Chapter 1088
If Susan couldn’t get into the gala, she wouldn’t be able to work her schemes.
Joshua believed this wasn’t just Susan acting on her own–it was an organized conspiracy at play.
Richard suppressed the burn of the whiskey in his mouth and, with earnestness, addressed Joshua, “At last night’s gala, I invited only acquaintances- people with both interest and means in the world of vintage collectibles. An amateur like Susan? I didn’t invite her at all. Upon investigation, I found that our hotel’s receptionist gave her the invitation and even provided a room key behind our backs. We’ve taken care of the receptionist.”
“What’s in it for a receptionist to do something like that for another woman?” Joshua asked, his expression darkening.
Joshua had been living abroad and seldom returned home, and each time he did, he encountered such incidents. He couldn’t help but suspect someone was scheming against him in the shadows.
“I’ve looked into it,” Richard continued. “Susan, though not a big name in the modeling scene, doesn’t hold back when it comes to her entourage. She even has a personal assistant, who happens to be the receptionist’s boyfriend. She’s been squeezing the poor guy, holding back three months’ worth of his salary, promising payment if he helped her pull off her little stunt this time.”
So, Susan’s assistant conspired with his girlfriend to secure Susan an invitation to the gala, and even Joshua’s room key.
“How are you going to deal with the receptionist and the assistant?” Joshua asked, his gaze icy.
“The receptionist was fired and lost a quarter’s wages. We’ve gone to the police to start legal proceedings, accusing her of leaking trade secrets, her boyfriend of instigation, and we’re planning to take Susan down with them.” Richard revealed, his last statement hanging tentatively.
After all, Joshua had been involved with Susan, and suing her would risk exposing last night’s affair since the police would need to collect evidence and understand the full
context.
Richard was uncertain whether Joshua was willing to disclose the events of last night to the police.
“Dealing with the leakage of trade secrets is manageable. As for Susan, I’ll handle her myself,” Joshua said firmly.
Richard nodded, understanding, “Alright, Mr. Joshua, rest assured, this breach of
1/2
08:30
customer confidentiality by our staff will be taken very seriously. We will definitely give you a satisfactory resolution.”
With that, Richard went to pour more whiskey into Joshua’s glass.
Joshua glanced at the amber liquid and said, “No more drink for me. I have a flight to catch soon.”
After the mishap following last night’s drinking, how could he not learn his lesson?
Richard paused, bottle in hand, and looked at Joshua with concern. “Mr. Joshua, you’re heading back?”
“I’ve been delayed two days already. I need to attend a meeting with Mr. Falconer,” Joshua said, without touching his food.
Richard expressed his regret, “I’ve let you down, Mr. Joshua. You’ve come all this way to find that jade bead, yet I haven’t been able to locate it. But don’t worry; now that you’ve sent me the picture, I will do everything in my power to find it and will contact you as soon as I have it.”
“Then I’ll have to trouble you with it,” Joshua replied without ceremony.
When it came to finding antiques in the country, only Richard had the right connections and direction.
“You’re too polite, Mr. Joshua,” Richard said.
Joshua stood up, “I should go; my driver is waiting outside.”
“Let me walk you out,” Richard said, rising to see Joshua off.
In the hospital bed, Thalassa lay restlessly, her thoughts lingering on her little ones, wondering if they had already gone to bed.
At dusk, Evelyn and Hertha brought her food and assisted her with a bath. Evelyn insisted on staying the night to take care of her.
Thalassa told her to go home and rest, emphasizing that she was only on bed rest, not completely immobile.
Unable to argue, Evelyn agreed to leave, promising to return in the morning. As for Hertha, she had work the next day and also left.