Chapter 78
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Chapter 78
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Cold sweat dripped down Archie’s forehead. Hartman Group had canceled all collaborations with their hotel three days ago, including those with all its subsidiaries. Even other corporate groups closely partnered with Hartman Group had followed suit and severed ties. The losses were staggering
At the shareholders‘ meeting, Vincent had faced harsh scrutiny from the investors, who accused him of offending the CEO of Hartman Group.
And now, with the powerful Wane Group also refusing to work with them, they had lost too many major clients. If this continued, the shareholders‘ resentment would only grow, and the senior executives would be in deep trouble.
Archie thought he had to report this to Vincent immediately.
After the dinner, Lewis and Chris left the hotel together.
“Chris, thanks for today.” During the gathering, Lewis had asked Chris to put on an act for him.
“No need for thanks. Just introduce me to your wife one day,” Chris said with an expectant smile. “You really care about her. I hope she understands your good intentions.”
“She doesn’t need to know.” Lately, Doris had looked increasingly haggard. Lewis just wanted to help her however he could. That included arranging for the renowned breast tumor specialist, Micah, to visit the hospital for a week–long medical exchange.
His ultimate goal was to have Micah perform surgery on Peyton.
When Lewis got home, he sat in the living room and called Doris.
A well–fed Biscuit lay obediently at his feet.
“Are you home?” asked Doris.
“Yeah. Did Peyton agree to the surgery?”
“Not yet.” Doris was worried.
This time, Peyton was more stubborn than ever. No matter how they tried to persuade her, she wouldn’t listen—and had even thrown a rare, huge tantrum.
Both she and Laura didn’t dare bring it up again. She had no idea where they had gone wrong.
“Don’t worry. Maybe she just hasn’t come to terms with it yet. Being sick must be weighing on her mind. You need to be more patient and show her more care. She’ll understand eventually.” Lewis reassured her.
“I got it.” Doris listened to his deep, slightly husky voice. “Did you drink?”
“Had a little during dinner with a friend.”
“Drink less–it’s bad for your stomach. I’m not there to make you sober–up soup.”
Doris and Lewis hadn’t seen each other in days.
During the day, he went to work while she caught up on sleep. By the time he got off work, she was already rushing to the hospital. Every day was a blur of busyness, as if they were racing against time.
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Whenever she had a quiet moment, Lewis‘ clean and handsome face would surface in her mind.
She’d wonder, What has he been eating these past few days? Is he eating well? How’s he doing? Is he getting used to life without me around?‘
Doris shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. She thought she wasn’t that important to Lewis.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
11
The next morning, Doris received a call from the IIR department of Hampstone Hotel. “Doris?”
“Yes, is something wrong?”
“Doris, I reviewed your contract. Your five–year employment term isn’t up yet, so your dismissal is invalid.
“If you’re available, you can return to work at the hotel tomorrow, and we’ll even give you a 10% raise.” The HR specialist’s attitude was much better than when Doris had processed her resignation.
This unexpected turn of events caught Doris off guard. She glanced at Peyton lying on the hospital bed, feeling torn inside.
She wanted to go back to work. First, she needed to earn money, as Peyton’s illness required even more money. Second, she genuinely loved making pastries, and the hotel’s salary and benefits were far better than other places.
But if Peyton changed her mind about the surgery, Doris wouldn’t have as much time to take care of her if she returned to work.
Laura and Rupert were both busy, and although Jimmy had time, he was getting old and couldn’t handle the strain. If Jimmy got exhausted and fell ill, it would only make things worse for the family.
She thought maybe they should hire a caregiver, but she worried that a caregiver might not take good enough care of Peyton.
Peyton had been urging Doris for the past two days to complete the discharge procedures today and return home.
“Can I think about it and give you an answer tomorrow morning?” asked Doris.
The HR specialist said, “Sure. I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
Doris put away her phone, only to turn around and see Lewis carrying a thermos. “Thinking about what?”
“Nothing much. The hotel’s HR said my contract hasn’t expired and asked me to return to work,” Doris answered honestly.
“That’s
news. Why do you look SO troubled?” Lewis didn’t see much excitement on her face.
“I want to work and earn money, but I’m afraid I won’t have time to take care of my mom,” Doris sighed.
Just as she was struggling with the decision, Laura appeared. “Doris, go back to work. I’ll take care of Mom.”
“Laura, you have your own family to look after. You can’t be running back here every day.” If that happened, Sofia would definitely stir up trouble again..
“Let’s just hire a caregiver,” Lewis suggested. “Doris and I will cover the cost.”
Laura stopped them. “You two work hard for your money; don’t spend it on this. Mom insists on going home, and Dad will be there to watch over her. I can check in after I drop off Ari.
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“Plus, Mom can take care of herself–it’s not like I have to be there every single day. And honestly, the Webb family will never be as important to me as my own mother”
“Laura-“Doris still wanted to persuade her.
“Enough, no more discussion. It’s settled, Laura said, feeling that since she couldn’t contribute financially, she had to do her part in other ways.
Lewis and Doris exchanged glances and silently agreed to Laura’s decision.
The group headed to Peyton’s hospital room.
As soon as Peyton finished her breakfast, she urged Doris, “Go handle my discharge papers. The smell of disinfectant here is unbearable.”
“Mom, even if you don’t get surgery, you still need treatment.” Doris tried to convince Peyton.
“Mom, Doris is right. We have to follow the doctor’s recommendations,” Laura added.
Peyton replied, “Then just have the doctor prescribe some medicine, Don’t waste money on unnecessary things.”
“Mom, treating an illness properly isn’t a waste of money.” Doris felt a deep ache in her heart. For an ordinary family, even medical expenses had to be carefully considered.
“Enough talk, just go get the paperwork done,” Peyton said.
Lewis patted Doris on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Just as they turned to leave, they ran into Rupert, who had come to visit Peyton.
Rupert wasn’t afraid of Doris, but he did feel uneasy facing Lewis, avoiding eye contact with him.
“Rupert, Mom is getting discharged, I’m going back to work, and Laura has to take care of Ari. You don’t have a job right now, so you should stay home and look after Mom. She’s done so much for you–you can’t just turn your back on her,” Doris said sternly.
“Claudia is pregnant. I need to take care of her.” Rupert scratched his head.
“Yes, Claudia just got pregnant–she needs someone to take care of her. Doris, don’t make things difficult for Rupert. I’m not dying anytime soon, and I don’t need anyone to take care of me. Your father is enough.” Peyton continued to defend Rupert.
Doris was speechless but still pressed Rupert, “So you’re just going to ignore Mom?”
“Of course not,” Rupert frowned.
He stepped forward and pulled a bank card from his pocket, handing it to Peyton. “Mom, this is 7,000 dollars I saved from work. It’s not much, but take it and buy whatever you want.”
“No need. Claudia is pregnant, and there will be a lot of expenses. You should keep it and buy her good nutrition. Don’t let her and the baby suffer.” Peyton pushed the card back to Rupert.
Rupert said, “Mom, please take it.”
As Rupert and Peyton kept pushing the card back and forth, a figure suddenly stepped in and took the card from them.
