Then I recalled seeing her with a man downstairs yesterday, so I pried some more, “Was that your boyfriend yesterday? The one who came to fetch you downstairs?”
She froze for a moment as surprise came over her. “What?”
“The handsome fellow in the black Cadillac. Is he your boyfriend?” It was just a casual question, and yet she seemed so skittish.
I joked, “I saw you two by chance. Why are you so nervous? Don’t worry, a married woman such as I can’t possibly steal him away.”
Her smile seemed a little forced. “Ms. Stovall, I don’t mean that. You know how I refrain from talking about my private life with the people here. Moreover, there are many women in the company, all of whom have pledged not to get married or have children for at least five years of working here.”
Fuller Corporation was a good place to work in, but George Fuller had set a rule that female employees were not allowed to develop romantic relationships or have children within their first five years of working here. He took into account that women might take maternity leave and marriage leave sometime during their employment, which would affect their work.
This rule was unreasonable in the first place, so after Ashton took over the company, it was basically pushed aside. However, because the rule was set by George, his grandfather, it could not be removed directly. So, although this rule was written in black and white, female employees were allowed to keep their options open, and they would not be penalized for taking maternal leave or marriage leave.
But this was her private life after all, and I had no right to pry, so I smiled in return, “Well, I just happened to see you two together yesterday, and I got curious.”
I handed her the processed documents and said, “Here, get to work! Since Ashton has requested to check AC’s audit personally, you should probably put in more effort. In addition, please do a summary for the credit audit report.”
“Yes, Ms. Stovall!”
As she walked out of the office, I looked up at the clock. It was already noon.
That’s strange. Based on Ashton’s recent habits, he should have come to take me out to lunch by now.
Someone knocked on the office door. I snapped out of my thoughts to find Jared there. He seemed to be in a rush. Before I could say anything, he invited himself in and dragged me out.
“Dr. Crest, what’s the matter?” Because I was shorter and smaller than him, I could not keep up. I was basically trotting behind him.
When we got in the elevator, he knitted his brows and announced sternly, “Ashton got into a car accident. He’s been taken to the hospital.”
Car accident?
I was confused. He was fine just last night, wasn’t he?
“How is he? How did it happen?” He could compete in the National Championship with his set of driving skills. How could he possibly get into a car accident?
“Let’s go check on him first!” Jared did not say much after we got out of the elevator, leading me to his car in a hurry.
Jared sped all the way, and very soon, we arrived at the hospital.
I hurriedly followed him to the ER, where Joe was standing guard at the door.
“What happened?” Jared asked, catching his breath. We came in a hurry.
Joe seemed fine at first glance. When prompted by Jared, however, he did not answer right away. Instead, he peered at me awkwardly before looking towards the other end of the corridor.
I followed his gaze and froze. Rebecca was there too. Her hair was unkempt, and the back of her hands was injured. She looked miserable.
“I wasn’t there too. I don’t know what happened,” said Joe. Then he approached Rebecca.
Ha!
Not much thought was required to figure out what happened. Ashton must have been with Rebecca, that’s why he got into an accident,
“Can I speak to the patient’s family?” A doctor wearing a white coat came out of the ER with the patient’s medical records in hand.
“How is Ash? Is he alright?” Rebecca quickly rose to inquire when the doctor called.
As a medical personnel himself, Jared was much calmer. He asked the doctor, “How is the patient’s condition?”
“The patient hit his head and is currently in a coma. We won’t know the specifics until he wakes up. Also, we found some glass fragments deep below the ribs, so we’d have to perform a minor operation on him to remove them. If his family is here, can you please sign this?” The doctor surveyed us all before producing a consent form.
Rebecca scurried over, “Me! Let me sign!”
The doctor nodded and asked her, “Miss, what’s your relationship with the patient?”
Rebecca froze in her steps and bit her lip.
I stood aside with my arms crossed and said flatly, “Does a signature by the patient’s lover have any legal effect?”
The doctor frowned in alarm. “Everyone, the patient is in critical condition. You’d better take this seriously. Furthermore, please be informed that the surgical consent form is only valid if it’s signed by the patient’s parents, wife, or children.”
I walked over to him, took the consent form, and signed it casually, all the while maintaining an icy stare. “Are there any other documents that need to be signed??”
The doctor shook his head in a daze, “And what’s your relationship with the patient?”
“I’m his wife!”
I added, “If that’s all there is, I’m going back to work. I have other matters to attend to.”
The doctor probably sensed a complicated relationship here, for he looked back and forth between Rebecca and me, paused, and said, “Since you’re his wife, I’ll need you to go through the hospitalization procedures. I’ll also suggest that you stay for the night to care for the patient.”
I was quite irritated at this point. “Is he dying?”
One comment caused several heads to roll as they turned to stare at me.
The doctor furrowed his eyebrows, “No, the patient’s condition isn’t serious. Only flesh wounds.”
“There we go!”
Since he was not on his deathbed, there was no need for me to stay.
