Chapter 648
Watts stared at Jarrod in open surprise, clearly confused. “Isn’t it a good thing we found her early? Mr. Silverstein, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Jarrod turned, his gaze steady and unreadable, but there was something unsettling lurking beneath that calm surface.
“I think we can drop the pretense,” he said, his tone cold. “Let’s just be honest with each other.”
The realization hit Watts, and he asked with a wry smile, “You mean you think I’m involved in this?”
He gave a short laugh. “Mr. Silverstein, I do like Elodie-but I’m not desperate enough to pull a stunt like this to win her over.”
“We both know exactly what’s at stake here,” Jarrod replied, his eyes dark and assessing as he looked down at Watts. “The timing was perfect, wasn’t it? You just happened to find her before I arrived. And the moment you pulled Elodie out, you announced that the Silverstein Group had won the contract. Mr. Aldridge, you’ve gotten a lot craftier since two years ago.”
When Jarrod mentioned “two years ago,” Watts maintained an air of innocence, not rising to the bait.
“If you don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do about it,” Watts said with a resigned shrug. “Prejudice really is a terrible thing, Mr. Silverstein. I have no intention of making an enemy of you. Besides, I truly was worried about Elodie.”
Of course, Jarrod already knew that.
Evidence was always elusive-there would never be any real proof.
Some things could only be understood in silence.
It was clear: from today, the game had truly begun.
Jarrod didn’t bother to respond. With one hand in his pocket, he flicked his lighter with the other, a lazy gesture hiding a thousand thoughts. He lifted his lashes and said coolly, “It’s a pity, though. I never said VistaLink Technologies lost out today. The Silverstein Group and VistaLink are still both winners. Eldrion Global’s the one left out in the cold.”
Watts narrowed his eyes.
Jarrod left him with one last remark: “Mr. Aldridge, we have all the time in the world.”
Some things were better left unsaid.
The first stone had been cast.
Watts watched Jarrod’s retreating figure, his face perfectly composed. But in his eyes, thoughts churned over the words “joint winners” and “all the time in the world.”
His thoughts were interrupted by a phone call.
He glanced at the number, then answered.
On the other end, Patricia’s cool, clipped voice came through. “Where are you? Dad’s been looking for me-he’s ordered me back to Verdania as soon as possible.”
“He even assigned me a ‘bodyguard’ lately. Is he really trying to keep tabs on me?”
She couldn’t shake them off, no matter what.
Watts listened silently to Patricia’s complaints, knowing she was in a foul mood.
He said nothing.
He simply hung up.
Turning, he glanced in the direction where Elodie was.
He looked down at the single pearl earring resting in his palm.
He hadn’t had the chance to return it before Jarrod called him out.
He rolled it between his fingers, then, after a moment’s hesitation, slipped it into
his pocket and walked away.
When Jarrod stepped out, Elodie immediately turned to Alexander “Alex, could you talk to the doctor for me? Just tell them you’re my family-I don’t want Jarrod involved.”
She was deep in thought, replaying the tests she’d just undergone.
Was there anything in those results that might reveal her condition?
She knew a basic blood test wouldn’t show everything. The rest, she wasn’t sure about.
Alexander ooked at her, puzzled. “If there’s anything wrong, the doctor will tell you directly. Besides, do you really think Jarrod won’t find out? What’s going on?”
Elodie hesitated, at a loss for words.
For a moment, her mind was a tangled mess.
She could see exactly what Jarrod had been thinking lately.
She didn’t want her illness to become another source of entanglement between them.
“I just—”
Maybe it was the lingering effects of the ether in her system-her head throbbed, her throat and nerves felt raw, and a wave of nausea rolled through her. She doubled over, clutching the trash can, fighting the urge to vomit.