Irene was puzzled to see Erin Gooding in the children's boutique, holding a pink baby jumper and finding it pretty.She admired it for a while, and was surprised to see Irene standing at the doorway when she put it down. "Hey, sis! What are you doing here? Getting some clothes for the children?"Irene entered. "I was just passing by, so I came in."Erin actually thought that she came expressly. "I see…" "I'll buy some if I find something that suits them, though," Irene added.Erin started to help eagerly right then, picking several that fit Irene's second son. "I think these look good."Irene liked them too—Erin certainly had good taste.Hesitating for a moment, Irene then asked, "Are you here alone?"Erin lowered her head and murmured softly, "Yeah.""Are you pregnant?" Irene asked tentatively."...Yeah."Irene smiled. "Congratulations."Still, Erin appeared unhappy. "I want to marry, but James says that he's busy and we can only get registered. I want a wedding and ge
Isaac said, "I have to take a trip to Franconia."He just received word from Stan Hill that Harvey Gooding had been found.He happened to have work to do over at Remy as well, so the trip was inevitable."I might have to travel to Minerva too, so I'm not sure how long it'd take.""Work?" Irene asked.Isaac mused to himself for a couple seconds and said, "Yeah."He did not mention Harvey, leaving Irene to think that he really was busy.It was not surprising that James would not ask Isaac for leave… But were they really so busy that they would not have time for a wedding?Having money gets things done, however. Maybe they could just arrange for everything first, and then all it takes was for the bride and bridegroom to show up at the wedding hall!Erin could decide on the details herself, too—she did not have to work, so she had all the time she needed.Helping Isaac out of his jacket, he said, "I ran into Erin today."Isaac narrowed his eyes, but he did not react otherwise.
No one arrived at the conference room punctually, but Irene was not puzzled.She would be if they actually came on time without trying to mess around.That was when the door to her office suddenly opened, and Finn entered, wheezing, "It's done."He barely made it."Good work. You can take a break now," Irene told him. "Just bring the stuff to the conference room when I text you.""Okay," Finn nodded, but turned around just as she was about to leave. "By the way, when are you going to forgive me? I really don't want to be your assistant—I mean, I don't mind how difficult my work gets, because I won't complain. You, on the other hand, are just making me run personal errands for you."Irene put down the document she was holding. "Patience. Your time will come.""When?" Finn pressed.Irene simply glanced at the clock on the wall. "Just take a break for now. The meeting is starting soon.""Meeting?!" Finn exclaimed coolly. "What meeting are you talking about? Meeting yourself? I wa
Before anyone could respond, Irene spoke. "I like my coffee sweet," she said, pointing at the black coffee before her. "I appreciate coffee since it keeps you awake, but not its excessive bitterness, which is why I always add in milk or sugar. Anyway, I just learned yesterday that someone important to me has malignant arrhythmia, and everyone would probably be aware that it could kill at any moment. I've always believed that our job is to save lives, and from a certain perspective, it makes our job more noble than a regular doctor's. After all, we develop parts that would save a life, so I don't get it… how did such a noble workplace become so vulgar?"After she had spoken, everyone else became much quieter. Even those who disliked her had to agree—their mission was to develop technology that could keep a heart going.And yet here they are, ostracizing a person just because they did not like her.What was that if not a mistake? Yolanda King spoke up then. "Allow me to voice my
Erin Gooding poked her head into the door, and sensing that she had been intruding, she apologized. "Sorry. I was looking for…"She turned toward Irene, who caught the look and glanced at the time. "Ten minutes," she said.Erin nodded in response and closed the door, standing outside as she waited.Soon, people filed out of the meeting room, with Irene the last to exit, carrying stacks of papers in her arms."Is something up?" Irene asked.Erin nodded, so she said, "Let me return these to my office first."Erin waited once more as she did, and once Irene stepped out this time, she came up to Irene with a smile. "James called me, telling me to pick the date. I think I should return to Minerva to tell my father too.""As you should." Irene agreed—getting married was a big deal, and Erin should tell her father about it. "Your work is really busy, huh? You must not have had dinner since that meeting lasted for a while, right? It's my treat."Though Irene was going to head hom
The lanky man was knocked to the ground and he exclaimed when he saw the one who kicked him. "Who the hell are you?!"It was Irene's chauffeur, who doubled as her bodyguard, protecting her aside from driving her to and from work.He shielded Irene while telling her, "You need to run, ma'am." "You have to save Erin," Irene exclaimed anxiously."Yes, ma'am."On the other hand, the lanky man was infuriated that he was the first one to get hit although they were here to abduct a woman!"Go! Hit him!" he barked at his goons indignantly. Two of the goons stayed to restrain Erin, while the others charged at the chauffeur. There were too many of them, keeping the chauffeur bogged down despite his advanced combat training.Irene called James while they were busy, giving him the address as soon as he answered, urging, "You need to hurry!""Okay!"Irene called the cops as well after that, while the chauffeur managed to floor two of the goons, maiming them within minutes.Seeing tha
Not seeing Erin anywhere, James asked urgently, "Where is she?!"Irene was helping the chauffeur and her face was pale despite taking a moment to compose herself. "They took her. You have to find them! Quick!"James whipped out his phone, asking, "What car was it? Do you remember the plate number?""It's a black MPV, but it doesn't have plates, and there are cameras."She pointed nearby at one.That being said, the car looked brand-new. They must have planned to use it for the crime from the start. "I've called the cops. They might be able to help by tapping in the cameras to locate the MPV. It'd make things faster."Veins were bulging over the back of James's hand as he clenched on his phone. "Yeah.""I'm sorry," Irene said. "She was taken because of me.""No. You didn't ask for this," James replied. His call got through then, and while he spoke into it, Irene helped her chauffeur to Hotmesh Research, since he was bleeding from several lacerations and Hotmesh was the close
As they drove, the location tracker was bringing in more information via the security cameras and giving them instructions where to go.The further they went the more remote the environment was.It was now almost three hours since Erin had been taken and there were no cameras around.The tracker was soon cut off.Just as everyone thought that they had nothing to go on and wondered how to track the thugs, Irene spotted the MPV in the bushes."There!" she pointed. James turned toward it and saw the MPV too.The grass was too tall for them to see the entire vehicle, but the tire marks leading into the bushes were fresh. Everyone alighted, stepping through the thick growth of branches, leaves and thorns that constantly tripped them.They followed the tire marks and arrived at the MPV, which was parked with no one around it.James opened the door with a loud whirl, but it was empty! Did they abandon the MPV as a diversion?!"Look around!" James barked. "See if there's any clu