Chapter 1525 Angry
Derek clamped his lips shut, staying quiet like he acquiesced to her words.
Laura forced a smile. "Congrats. Guess I should start thinking about your wedding gift."
"Do you really want me to get married?" Derek grabbed her arm and locked eyes with her.
Laura pulled her hand away, looked down, and started walking. "It's your call. But Magnolia asked me to talk to you. She thinks getting married will clear up all the bad press. Carl's pushing for it too. If you keep dragging your feet and don't find a girlfriend, Carl will think you're still hung up on that guy, and that's not good for your career."
"You gotta understand, Carl might not get re-elected as President, so he can only help you for a few more years. If you don't take this chance, moving up in your career will be tough. That's what Magnolia told me yesterday," Laura said.
"Do I seem like someone who needs his parents to boost his career?" Derek's voice turned icy, and his usually kind face showed clear irritation. "Do you really think I'm that useless?"
Laura was taken aback.
The bright winter morning suddenly felt gloomy.
"That's not what I meant. I know you're capable. I just think sometimes we can take shortcuts. With our parents' help, we can avoid a lot of hassle."
Laura shrugged, feeling a bit defeated. "Maybe I shouldn't meddle. Since Magnolia asked me to talk to you, forget it. I won't get involved anymore."
She turned and walked away, feeling a bit hurt.
She was just trying to help, why did he have to be so cold?
Magnolia asked Laura to talk to him, but Derek hated being pushed by Laura. Sometimes Laura felt really stuck in the middle.
Derek watched her storm off, wanting to say more, but the restaurant was right there. He pressed his lips together and stayed quiet.
During breakfast, Laura kept to herself, while Carl and Magnolia occasionally asked Derek about his date yesterday.
Laura barely ate and decided to cut breakfast short and head to the office.
Once at the office, she called Elliott. "Elliott, when will our villa be ready?"
"I've been pushing the workers every day," Elliott said. "But it's a big place, it can't be done overnight. And after the renovation, Maeve will move in too, which will take a few months. The earliest would be May next year."
That meant Laura had to stay at the Presidential Palace for another five months.
Laura felt frustrated.
"What's wrong?" Elliott asked. "Is it uncomfortable living at the Presidential Palace, or are the Jude family members treating you badly?"
"No, they're all nice to me and Maeve," Laura mumbled. "It's just that living at the Presidential Palace isn't very convenient. When you guys visit, you have to go through strict security. And Derek's getting married next year. When his wife moves in, it'll be even more awkward."
Elliott thought for a moment. "Laura, you can move in with me. But have you thought about how they might overthink your sudden move since they haven't treated you badly? Besides, I'm often on business trips, and if Michael comes to take Maeve, I can't always protect her. And Mom and Dad are busy with company stuff in Silverwood and can't come over right now."
Laura stayed quiet. She had to consider that, which was why she kept living at the Presidential Palace after the divorce.
"The Presidential Palace is big and safe. Maeve can stay there without any worries," Elliott continued. "We'll all be together with Maeve eventually, so there's no rush. And about Derek's wedding, he won't get married right after Christmas. It'll take months to plan. By the time his bride moves in, you should be able to move into our villa."
"Alright," Laura sighed. She couldn't argue with that.
She knew staying at the Presidential Palace was a good idea, but Derek's attitude that morning really bugged her.
She felt so upset that she didn't want to live with Derek anymore.
And she definitely didn't want to stick around and watch Derek get all lovey-dovey with his wife after they got married.
"Don't overthink it," Elliott said. "Derek's family is actually pretty nice. After I got the land approved, I faced a lot of jealousy and obstacles. Derek helped me out a few times quietly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to move the headquarters here smoothly. I only found out about this recently. Let's invite Derek to dinner tonight."
Laura was shocked. She had no idea Derek had been helping her brother so much.
"Elliott, why didn't you tell me before?" Laura asked.
"You wouldn't have understood back then. I didn't want you to ask the Jude family for help. The more they help, the more we owe them. But Derek still found out about the company's issues. Maybe he's been keeping an eye on the Miller Group. He's pretty thoughtful."
Elliott rarely thanked anyone. Since he said this, Laura knew Derek must have helped a lot. "Then we should thank Derek. But he's been busy dating lately. I don't know if he'll be free tonight."
"Just ask. Even if he's busy, we should still show our gratitude," Elliott said.
"Okay."
After hanging up, Laura opened Derek's Facebook. Their last conversation was still stuck on Derek's reply from last night.
She didn't want to start a conversation with Derek. If he talked to her like he did that morning, she'd lose her cool.
And what really mattered was his attitude that morning. He didn't even apologize later.
It made Laura really mad.
Since Derek had helped the Miller family, she had no choice but to message him on Facebook, saying it was Elliott who wanted to invite him to dinner.
While Laura was figuring out what to say, a message from Derek popped up: [Still mad?]
So he knew she was angry.
Laura deleted the message she had just typed. Derek sent another one: [I noticed you didn't eat much this morning. I ordered some snacks for you. They should arrive soon. Check them out.]
So he knew she didn't eat much for breakfast.
Laura's anger eased a bit.
Laura: [Don't think that just because you ordered me some food, I won't be mad. I'm not someone who can be bought off with a little food.]
Derek: [I know, so I ordered a lot of snacks.]
Laura: [What?]
Just then, an employee walked in with several bags. "Laura, your boyfriend sent you a lot of food again."
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