10. Report

"All right, sorry," Aileen said and rolled her eyes. It didn't feel good when they were arguing.

"But can I trade it for yours?" Aileen asked later when she saw a bowl of beef soup in front of Mark with an aroma that was quite tasty.

Mark gave Aileen a quick look and exchanged their menu, which were both untouched.

With a smile, Aileen finally enjoyed her food and ate until it was clean. Meanwhile, Mark did the same, although it took longer because his lips were injured and his jaw hurt from chewing. He even thought he might have a crack.

Fortunately, when he returned and the X-rays came out, the results were all good. There were no internal injuries—just abrasions and bruises, which should disappear with a simple antiseptic.

"Where is your address?" Aileen asked later, once she was back behind the wheel.

Mark grimaced in amusement. "To your house. I'll drive you home from there," Mark replied with an assertiveness that could not be denied.

Aileen did not refuse. She was indeed very tired and wanted to lie down immediately. She had also been examined in the emergency room. Still, there were no signs of internal injuries on her body, even though she had also been hit by William's chair.

They were mostly silent throughout the trip. They were both lost in their thoughts. I don't know, but it felt like their thoughts were the same. Because at that moment, they both said at the same time, "William--"

"Well, it’s so awkward. Are we thinking the same thing?" Aileen asked in surprise.

"I think so. You go first," Mark said.

"I was going to say that William might run out of town or even out of the country to avoid being followed." Aileen expressed her thoughts.

"I think so too. He doesn't want to get caught. And besides, he's already made so much profit from his sabotage that he's offering us a blank check." Mark agreed with Aileen's statement. 

"So what do we do?" Aileen looked frustrated now. She untangled her hair, which seemed unusually limp because she hadn't showered or combed it in two days. I don't know what she looked like then.

Mark felt sorry for Aileen. The girl must be thinking about the fate of the branch if it was closed by the center just because of William's behavior.

"Damn it! I've earned a lot of money, and then I leave! What's left is the victim!" Aileen grumbled as she pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Never mind. You rest at home in peace. I'll take care of the headquarters. I'll let you know about the progress later." He finally reassured Aileen as the car they were traveling in turned into the yard of a minimalist house that Aileen had rented for a few months.

"This is your house?" Mark asked again as Aileen turned off the engine and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Yes. It's just a lease," Aileen replied shortly.

As usual, she kept her distance and spoke only in moderation when it came to personal matters. Yes, that's how self-confident Aileen is. For her, the personal aspect was a matter of privacy, and not everyone who knew her had the right to know all the details about it.

"Ah, okay. So where are you from?" Mark asked again when Aileen closed the car door and started to leave.

"That... Mr. Mark... is my business. We are not that close to getting to know each other," Aileen replied mysteriously.

Then, the girl turned and walked with her elegant style towards her rented house.

Mark couldn't help but grimace at Aileen's behavior, who probably forgot what she looked like at that moment. A blazer suit full of dirt and leaves, along with flip flops on her bare feet. Oh, oh...

"Ms. Aileen!" Mark called back to her.

And nothing can describe how red Aileen's face turned when Mark called again from the car. This time, he was behind the wheel.

"Don't forget to return the cop's flip-flops!"

"Damn it!" muttered Aileen, looking down and realizing that she was wearing a pair of flip-flops.

When she looked up again, Mark had already turned the car out of the yard. He was alone in the bodyguard's car, laughing at Aileen's expression.

***

"How's it going, Mark?" Lucas asked about William's case progress. They were on the phone, Lucas expecting a report from Mark.

"William is really bad. He even tried to bribe me and his marketing manager," Mark replied, telling what had happened from the beginning so that Lucas could hear the whole story.

"Huh! Is that true? What a b*tch he is!" So, how's your condition? Mr. Tom said how come you were held captive?" Lucas interrogated Mark again because he did not quite understand the report of their chief bodyguard.

All because Mark wanted to cover up the sabotage to protect the branch from the risk of unilateral closure. It would be a pity for the innocent employees if that happened.

But since the case had gone to court and all parties had to be involved, Mark was forced to reveal everything.

"But how are you? It's okay, right?" Lucas asked again because he had heard that Mark was busy telling a long story about the original state of the branch sales.

"I'm fine. I had an x-ray, and the results were okay. It's just that my favorite suit had to be sacrificed. Damn that Sammy, he ran away again!" Mark grumbled, sounding very annoyed.

"Calm down, let Mr. Tom take care of it with the police. Crazy! I want to slaughter that slug!" Lucas cursed William again.

He had chosen William to be the director of the Manhattan branch because he was so nice. There was such a fine line between genuine kindness and sycophantic kindness that it took hours to recognize.

"I remember Dad forbidding me to suggest William's name. He said there was something wrong with his personality. But I insisted, saying he was the most prominent achiever at the time. Damn it! Even though my judgment at that time was only subjective to his cooperative and friendly attitude towards me. Damn right!"

Mark listened to Lucas's description from the other side of the line while compressing his bruises with a warm, wet cloth. He already knew that Lucas was sometimes so careless that Mr. Howard trusted Mark more for such urgent matters within the company.

But what else could it be? Lucas was indeed a future leader of H Corp. It was inevitable that he had to jump in and try out all the terrains to get used to all the business challenges.

One of them is William's betrayal. Surely, this will also inspire Lucas to make even wiser decisions later on.

"Oh, yes. Then, take a break. A comprehensive report on our total loss can be emailed to me tomorrow, right?"