Chapter 26 Don't Rush, Slow It Down
Of course, Irene would not let Kinsey suffer because of her. She turned it over in her mind and decided that she had to clarify it with Edric since this happened because of her. But Edric never answered her phone again.
Out of options, she went to Edric's company yet was stopped by the front desk. "Miss, what can I do for you? Did you have an appointment?"
The woman who stopped Irene was not the receptionist she saw when she came here last time. Irene knew this woman. She was the receptionist of Edric's company in Oxton three years ago. She was surprised to see that she came to San Fetillo with Edric as well.
Three years ago, this woman would always gently push the elevator button for her whenever she wanted to see Edric. Now, she talked to her as if she didn't know her at all.
Things had changed indeed. Irene remained composed and said, "I want to see your president."
"May I ask if you have an appointment? You can't see Mr. Myers if you don't have an appointment!"
Irene ignored her and pushed her away and went straight to the elevator. The woman winked at the security guard. Two guards came up and stopped Irene as though she was some formidable enemy. Irene turned around and walked to the sofa in the lobby. She would wait here in the lobby. Edric would come down sooner or later.
Irene waited till later afternoon yet still didn't see Edric. The receptionist was packing up her things and was ready to get off work. Seeing that Irene was still sitting there, she felt bad for her. "The president has left through the underground parking garage a long time ago!"
Irene was so angry that she almost cursed out. Maybe because the receptionist took pity on her, she added, "The president will go to meet some friends at After Dark tonight."
She revealed Edric's schedule to Irene. Irene didn't care how a trivial receptionist got to know about Edric's schedule. She thanked her and went out of the building.
Seeing Irene leaving, the security guard came to the receptionist and asked her nicely, "Amelia, you're a manager. What are you doing here today? Why did you come to the front desk and stop that woman?" "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask!" The woman answered in an annoyed voice. When she saw Irene, she finally understood why Mr. Myers wanted her at the front desk today. Except for her and John, no one else here in the Myers Group knew Irene.
"But what does Mr. Myers mean? Why does he want me to stop her from meeting him and ask me to tell her his whereabouts in the meantime?"
Irene left the Myers Group and went straight to After Dark by taxi. She asked around and rushed to the second floor where Edric's private room was. She pushed the door open and saw the erotic scene inside. Several men were sitting in the room, each of them accompanied by beautiful women. She saw Edric sitting in the innermost position with a pretty woman next to him on each side. One of them leaned against him and was whispering something to him. The gentle smile on Edric's face made Irene's eyes hurt.
This was how men fooled around. She didn't know anything about this three years ago and thought he was busy at work the whole time. That was why she was deceived by him so badly. Irene sneered and raised her voice, "Edric!"
Startled by her voice, everyone in the room turned their eyes on her. Edric raised his eyebrows and showed an impatient look. He didn't move at all.
By his side, a man who was hugging a girl teased, "Mr. Myers, it's not enough for you to have a pretty woman on each side. Another one even came to chase after you. You're making us jealous!" Edric smiled faintly. "Why would I have such a bad taste?"
"Go take a look since she came here already!" Another man laughed.
Edric got up and stepped forward. When he walked to Irene's side, a man behind him simpered, "Give her to us if you really don't like her!"
"Good!" Edric's indifferent answer made Irene tremble with anger. She raised her hand, trying to slap him. But Edric grabbed her hand nimbly. The men in the room burst into laughter. "What a hot wild cat!" Edric casually closed the door and dragged Irene to the room next door.
"What do you want from me?" He let go of Irene's hand and spoke in an ice cold voice.
"Did you do that to Kinsey?" Irene glared at him.
Edric turned a blind eye to Irene's hostility. He casually sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette.
"Kinsey? Who is Kinsey?" His voice was still cold and aloof.
Edric smoked? Irene was a little surprised. She used to say that she hated the smell of tobacco on men. Edric also said that he was not interested in smoking.
Judging by his skillful posture and the smoke rings he blew, Irene found out that she barely knew anything about this man.
"Edric, do you have amnesia? You don't know who Kinsey is?" Exasperated, Irene shouted and only realized how loud she was a moment later.
He did it on purpose. He was the one behind Kinsey's demotion. "Despicable! You are such a despicable villain!"
"Despicable?" The man's captivating eyes darkened in an instant. She actually called him despicable.
"This d*mn woman!" Edric could feel the anger rising in his chest. He mocked her, "Miss Nelson, a competent person will never rely on his tongue. If I were you, I wouldn't come here to humiliate myself. Instead, you should go back and teach your friend a lesson and let her know what she should say and she shouldn't!"
He basically admitted he was behind Kinsey's demotion. Irene trembled in rage. She never dreamed that Edric would become this kind of person.
She stabilized her hands that were shaking from anger. "Edric, what do you want?"
"What do I want?" Edric blew a smoke ring. "Don't you know what I want?"
He wanted to stand up for Lily. Irene bit his lip and said, "If Kinsey said something wrong, I'd apologize for her. Mr. Myers, you're a generous man. Please forgive Kinsey, can you?"
She actually apologized! Edric's eyes were frosty. She apologized to him for an ordinary friend, yet she wouldn't have forbearance for his mother. If she was willing to bow her head to his equally strong-willed mother, things wouldn't have been like this.
"Miss Nelson, don't you feel that you're not sincere at all?"
"What else do you want? I have apologized, Edric. What else do you want?"
"You should apologize to Lily. After all, she was the one insulted by you."
"Fine, Edric, I apologize to you. And I will apologize to your beloved woman. But you have to let Kinsey off!" Irene risked everything to save Kinsey.
"It's too late!" Edric opened his thin lips. His tone was cold as usual, "Miss Nelson, everything has a deadline. I gave you a chance before."
"You..." Irene glared at him. It had never occurred to her that he would say that.
"Do you want to ask why I'm so heartless?" Edric chuckled and spat out more hurtful words, "Irene, go back and take a look at yourself in the mirror. Why should I, Edric, listen to anything you say?" Irene took a step back. Looking at Edric's indifferent face, she squeezed out a bitter smile. Yes, she was still too impulsive. She even forgot how heartless Edric was.
Hadn't she experienced his cruelty? He swore to love her yet turned around and betrayed her. He impregnated his mistress and let her provoke her. He didn't offer any explanation after their affair was exposed and ordered lawyers to kick her out of the house with nothing but a divorce agreement...
Which man in this world could be crueler and more heartless than Edric?
She didn't learn her lesson and vainly hoped that she could persuade him. Irene stared at the man sitting on the couch.
"Edric, you're right. It's my fault. I shouldn't have come to you for who I am. Thank you for letting me see everything clearly. Don't worry, from now on, I, Irene, will never come to beg you for anything! I would rather die than asking you for anything again!"
She shouted out the last sentence and didn't care about Edric's reaction. Irene opened the door and left. She almost ran out of After Dark all the way. The night wind was chilly outside, and she didn't know why her eyes were moist.
The door was slammed shut. Listening to the hurried footsteps outside, Edric stood up at once. He only took a step before sitting back on the sofa feebly.
He put out the cigarette and threw it into the trash can. Then, he leaned back and rubbed his temple. He was more irritated than he had ever been.
He didn't want to treat her that way. But he couldn't help himself when he faced her and her attitude.
He didn't know what had happened to him and why he couldn't control himself. He knew what he said would only make her hate him more, but he just couldn't hold his tongue.
"I'm crazy!" Edric smiled bitterly, feeling unutterably upset and lonely.
Irene tossed and turned in bed for a long time before falling asleep that night. Perhaps too tired, she overslept in the morning. If it weren't for Jordan's phone call, she would not wake up. Jordan was a little surprised to hear her nasal voice. "Irene, don't tell me you're still in bed."
"I'm sorry! I overslept!"
"What a woman you are!" Jordan propped his forehead in his hand and said, "Get up quickly. I'll come to pick you up!"
Irene got up in a hurry and spent more than ten minutes to brush her teeth, clean her face, and change her clothes. She ran out without putting on makeup.
Jordan's car sped over when Irene got downstairs. She was so hurried that she even forgot to wear her glasses. When Jordan looked at her bare and unadorned face, all of his annoyance dissipated. He even opened the door for her. "Get in the car!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Reed!" Irene apologized again.
"Thanks to that you don't wear glasses today, I forgive you!" Jordan tilted his head and looked at her with a smile. A gorgeous woman didn't need makeup to be attractive.
"Thank you, Mr. Reed. Where are we going now?"
"We're going to City Hall!"
Irene understood that Jordan was determined to win the bid. It must be the reason he was going to City Hall. She recalled what Steven said to her that night. The Golden Age Group would definitely win the bid if she went to ask Steven for help, right?
However...
While she was hesitating, Jordan took a bag from the front seat and handed it to her. "You didn't have breakfast, did you? I bought you breakfast!"
"You bought breakfast?" Irene was shocked. Jordan was a spoiled young master from a rich family. Why would he remember to take care of his subordinate?
"Why are you surprised? Why can't I get you some breakfast from where I ate?"
"Thank you, Mr. Reed!" Irene didn't decline out of politeness. She was starving and immediately opened the bag to eat the food.
Jordan was full of smiles. He glanced at Irene from the rearview mirror. She was even beautiful while gulping down food.
If not for knowing that he had to be patient, he really wanted to...
He calmed himself down. This thing took time and patience. He couldn't rush it!