Chapter 48: Move Back In
After Wendy left the president’s office, she started imagining what Michael would say to Yvonne. Perhaps he would tell her that he had no choice but to fire her because his grandmother had forced him into it. Perhaps he would reassure her and tell her not to worry, and that he would find a way to bring her back. Or perhaps he would tell her that she was still the person he loved the most, and that since being a personal assistant was a difficult job, she could just focus on dressing up and looking beautiful.
The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached. She thought, I’ve been through worse in the past three years, this is nothing at all. After all, I have to leave Lake City eventually, and Michael and Yvonne will still end up together. Wendy knew that the best decision she could make was to force herself to give up on Michael completely. Even if she could not force her feelings for him to disappear, she could at least try.
The moment Michael answered the call, he heard Yvonne’s pitiful voice. "Michael... I saw the notice about my termination, did I do something wrong? If I did, you can tell me directly. I will change, I promise I will change."
When Michael heard her voice, he put down the pen in his hand and pinched the area between his eyebrows. He suddenly felt frustrated.
As Michael did not respond, Yvonne did not dare to say anything else. She only sobbed quietly.
"Aren’t you injured now? It’s not convenient for you to come back to work. You should just focus on recuperating in the hospital, and if you feel bored in the future, I can arrange another job for you," said Michael.
"But I only want to remain by your side," said Yvonne, "Michael, can you still let me go back to work for you? I’ll do my job well in the future, I promise. I’ll learn how to become a great personal assistant."
"Just focus on recuperating. I have other matters to attend to," said Michael, intending to hang up.
Yvonne immediately replied, "Michael, can you come and visit me in the hospital after work?"
"I have to work until very late tonight, so I won’t be visiting you. If there’s anything you need, just let Mr. York know and he will arrange it for you."
"Michael. I..."
"Alright, I’m hanging up," said Michael. He hung up.
When Yvonne heard the beeping sound over the phone, her face twisted with rage. What exactly went wrong? She thought, why doesn’t Michael care about me anymore? I cannot accept this outcome. I must win Michael back.
...
Soon, it was 6 in the evening. Wendy wrapped up work promptly. If this were like before, she would wait until Michael had left before doing the same. Now, she no longer wished to wait.
After packing up, she entered the president’s office to let him know that she was going off.
"Mr. Lucas, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now," she said.
"Do you still have the key to the apartment?" asked Michael.
Wendy had thrown away the key in a moment of rage that night after Michael left to look for Yvonne in the hospital. Michael understood Wendy’s silence. He took out another key from his drawer and handed it to Wendy again, "Move back in."
Wendy did not take the key. She adamantly refused him, "It’s fine, I’m doing fine at Zen’s apartment."
"I’ve looked into it and I know that Zen’s apartment isn’t big. With only one bedroom and the living room, it’s simply too inconvenient for the two of you to be staying there together," said Michael.
"All my things are at Zen’s house right now. She’s been busy with work lately. I’ll wait until she’s free so that I can let her know before moving back."
Michael wanted to let Wendy know that she could just move back immediately as she could use the black card he had given her to buy anything that she did not have in the apartment.
He was loaded anyway. However, he kept those words to himself. He knew that Wendy was just giving him excuses for her delay.
After giving it some thought, Michael decided not to insist on handing the key to Wendy. Instead, he stood up, grabbed his car keys and coat, and walked out. As he left, his voice rang out, "Follow me."
Wendy did not know what he wanted from her, but she could only comply. After they entered the elevator, Michael asked, "What is Zen’s phone number?"
"Huh?" Wendy was dumbfounded. After coming to her senses, she dug out her phone to check her contacts list and recited Zen’s number out loud for Michael.
With his head slightly bowed, Michael called Zen’s number. The call quickly went through.
However, Zen did not pick up when she saw the unfamiliar number. She was rushing her design and did not have the time to pick up spam calls.
When her phone rang again, Zen answered the phone impatiently and said, "I’m not looking to buy an apartment or insurance or a gym plan..."
"It’s me," Michael said coldly.
"What? Why are you trying to scam me?" Zen said, "Excuse me, I’ve been using this phone number for many years, and I’ve received many spam calls, I.."
The elevator was an enclosed space, and since Wendy was not far from Michael, she heard Zen through the phone. She could not allow her friend to continue like this. Wendy stepped near Michael’s phone and gave Zen a reminder. "Zen, it’s Michael."
"I don’t care who you..." When Zen finally Comprehended what was happening, she immediately covered her mouth in shock. Her voice trembled when she spoke again. "Mr... Mr. Lucas..."
Zen shifted her phone and looked at the screen again. Indeed, it was an unfamiliar number. She never expected it to belong to Michael. Not many people knew Michael’s private number, and it was not surprising for Zen to be in the dark about it, too. After learning about the identity of the caller, Zen’s tone immediately became delighted and respectful. She said, "Hi, Mr. Lucas, I’m sorry about earlier, I... I didn’t know that it was you calling. Can I help you with anything?"
"Wait for me at the parking lot right now. If you don’t know where my car is parked, you can ask the security guard there," said Michael.
"Ah?" Zen was completely lost. However, since these instructions came directly from the president, she could only obey. Not daring to delay any further, Zen jogged all the way to the parking lot. By the time she arrived, Michael and Wendy were already there.
Panting, Zen shifted her gaze to Wendy and looked at her with curious eyes, mentally questioning her friend on what was happening. Wendy was equally dumbfounded.
Michael got into the car and said, "I want the both of you to get in."
Wendy and Zen exchanged a look. However, Zen ended up pulling her into the car.
They both sat in the back. Michael started the engine and said, "I’m going to your house, Zen. Lead the way."
"My house?" Zen pointed at herself. She was still in shock. She glanced at Wendy again.
Wendy finally understood what Michael was trying to do. He was taking Zen back home so that they could pack Wendy’s things. Since Wendy had told him that Zen was busy with work recently, Michael decided to take things into his own hands.
This excuse was no longer valid now that Zen was going home with them. It seemed like Michael was very determined about making her move back in. Even though Wendy was not afraid of incurring Michael’s wrath anymore, she was still an ordinary and insignificant person without Michael around. And if Michael wanted to send her home, he could even stop the subway lines to get what he wanted. Wendy figured that if she did not do as Michael instructed now, he could probably somehow force Zen into cutting off all ties with her.
The car pulled into Zen’s apartment district quickly. Zen opened the door to her house and Michael took large strides in. After scanning his surroundings, he frowned and said incredulously, "Do the both of you stay here together?"
Michael had previously found out that Zen stayed in an apartment with only one bedroom and one living room, spanning 30 square meters in total. However, after personally walking into this place, he discovered that it was even smaller than he had imagined.
Zen scratched her head in embarrassment and said, "This apartment is big enough for two. Some of my colleagues share a room with up to four other people. I don’t earn much, but since I’m always working overtime, I decided to just grit my teeth and rent an apartment for myself to avoid disturbing other people."
Michael was the eldest grandson of the Lucas family. Naturally, he could not empathize with Zen’s situation. However, he did feel that his decision to come down here personally was the right one.
"Pack your things," Michael said to Wendy.
Wendy decided to try resisting one last time, "Er, why don’t I move back in a few days?"
There were simply too many sad memories for Wendy in that apartment. She was afraid that Michael would, in a moment of rage, tell her again that everything she had belonged to him, or even worse, that he would bring Yvonne back.
When Michael heard this, he evidently became angry. His face darkened.
Upon that sight, Zen immediately took out Wendy’s suitcase and started packing her friend’s clothes with a smile. She said, "You should go home since Mr. Lucas has asked you to. Why do you want to stay here with me in my shabby apartment when your house is two hundred square meters in size? Don’t you know how uncomfortable my sleep has been because I’ve had to share my bed with you since you moved in?"
Those words were deliberate, but not genuine. Zen never felt any discomfort from sharing her apartment with Wendy. However, since Michael had personally escorted Wendy here to pack her things, Zen had to cooperate. She could not afford to mess up since Michael was the president of the company. An insignificant staff member like her could not offend someone like Michael.
In no time, Zen had finished packing Wendy’s items.
"One suitcase, and one laptop bag," Zen exhaled in accomplishment as she looked at what she packed. She said, "You didn’t bring anything else with you when you came over. You should check if I forgot anything."
Wendy did not own much in the first place. Her suitcase was filled with her daily clothes and nothing more.
Zen handed the suitcase back to her and then gestured for her to leave. "I won’t be sending you off."
Wendy sighed helplessly. She said, "Zen, thank you for all your help." Her gratitude was directed at Zen for taking her in when she was stranded.
Otherwise, there was no other place Wendy could have gone.
There’s no need to be courteous. Zen patted Wendy’s shoulders, indicating the closeness of their friendship.
Since things had already come to this, Wendy had no choice but to go back with Michael.
"Starting this month, your salary will be increased by 30%," Michael said to Zen with his head slightly cocked to the side.
When Zen heard this, she felt dazed. Then, she nodded her head and thanked him profusely, "Thank you very much, Mr. Lucas. I will work even harder and repay the company."
"You work until midnight almost every day. If you work any harder, your health will be at risk," said Wendy with a smile and a shake of her head.
"The company is so good to me, the honor is all mine," said Zen. She beamed delightedly, as a pay raise of 30% was very substantial. She used to feel that being able to buy an apartment in Lake City was nothing more than a fantasy.
However, from the looks of it now, she believed that as long as she worked hard, she would be able to do so.
