Chapter 168 Blood Is Thicker Than Water
“I know you.” Mikayla stared at the woman across from her for a moment. “Britney Price.”
Out of the small number of women Alexander was rumored to have been with, she had caused the most bewilderment. She was a public figure, so it was hard not to know her. For the longest time before Mikayla returned to the country, she had thought that Britney was her true rival. After all, Britney had spent a total of six years by Alexander’s side.
“I hope you don’t have any misunderstandings about me.” Britney was calm as if she already knew that Mikayla would recognize her.
Furrowing her brows, Mikayla spoke frankly. “What do you want to say? Because of your past relationship with Alex, I don’t think I can trust anything that comes out of your mouth.”
“I hope you’re still able to say that after you hear this.” Britney’s eyes curled up into a mysterious gaze. “I stayed by Alex’s side for over six years. Not too long ago, we were supposed to get married. The hotel for the wedding reception was also decided upon. Did you know that?”
Mikayla casted a sidelong glance at her.
“I guess you did.” Darkness swept over Britney’s eyes. “But, do you know why Alex backed out all of a sudden and canceled the wedding?”
“Because of Courtney?”
Britney chuckled and gave her a scornful look. “You’ve known him longer than I have. Do you really think he would cancel the wedding for a woman he had only known for a few months?” Glaring at her, she continued, “It was for Jordan.”
Mikayla felt her heart start to thump in her chest and couldn’t help but clench her hands into fists.
She knew that Alexander had a son. A year after she got married, news came from within the country that the Duncan Family was welcoming their first grandson. But no matter how much Mikayla dug around, she still did not know who the biological mother of the child was.
Over the years, she came to know how much Alexander treasured Jordan. Alexander brought him along everywhere and prioritized him above everything else.
“You probably know how important Jordan is to Alexander. Did you also know that Jordan is especially fond of Courtney? It’s for that reason Alexander considered bringing Courtney in as the daughter-in-law of the Duncan Family.”
“What are you implying?”
Up until this point, Mikayla felt like Britney was only going around in circles with her words.
If Alexander were to get married, the person he was marrying could not have a bad relationship with his precious son. Even if Mikayla did not have any other information and only went by her understanding of Alexander, that was not hard to figure out.
In a profound manner, Britney asserted, “Blood is thicker than water.”
Two days after their distasteful encounter, it was the weekend. Courtney had picked the two children up from the Duncans’ ancestral home when she received a notice from the hotel to come in for last-minute overtime work over the weekend. She had no choice but to bring the children along to the hotel with her.
As always, she had the supervisor bring them to the kids’ lounge.
“During the lunch break at noon, I will come and take you guys out to eat. In the meantime, try to stay put. You must not follow anyone out of the hotel.”
“We know, Mommy. Get to work now. I’ll take good care of Jordan.” Tina’s innocent voice resounded in the room.
Pinching her cheeks, Courtney cautioned, “Take care of him? You just make sure to stay out of trouble. Don’t prompt Jordan to run off with you. Do you hear me?”
“Ah! It hurts!” Tina broke away from Courtney’s claws and pouted on the couch. “Gosh. You were about to rip my skin off, Mommy.”
Courtney did not bother with her. Compared to a hyperactive and cheeky Tina, Jordan looked exceptionally obedient beside her. Patting his head, Courtney said gently, “Look after Tina and yourself. Okay?”
He gave her a firm nod.
Frankly speaking, there wasn’t a person at the hotel who did not know of Jordan’s status as the little prince. Wherever he went, people around him watched him carefully for fear that they would lose their jobs if anything were to happen to him.
As soon as Courtney entered her office and put down her things, Addie knocked on the door and came in. “Courtney, Mr. Elliott informed us that the meeting will start at 9.30 AM.”
She nodded in acknowledgment. “I got it. Print out ten copies of the guest complaints this month to bring over later.”
A number of things happened in the hotel over the past few months. In preparation for various big events, there was an increase in last-minute construction work that inevitably made a portion of guests unhappy. The list of complaints extended a few pages more than usual. This issue was emphasized at the meeting two days ago and Evan had asked her to come up with a plan to alleviate the situation.
After organizing her documents, she left to go join the meeting in the conference room.
The houndstooth three-quarter sleeve suit she had on made her look competent and magnanimous. On the projector, she put up the plan she came up with to remedy the issue and delivered her ideas in a clear and concise way.
“We will compensate all the guests who stayed here during that period whether they sent in a complaint or not. As for the guests who did send in complaints, we will give them a six-month stay at the hotel for free. The reason being that they provided us with constructive feedback. This has to be made very clear during the drafting process or when the customers are being tended to. Don’t let people think that we’re trying to buy them off. That would just be counterproductive.”
The meeting went on for two hours. By the time it ended, it was almost time for lunch. Carrying the pile of documents in his arms, Addie followed behind Courtney, asking about specific methods of implementation for the plan. When they arrived at the elevator, a sudden ear-piercing alarm went off in the corridor, and the security lights on the wall started flashing urgently.
Amid the blaring alarm that rang throughout the entire building, Courtney became tense and ordered, “Call the security team to see what’s the problem.”
Addie was already on the phone. Not long after, his face turned pale. “What?”
“What happened?” Courtney pressed.
Addie hurriedly hung up the call. “Courtney, they’re saying that the kitchen caught on fire, and the sprinklers are out of order. They have called the fire department, but it’s unclear when the fire engines will get here.”
Her expression shifted, and she quickly responded, “Inform all the supervisors and attendants to make an emergency evacuation.”
“Okay, I’ll go right now.” Addie ran off in a flustered state.
Courtney pressed on the elevator button and stood there for a few seconds when she suddenly remembered that the two children were still in the lounge. Feeling her heart start to race, she turned around and darted toward the staircase.
When she got to the kids’ lounge, however, there was not a single person in sight.
“The supervisor brought Little Master to the restroom, but I haven’t seen Tina anywhere.”
Courtney grew pale with fear. After she interrogated several people at once, she started running toward the location of the fire. A thick, heavy cloud of smoke filled the entryway of the kitchen, and several people were gathered around the area. In one corner, there was a pile of used and discarded fire extinguishers. Everyone at the scene was overwhelmed with panic.
As she was making her way there, she heard that their old head chef, who was about to retire, was trapped inside the kitchen.
“He’s out! He’s out!”
A middle-aged man was seen staggering out of the smoke with a person dressed in white on his back. Those at the entrance quickly rushed forward to help out.
The middle-aged man was panting profusely. “Hurry! There’s a child inside. It looks like Miss Hunter’s daughter.”
