Chapter 71
Chapter 71
"You've had that arranged too?" Courtney appeared stumped when she heard that. "Where will we stay? A hotel?" I'd like to head directly to the hotel if possible. After all, hotels have staff accommodation. and the facilities there are convenient too.
"Forget about hotels." Alexander burst her bubble straight away. "There are no rooms left."
"Huh? There are no rooms left? But the last time I counted, there should be still"
"Get into the car." Alexander shoved her into the car before she could even complete her sentence, and he ordered the chauffeur to start driving.
The car drove straight to the entrance of the Royal Park Manor. We've come full circle. I can't believe I'm back here after merely staying at home for a day.
Courtney pursed her lips. "President Duncan, you can't be telling me that this is the accommodation that you've arranged for me."
"This is it."
The servants from the residence were already shifting the suitcases into the house efficiently; Courtney could do nothing to stop them.
"This isn't appropriate."
"We have a lot of empty rooms, and it doesn't make a difference with you living here. There's always transport to drive Tina around, and it isn't too far away from your workplace as well," Alexander
while explaining. "Plus, you are not staying for free. You are in charge of breakfast and dinner during weekdays, and you'll have to prepare three meals during the weekends. Jordan only enjoys the food you cook."
His demands were fair, and so Courtney couldn't fault him at all.
Even the official cook in Alexander's house has her meals and accommodation included apart from her monthly wage. I'm just required to cook in exchange for accommodation, so I'm not truly taking advantage of the situation.
"Well, alright. I will move out once the situation dies down."
Alexander nodded while keeping a straight face. "Let's go in first."
The servant led Courtney to the room beside the master bedroom. Previously, it was just an ordinary extra bedroom, which Courtney had stayed in previously. However, she noticed many changes this time round as there were clearly more decorations now. There were all sorts of luxurious and expensive makeup products on the dressing table, but Courtney felt that the most surprising part was the husky plush toy at the headboard.
"This must be for Tina! Thank you so much!"
The servant looked especially respectful. "Miss Tina has her own bedroom. Young Master mentioned that usually, you might have to work overtime, and so you will get home late. Hence, it is inconvenient for you to share a room with Miss Tina. That is why this room is specifically for you, and the plush toy is for you too."
Courtney did not expect Alexander to make such an arrangement, but it warmed her heart nonetheless. She toyed with the husky plush toy while smiling faintly. "Why would you prepare this for me? I'm no longer a child."
"I was worried that you might not be used to sleeping alone." The servant didn't look too old. In fact,
she looked like a young woman in her early twenties, but she was very shy. She seemed especially anxious with Courtney's questions. "I have many toys at home, and so I simply picked one for you. However, I'm not sure if you'd like it. I'll take it away if it's not suited to your taste."
"No worries at all," Courtney replied hastily. "Don't panic; I didn't say that I did not like it."
The servant finally let out a sigh of relief.
Courtney stared at the husky for the longest time before she suddenly burst into laughter. "The husky kind of looks like your young master. He looks like everybody around him owes him money-don't you agree?"
"Huh?" The young female servant looked shocked because this was her first time hearing somebody bold enough to compare Alexander to a dog. "I-I have no idea."
Courtney felt rather helpless since the young female servant had such a serious and timid response. Alexander must have been instilling fear in her all this while, and that is most probably why she is so scared Well, I shall stop teasing her. After chatting for some time, Courtney learned that the young female servant was named Chloe, and she soon let her take her leave.
Courtney walked around her room once while she observed the newly changed purple curtains. She couldn't help but break into a satisfied smile at that. It is undeniable that the furnishings at Alexander's house are rather tasteful.
On the other side, it had been arranged for Shay to stay at a Sunhill Hotel branch in the East Side of Melrose City, which was extremely far away from the city center. Shay was livid after hearing what Alexander's assistant, Josh, had to say. He snatched his phone away to call Alexander.
"Alexander, you cunning old fox! How dare you lure me away! You deliberately got me to leave just so that Courtney would stay at your place."
Alexander held the phone farther away from his ear to prevent damaging his eardrums due to the screaming over the phone. In the end, he merely answered lightly, "You are overthinking it. Did you truly believe that you'd get to stay after what happened today?"
"Do you take me as a fool? You've already arranged for the security team and the hotel room ten minutes after the reporters showed up. Spill it-were you the one who informed the reporters that was at Courtney's house?"
A glimmer of excitement flashed across Alexander's eyes. This fellow is rather smart. I can't believe he saw through it so quickly.
Shay was even more convinced that he had hit the bull's eyes since he was greeted with a deafening silence over the phone. Therefore, he raised his voice straight away. "D*mn you, you cunning old fox! You are such a hooligan! Here you are, claiming that you are the president of Sunhill Enterprise, but you are unscrupulous in achieving what you want. Does your family know about this trait of yours? You are shameless to try to fool our simple and innocent Courtney!"
Alexander had never been scolded in such a horrible way before, but he wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, he corrected Shay matter-of-factly. "I don't think she's considered innocent at all."
The headquarters have long heard about Courtney's abilities to carry out tasks exceptionally with vigor and drive while maintaining a smooth character. She is not just an innocent little bunny who is at the mercy of others. She has never been particularly favored ever since she took office, but now, she has been entrusted with utmost important responsibilities. How could an innocent little bunny achieve that? "Yes! She is not innocent at all!" Somehow, Shay changed tactics all of a sudden. He sounded panicked as he spoke. "She is especially conniving, and so it might be too late by the time you realize that she's sold your house off. You had better not let her stay with you."
Alexander smirked when he heard that. This is truly a first for me to meet a person like Shay. Courtney truly has a variety of talents around her, as well as a best friend who is able to beat Gale into a pulp. Besides, she has a possessive younger brother who is extremely capable-he could handle everything from being charming to scolding and beating people, right up to threatening me.
"I am letting her stay here because Jordan enjoys her cooking. There's nothing more to it. You are overthinking it."
"Only a fool would believe you! You are able to hire any famous chefs from Couver, Loam, Hagen, and Youver! However, here you are, claiming that you want Courtney to cook for you!"
"It's up to you whether you believe it or not, but Jordan only enjoys her cooking," Alexander started to sound somber at this point. "Besides, I have something else to tell you. I am close with the owner of Pride Media, and so I can recommend you to sign on with them. I'll get them to contact you after you've mulled it over."
"Who says I need your recommendation?" Alexander was greeted by a stream of expletives over the phone. "I am extremely popular, so why would I need a recommendation from you?" Alexander did not have the patience, and so he hung up on the call.
Shay takes pride in his natural talent in music. Furthermore, he has had a rather smooth sailing journey until now, and so it's expected for him to be arrogant. Naturally, he will go against me no matter what advice I give him.
Soon, Josh's number was calling in again, and this time, it was Josh himself, indeed. "President Duncan, the issue has been handled. The agent from Starlight Media will be signing this fellow on."
"Mm-hmm, got it." Alexander hung up on the call as his lips curled into a smile.
company which approaches him just to prove a point to others. Hence, I'm sure that he wouldn't put much thought into it now that an agent from Starlight Media is knocking on his door, as long as it's a good deal.
In reality, I own 23% of Starlight Media. This method is to conceal my intentions by creating a distraction.
"Have you confirmed it? Did he see the picture?"
In an independent dressing room, a bespectacled man placed a portfolio on top of the coffee table before he leaned backward and sat still. "I am 100% sure. Louis is still as fit as a fiddle, and his eyesight has not been affected at all. In fact, he immediately recognized the woman in the picture as the surrogate woman from years ago. He assumed that I was Alexander's subordinate, and so he admitted to everything."
Britney's expression turned ashen while she tightened her fists. Her knuckles turned white as she squeezed her fists tightly. "I can't believe it really is her," she hissed through gritted teeth.
“Hang on, that doesn't add up. Courtney is the young lady of the Hunter Family, low could she possibly end up as somebody's surrogate?" Aritney frowned deeply, looking as though she was struggling to make sense of this, "Besides, if it's true that Courtney was the surrogate mother, how many children did she give birth to? Why does she have a child with her now?"
Benjamin adjusted his spectacles while opening the folder calmly, "According to louis, they caught the wrong person from the nightclub six years ago They only realized the mistake aller everything had been done Later, the butler, Louis, observed Courtney in secret until she was on the way to the hospital for a surgery. Then, he sent people to stop her because he was trying to make the best out of a bad bargain. He even forced her to sign a contract Previously, the first child was a boy, and to loula took him away, it was only later on that he learned from the doctor that there was a daughter too However, Courtney had taken her away by then On one and, Louis tell guilty, and on the other, he did not dare call attention to the situation, and so he did not go searching for Courtney again in fact, he resigned and returned to his hometown soon after that."
"That means. Britney was bracing herself against the diessing table, and her expression iclaxed significantly "Alexander has no idea that the surrogate woman was at fault all those years ago." "Judging by the current situation, I believe so Louis was the only person who knew about the entire incident, whereas the subordinate who carried out the duty deed is nowhere to be found Furthermore, we can't even confirm if he's alive."
"We can never let Alexander know about this." I have a feeling that I will never have the chance to marry Alexander if he were to learn that Courtney is Jordan's biological mother I will never allow that lo happer "Well, that's your business" Benjamin arranged the documents before standing up "My work is done here. Please transfer the rest of the balance to me as soon as possible" "You're the best detective of Melrose City, I can't imagine that you actually value money so much Do you think I'd not pay you?" Britney glanced at him with a scomful expression
Benjamin, however, was unfazed while he answered het directly, "It is only natural that I value money! also believe that money deserves to be valued because it is the only thing in the world that wouldn't lie to you."
This was the first time she had heard such a refreshing and unconventional description for being greedy for money. Britney burst out laughing in response, and she didn't seem to agree with him Nevertheless, she instructed her agent, who was just beside her, "Jason, transfer the money to him."
While Jason was transferring the money, Britney stared at the pile of documents in her hands She started ripping them apart unhappily before tossing them all into the trash can. "These are all copies Where are the originals? Where's the contract from all those years ago?"
"Louis isn't a fool. Later on, when I couldn't prove that I was a subordinate of Alexander's, he took them back and wouldn't let me view them anymore. I managed to take pictures of those documents discreetly. Besides, I was only responsible for finding out the truth, and I wasn't lasked to collect the original copies for you. You can't deduct my fees over this matter because it was clearly written in the agreement." Money, money, money! This fella, Benjamin, is always talking about money. Britney could feel a throbbing headache forming after listening to all his money talk However, she thought of something suddenly and turned to Benjamin to say to him, "You seem to like money I need you to do something for me once you've accomplished it, I'll give you 5 million What do you say?"
"5 million?" Benjamin regarded her carefully. "What do you want me to do?
"I want no one else to find out about the truth of this incident" Britney's gaze gleamed with an eerie and sinister look.
"It doesn't matter how much you pay me, because I will not commit murder and arson." Benjamin rejected her decisively. "I am involved in skilled and technical work. You should hire a thug for that sort of thing. However, Britney explained, "Who says that I wanted you to kill anyone? I just want you to come up with a way to destroy all the original documents in Louis' hands. Can't you do that?"
Upon hearing that, Benjamin hesitated for a moment. It is undeniably challenging, but it's doable.
"6 million." After weighing his options, he looked up to meet Britney's gaze. "There is a risk in this matter. If things go south, I could get into trouble for trespassing."
"Sure." She agreed swiftly. "Deal."
After Benjamin left, Jason locked the dressing room door while uttering to her, "It is not appropriate for you to have asked him to do that. He doesn't look skilled physically. I don't want something bad to happen."
"Well, I want something to happen." Britney had a mysterious look when she spoke. "Jason, hire someone else to follow him. Once he destroys all the documents, dispose of Louis."
"Do you mean..."
"Only the dead can keep a secret."
Jason did not know what to reply.
The next morning, Alexander woke up to the fragrance of steamed stuffed buns. From the second floor, he saw the two children, who were already up, sitting at the dining table enjoying their meal. The tray of steamed stuffed buns gave off a delicious aroma.
"You're up! Come down for breakfast." Courtney was walking out of the kitchen while carrying a pot of porridge. "We have Jujube porridge, steamed meat buns, and steamed vegetable buns." Alexander nodded lightly; there was a tinge of warmth in his expression when he turned away.
"Miss Hunter, let me do it. Please, have a seat." Chloe saw Courtney about to serve the porridge into smaller bowls, and so she rushed forward to help her. After serving a bowl of porridge each to the children and Courtney, Chloe served Alexander the fourth bowl carefully in front of him. "Young Master, please enjoy your porridge.
Alexander glanced at the bowl before he asked casually, "Where are the chopsticks?"
Courtney and the two children were using spoons for the porridge, and they enjoyed the steamed buns with their bare hands in a very casual manner. Therefore, there were no chopsticks on the table. However, Chloe was startled when she heard Alexander's sudden question, and she spilled the bowl of boiling porridge all over the place.
His expression changed drastically while his chair made a screeching noise as it scratched against the floor. He scowled deeply as he stared at the spilled porridge on his pants. "What's wrong with you?" he asked in a deep and icy tone.
Chloe was so scared that her legs turned into jelly. She kneeled onto the ground with a thud, her eyes turning red with tears. "Young Master, I didn't do that on purpose."
Courtney was shocked when she saw that too. Hence, she rushed over to check on him. "Are you alright? Were you scalded?"
Chapter 712
Alexander was clearly upset because he found it embarrassing to be in such an awkward position in front of Courtney
"You should be fine," Courtney said before she looked down at Chloe, who was trembling uncontrollably. "Don't you think you're too fierce to your servants? She's just a young girl; you startled her." Alexander's gaze darkened when he heard that; he asked rhetorically, "How am I fierce?" / merely asked 'what's wrong with you?'-how is that fierce at all?
"Well, weren't you? Look, Chloe has been scared witless." Courtney helped her up, and she realized with a start that she had just blurted something out without processing it. Hence, she corrected herself hastily. "No, I wasn't saying that you were fierce. I was just saying that, well, Chloe is only 19 years old, and I heard that she's only been here for about a month. It might help if you're gentler with her."
Great! The more I try to justify it, the worse it gets. I'm still saying he is fierce.
"Forget it." Alexander was losing his patience, and so he waved his arm to dismiss Chloe. Then, he strode back upstairs.
The two children exchanged meaningful looks with each other. Tina understood the situation straight away, and she said while looking concerned, "I think Mr. Alexander has been scalded. I'll check on him." Courtney turned around abruptly to look at her. "Why do you want to check on him? You don't even know how to handle burns. Stop messing around. Take your seat and finish your food. I'll go and check on him."
With that, Courtney wiped her hands before she went upstairs in the direction of the changing room.