Tyson heaved a sigh of relief.
Mr. Macari isn’t being sarcastic today, after all.
“Have Vanessa’s people gone to the villa?” Samuel asked.
“She did send some scouts to gather information,” Tyson reported. “In response, I had sent our defense the items according to your instructions, Mr. Macari. They should make a move tonight.”
“Good,” Samuel said calmly. “Let them make the first move tonight. If they decide to attack, we’ll just send them a message. There’s no need to overdo it.”
Tyson nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“What’s going on at Yoeger Group?” Samuel asked next.
“Nothing much.” Tyson hesitated for a while before adding, “I heard that Yareli has returned to the country. Apparently, she’d gotten a divorce from the son of the Yates family.”
Samuel chuckled grimly. “She left Joel Yates?”
Tyson nodded in response.
“The Yoegers are an ungrateful bunch,” Samuel said scornfully. “Contact Joel and extend an offer to a partnership on my behalf. I can help him achieve revenge.”
“Yes, sir. Consider it done.” Tyson nodded again.
“Return to the office with these documents,” Samuel ordered. “We’ll talk about everything else tonight.”
“Yes, Mr. Macari.” Tyson held the thick stack of documents against his chest and turned to exit the room.
Upon passing the ward next door and noticing the ajar door, he glanced inside to discover, to his astonishment, that Kathleen had settled down and that Christopher had arrived.
The way Old Mrs. Macari treats them really blurs the distinction between which one is her grandson and which one isn’t. Having Kathleen move out might be her way of giving Kathleen and Christopher a chance to spend time together. If so, Samuel might lose miserably. As his assistant, I should think of something.
“What are you looking at, Tyson?” Diana glanced sideways at him.
“Nothing, Mrs. Macari,” Tyson mumbled awkwardly. “I’m just concerned for Ms. Johnson. See you around, Ms. Johnson.”
Kathleen gazed at Tyson as he turned around and left.
Diana frowned. “The people around Samuel sure are weird.”
“Tyson isn’t malicious, Old Mrs. Macari,” Kathleen explained. “Whenever Samuel couldn’t keep me company, he would always send Tyson.”
“That kid has plenty of money to throw about. You don’t have much to thank him for,” Diana consoled her. “No matter what they say, Katie, don’t feel the need to take it all upon yourself. You don’t need to be responsible for the lives of others. Your life should be the only one that matters. Take charge of your own life, will you?”
Kathleen nodded. “I understand, Old Mrs. Macari. Don’t worry. I’ll never put myself in that position again.”
I’m not that pushover I used to be.
“Good. Now that Christopher is here, I’ll leave you two alone.” Diana stood up and smiled meaningfully. “Christopher, take good care of Katie for me.”
Christopher nodded. “Don’t worry, Old Mrs. Macari.”
Diana left with Maria and entered the elevator.
“Do you think Ms. Johnson and Christopher would be better together, Madam?” Maria asked while helping the older woman in.
“What do you think?” Diana was curious.
“I don’t have an opinion,” Maria said abashedly. “Having lived with Ms. Johnson for a while and after getting to know her better, it seems to me that she treats Christopher like a friend and nothing more.”
“That hardly matters,” Diana said earnestly. “Romance will blossom as long as friendship is established. I’m only afraid that the pain that Katie had suffered may take more than a lifetime to heal.”
Maria understood Diana’s worries. “If Ms. Johnson does marry Christopher, what will become of Mr. Macari?”
“He deserves it,” Diana said fiercely. “Didn’t Katie give him a chance back then? Instead of seizing it, he squandered it and caused things to get out of hand as they have.”
Maria didn’t know what to say to placate the old lady.
“I won’t stop Katie if she wants to be with Christopher,” Diana continued with a deep sigh. “I’ll even treat her like my own granddaughter. Samuel’ll never know how much he owes Kathleen.”
He’d just missed his chance of being with a woman who loved him to such a degree.
Christopher was looking at Kathleen meaningfully back at the ward after the two women departed. “I should’ve come to see you last night, but my grandpa needed to be taken to the hospital as he wasn’t feeling well.”
However, it was at a different hospital that Christopher had spent his night.
“It’s all right.” Kathleen shook her head gently. “I’m sorry about Old Mr. Morris. Don’t worry about it. You were just fulfilling your duty as a grandson. I’ll shake off this fever soon enough.”
Christopher looked at her calmly. “I heard you and Samuel were in the same ward last night.”
Kathleen nodded. “The hospital told us that they were out of empty rooms. Even this ward had been arranged by Grandma. Fortunately, I won’t have to stay much longer.”
Christopher gazed at her meaningfully. “You don’t even suspect that Samuel did this on purpose?”
Kathleen blinked. “Is he capable of something that shameless?”
“You don’t know him well enough,” Christopher said enigmatically. “He found Astrid, you know.”
Kathleen frowned at the news. “How did you know?”
“Astrid told me personally.” Christopher met her clear eyes. “She told me that there was some problem with her family’s business and that Samuel agreed to help her on the condition that she came back to pester me.”
Kathleen was speechless with shock. How could Samuel do something that awful?
“My relationship with Astrid was made clear a few years ago,” Christopher explained. “We are only friends now.”
“You don’t need to explain, Christopher. I completely understand,” Kathleen said at once. “Though Astrid has feelings for you, you don’t feel the same way.”
“I have rejected her as clearly as I can.” Christopher looked at Kathleen seriously. “In fact, I told her quite plainly the last time I visited you that I would have my assistant handle her pleas for my help. Rest assured, I’ll never have any contact with her.”
Kathleen chuckled. “Why are you so nervous, Christopher? Do I frighten you?”
Christopher scratched his head. “I’m worried that you might misunderstand. I don’t want you to feel insecure.”
Kathleen froze for a moment.
“Thank you, Christopher.” Her voice was soft. “But you’ll miss a lot of great girls by being hung up on me.”
Though Astrid made things difficult for her, Kathleen could tell that the former really liked him.
“It’s better to reject someone outright rather than keep them hopeful, don’t you think?” Christopher said after thinking about it. “I refused Astrid so she wouldn’t waste her time with me and find her happiness instead.”
“I…” Kathleen was at a loss for words.
“You can reject me if you don’t feel the same way, of course,” Christopher continued. “I don’t have anybody at the moment. I won’t go out and have a rebound just because you turned me down. I’ll reject everybody else and wait for you in case you change your mind. Do you understand?”
Kathleen froze, not quite knowing what to say.
