Free Web NovelChapter 502: Be More Considerate, Please
After they exited the elevator, they headed to the office together. Michael pulled Wendy over to sit on the couch with him. Then, he pointed at the seat beside them and said, "Have a seat."
"Of course, I will make myself at home," said Yonina with a smile as she sat opposite them.
The assistant then came into the office and asked, "Any drinks for all of you?"
"Coffee, please," said Yonina instantly. She was indeed making herself at home.
"Coffee for me too," said Wendy. As soon as she finished her words, Michael said immediately, "Two cups of coffee and one glass of fruit juice."
"You’re drinking fruit juice? Seriously?" Yonina was surprised, "Since when did Mr.
Lucas become so health conscious?"
Michael took a glance at Wendy and said, "The fruit juice is for her."
"I want to drink coffee," Wendy was confused upon hearing what Michael said, "Didn’t I say I want coffee?"
"I’m not allowing you to drink coffee before you fully recover," Michael said firmly.
There was no room for negotiation at all.
"I..." Wendy did not know how to react to this, "I’m feeling quite good now. Why can’t I drink coffee?"
"It’s not that you can’t drink coffee. But fruit juice is much better for you," said Michael as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He then persuaded her, "Fruit juice is rich in vitamin C and good for health."
Yonina, who was sitting opposite them, could no longer take Michael’s public display of affection for Wendy, "Well, do you mind not showing off how loving the both of you are? Be more considerate, please. I’m still single, remember?"
"Is this considered showing off?" Michael asked. "That’s just the way we are."
"Alright, you win," Yonina lowered her head and ignored them.
"Any news from Christian’s side?" asked Michael as he turned serious all of a sudden.
"Not at the moment. I traced Christian’s whereabouts. But I couldn’t find anything related to the safe," Yonina said seriously as well.
Michael raised his eyebrows, asking, "Then, why are you here today?"
"Why can’t I be here?" asked Yonina. "You’ve always been telling me to help you handle most of the work in MC. Don’t you remember?"
"Well, you may stay if you want to. I’m attending a meeting with Wendy in a while," said Michael. He was about to stand up and walk towards his desk. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Alright. I’m here regarding Zen." Yonina changed the topic. She did not want to argue with Michael. "I bet that you all know about what happened last night, right?"
Wendy nodded. The day before, Christian told the press to head down to the hospital.
"We know Christian and Zen better than anyone else. It’s kind of strange for him to acknowledge Zen as his girlfriend in front of the reporters," said Yonina. "The purpose of my visit today is to discuss this matter with the both of you. I wonder what Christian is up to now."
"Let’s take a look at the news," said Michael seriously. He then took a glance at the time and said, "It should be out soon."
At the same time, the assistant brought in their drinks. Michael took the fruit juice and placed it in front of Wendy. He did not give her any chance to take the coffee.
Wendy felt helpless, but she did not say anything about it. She took out her cellphone and started to scroll through the news feed. As expected, Christian and Zen hit the headlines.
...
Once they tapped on the entertainment news link, they could see the headline: DR Group’s Christian Lucas and Zen Tanner are in a relationship Wendy read the article carefully. There was a video clip of the interview. Wendy watched it too.
The video was about Christian acknowledging that Zen was his girlfriend, and that he’s the father of Zen’s baby. There was nothing unusual about the caption underneath the video. It merely repeated the relationship status between Christian and Zen, and praised Christian for being a good man.
Everything was about what the reporters saw that day. This was what Christian wanted them to see. Most were praising Christian in the comments section.
"Wow! Mr. Lucas is so nice to Zen. Look! He’s personally taking care of her."
"Are all the men in the Lucas family so good to their spouse? Michael dotes on Wendy, and now Christian cares so much about Zen. Any bachelors left in the Lucas family? I would like to know them too!"
"Dream on! The Lucas family are millionaires in Lake City. They wouldn’t fancy you even if there were any bachelors left in the family."
"I am so jealous. Indeed, most of the rich men are good men. Those poor men who are short-tempered would always take things for granted. Wait, I need to whack my husband now."
"Please don’t forget an important fact. Both Wendy and Zen are career women. They are beautiful and independent too. Only such women can win Michael’s and Christian’s hearts. So do you think they would fancy any ordinary woman who looks average and is lazy too?"
"That’s right. Zen was admitted to the hospital this time because she spent the whole night working on her designs without rest. Who on earth could be like Zen when they are pregnant?"
...
"What is Christian up to?" said Yonina as she frowned. "Why did he acknowledge Zen as his girlfriend all of a sudden? He even claimed that the child is his?
"I may not know him well, but he doesn’t look like someone who would change drastically overnight. He doesn’t love Zen. He even forced Zen to spy on Wendy previously.
"Furthermore, Zen was hospitalized due to overwork. Zen is not short of money.
Moreover, she cares so much about this child. I doubt she would want to work on her designs through the night. Is she this hardworking when she was in Rheinsville City, Wendy?"
Wendy shook her head as she answered, "When she was living with me, she would report to work and knock off on the dot. She would not work overtime unnecessarily.
However, Zen is indeed a diligent person. There is something that I agree with you the most, and that is, she cares about this child very much. Christian has been using this child to threaten her too. She is already six to seven months pregnant. No matter how hardworking she is, I doubt she will spend the whole night working on her designs, let alone in the hospital."
"So, what are they trying to do?" asked Yonina as her frown deepened.
Wendy shook her head. She did not know either. Then, she turned around and looked at Michael. She saw him lowering his head while staring at the cellphone.
Wendy asked him, "Michael, you know Christian better than we do. What do you think he is up to?"
"Don’t look at one-sided news," said Michael. He did not even raise his head when he spoke. He continued to stare at the cellphone and said, "Search other news outlets as well. And, don’t forget Twitter."
Wendy and Yonina looked at each other upon hearing what Michael said.
Then, they lowered their heads and continued to browse through the news feed.
Another headline read: Ex Design Director of DR Group insisted on working throughout her pregnancy. Hailed as the role model of career women in the new era."
...
Wendy checked out another headline. This time, it was mainly about Zen. There were quite a lot of pictures attached in this article. Most of them were of Zen still working on her designs while sitting on the bed in the hospital ward.
Zen looked really pale in the pictures. Christian was feeding her porridge from a bowl. There was a small table in front of Zen with art materials and drawing papers on it.
Wendy zoomed into some of the pictures and took a closer look at the designs. She frowned, "This is indeed Zen’s style. But this unfinished design doesn’t look like anything that was borne out of a sudden stroke of inspiration. It’s not that mind-blowing that it must be drawn immediately before it’s lost."
"Do you mean that they placed it on the table just for the reporters to see?" asked Yonina.
"I’m not too sure either," said Wendy. "I feel that based on Zen’s capability and how important this child is to her, only some great inspiration that she’s afraid of losing will make her this eager to draw it out immediately. Otherwise, she would never draw in the hospital."
"I think I have a rough idea what he’s up to," said Michael.
Wendy and Yonina gazed at him at the same time. Yonina then asked immediately, "What is it?"
"Continue with your search. Then let me know if we’re on the same page," said Michael as he smiled cheekily.
Yonina rolled her eyes, "You are so mean!"
Wendy smiled without saying anything further. She continued to look at her cellphone. Every news article seemed to be praising Zen. But the comments seemed polarized.
"It’s irresponsible to continue working when she’s under observation at the hospital.
She’s six months pregnant for crying out loud!"
"What’s wrong with working hard? Zen did not expect that she would end up in hospital too. She is so passionate about her work that she wants to produce the best. What’s wrong with that?"
"It would depend on when she needs to do so too. Does she really need to work late nights during her pregnancy? Would she be happier when she loses her child?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... You are just jealous. None of you see her passion. She works so hard even now because she wants to produce the best designs."
"That’s right. I like Zen’s designs so much. If she comes up with a new line of clothing, I will buy it for sure."
...
After that, Wendy logged into Twitter. Christian and Zen were trending. The hashtags #ChristianZen and #RoleModelOfCareerWomen were all over the place.
Suddenly, Christian and Zen became the most talked about persons in Lake City.
Michael looked at Wendy as he put down his cellphone. He then smiled as he asked, "Any thoughts?"
Wendy nodded as she analyzed, "Christian acknowledged that Zen is his girlfriend.
He even made this go viral within a day. Seems like Christian is trying to portray himself as a good man, just like what you did previously."
"Hey, I am different!" Michael objected immediately, "He’s faking it. But I’m genuinely a good man."
"Yeah, right!" Wendy did not want to argue over this. She smiled as she continued, "The tabloids not only publicized him as a good man who’s affectionate towards his girlfriend. It portrayed Zen as a career woman too. I feel Christian is making use of Zen out of desperation to make a comeback."
