Chapter 131 I’ll Be Back as Soon as Possible
It was already dawn when Alexander finished his shower. Moonlight spilled through the window and after the bathroom lights were turned off, the room became somewhat colder.
Courtney felt Alexander hug her from behind and she was enveloped in heat. She felt like a steamed bun, the blanket turning into a piping hot steamer.
Feeling a little hot, she couldn’t help but squirm.
“Did I wake you?” Alexander’s voice sounded in her ears. His voice had dipped low, bringing with it a sense of temptation.
She went along with it and said, “Yeah. Why did you come back so late?”
“Some delays during the day.”
“Is everything done?”
“Not yet.”
Courtney thought of the message earlier and was silent for a moment. “How long is it going to take? Will you still be able to attend the farewell banquet next weekend?”
Hans, Jennifer, and the rest of their group would be staying in Melrose City for half a month and their farewell banquet was scheduled for next weekend. No matter how busy Alexander was, he should attend the party.
“I will.”
Courtney frowned but held her tongue and did not continue to question him.
She was still brooding over the matter when Alexander spoke. “About Jordan’s inability to speak… I’ve found a German doctor who specializes in this area but it’s not easy to get an appointment, so I’m bringing Jordan to Germany tomorrow. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
For a moment, Courtney was bemused. So this is what I was getting upset about?
Her mind had strayed too far off.
“You’re bringing Jordan there alone?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. We won’t take long but I’m afraid you’ll have to work harder to attend to the guests.”
“I’ll be fine. Jordan’s more important.”
Alexander was silent for a while before he took her in his arms again. He pressed his cheek against hers and murmured, “I feel very fortunate for Jordan that he’s able to meet a mother as good as you when he’s young.”
When she heard this, mixed feelings surfaced in Courtney’s heart. She didn’t know how to express her emotions so she turned around and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
It was as if this was the only way she could suppress the raging urge to tell him the truth.
Alexander left early the next morning. The butler had already picked Jordan up and was waiting for him at the airport. When he left, the sky was still dark. He placed a kiss on Courtney’s forehead before taking his coat and quietly leaving the hotel.
Following this, for more than a week, Courtney—as the hotel’s representative—was in charge of attending to Hans and Jennifer’s group. They visited all of Melrose City’s famous attractions and tried all kinds of food.
During the tour, Jennifer expressed her enjoyment of the authentic delicacies that Courtney had introduced them to. They weren’t even halfway through the tour but the two of them had already forged a friendship. Jennifer had even agreed to bring Courtney around should she have the time to travel abroad.
“Thank you very much for your hospitality this whole while.”
When they returned to the hotel on the night before the farewell banquet, Jennifer gave Courtney a hug and said in choppy Otharian, “I must give you a present during tomorrow’s party.”
Courtney smiled graciously. “I look forward to it.”
“You’ll love it. By the way, you should ask your friend, that very interesting young man, to join too.”
“Do you mean Oliver?” Courtney was taken by surprise.
The last time they went hiking, they happened to ‘bump’ into Oliver. Jennifer had taken a liking to him, saying that her son was about the same age as him and enjoyed sports like hiking as well. They talked for a long time and Oliver was even invited to join them for dinner that night.
“Yes, that interesting young man. Tell him to come.”
Hans was standing to one side, talking on the phone. He winked playfully before he asked, “Oh right, has President Duncan returned? Will he make it in time for tomorrow night’s party?”
“All right, I’ll let him know.” Courtney smiled. “And President Duncan will definitely make it back in time. He told me that before you leave, he would like to attend the party to make amends for his absence.”
“Great; I have something important to tell him,” Hans said meaningfully.
Courtney’s heart tightened. She had a vague guess of what it was about.
After Hans and the rest went back to their rooms, she turned to Josh, who had been following her around for the past two days, and asked, “Is President Duncan sure he can be back by tomorrow?”
“There shouldn’t be a problem. He’s already on the plane.”
“Great. I think Mr. Hans means to talk to President Duncan about multilateral trade tomorrow night.”
Courtney was worried for Alexander. Although the reception of the foreign guests was only a task given by the government, it was also a huge business opportunity. This was the reason why Alexander had wanted to follow along the whole journey in the first place. She didn’t expect that he would be held up because of Jordan’s appointment with the doctor halfway through.
However, Hans’ attitude showed that he preferred them, as his implications were quite obvious. It seemed that as long as Alexander could make it back in time, there would be hope for cooperation.
The following afternoon, the farewell banquet was held as scheduled.
As Hans and Jennifer’s flight was in the early hours of the morning, they had to leave right after the banquet, so it was brought forward to three in the afternoon. Due to this, Courtney had been busy since morning.
“Hasn’t President Duncan gotten off the plane yet?” Holding her phone, Courtney gave Josh a call. “I’ve called him but the call is not getting through. What happened? Have you gone to fetch him? Didn’t you say that he’d be here in the morning?”
“Don’t panic, Miss Hunter. President Duncan is already here with me, so don’t worry.”
“You’ve picked him up?”
Courtney breathed a sigh of relief. She lifted her wrist to look at the time then muttered, “If he’s already landed, why didn’t he answer my calls? He has got to be kidding me!”
“I need to focus on driving now, Miss Hunter. We’ll talk at the hotel.” Josh sounded rather nervous when he spoke.
“All right. Drive safely.”
After hanging up, Courtney stared at the black screen. For some reason, a strange sense of uneasiness began to stir in her gut.
On the other side, Josh’s hands were on the steering wheel and he couldn’t help but take a peek into the rearview mirror as he asked carefully, “President Duncan, should I drive them home first or go directly to the hotel?”
“Go to the hotel, then send Jordan and the others back separately.”
“Okay.” Josh nodded, not daring to question any further.
It was almost half past six and the party in Sunhill Hotel’s banquet hall was coming to an end. Hans and his wife sauntered over with wine glasses in hand. “Miss Hunter, it seems that President Duncan won’t make it in time. It’s such a pity.”
Courtney glanced at her wrist. “Mr. Hans, President Duncan is on his way here. His flight was probably delayed but he should be here soon.”
“Oh? I’m afraid we have to leave by seven thirty. Hopefully he’ll make it so we can meet one last time.” Hans gave her a smile, not seeming to mind if Alexander reached in time or not.
Courtney took one quick glance at the vibrating phone in her hand and saw that Alexander had sent her a text message—‘I’m almost there’.
“He’s here,” she announced, a joyful look on her face. “Mr. Hans and Miss Jennifer, President Duncan has arrived. Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go to the hotel to check on him; he should be at the entrance by now.”
With that, she lifted her dress and walked toward the entrance of the banquet hall.
