Chapter 481 Call
The phone connected with a few beeps.
The bodyguard sat in the driver's seat, staring straight ahead, but his attention was entirely on Diana.
Evelyn, on the other hand, was fixated on Diana's face, their presence adding invisible pressure on her.
Finally, hearing Charles' familiar voice, Diana took a deep breath and quickly said,
"I'll step out to make the call. You guys wait in the car."
Without waiting for the bodyguard to react, she stepped out and walked about six feet away from the car.
"Hello? Charles, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
On the other end, Charles hadn't sensed anything unusual. He smiled and patiently asked.
Diana bit her lip, feeling conflicted.
After a moment, she looked down and replied,
"I have something to tell you, but don't get mad."
Upon hearing this, Charles' expression changed. He instinctively gripped the corner of a document, not responding.
Diana rarely called him, so he was quite happy when he received the call. But her words, "don't get mad," carried a lot of weight.
If it could make him unhappy, it certainly wasn't good news.
As he was speculating, Diana, not hearing his response, urged again,
"Charles?"
He finally snapped out of it and replied calmly,
"Go ahead."
Sensing his mood was relatively stable, Diana relaxed a bit and explained,
"Here's the thing, I came to pay my respects to my mother today and ran into someone."
Who?
Charles silently questioned in his mind, but before he could ask, she continued,
"I ran into my former maid, Evelyn Thomas. Her current employer is also my old friend, Isolde Porter. Do you remember? The one whose child was kidnapped by their father..."
Diana frowned, trying to jog Charles' memory, unaware that he had an excellent memory and recalled the person as soon as she mentioned them.
Hearing it wasn't someone like "Billy," Charles' tension eased significantly, and he listened to Diana's explanation without a word.
He felt a bit sweet inside. Diana, who used to be so independent, was willing to call him and explain today, showing she cared about him. He smiled as he listened to her continue.
Meanwhile, Diana's expression worsened as she spoke without getting a response.
It shouldn't be like this. She was being so sincere; was Charles still going to be mad?
Damn stubborn man, making a fuss over such a small matter.
"So, I can't join you for lunch today. I want to have lunch with them. Just the three of us. Plus the bodyguard."
She voiced her request without much hope, feeling like she was awaiting a judge's verdict, her heart in her throat.
"Okay."
Charles's cool voice came through.
Diana thought she had misheard and repeated,
"What? I didn't hear..."
"I said okay, go ahead."
Charles was in a good mood and naturally patient.
On the other end, Diana's tone noticeably became excited, her smile uncontrollable as she waved towards the car.
Evelyn, seeing Diana's beaming face, breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew what kind of person Charles was, so hearing they were still together was terrifying.
But seeing Diana so at ease now, much better than five years ago, it seemed their relationship had subtly changed in ways she didn't know.
"But." Charles changed his tone. He could accept Diana suddenly changing plans, but it wasn't unconditional.
Diana found this normal. Being too kind didn't fit Charles' character.
She calmly asked, "What is it? Tell me."
"Since you won't be joining me for lunch, I'll be spending a lonely lunch break at the office, so I need a reward."
Hearing this, Diana's smile froze, and she rolled her eyes dramatically.
Are you a dog? She had only heard of dogs getting rewards for waiting for their owners. What was a grown man doing acting all weak and innocent?
She complained internally but still replied, "As long as it's within reason, I can accept."
"Good, enjoy your time with your friends and come back soon."
Charles, satisfied with her answer, even had the mood to wish her well.
Diana took a deep breath and said her final words, "Got it. Please inform your bodyguard to take me there. This big guy only listens to you."
Charles hadn't even responded when the call ended.
But his smile didn't fade. Instead, he covered his face with one hand, chuckling.
The next moment, someone pushed open the office door. He spread his arms wide, his voice enthusiastic, "Surprise!"
Eugene walked in, wearing a flashy jacket, without knocking.
After mimicking Michael Jackson's classic moonwalk at the door, he walked towards the desk with a big smile, "How's that? Surprised?"
Charles put away his smile, his eyes full of disdain, "Not knocking before entering? When did you become so rude?"
Eugene chuckled, clearly not taking his words seriously. He sat on the couch casually and waved, "Don't sweat the small stuff between us. I came to see you today, isn't that touching? Mr. Percy, working alone in this office, must be lonely, right?"
He exaggeratedly hugged himself as he spoke.
Charles sneered, picked up the phone, and said, "Nolan, assign Eugene to the project assisting the migration of wildebeests. He seems very free..."
Before Charles could finish, Eugene's face changed, and he quickly pressed the phone, smiling, "Mr. Percy, I was just joking. Look at you, getting upset. Smile more, and women will find you more approachable."
"Keep talking, and I'll kick you out right now."
"Alright, here's the thing."
Seeing Charles' patience wearing thin, Eugene didn't dare to joke anymore. He straightened up and continued, "I accidentally discovered the whereabouts of the thief who stole your three billion dollars."
"Oh?" Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Charles withdrew his hand, raised an eyebrow, and signaled him to continue.
"Yesterday, my company's cybersecurity department was attacked by hackers. Coincidentally, a partner was visiting. Guess what?"
Charles showed no reaction to his theatrics, just quietly watching him.
Seeing the lack of response, Eugene lost his storytelling enthusiasm and pursed his lips, "The situation was critical, and my team couldn't handle it. An intern saved the entire department. The data was preserved, and the hacker was deterred."
"So?" Charles responded indifferently, a bit impatient.
What did this have to do with the person who stole three billion dollars? Was the intern the thief?
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