Chapter 53: When Something Happens, Call Me
The system woke Luellen up again, but unlike before, she didn’t rise just as fast. Luellen turned to the side and stared at her phone. She didn’t know whether Summer would call again or whether she could ask Leander to have Houston pick her up. If she were alone, she didn’t know what to do if that uncle of hers even asked to see Wentworth Industries.
Still, she prepared for the day. She only skipped eating breakfast in her house to avoid sitting at a table with a nightmare incarnate. It was just that... she walked in on Reginald eating a meal in its carton box.
He looked up at her and patted the table. "Aren’t you going to eat before leaving? I didn’t use your kitchen. I did buy you something to eat, too."
"Why are you still here?" Luellen walked up to him and saw the food she liked. However, seeing it at a table where her uncle sat made the meal unpalatable. Her fingers flinched, fighting the urge to take the hamburger.
"Rupert is greedy. Me, more so. But I have never mistreated you. Why wouldn’t I get you something when I ordered food?" Reginald hummed. "If you’re in a hurry, you can just take one."
Luellen reached out and picked up the hamburger. However, she looked at it. "I have to leave for the office early. I can’t have you staying here without me around."
Reginald hummed and finished the last bite of his food. He packed up his meal’s trash and used a tissue to clean his lips. He glanced at her. "Your future is not my call, Luellen. You can marry anyone you like... but Wentworth should be the last person on earth. Your father never trusted that man. When is your wedding? You should have enough time to convince yourself to leave him."
"Please leave my house, Uncle," Luellen repeated. The middle-aged man only snorted and drank his soft drinks on his way to the door.
Luellen put the hamburger back on the table. She balled her fists... before grabbing all the food left at the table. She packed it in the leftover paper bag. In addition to her shoulder bag, she took it outside. She locked her door and walked to the gate. Reginald stood around, waiting outside his car.
The maiden took another deep breath. That car he drove... She remembered her father paying for that one. Then again, she figured her father financed it to keep Reginald off his own car.
"You going to work now? I can drop you off," Reginald asked again as he spotted Luellen closing the gate. "My gas is full."
"Sorry, I don’t..." Luellen would make up an excuse, but another car pulled up beside her gate. In fact, two cars did. Even Reginald frowned at the strangeness.
The red car’s driver and passenger left almost at the same time. Summer caught Reginald’s image from where she stood, gasping in horror. Of course, she could recognize Luellen’s uncle after seeing him at the double funeral. It was her cue to run to Luellen and shield her from the middle-aged man.
August glared at the middle-aged man and almost smoldered as he walked toward Summer and Luellen.
Then again, Reginald only snorted at his behavior. In what world would Reginald not know what Leander Wentworth looked like? Also, that young man from last night... August couldn’t hold a candle to them. Who cared if he approached?
The black car’s driver didn’t leave his car. He just watched Summer take Luellen away from her uncle. The only time he drove off was when the red car did. Before Reginald could chase the red car, the black car blocked his path.
Then, the window rolled down. Reginald looked inside the black car, and Houston glared at him just as fiercely.
...
August glanced at his rearview mirror. He could see Summer whispering with Luellen in the backseat. Behind their car was the black car he had to race with just to get to Luellen’s house. He then glanced at Luellen’s face when her gaze strayed at the rearview mirror.
He asked, "Whose ride is that? He has been following us ever since he showed up in your street, Luellen. Do you know him?"
Luellen looked behind them and saw the black car. "That’s Mr Houston’s car. He works with us in the office. Uhm... maybe Leander asked him to pick me up...?"
"Uhm..." Summer chuckled, curling her hair around her finger. "I might have, uhm... panicked last night. I’m so sorry. A man was at your door, and your call dropped. I didn’t know if August could come and pick you up today... so I, uh... called Houston about it. He did say he escalated the matter to Mr Wentworth. And, uhm, Mr Wentworth must have asked him to pick you up, too. I have to apologize to him later.
"Did no one come to check up on you last night?" Summer held Luellen’s arm. "I mean, they should have checked, right?"
"They should have run plates and realized it was just my uncle." Luellen could only smile. If someone did come to see what happened, they must have caught Nathan in the scene. She didn’t know if Leander dealt with that man just the same.
August snorted in annoyance. "They should have gone inside. Did they not know that you didn’t want to breathe the same air as your uncle?"
Luellen shook her head. "That’s too personal for me to share. Still, thanks for coming for me. I don’t know what to do if you and Mr Houston didn’t fetch me."
Since the cars stopped at a red light, August turned to face Luellen. "If anything like that happens again, call me. I will get there as soon as I can. If I catch him doing something bad, I will help you kick him out of your house. No need to call someone who can only send someone else."
"...okay. Thanks, August..." Luellen didn’t offer a big smile.
Summer and August volunteered just as easily. Luellen wondered if she could just ask Leander to come when something happened. It might be a bother to him, but she was his fiancee, right? It shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?
The two cars arrived at Wentworth Industries. Summer and Luellen would have alighted from the red car, but a guard approached them when August pulled up. He gave August a pass and told him to park on the fifteenth floor, the highest parking floor. It was also the floor reserved for the directors, their employees, and the CEO himself.
Houston guided August along the path and through the parking spots. To their surprise, Leander was waiting there, leaning against his SUV. Houston parked beside Leander, but August only stopped in front of them. He didn’t want to park as he would leave just as fast.
"Leander? Good morning!" Luellen alighted from the car first. She walked up to him and smiled. "Were you waiting for us here?"
