"That night, if anything had gone wrong, there were a hundred men outside the car to shoot down Thad Carver. I recruited snipers too. That does not mean I did not trust your skill set. If I didn"t, I would not have let you handle Carver alone."The Chairman said in a matter-of-fact voice.
Miya took a deep breath.
She had been out of the field of hooligans for too long. She was losing touch. Else, she would never have not been able to conclude something so simple, so obvious such as this. Very calmly, she recalled back at Shade Street, near Karl"s house, when she had smelled danger and had been ready to defend herself and Becky. She had even scanned the area for things that could be used as weapons.
That, she now understood, must have been Jimmy"s men to guard them, just in case.
The proud, defiant, sn.o.bbish instinct in Miya rose again. It revolted, telling her it was wrong for them to just wire her without telling her first. But she also knew that if they had, she would have probably untapped herself on first instance, simply because she worked alone. Any evidence of her and her methods spoke of trouble. And it was trouble she didn"t want.
Taking in another deep breath, the girl said, "I want the footage deleted."
"It already is. Except for the part that has Carver confessing. That and the voice record you arranged. We need that."
"It"s deleted?"
"You have my word."
Miya didn"t respond to that, although her tongue almost slipped to say that she didn"t know him enough to trust his words blindly.
The Chairman saw through her silence. He wasn"t surprised.
"I didn"t want to bring this up right now, Miya," he said solemnly, "But let me tell you something. Our history is entangled. I"m not a good man, but I"m good to you because I owe you two lives. The owner of Hunter Corporation wouldn"t kneel before just any woman. I never knelt before my own."
What?
"I know you don"t understand," the old man said gravely, "You don"t have to. Hand Ben over the phone. He"d be out at school for eight hours a day – we"ll have private security arranged in secret, but he might need this. Sheng is unpredictable. As much as I dislike to say it, but you know that better than me. Rest, you"re smart enough to comprehend."
With that, the old man placed the phone on the table nearby, turned back and left.
Miya stood in the room long after, struck and confused.
Entangled? How?
Never knelt before his own… was the Chairman talking about his wife, Eshni?
What was going on?
Sceptically, she looked at the phone.
Fine! He was right.
If she kept her doubt of his intentions aside for a minute, then yes, letting Ben out of sight was a danger.
The thought made her heart pound. Suddenly, she wasn"t ready to send him to school anymore.
Also, it had been a while since anyone had talked down to her like a parent. It made her feel weird, fuzzy in her stomach. Not to mention, it was kind of embarra.s.sing. And… she had been very rude to the Senior Hunter, she realized.
d.a.m.n.
Now she would have to apologize to him.
Sighing, the girl almost hit her head. Why did she keep on piling up problems for herself anyway?
Just then, Ben came back with Jimmy.
Miya was relieved at the sight of the man, though she did have a tinge of indignity in her when they came face to face. He had wired her without telling her… but.
d.a.m.n it all.
She knew this man"s nature.
He was too careful about the smallest of things
How could he not have tapped her then?
Sighing again, Miya felt like she had aged another ten years. It took her by surprise too, that the young master had actually been able to resist investigating about her past, given his contemplative character. He had chosen to wait for her instead.
Jimmy Hunter… this dumba.s.s!
Miya didn"t like the rush of emotions in her, but they rushed through her anyway.
Jim frowned when he caught the girl staring at him bizarrely.
"What happened now?" he asked.
He was still surprised at her striking appearance, but his fascination lowered once he saw her expression. She looked worried.
Miya swallowed, breathing deeply, convincing herself to not confront the man about the cameras. It took all her resilience to do so.
Finally, she spoke, "The Chairman… he asked me to give Ben a phone." She gestured towards the device kept on the table.
Jim frowned.
Was that why she was worried?
The young master rolled his eyes.
"Great. I was going to have one arranged for him myself." Then picking up the phone, he handed it over to the boy, instructing him not to use it during school hours, but call in case he needed to. Given Ben"s obedient nature, Jimmy was sure the child would oblige. The boy hesitated, watchful of his mother"s glare. And only when she had dipped her head in minor agreement, did Ben accept the phone and smiled at Jim too.
When they were done, the trio turned to leave.
Just then, Rebecca came rushing into the room, calling out to them loudly as she entered, "Wait, wait! I need something, wait for me!"
The older woman"s tone surprised them all – she was seldom so loud. In fact, Miya was shocked when she saw Becky actually skid across the floor to get to them.
Miya quickly held Becky by the waist, supporting the girl in time before she slipped on the floor and fell on her b.u.t.t. Rebecca grinned at her junior sis, huffed and then motioned towards Jim and Ben.
"Quick," she said with a deep breath, "Stand together, I need a picture!"
And without further ado, she dragged Miya to stand beside Jim and Ben, told them to stick together as the three stood awkward and frowning at the woman"s behaviour. She clicked a picture, grinned widely at them, then remarked,
"You all look horrible despite looking so pretty. Could you please pose?"
Jim glared into the camera, whereas Miya simply looked stumped. Becky rolled her eyes.
"I want the pictures, because I worked hard!" she said in agitation, "I have more work to do! Could you not be so slow, please? Miya?"
It was when Becky called out explicitly to Miya that the girl snapped out and shot Becky a questioning look. The older girl ignored her very conveniently. Jim simply sighed, not wanting to argue or deal with any more women at the moment. He simply held Miya by the waist and pulled her closer to his body, while Ben"s fingers were intertwined with his own.
Then, he smiled.
"Excellent!" Rebecca remarked cheerfully, and then cried out after a single shot, "Miya, stop looking like a zombie! Do my effort some credit and smile!"
Miya tried to, but it was stiff.
Jim was starting to lose patience. Somehow, the women were getting on his nerves. Very quickly, he pinched the missus"s cheek and said, "Why are you creating trouble? Smile! Get it over with."
Miya"s mouth fell open.
She rubbed her cheek in mock hurt, and looked at Jim with a lot of indignation.
Okay, why was she being scolded from three sides?!
Sulking, she nevertheless smiled brilliantly into the camera. Rebecca soon got her perfect shot.
She grinned at them, wished them luck and scurried away.
As she went by, the girl quickly sent the pictures over to the Chairman, texting him a "Mission accomplished!" all the while beaming at her excellent job.
Meanwhile Miya turned around at Jimmy. She stole Ben from him and quickly hugged the little boy.
"Mommy got scolded today," she sulked to him, feeling the need to vent to someone urgently, "Mommy needs a kiss from baby!"
Ben quickly patted his mommy"s back, and kissed her cheek.
Miya hugged him more tightly, ready to cry her soul out now. She wailed again, "Another kiss, baby! Mommy is sad!"
Ben patted his mommy"s back again, worried. He was about to kiss her again, when Jim thought he would pa.s.s out from annoyance. Angrily, he himself crouched down and landed a furious but smooth peck on Miya"s cheek. Then very swiftly, he kissed the boy"s cheek as well.
The mother and son were stunned for a second.
The young master then stood up expressionlessly, held Miya"s hand and dragged her up. Grabbing the boy"s hand as well, he began to pull both of them out of the house.
"It"s late," he barked in anger.
His face was stern. Right then, he felt like he was a fifty year old man.
This woman and son were too d.a.m.n annoying!
Beside him, both his wife and boy looked at the man"s angry face through the corner of their eyes, perplexed. They exchanged glances with each other, their confusion turning to amus.e.m.e.nt as they let the young master drag them behind him.
They pursed their lips. Seconds later, soundlessly, they laughed.
Jimmy… this man was so cute!