Chapter 695
Worried about Theodore, Penelope asked Marico’s mom to watch the children and went after him.
She was surprised but quickly nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of them. You have to catch up to Theo. Don’t let him do anything foolish.”
“I know.”
Penelope glanced at Mr. Stapleton Sr., saw that he had regained his composure, and then hurried after Theodore. She reached the parking garage just in time to see him about to drive away. She quickly pulled open the car door and slid inside.
“Get out!” Theodore commanded.
Penelope wedged herself into the back seat. “Not unless you want to fight me and throw me out.”
Theodore glared at her in the rearview mirror, his eyes cold and fierce, but Penelope just turned her head, refusing to look, listen, or leave. She was staying with him, period.
Theodore’s eyes narrowed, and then he slammed on the accelerator, peeling out of the garage. He was driving incredibly fast, and Penelope was genuinely scared, especially as they approached the busy downtown area filled with cars and pedestrians. He showed no sign of slowing down.
“You could go faster, you know. Just aim for that pillar up ahead. If you hit it hard enough, we could die on impact. Then Hubert and Julian would lose both their parents at once and become orphans.”
With a screech of tires, the car came to a sudden halt at a red light. Penelope’s body lurched forward, but she braced herself against the front seat just in time. “Theo…”
“I kind of want to see what Marico’s life is like.”
“Marico’s life?”
Getting into fights, chasing women, mouthing off to his parents, and never doing a single productive thing?
“And let him experience my life for a change.”
Shouldering the weight of the entire Zenith Group, so busy he barely had time to breathe, let alone eat, drink, or have fun, with even his sleep being scheduled?
“Tonight, I don’t want to go home.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t have to stick to a routine, review today’s work before bed, wake up for a morning
fup and put on, or clean
the same old
suit to go to the office.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Do I have to have a plan before I do something?”
“What do you mean?”
Theodore didn’t answer. He just started driving again, this time much more steadily, navigating through the city. He truly had no destination, driving wherever the road took him. Gradually the skyscrapers disappeared, and the streets grew quiet…
Just as Penelope thought he would keep driving until they reached the middle of nowhere or ran out of gas, he suddenly pulled over in front of a roadside barbecue stand.
Without asking her, he got out, found a table, and called the owner over to order. Penelope checked the time. It was almost midnight. Yawning, she got out and walked over to the table. After sitting down, she ordered a beer from the owner.
The beer arrived first. Just as Penelope opened it and was about to take a sip, Theodore snatched it from her and took a long drink.
He grimaced, probably unaccustomed to the taste of beer.
“You have to drive later, you can’t drink,” Penelope said with a frown.
Theodore glanced around. “There should be a hotel nearby.”
“You’re going to stay here?”
“Why not? It’s not like I have to go to work tomorrow.”
Penelope’s lip twitched. He really was letting himself go completely. But maybe it was a good thing. He’d been groomed as the heir to Zenith Group his whole life always wound tight Being that tense for sodong was bound to cause problems. Letting off some steam might do him good.
“I’ll drink with you,” she said, taking the bottle back and taking a swig.