Chapter 18
It was a call from my dad. He sounded a bit tired as he said, “Cole, your mom hasn’t been sleeping well these past few days. She’s been worried about you. When are you coming home?”
I sighed. “Dad, I know you’re worried about me. But the situation is a bit complicated right now. I’m afraid-”
“Afraid of what?” he interrupted me, his tone turning stern. “You’re a member of the Joplin family. What’s there to be afraid of? Tomorrow night, you must come home for dinner. Bring Jonas along.”
Knowing my dad’s temper, I had no choice but to agree.
Once the call ended, I rubbed my temples. I had a feeling tomorrow’s family dinner would be anything but peaceful.
The next morning, I drove Jonas to school as usual. At the school entrance, we bumped into Yvonne and Xavier again. When Xavier noticed us, he pouted, his expression contemptuous
Crouching, I told Jonas, “Have a good day at school. I’ll pick you up after class.”
Jonas nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked toward Xavier. The two children. whispered among themselves, then they entered the school together.
Yvonne approached me and said in a lowered voice, “Cole, a teacher said Jonas has been distracted in class lately. Do you know what that’s about?”
I glanced at her calmly, and my tone was impassive as I said, “I’ll take care of Jonas. You don’t need to worry about him.”
She frowned. There was a hint of displeasure in her voice. “What’s with your attitude? Even though we’re divorced, we should still resolve any problems concerning our children together.
I scoffed. “Yvonne, drop the act. When have you ever genuinely cared about the children? How pretentious of you to ask about that now. Did you learn that from Jared?”
Anger flashed across Yvonne’s face. “Cole, you’ve gone too far. How could I possibly not care about my children?”
Glaring at her, I sneered, “Oh, really? Then can you tell me what Xavier’s homework was yesterday? Or how did they do on their midterm exams last week?”
Yvonne was tongue–tied. Seeing that, I shook my head. “Stop pretending, Ms. Langley. You should just take care of Xavier. There’s no need for you to worry about Jonas.
With that, I turned and left, ignoring her shouts behind me.
Citr
Soon after reaching any office, a secretary came in and informed me of an emergency meeting.
In the conference room, I saw someone unexpected–Jared.
“Mr. Joplin.” He stood up and held out his hand. On his face was a warm smile. “It’s been at while.”
I stared at his hand and didn’t reach out. “Mr. Lawson, what are you doing at my company?”
Jared withdrew his hand, his smile becoming somewhat awkward. “Well, I have a new project. that I’d like to collaborate on with Joplin Group–”
I spoke up coldly, “I’m sorry, but our company doesn’t work with unsavory characters. If that is all, please leave.”
Jared furrowed his brows together. “Mr. Joplin, I know you have assumptions about me, but business is business. There’s no reason to make it personal.”
I stood up and looked down at him. “Mr. Lawson, I repeat, please leave. Or I’ll have to call security.”
Jared looked at me intently before turning around and leaving.
At that, I suddenly realized why he had previously called me. This collaboration was probably
the reason.
