Chapter 181: Chapter 182: Go Find Him, Right Now
"Hello, Uncle, it’s me, Thea Lynch."
When Uncle received Thea Lynch’s call, he was still at the office.
"Thea." Uncle walked to a quiet spot and put the phone back to his ear, "I’m free tomorrow, want to grab a meal together?"
He’s been swamped with work these past few days and is out of town, otherwise he would have visited Thea yesterday.
"Sure, I’m okay with that," Thea quickly replied, "Uncle, could you help me find out if flights are grounded at the airport now?"
"Why? What’s going on over there?"
"The weather here isn’t great, but Ian’s flight was half an hour ago, and I’m not sure if he took off."
"You can’t reach him?"
"Right, neither he nor his assistant are answering their phones, and I’m currently...," Thea glanced around, "I’m currently stuck as well."
"There’s heavy hail here, I can’t get there right now."
"Alright, alright, I’ll go get in touch, just stay where you are, it’s too dangerous to move."
"Okay," Thea agreed, pausing to add, "Could you hurry, please?"
Her voice was a bit shaky, and Uncle naturally understood her state of mind, "Don’t panic, I’ll call now. I’m hanging up, okay?"
During the time waiting for the call back, Thea wasn’t sure where she should go.
She stood at the door for a while longer. The weather showed no signs of improving. Foreman Leigh and Foreman Warren were too worried about her, so they quickly returned to find her.
"Foreman Lynch, go back and make the call. The rain is getting heavier. You’re going to get drenched standing here."
The wind had picked up, and the slanted rain was directly hitting Thea.
Thea looked at the gloomy sky, finally clenched her phone, and turned to go back with them.
Sitting on the chair, Thea kept staring blankly at the phone in her hand.
Seeing that she was waiting for a call, Foreman Leigh didn’t dare to disturb her, pretending with Foreman Warren to know nothing, walking to the side to chat with others.
Diana Dawson came back with some desserts, just about to bring them to Thea, when Foreman Warren quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
Turning on her heel, Diana looked at Foreman Warren in confusion, "?"
"She’s busy now, talk to her later."
Looking in the direction of his gaze, Diana saw Thea sitting on the innermost side, holding the phone, seemingly doing nothing.
She didn’t look busy.
Foreman Warren, seeming to catch her doubt, explained with rare understanding, "She’s waiting for a very important call. Even if you talk to her, she won’t respond."
That wasn’t false. Foreman Leigh nodded, "We spoke to Foreman Lynch just now, and she was spaced out. Better not disturb her."
"Is something wrong?" Diana was a bit worried.
The two were sounding serious, and she’d never seen Foreman Lynch like this.
Foreman Warren folded his arms and commented disdainfully, "She doesn’t normally look like that."
"Really...?"
Diana scratched her head, unable to see it.
The current Thea looked no different from usual, her face as calm as ever.
"Clearly, you don’t know her well," Foreman Warren scoffed.
Foreman Leigh’s lips twitched, "That’s quite the statement. You don’t seem very close to Foreman Lynch either, do you?"
Normally, Foreman Warren didn’t see Thea much, typically meeting in meetings or the cafeteria, with little interaction.
After all, last time’s incident didn’t end on a friendly note between them.
"...Fine, I’m not particularly familiar with her. But I’m not blind."
Foreman Warren lifted his chin, "Look at her fingers, repeatedly rubbing the back of the phone; that’s clearly anxious behavior. Plus, she was just spaced out, so something must be up."
"Outwardly, she seems calm, but look closely and you’ll see something’s off."
"This isn’t how she usually is."
Diana: "Huh?"
Foreman Warren looked at her with disdain, "Normally, Foreman Lynch always has a high-and-mighty demeanor, never flustered in situations, steady as a rock."
Foreman Leigh: "You seem to know a lot."
Even I, her ’direct colleague,’ don’t know her that well.
"Obviously," Foreman Warren clicked his tongue, "Last time, even when she hit me, she wasn’t this flustered."
Foreman Leigh: "..."
——
The wait for the call was far more agonizing than Thea had expected.
But in truth, only seven or eight minutes had passed.
Uncle’s call came quickly, but Thea didn’t hear the news she wanted.
"What I found out is that flights during this period are all grounded. But whether Ian’s flight is included is still being checked, we need to wait a bit."
"Okay, thank you, Uncle, I understand." Thea took a deep breath, still on edge.
"Rest assured," Uncle consoled her, "due to the weather, they definitely wouldn’t fly. Maybe he’s busy, try calling him again later."
Thea agreed, and after a few seconds, unwillingly asked, "How long will it take for the airport to respond?"
"Hard to say, I’ve contacted their representative. They’re verifying now. Should be within half an hour."
After hanging up, Thea leaned back in her chair.
After resting for a moment, she called Ian again. As expected, no one answered.
Thea felt a headache coming, massaging her temples, initially intending to rest.
But suddenly, an idea flashed across her mind.
Go find him.
Now.
——
Diana was eating when suddenly she saw Thea ready with her bag, walking out, startling her to quickly swallow her food.
"Foreman, are you going out?"
"Yes." Thea looked at Foreman Leigh not far away, nodding to signal him to come over.
"I’m heading out now. If the weather improves, you should return to the hotel. If it stays like this, wait here for me."
"....." Foreman Leigh was stunned, "And you? Where are you going?"
"I have something urgent. We’ll talk when I get back."
"But, outside...."
Foreman Leigh wanted to persuade her, but Thea shook her head, "I hear the sound above isn’t as bad, it should be fine. I’ll take the subway, don’t worry."
With that, Thea put on her coat and ran towards the entrance.
At the door, she ran into Levi, who had just returned from outside.
"Senior."
Levi nodded, "Frustrating, my car got a huge dent."
"Hey, you’re heading out?"
"Yes. Is it still hailing outside?"
"A little, not as much as initially."
Levi looked at her, "Where are you going? Want me to give you a ride?"
Thea stared at the car keys in his hand for a few seconds, "Senior, can you drop me at the subway station? The nearest one will do."
"Of course." Levi didn’t ask what for, smiling and tilting his head, "Let’s go. Whether it’s one dent or two, the repair cost is the same. One more doesn’t make a difference."
