Chapter 242: What If It’s an Emergency?

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: What If It’s an Emergency?

"Third Master, are you sure Derek is a bust?"

Shawn Grant was shocked. He’d heard some rumors about this but wasn’t sure. He had actually been thinking about acquiring Derek himself.

But at the time, the Sterling Group’s offer was too high, and the Keating made its own offer right after. He hesitated, and in that moment of hesitation, Derek signed the contract with Morgan Sterling.

"Morgan Sterling’s acquisition of Derek was all engineered by Third Master."

Ethan Shaw, who knew the whole story, smugly recounted the events.

After he finished, Shawn Grant felt a wave of fear. "My God! Third Master, can you give me a heads-up before you pull something like this? I almost made a move myself."

"Next time you think about doing something like this, can you ask Third Master Keating first? Are you just going to acquire companies in Riverfall’s business world without even asking him? You got money to burn?" Nathan Grant yelled, twisting his ear.

She had come over to tell them dinner was ready and happened to overhear his comment, which almost made her fly into a rage.

"My ear! Sis, my ear!"

Shawn Grant finally rescued his ear and started grumbling, "So what am I supposed to do? I’m already buried in work. One by one, you’re on maternity leave, Leah refuses to take over Baystream, and Mason hasn’t even graduated yet!"

"This was supposed to be a four-person job, and I’m the only one doing anything! Do I look like an octopus? Go ask Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling how long it’s been since I last went out for drinks with them."

"...Don’t drag me into this. My mom promised me she wouldn’t make me take on a general management role before I turn thirty. She said I could do what I want until then," Leah, who had been innocently dragged into the conversation, said, kicking him.

Nathan Grant looked at Chester Hale. Seeing the look on her face, Chester Hale knew she wanted to go back to the company. During her pregnancy, Nathan Grant had been happy at first, but now she couldn’t stand it anymore.

She wasn’t the type to sit still. If it weren’t for the baby, she’d probably be bouncing off the walls.

He took her hand, a little resigned. "Let’s go to the hospital for a full check-up tomorrow. If everything’s fine, I’ll let you go back to the company, alright? But you have to promise me you’ll take it easy and not overwork yourself."

"Deal, deal, deal! I promise!"

"Yes! My good days are finally coming."

Amid the cheers, the group headed inside. Asher Keating watched Leah Sinclair, feeling that her mood seemed a bit better than before.

’I wonder if she’ll be willing to come back to my place tonight. She has dark circles under her eyes. She definitely hasn’t been sleeping well.’

When they got back, Asher Keating tentatively took Leah Sinclair’s hand. Although she remained silent, she didn’t pull away. After they got out of the elevator, Leah tried to go into her own apartment, but Asher held on and didn’t let go.

He didn’t dare just drag her into his apartment, afraid it would make her even more upset.

Leah Sinclair looked up at Asher Keating, who was pressing his lips together. She wasn’t that upset anymore, just a little awkward. She bit her lip and asked, "Third Master... did you ever call her... Phoebe?"

Asher Keating froze for a second, then wrapped his arms around her. "I don’t want to lie to you. I did. Just once. I didn’t mean to hide this thing with her from you. I honestly... just didn’t remember. If I had remembered back then, I never would have agreed to the partnership."

Leah Sinclair felt a sense of relief. ’Good, it was only once.’ Otherwise, she would have developed a complex about Asher calling her by that name in the future.

Seeing her silence and the slight easing of her expression, Asher Keating decided to take a chance. He lowered his head and kissed her. Leah Sinclair was startled as he took advantage of her surprise. She tried to push him away but couldn’t budge him. Instead, Asher’s kiss only deepened.

Asher Keating felt Leah Sinclair’s initial resistance slowly melt away as she began to relax. His kiss grew more and more passionate. Unable to withstand this kind of kiss from him, Leah’s body started to feel weak.

Just as he reached for the door to his apartment, his phone rang. He ignored it, but Leah pressed against his chest, pushing him away and mumbling, "Your phone."

Asher Keating let her go and cursed under his breath. He pulled out his phone. The caller ID read: Phoebe Peyton.

He hung up. Just as his lips touched hers again, it rang a second time. It was still Phoebe Peyton. He frowned. It was already past eleven. He had no idea why Phoebe Peyton would be calling him at this hour.

"You should answer it. What if it’s an emergency?"

Leah Sinclair was also annoyed, but since the person called back right after Asher hung up, she worried it might actually be urgent, so Asher answered the phone.

"What is it?"

"Asher, I was rear-ended. Can you come and help me take a look?"

In the quiet hallway, Leah Sinclair clearly heard Phoebe Peyton’s words. ’For that? She’s calling Asher in the middle of the night for that?’

Furious, Leah Sinclair shot Asher Keating a fierce glare. ’Why does he have to attract such bad luck?’ Then she pushed him away and went straight into her own apartment.

Asher Keating watched helplessly as the woman he’d just won over slipped away again. His voice turned completely cold. "Am I the traffic police or your insurance agent?"

"What?"

Hearing his tone, Phoebe Peyton couldn’t help but feel a little flustered. "I just... I don’t know anyone else, so I thought of you. Am I bothering you? I’m sorry, Asher, I know it’s late..."

"If you know it’s late, why are you calling? You don’t know anyone else? Can’t you call your brother?! You call me—am I going to assign fault for the accident or pay for the damages?"

With that, he hung up without waiting for Phoebe Peyton’s reaction. Staring at the closed door across the hall, President Keating felt a surge of frustration.

Phoebe Peyton stared blankly at the disconnected call. She was completely stunned by Asher Keating’s barrage of questions. When she came to her senses, her face went from white to red, then back to white again.

The person whose car she had rear-ended saw the expression on her face and said irritably, "Hey, I already told you to call your insurance. You didn’t want to, and instead you call a friend for advice? What are you dawdling for? Think you’re so great because you drive a luxury car? Are we settling this privately or going through insurance? Can you hurry up? Don’t you see what time it is?"

Phoebe Peyton stormed back to her car, yanked a stack of cash from her purse, and threw it at him. "What are you yelling about! Did I say I wouldn’t pay? Take the money and get lost!"

The man saw it was a thick stack of cash. Not minding that the bills had scattered everywhere, he quickly picked them all up and chuckled. "Well, thank you very much."

Phoebe Peyton watched the person drive away, then immediately made a call. "License plate, Jiang A*E970L. Find someone to smash his car."

After hanging up, Phoebe Peyton sat back in her car and slammed her fist on the steering wheel. The loud HONK of the horn startled her. She let out a sudden scream, her whole body trembling with rage.

’She hadn’t originally planned to call Asher Keating. Morgan Sterling had told her to lay low for a couple of days. He was slowly leaking information on his end. This time, she couldn’t be hasty; she had to be steady.’

’But she couldn’t help it. Two days had passed since the incident with Leah Sinclair, and she wanted to test Asher Keating’s reaction. It was so late; if Asher had come, she could have used the opportunity to have him drive her home.’

’As long as Asher Keating walked through her door, she was confident something would happen between them.’

’But Asher Keating gave her absolutely no face. And when he’d first answered the phone, his voice was clearly a bit hoarse. He must have been with Leah Sinclair!’

’Weren’t they supposed to be fighting? How could they still be together so late at night? Had they already made up?’