Chapter 72
My voice grew louder as I spoke, “Winthem Hotel on Southfold Street.”
“Okay, see you later!” Jared replied, and we hung up. I decided to take a quick shower before our dinner plans later. I knew Macy would likely want to go shopping, and honestly, I was looking forward to walking around—it had been a while.
I headed to Nick’s room to grab my shower essentials, but when I checked, I couldn’t find the room card anywhere. Since Nick was still asleep, I didn’t want to wake him up and decided to shower in this room instead. It should be fine, I wasn’t going to shower in front of him anyway.
The hot water felt soothing, and once I was done, I felt much better. After blow-drying my hair and changing into a fresh outfit, I did a light makeup touch-up. When I emerged from the bathroom, Nick was on the phone.
“Hello? Who is this?” he said, his voice groggy.
The person on the other end replied, and he responded, “She’s taking a shower. You can call her later.”
He finished the call and hung up. As I stepped out, he lazily leaned back on the sofa. He yawned when he saw me. “Why are you all dressed up? It’s just dinner.”
I ignored him, noticing that he was holding my phone. The realization hit me—he had answered a call meant for me.
“Did you answer a call meant for me?” I asked, shocked.
He straightened up and tossed the phone back to me. “It kept ringing and woke me up.”
I caught my phone and checked the call log. The last call had been from Ashton. When I tried calling back, I found his phone was switched off.
Frustrated, I glared at Nick. “What did you say to him?”
Nick stood up, nonchalantly stretching. “Nothing. Ashton asked where you were, and I told him you were in the shower. Then he asked if I was in the same room with you, so I said yes, of course.”
He flashed me an innocent look. “I was telling the truth. I didn’t do anything wrong, right?”
I was tempted to strangle him. “Yes, you’re right,” I replied sarcastically.
His words were definitely misleading, and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I tried calling Ashton again, but he still didn’t answer. At that point, I didn’t think Ashton would be petty enough to care too much about it.
By the time I gave up and pocketed my phone, Nick had emerged from the bathroom, his hair still wet. He must have washed his face.
He dried his hair with a towel and said, “Come on, let’s go. It’s getting late.”
I texted Macy and Jared before leaving. Macy had just arrived at the hotel and planned to take a nap before coming over. Jared, however, had something else to do for now.
I replied to their texts quickly and then made my way to the restaurant where Howard had reserved a table. When Nick and I arrived, the others were already waiting.
In the VIP room, Howard introduced us to everyone and made some small talk. The group consisted of higher-ups from the branch office. Nick engaged with them casually before transitioning to work-related matters. The conversation was light and pleasant as I excused myself for a moment. However, when I returned, the tone in the room had shifted slightly.
Nick was speaking with Howard. “Mr. Wrangler, you’re a shareholder of Fuller Corporation. It was listed two years ago, and it’s doing well. If someone embezzles a few million, it won’t affect the company much. But if it happens frequently, one day, it might sink the ship we’re all on.”
Howard raised an eyebrow in confusion but politely lifted his glass. “Mr. Harrison, you’re young and capable. I don’t understand what you mean by that.”
“Then read your financial reports closely!” Nick raised his glass in return. “Cheers!”
Before I could respond, Nick had already finished his drink and took mine. “I know you can’t drink. Let me drink on your behalf.”
The others in the room seemed to scowl at Nick’s boldness, and the manager of the Finance Department spoke up. “Mr. Harrison, cheers. Thank you for auditing the branch office personally.”
One by one, the higher-ups joined in, toasting Nick, and it didn’t take long before he was thoroughly drunk. At the end of the dinner, I found myself struggling to get him into a cab. My headache was worsening by the second. Why did he drink so much when he wasn’t even good at it?
Macy called as soon as we got outside. “Where are you? Let’s go shopping!”
I glanced at the unconscious Nick beside me and sighed, “I have to take care of a drunkard. Can’t come now.”
“Damn it!” Macy cursed. “This is no fun.”
Looking at Nick, I resisted the urge to pinch him. “I’ll still be here tomorrow. If possible, I’ll finish work in the morning, and we can go shopping after that!”