Chapter 597 Designer Moon
"What's all the ruckus?" The bedroom door swung open, and Alex's pissed-off voice cut through the air.
Fiona jumped at the sound of Alex's voice. Then, she noticed something fishy and blurted out, "Alex, you're back? You were in the room just now? You two, alone in a room while Katherine's not home, what the heck are you doing?"
Alex thought it was pointless to explain to Fiona and snapped, "It's late. Go to sleep!"
Fiona muttered under her breath, "No wonder Katherine took off! Alex, this ain't right!"
Not daring to argue with Alex, Fiona shot Sophia a nasty look before stomping off.
Sophia shrugged. "Alex, see how she treats me? That's why I ran to your room."
Alex maintained a calm face. " I'll set you up in a hotel tomorrow, so you don't have to deal with her."
"Fine by me!" Sophia didn't make a fuss, just grinned and headed downstairs to watch TV.
Alex didn't give a damn about Sophia; he was just fed up with Fiona's noise and wanted to shut it down.
Alex went back to his room, and his phone buzzed with a call from Leander. Thinking it might be news about Katherine, he quickly picked up.
Leander said, "Mr. Melville, we've checked all public transportation, and there's still no sign of Mrs. Melville leaving the country. We've got eyes on all major highways, and there's no clue. Mrs. Melville should still be in Janetrick!"
Alex's heart sank again. "Keep looking! As long as she's still in Janetrick!"
"Yes, sir!"
Six months later, the new Melville Group building was finally done, and the interior had been finished for days.
In three days, the Melville Group was moving all departments to the new office, and there was gonna be a big ribbon-cutting ceremony with the construction company and the client, covered by all the major media. But things weren't going smoothly.
In Janetrick's construction scene, there was this unwritten rule that the designer had to show up at the ribbon-cutting when the building's done, or it could jinx the building's future safety.
Even though it was just a superstition, most designers didn't mind showing up for the ribbon-cutting of their buildings. It was a big deal to snap a pic with something they designed.
Over time, it became a thing that if the designer didn't show up, it was like cursing the client.
Especially for big corporate buildings, which were often skyscrapers, safety was a huge deal, and shareholders cared about this stuff. Superstition or not, everyone wanted good luck.
The new Melville Group office was designed and built by the Crescent Group, but the Crescent Group said the designer, Moon, was tied up with personal stuff and couldn't make it to the ribbon-cutting. Instead, their president would show up on behalf of Moon to show they meant business.
The shareholders of the Melville Group were livid and weren't having it with the president standing in for Moon. They thought the Crescent Group's move was basically cursing their new office building.
Alex didn't buy into superstitions, but as the head honcho of the Melville Group, he had to go with what the shareholders wanted.
So, he picked up the phone and called the president of the Crescent Group, Ambrosia, laying down the law: if Moon didn't show up for the ribbon-cutting, they weren't getting their final payment.
Fourteen million bucks was no joke, and it could make or break the Crescent Group. Ambrosia wasn't thrilled. "Mr. Melville, don't you think you're being a bit much? Using the final payment to strong-arm us?"
Alex's voice was ice-cold. "What do you think it looks like if the designer bails on the ribbon-cutting? How do you think the media will spin it? I don't need to spell it out, do I? Ms. Hawthorne, if the Crescent Group wants to keep doing business in Janetrick, you'd better make sure Moon shows up."
Ambrosia adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses. " Didn't expect you to be like those superstitious folks, getting all worked up over this."
Alex shot back, "Whether I care or not isn't the point. What's important is how the Crescent Group treats its clients! If you handle things like this, good luck getting any more projects in the future."
She was left speechless, and Alex didn't give her a chance to respond before hanging up.
It was not like the Crescent Group was trying to curse the Melville Group, but Moon was actually Katherine. For the past six months, Katherine had been dodging Alex, so she couldn't show up at the Melville Group's ribbon-cutting. Frank and Ambrosia even thought about getting someone to pretend to be Moon because there were no public photos of her, so no one knew what she looked like.
Alex met Moon once at the Crescent Group, but Katherine was masked up, so he hadn't seen her real face. Ambrosia was worried Alex, with his sharp mind and business smarts, might chat with the fake and see through the act. That'd be a disaster. She had no idea what to do now.
Meanwhile, Alex left the Melville Group, heading to an important business shindig.
In the car, Alex rubbed the bridge of his nose out of habit, looking worn out, his eyes filled with worry.
Katherine had pretty much vanished over the past six months. No one had seen her, and there were no records of her leaving the country or any spending.
Alex had a strong hunch that Ambrosia and Frank were hiding her. Given their tight bond, even if Katherine didn't want to see him, she wouldn't ditch her friends. So, for the past six months, he'd had people keeping tabs on Ambrosia and Frank, but they hadn't done anything suspicious.
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