Chapter 43

The next morning, Penelope drove to the old doctor’s clinic.
From a distance, she saw a middle-aged woman screaming at the front door. “Some highly respected doctor you are! You’re nothing but a quack, a murderer! My mother is still in the hospital because of you, and if anything happens to her, I’ll burn this place to the ground!”
The clinic door was shut tight. After a long moment, it creaked open a sliver, and the old man peeked out. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he opened it fully.
“A textbook shrew, that one,” he muttered, stroking his beard with an air of weary resignation.
Penelope fought back a smile and followed him inside.
“I’m heading to Zenith Group later and figured I’d stop by,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Did you have anything you wanted me to take to Mr. Stapleton?”
She was almost certain that the handsome man from that night was the same one she had met at this very clinic. It had to be fate, and she intended to make the most of it.
The old man looked surprised. “No, I don’t have anything for him.”
“Isn’t he running low on his medication? You could write him a new prescription, and I could deliver it.”
“He doesn’t need any medication,” the doctor replied. Because there’s nothing wrong with him.
He doesn’t need medication? Penelope wondered. Is he a lost cause?
“Or maybe there’s some advice you need to give him?”
“Nope, no advice from me.”
Penelope frowned. This old man was not making it easy.
“He didn’t look very well the other day,” she pressed, deciding to give him a hint. “Maybe he’s feeling drained? Lacking vitality?”
“Now that you mention it, he has seemed a bit… depleted,” the old man mused. “He could certainly use a boost. Wait right here.”
A few minutes later, he returned and handed Penelope a bag. She peeked inside and nearly dropped it in shock.
Inside was a bizarre assortment of gnarled roots, dried fungi, and other strange- looking herbs, their earthy, medicinal scent hitting her all at once.
“You want me… to give him this?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. This felt more than a little inappropriate.
The doctor then added a few more herbs, instructing her to have Theodore stew them all together in a broth.
Penelope took a deep breath. To get a meeting with the heir apparent, she was willing to risk offending him.
Back in her car, she glanced at the bag of herbs Dr. Olson had given her for her own recovery, which she had forgotten to brew. Now, she was too scaredto even try. What if she took it got poisoned, and ended up in the hospital too?
On the way, she called Nathan to ask about the KINY Group project Had they managed to meet with Zenith Group about the shopping plaža? What was the outcome?
“We mentioned it, but we were basically thrown out before we could even start negotiating,” Nathan explained. “In their words, we were delusional.”
Penelope pursed her lips. She would have said the same thing.
“Of course, we’re not giving up after one try, but
“But what?”
“Zenith Group has since banned all KINY Group personnel from entering their building.”
“So if I show up as KINY’s project manager, I probably won’t even get past the front door?”
“It’s not a probability. It’s a certainty.”
Penelope glanced at the bag of strange herbs in the back seat. It looked like this was her only way in.
Half an hour later, she parked her car and walked up to the front desk at Zenith Group.
“I’m here to see Theodore-Mr. Stapleton.”
The receptionist was polite but firm. “Do you have an appointment?” Official source ıs ~net
“No.”
“Then I’m afraid you can’t see him.”
“I have something for him,” Penelope said, holding up the bag for a brief inspection. “You can call his office and tell them I’m here on behalf of Dr. Ron Olson.”
…