. Based on her understanding of him, he would definitely turn down her offer to help when his ego acted up, just like the average man.
With that in mind, she decided to ask James for help later. Well, she wasn’t exactly asking him to actively intervene. It’d be great if he could at least hold off the Glass family. Moreover, a stronger Glass family would be bad news for the Zellweger family.
Deep in thought, she didn’t notice that the cab had veered off the route to the restaurant.
“We’re here.”
She snapped back to reality when she heard the husky voice of the driver. She looked out of the window and saw a stretch of wilderness. That was when she realized that something was wrong.
“Where are we?’ she asked, but the driver didn’t turn around. She didn’t have a clear view of his face.
“At your grave.” She heard the husky voice once again. The man had gotten out of the car and opened the door to the back seat. When he pulled her out of the car, she didn’t resist because it would be difficult to fight him in the cramped space anyway.
Rowena and Jolene must have been impatient, for they had immediately hired someone to get rid of her after the event last night.
With one glance, Danika could tell he was a tough nut to crack even before taking him on. By now, she had learned her lessons and acknowledged that
Bardoff City was full of skilled opponents. She was far from invincible in the city with her current skills. Therefore, her first reaction was to buy time. She dialed a number using the phone hidden in the bag, even though she had no idea who she had called.
“Mister, calm down. You’ll be sentenced for murder. Do you plan to ruin your life at such a young age?” She tried persuading the man, but he charged at her impatiently. Speechless, she grumbled, ‘We should at least chat. Why the rush?’
“What a load of crap,” he snickered, to her dismay. She wasn’t a talkative person either, but she had to buy herself time somehow or risk losing her life. Her decision not to fight him was proven wise-after fending off his attacks, she realized she was no match for him.
“Rowena and her people have gotten smart. Now that they know I am skilled in martial arts, they would spend a fortune hiring the best to take me on. They’re no longer as dumb as they were,” she mused. Despite not knowing who she had called, she hoped the person who picked up would understand that she was in trouble and bring help. Otherwise, she might meet her end that day.
While they were busy sparring, James received a call from Danika. He thought she had something to say, but he heard nothing from the other end, which was puzzling. As Danika did not switch on the speaker mode, he could only pick up some rustling noises without knowing what was happening. Nevertheless, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
I’m Done For
Danika was sent flying and landing hard on the ground from a kick. She slumped onto the ground and struggled to get up. The man was serious about taking her life from how mercilessly he attacked her. She was filled with despair when she realized that she was too weak for him. At the same time, she was riddled with regret. In the past, she had always thought she was skilled in martial arts. When she finally stepped into the real world, the huge number of martial arts talents opened her eyes to her inadequacy.
The man stood in front of her in no time. She knelt on the ground as she winced from the pain in her stomach-it was so bad that she could not stand up.
“How much did they pay you? I’ll double that amount,” she offered, holding on to the last sliver of hope even though her words might not work on him.
Just as she had expected, the man was unaffected by her words. He took out a dagger and lurched at her. Fully prepared, she stumbled backward to dodge his attack, but that didn’t stop him. Instead, he doubled down. Soon, her back was filled with injuries from the cuts of the dagger.
At that critical moment, the pain was the least of her concern. She knew that she might die if she didn’t escape. She had given up on the phone call, as she did not know who she had called or whether she had even made the call.
Unfortunately, she was no match for the man and was cornered because she was badly injured.
Soon, she was defeated and lay on the ground, failing to get up. She watched as the man came up to her, knelt on the ground, and raised the dagger in his hand. She closed her eyes indignantly as she reached the end of her wits. She had never expected to meet her end in this manner.
When the man plunged the dagger decisively toward her neck, someone showed up on his right without warning and kicked him aside.
“Danika!” James’ eyes wavered, and his heart ached when he saw her covered in blood. His face was the last thing she saw before she fainted. A smile appeared on her lips when she saw someone coming to her rescue. After that, she lost consciousness and blacked out.
Meanwhile, Eustace was occupied with company work. The Quincey Group was in grave crisis because of the actions of the Glass family. When he was pouring over the documents, he felt a pang of pain in his heart as if he was stabbed. He frowned in confusion as worries arose. He had a bad hunch but could not predict what was coming.
Danika was the only person who worried him.
At the thought of Danika, he called her, but she never picked up. On his second attempt, he found that her phone was switched off, which made him worry.
Vincent entered his office at that moment. “Mr. Quincey, the meeting will start soon. You may head over now.”
Eustace sat still, overcome by worries. “Look into her whereabouts.”
“Are you referring to Miss Zellweger?” Vincent asked and added, “The Zellweger family has got her back. I think she’ll be fine. Right?”
Eustace knew that as well, but he couldn’t contain his worries. He stood up, intending to look for Danika but was stopped by Vincent.
Vincent looked serious. “Mr. Quincey, the meeting today is very important. You should know the company’s situation right now.”
As a mere assistant, he had no authority to stop Eustace. However, the Quincey Group had been deep in trouble lately, and Eustace had to carefully consider each move. Therefore, Vincent could not sit back and do nothing.
The Worst Injury She’s Ever Sustained
Eustace stared at Vincent. The company was not his priority at the moment when he badly wanted to look for Danika. However, he knew that the gap between himand Danika would only widen if Quincey Group collapsed, and he might even lose the opportunity to get to her. After some consideration, he sighed and relented.
“Send someone to locate her right away.”
“Sure. Don’t worry. I’ll send someone to look into that.’ Vincent nodded in relief, feeling thankful that the CEO had not lost his mind.
After Eustace went for the meeting, Vincent arranged for someone to look into Danika’s whereabouts. At that time, none of them knew that Danika had been hospitalized.
The sky was dark when Danika regained consciousness. She stared at the ceiling for a long time before she recalled the events before she fainted. Smiling wryly, she thought this was the worst injury she had ever sustained and perhaps served as a good lesson. Bardoff City was no Parrington-she had to be extra careful with each step she took. She considered getting two bodyguards for herself, or she might perish the next time she encountered a similar crisis.
She grabbed her phone from the headboard and realized it was out of battery. While she was worrying, James entered the room.
“Danika, you’re up!” He looked glad. “Are you hurting anywhere?” She shook her head and cast a grateful look at him. “James, I have to thank you today. I might have died if you hadn’t shown up on time.”
“Don’t mention it. I felt bad for arriving too late.” Had he arrived earlier, she wouldn’t have suffered such grave injuries. Still, he was relieved after seeing that she was in great spirits.”Who’d do this to you when you have just moved to Bardoff City?”
She chuckled. “Who else? There’s no one else except for Rowena and Jolene.” He put on a grim expression and scoffed. “I will not go easy on them-the audacity to hurt you!”
“It’s fine, James. I can handle them.” She turned down his offer to help because this was a family issue. Moreover, she had to take into account Graham’s best interests, for Rowena was his wife, and Jolene, his daughter. She didn’t want to make a fuss.
“Danika…”
She shook her head and insisted, “James, I can handle it. Trust me. I was unprepared today because I didn’t expect them to make a move this fast. That’s how they almost got me.”
“Alright. I won’t say more if you insist.” He gave up in front of her but secretly developed a grudge against Rowena and Jolene. He added, “You can stop me from avenging you, but you can’t say no to this.” She looked at him, puzzled, and he explained, “I got you a few bodyguards. They will stay by your side so that we won’t see a repeat of the incident today.”
Stunned, she marveled at James’ thoughtfulness. Just when she was mulling over the issue of bodyguards, he had made the arrangements for her.
“If you turn down my offer, I will have no choice but to get rid of Rowena and Jolene,” he jokingly threatened when he mistook her silence as an objection.
The Glass family was hard to deal with, but he had confidence in taking down Rowena and Jolene. In the worst-case scenario, he might turn the Glass family against him, but he was unbothered by the consequences.
She shook her head, feeling speechless. “James, I wasn’t rejecting your offer. I totally welcome the layer of security.”
I Owe You One
James let out a relieved sigh after she agreed to have bodyguards. The men he hired were extraordinary, and they would protect her well.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “I can get someone to buy food for you.” It was surreal to him how they had agreed to meet at a restaurant, but things took a wild turn after that.
She nodded, feeling hungry. He asked someone to buy some food for her, and she put in an additional request for a phone charger as well. It was inconvenient to have a phone run out of battery, and she worried about her contacts who couldn’t reach her.
Not long after, she got her food and phone charger delivered. She charged her phone before digging in. James stayed around, which was awkward for her.
“James, why don’t you go home and rest? It’s pretty late.”
“It’s alright. I’ll hang around until you’re done eating.” He had planned to spend the night by her bed, but he knew that Danika would be puzzled or even shocked if he volunteered to do that.
Danika didn’t say another word because she didn’t want to sound like she was chasing him out.
When her phone restarted, she reached out to take it. James suddenly blurted out, “Danika, I haven’t told you this.”
She paused and withdrew her hand. Staring at him, she asked,
“What?”
“I brought you to the hospital in my arms when you fainted,” he explained. Still confused, she asked, “So what? I won’t blame you for doing that.” She was grateful for his help and couldn’t care less about how he transported her to the hospital.
“Well, it wasn’t a big deal at first, but the paparazzi took photos of us. Our photos are probably circulating online along with some gossip,” he mumbled while avoiding eye contact. He could have suppressed the news as it broke out, but he sat back and allowed it to go viral, mostly because he was curious about her reaction to the scandal.
The news shocked Danika, but she waved her hand and dismissed the matter quickly. “It’s not a big deal. Just ignore them. They’ll forget about it after a few days.”
As an ex-subject of online abuse, she didn’t care much about the online chatter. Given a few days, the discussion would die down.
James was relieved when she didn’t show any aversion to being associated with him. “Yeah, I thought so too. They’d go crazy with their speculations if I take down the news.”
“Right.” She nodded while eating dinner with the phone in her hand. When she touched the screen, she immediately saw a couple of missed calls but didn’t call back because James was present. Instead, she decided to check out the news online.
Just like James had described, the netizens described her as his girlfriend and came up with all sorts of stories, but none seemed to notice that she was unconscious in the photos. Although her blood-stained shirt was out of sight, thanks to James’ jacket draping over her, she believed that anyone could tell from a closer look that she had fainted. The netizens indeed thrived on gossip and could not discern the truth.