Chapter 10 Chapter Ten
1119 Words
Meanwhile.
Richard left the hospital grinning ear to ear after getting the money.
But the smile barely lasted—he had just stepped outside when someone threw a sack over his head.
Before he could react, he was shoved into a car.
No clue how long the ride was.
Eventually, the car stopped.
A few guys dragged him out still wrapped up, and just started beating the hell out of him.
Simon stayed put in the car, a cigarette dangling between his fingers, watching the whole scene with a face as blank as a wall.
He didn't move until Richard stopped struggling.
Then he stepped out.
One of the men opened the sack and pulled out Richard's hands.
Simon went straight up and stomped hard on them.
A brutal scream tore through the quiet night.
—
Next morning, the executive assistant knocked on Amelia's door.
She stood at the doorway smiling. "Hi, Miss Clarke, Mr. Johnson asked me to take you for a check-up."
"Alright, thanks for coming."
At the hospital, seeing Olivia waiting by the blood draw station helped Amelia relax a bit.
After they took her blood, the assistant brought her to grab something to eat."
Mr. Johnson said you can take the day off today."
"Alright," Amelia didn't hesitate—she had other things to deal with anyway.
After parting with the executive assistant, she headed straight to her meeting spot with James.
"Want something to drink?" James asked as soon as she sat down.
"Just plain water's fine."
James went ahead and ordered her a glass of water.
She took a sip, then got straight to the point.
"You mentioned you needed a favor—what's it about?" She gave him a quick smile. "I didn't ask back then, but later I figured... you're not asking me to help you pick jewelry or something, right?"
James chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, it's serious this time."
As he spoke, he pulled out a folder and slid it over to her.
"Think you can help me translate this?"
Amelia paused for a second, then took the folder and opened it.
It was full of legal clauses—written in Italian.
"What's this..."
James didn't beat around the bush. "We've taken on a big cross-border business dispute case. The documents are all in Italian and we've been stressing about finding a real pro to translate. And then you just happened to call me."
Amelia stayed quiet for a moment before asking, "How did you know I speak Italian?"
James smiled, "I saw one of your speeches before."
Back in the day, Amelia had been something of a celebrity at Ashbourne University.
She was fluent in ten languages, did on-the-spot interpretation for political leaders while still in school, and got into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during grad school.
What shocked everyone was that she eventually gave that all up to join Simon's company.
Even Amelia looked a bit surprised. "You actually watched my speech?"
James nodded. "Amelia, you were unforgettable."
Amelia gave a soft chuckle, looking a bit nostalgic. "That was ages ago. No point dwelling on old glories."
With that, she picked up the legal docs and started going through them.
James saw she was focused and didn't interrupt.
It didn't take long for Amelia to finish the translation.
James' eyes lit up right away.
"Knew it. You totally nailed it. This might be pushing it, but... any chance you'd be willing to interpret for us during the hearing? It's in Italian, and we really don't have anyone else who can handle that."
Amelia paused for a moment. "I'll have to see how my schedule looks."
"No worries. Once we have the court date locked in, I'll let you know. If you've got time, we'd love to have you on board. If not, we'll figure something else out."
"Alright."
They chatted for a bit longer. Then James suddenly asked, "You don't look too well... Is it because of your stepfather?"
Amelia gave a faint smile. "Kind of."
She didn't really want to get into personal stuff with James.
She had no intention of talking about Simon either.
Even though James had helped her a lot, he wasn't like Olivia.
So Amelia quickly shifted the topic.
The two of them kept talking until close to noon.
James glanced at his watch.
"Come on, let's grab lunch."
He'd booked a table at a nearby restaurant.
As soon as they stepped inside, Amelia stopped in her tracks.
She hadn't expected to run into Simon here—especially since he rarely came to this part of town.
But today, of all days, here he was.
And sitting across from him was that same manager from yesterday—Fiona.
Guess she was his new flame now.
Simon never gave women he wasn't into a second glance. If he didn't care, you didn't even get close.
And this was already Fiona's third time showing up.
Amelia paused at the entrance, hesitating. James raised an eyebrow.
"What's up?"
Snapping back to the moment, Amelia said, "Maybe we should go somewhere else?"
Before James could reply, someone called out—
"Miss Clarke? You're eating here too?"
It was Fiona, sounding like she couldn't wait to show off.
Amelia's lips tightened a bit, the color draining from her face.
She turned and met Simon's eyes directly.
His gaze was unreadable, calm to the point of being cold.
Forcing herself to stay composed, she nodded. "Mr. Johnson."
He gave her a half-hearted nod, expression still detached.
Then his attention drifted to James.
James was already checking Simon out.
Everyone in Velmira had heard of him—Simon, born into power, the golden boy.
Rumor was, at nineteen, he'd kicked his own father out of the family business and taken over the Johnson empire himself.
He stayed with the Johnsons for a few years but got bored eventually, so he ditched the family business and started his own company.
Now, four years later, Simon's company is absolutely killing it—he's become a total powerhouse in Velmira.
No longer the young heir—he's the real deal now.
Completely out of reach.
James had thought about connecting with Simon before, but never found the right moment.
He knew Amelia worked under him.
Still, James didn't want to take advantage of her for that.
Didn't expect to bump into Simon like this today, though.
"Mr. Johnson."
James met Simon's eyes and greeted him politely.
"I'm James, partner at Campbell & Roth Law. I'm a friend of Amelia's. Nice to meet you."
Simon gave a slight nod, face unreadable, and glanced at Amelia.
"Friend?"
He repeated the word with a hint of amusement. "You two seem pretty close, huh?"
- Writer
