After work, Leanne went to the parking lot, where her Phantom was in its usual spot.
Jake didn't get out to open the door for her. She was deep in thought and didn't notice, opening the door herself and getting in.
The car started and pulled out of the hospital parking lot, the familiar scenery whizzing by as she pondered how to investigate Vector Vista Bank.
Having been with the Richardson family for years, she had rarely dealt with Vector Vista. Showing a sudden and unusual interest could tip off someone as sharp and capable as Maddox. Lost in thought, she suddenly felt something off in the silent car.
She glanced toward the driver's seat.
The orange hues of the sunset flooded the car, illuminating the man's profile, his long arms on the steering wheel, his features sharp and handsome in the play of light and shadow.
It wasn't Jake.
Curtis caught her eye in the rearview mirror, an indifferent gaze meeting hers.
"Just noticed? After being kidnapped by someone, you're still obliviously tagging along. Is your guard up only against me?"
"Was I wrong to be on guard against you?" Leanne's mind was elsewhere, and if not for her intuition, she might not have noticed the driver change. "Why are you pretending to be Jake?" "Wouldn't impersonating Jake be a bit too challenging for me?"
He had come to pick up his wife from work, but she hadn't spared him a glance.
Curtis pulled the car over. "Come sit in the front."
Leanne got out and moved to the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt as Curtis said with lazy, teasing praise, "Look at you, buckling up all by yourself. Impressive."
Leanne felt he was treating her like a child, finding praise in the simplest things.
"I know to eat when I'm hungry and to use an umbrella when it rains."
"That so?" Curtis raised an eyebrow, his tone playful yet mocking. "And when you see your husband, do you know what to do?"
"No clue." Leanne turned her gaze forward, her expression defiant. "I was never taught that lesson."
Curtis leaned closer, his handsome face inches from hers, his voice teasing. "How about Mr. Richardson giving you a lesson?"
Despite knowing it was a joke, Leanne felt a shiver, her toes curling, warmth spreading to her ears.
"And what will you teach?" she asked.
Just then, an ill-timed call interrupted Mr. Richardson's "lesson."
Curtis picked up the phone, and Leanne glimpsed the caller ID, reading the rich old man.
Irritated by the interruption, Curtis sighed and answered leisurely, "What do you want?" Accustomed to giving concise orders from his high position, Maddox was brief. "Come over." "Can't. I'm busy flirting with a student."
"Where did you get a student?" Maddox asked before stopping, well aware of his son's antics.
"Spare some time lately. We need to discuss the joint venture model between Vector Vista and ElitePinnacle again."
Curtis seemed unbothered. "You can discuss such minor details with my assistant."
From being considered a failure never allowed to touch the family business to founding Elite Pinnacle, a top investment bank and preferred partner for VectorVista Bank, Curtis had made his mark.
In front of Maddox, Curtis never lacked confidence.
Knowing he owed Curtis for past grievances, Maddox had little leverage. "Then have your brother talk to you.”
Curtis snorted, "Am I supposed to be scared?"
Maddox was speechless.
Leanne listened in, piecing together the conversation, her curiosity piqued. She asked Curtis, "Your dad wants to see you?"
Curtis looked at her, and she suggested, "Maybe we should go and see him."
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