Chapter 527 Dinner Invitation
Olivia quickly shut off her phone, her face covered in guilt.
Her cheeks burned as she shook her head. "No, no! Let's order another bottle of red wine."
Winnie looked at her with a teasing expression and declined, "My stomach's not feeling great. No more wine for me. Let's check out the nighttime view after dinner and head back."
Melanie also felt she had had enough to drink. "Let's just focus on the food."
It was past nine-thirty.
When Jeremy returned with a takeout dinner, Lawrence was working late in his office. "Your ex-wife just finished her fancy dinner and went home. She didn't drink. Come on, eat your food."
Lawrence looked up coldly. "What kind of dinner did they have?"
"French cuisine."
Lawrence leisurely rolled up his sleeves, eating his takeout with grace and distinction, pondering, "She needs to eat something warm tomorrow. Have the chef prepare something in advance."
"You don't need to pamper her like she's a pig," Jeremy couldn’t help but jest, noticing the concern.
Lawrence's expression turned pensive. "Winnie's unhappy. I can only ensure she eats well. Otherwise, the baby might suffer."
Jeremy fell silent.
Winnie obviously couldn't be happy if Oscar wasn't found, if Carlos remained unconscious, and if the situation with Ishara and her daughter wasn’t resolved.
Jeremy tried to offer some advice. "Once Madam Rodriguez's transplant is done, and you get that spinal cord from Ishara, things will start looking up."
He remembered something and asked, "Mr. Lawrence, has Ishara contacted you these past few days?"
"She did. I hung up on her," Lawrence stated after finishing his meal, standing tall by the large floor-to-ceiling window, lighting a cigarette.
Jeremy was taken aback. "You're so cold to her. She must be getting desperate, right?"
Lawrence squinted. "Let's see what her next move is. And that Dr. Leo you're watching, any updates?"
Jeremy shook his head. "He's strictly between the hospital and home. There's nowhere for me to intervene. I even pulled his patient records. He's an internist, but weirdly, he's prescribed asthma medication a few times for children. That's odd because he's not a pediatrician. I'm checking if a child has asthma in his home."
"Asthma medication?" That hit a nerve for Lawrence.
He vividly remembered the night Oscar was abducted. Winnie crying out to him, screaming that Oscar had asthma.
She begged him to save their child.
Now, Leo was treating Ishara, and he filled out a prescription for pediatric asthma medication.
Oscar must be in Ishara's hands. It couldn't be that coincidental.
Lawrence's chilly gaze sharpened. "Lock that guy up. Can you track where the asthma medicine he prescribed ended up?"
"The hospital records only the prescriptions. Do you think the medication was for Oscar?!" Jeremy's eyes flickered. "You suspect Leo is in cahoots with Ishara?"
"So far, Ishara hasn't shown any slip-ups. She must have an intermediary to control Oscar," Lawrence said coldly as he seated himself on the sofa.
He took out his phone, staring at several missed calls from Ishara. For the first time, he called back.
-
Days flew by, and Ishara couldn't get in touch with Lawrence. She knew he worked at the Rodriguez Group, but she didn't dare to face another rejection and his cold demeanor by going there again.
Angela had mentioned that her last embarrassment had spread through the debutante circles. Her engagement was turning into a joke.
This was Lawrence's blatant revenge.
She had diligently worked at the Blanchet Group recently, seemingly in glory as the new director. The shareholders showed her added affection due to Patrick's intervention.
However, it was all superficial. No fewer than ten shareholders had already inquired why Lawrence wasn't picking her up from work. They pried into whether her relationship with Lawrence was on the rocks.
The constant probing and behind-the-scenes mockery were unbearable. Once they knew Lawrence didn't love her, these cunning folks would not take her seriously as a director.
She had Angela speak with Kathy, who had made arrangements, but still, Lawrence wouldn't pick up her calls.
Therefore, Ishara was startled when Lawrence called her out of the blue.
Surprised, she immediately answered, her soft and fragile voice tinged with grievance, "Lawrence, why have you been so busy lately? I've tried calling a few times, but you ignored them. I just wanted to tell you that aside from an abnormal heart rate, my recent check-up was fine. A month from now, my spinal cord should pose no issues before Madam Rodriguez's surgery."
"Is that all you want to say?" Lawrence's tone was cold, seemingly ready to end the call.
"Wait!" Ishara interjected.
The man's frosty eyes narrowed, indulging her in this act. "Anything else?"
“Lawrence, although we've announced our engagement, we haven't had a celebration. My grandfather is old-fashioned, and now that my dad has settled into the hospital, he feels we should have dinner at the Blanchet residence, regardless.
“Grandpa insists that both of us be there. I told him you'd likely decline because you’re busy.
But he's pretty stubborn. He asked for your number and might call you soon."
She was prompting Angela to persuade Grandpa.
Grandpa Blanchet cared a lot about appearances, and as the patriarch of the Blanchet family. He had heard the recent rumors that Lawrence was neglecting her.
He wouldn’t stand by without defending her.
After hearing this, Lawrence didn't comment. "We'll see how the call with your grandfather goes."
His tone was not as icy and sharp as the day he confronted the Rodriguez family.
Ishara felt relief, and her voice sweetened. "Lawrence, I know you've always been devoted to Kathy. Given my grandfather's poor health, you'll come for dinner, won't you?"
He didn't respond and hung up.
Ishara clenched her teeth in frustration.
The utterly indifferent Lawrence was hard-hearted and unpredictable, hard to fathom and handle.
But success or failure hinged on tonight. She had to seize the opportunity.
As evening approached and work ended, Ishara received the call she had hoped for. "Your grandfather mentioned the dinner is at seven. I can pretend we're the loving couple you want everyone to see, but I have one condition."
Ishara's smile froze. "What's your condition, Lawrence?"
"I've been feeling under the weather and heard you've brought in a new doctor, Dr. Leo, right? I want to consult with him. My respiratory system is troubling me. I'll be there if you could bring him to the Blanchet residence."
Ishara tensed up, her eyes narrowing.
She began to wonder why he suddenly wanted to see Leo and if it was just for medical reasons.
She had vetted Leo's background and had explicitly told him not to meet with Oscar and to keep a low profile.
Lawrence couldn’t possibly find anything unusual about Leo.
"Is there a problem? I just want him to take a look at me." The cold, playful tone on the other end of the phone challenged.
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