Ashton looked up unexpectedly and caught me staring. Panicking, I averted my gaze immediately. “What’s wrong?” I asked when he stared at me intently.
“Pick up the phone!”
“What?” I asked, feeling even more confused.
“Your phone!” Ashton reiterated as he closed the first aid kit with a slam.
I wrenched myself out of my reverie only to notice dully that my phone had been ringing for the past few minutes. It was Nora on the line, and she did not sound happy at all.
“Babe, what’s up with you? Why weren’t you picking up?”
I felt slightly embarrassed. “Oh, I had something on. What’s the matter? Are you here?”
I recalled earlier in the day that she had called to state her desire of coming over to the base and then going over to her grandfathers for dinner.
“I’ve reached a long time ago. I’m at the hotel now, but I don’t know the exact location of your base. Why don’t you send someone over to pick me up?”
I shot a glance at Ashton. Joseph had been dispatched to send Rachel to the hospital, and Linda was probably off with her own tasks. Armond, too, was busy with the incident of the theft.
It looks like I’m the least occupied one for the moment.
“What is it?” Ashton asked when he saw me staring at him.
“Nora wants a lift from the hotel, is that alright with you?” I did not know if he had anything going on currently, so I thought it’d be better to ask first.
Ashton grunted. “She’s at the hotel?”
I nodded.
Other than his grunt, he did not indicate that he had heard what I said after that. I was doubtful that he understood the situation but trusted him to handle it and allowed the matter to drop.
It wasn’t a big deal. We emerged from the office and headed for the museum.
Joseph was already waiting there. At the sight of us, he hurried over. “Mr. Fuller, there are some documents from Mr. Quinn for your kind attention.”
Ashton nodded and took the stack of documents that Joseph was offering him. “How are things being handled?” he asked with a glance toward the museum.
“There was a breakthrough,” Joseph answered. “The perpetrator had contacted his partners on the outside. It doesn’t appear to be a simple break-in now, but we’re still not certain.”
Ashton frowned but nodded. He took the documents and headed over to the visitors’ room.
I found Linda, who was back to her old self again. She stared in surprise at me. “Did you not have a fight about what happened earlier?”
She was, of course, referring to Ashton and me. At that, I nodded and told her, “He told me to defend myself and not let myself get hurt the next time.”
She gaped at me and burst into laughter. “Hats off to Mr. Fuller for giving his wife an unlimited berth.”
We suddenly caught sight of Rachel who had had a change of clothes. She glared at us with hatred when she passed by. It was as though she would love nothing more than to rip us from limb to limb.
However, Linda was not intimidated. She stared provocatively across and said in a loud voice, “She thinks that she is so popular just because she’s good-looking. But it all amounts to nothing if her manners and character are rotten.”
I tugged at Linda’s shirt. “Alright, that’s enough,” I said softly. “Nora’s coming here; Ashton sent for someone to pick her up. Do you still have much to do? When we’re done here, we’re going over to Mr. Oberick’s house for dinner.”
Linda was taken aback. “You’re going to her grandfather’s for dinner?”
I nodded. “She’s been bored all day and is in desperate need of companionship.”
Linda shrugged but ceased her attempts in taunting Rachel.
After some time, Nora made her grand entrance by emerging from Armond’s car. Linda cast a look of surprise at me.
I was surprised as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Ashton was still absorbed in his documents and paid no attention to Nora’s appearance.
Nora had on a demure skirt with plain and natural-looking makeup. It made her appear unusually mature.
Linda teased her. “You’re not planning on meeting the boyfriend’s parents today, are you?”
Nora giggled. “Linda, I’m still relying on you to make that happen for me.”
“What do you mean, relying on me?” Linda answered. “It all depends on your own efforts. Meeting the parents is the easy part – just promise an heir for them! Old Mr. Murphy has always wanted a great-grandson. There’s your ticket in.”
“That’s a bad idea,” Nora pouted.
“Though the Murphys are rich and proud, they take etiquette very seriously,” I chimed in. “If Nora gets to be part of the family with your scheme, she’d be frowned upon.”
“Hey, you wanted my advice. Here it is.” Linda shrugged.
Armond appeared. “Tonight, you girls should take Rachel out for dinner as a truce,” he said to Linda and me. “You’d be seeing a lot more of each other, and you might even need each other’s help.”
Linda and I nodded solemnly. Armond could see that we weren’t taking this seriously and sighed, “Linda, you are a veteran in this organization. You shouldn’t show your displeasure like that. Think of the bigger picture! What’s more, the issue with Fuller Corporation is still not resolved. If things went sideways, the procurement of the equipment would depend on her.”
Linda nodded. “Yes, Mr. Murphy,” she replied with the utmost sincerity. “I will be more mindful with what I say.”
Armond nodded and hurried off to attend to his matters.
As soon as he left, Nora stared at us both uncomprehendingly and asked, “What happened?”
