Chapter 94 Attendance

(Lena's POV)
I thought I was still dreaming until Rafael broke the silence.
His voice was still weak: "You look awful, Lena."
I subconsciously reached out and stroked my cheek, then, I looked over at Raphael, "You're worse than me."
Raphael gave a soft laugh, and then, he asked, "How many days did I sleep?"
"Two days, this is the third day."
I felt as if I couldn't make a sound at all, but I made myself look determined anyway.
I was worried that my emotions would affect Rafael.
But, I was never able to fool him.
"Lena, it's hard on you, you can cry if you want to."
When I heard Raphael speak to me so gently, my tears became uncontrollable. But I have cried too many times in the past few days, and if I continue to cry, my eyes will probably be completely ruined.
"No, Rafael, I can't cry anymore. How are you feeling, if you don't feel well, no, I should call the doctor first."
Raphael, however, stopped me, "Wait a minute, Lena, if you call the doctor over, I'll probably be wheeled in somewhere else for a thorough examination, so let's talk for a while now, okay?"
I opened my mouth, trying to deny Raphael.
But there was no way I could resist his gaze.
"Ten minutes, after which we must call the doctor over."
Rafael nodded, "Okay."
I told Rafael all about the recent events, including some of his company's situation, but Rafael looked as if he didn't even care.
"Lena, should you at least tell us about yourself? Did those people hurt you?"
My words hit a stop.
Rafael saw my hesitation at once.
I took a deep breath, then said, "I checked out a slight concussion, but it's not a big problem, so you don't have to worry."
Raphael's face suddenly changed for a moment.
I hurriedly said, "It's you who should be most worried right now, Rafael, I have nothing to do with it."
Rafael nodded, "I'll have Landon make the arrangements later, we have to get back quickly."
"In a big hurry?"
"I'm just not comfortable continuing to stay here."
I nodded my head.
Indeed, one should go back earlier.
"If I had just--"
"Lena." Rafael interrupted me.
I looked up at Rafael.
Raphael looked at me with a serious face and said, "No one would have expected this to happen in the first place, it's not your problem, and it's me who should blame myself the most for letting you get hurt."
Raphael was always like this, he always took all the fault on himself, he wanted to protect me, both physically and mentally.
I don't have anything to offer him in return.
But Rafael didn't seem to need my return either.
After the conversation was over, I called the doctor over. After the doctor examined Rafael, he gave us the good news that Rafael seemed to be recovering quite well.
"Great." I put my heart down completely.
"We'll go back tomorrow."
"Go back?" The doctor looked to Rafael.
"It's like this, because we still have some things to take care of, so, we are planning to go back to New York tomorrow."
"No, I can't." The doctor's brow furrowed and he said with a serious face, "Although you are still recovering well, you can't have any exercise right now, or the wound will probably rupture."
Rafael's face became a little hard to
"About how long will it take?" I asked.
The doctor gave me a look, "At least half a month."
This was not a good thing. As much as Rafael wanted to go back, the doctor was very adamant that
I can fully understand the doctor's feelings, but, out of selfishness, I would prefer that Rafael could stay here and receive treatment.
There are no two ways about it.
Rafael did seem a bit distressed, and he never avoided me when he was on the phone with Landon to explain things.
I know that he has a lot of pressing matters to attend to right now.
"Raphael, I know you're in a hurry, but the most important thing is to get your body in order."
Rafael nodded, but I still felt he wasn't listening.
I sighed, able to understand Raphael's feelings.
Justin hadn't come back, probably because Raphael had woken up, but when I saw Emily again, Emily told me that Justin had left.
"He left yesterday, I thought he would tell you, but it's understandable, the matter is a bit urgent."
"What about you? When do you plan to leave?"
"I'm early, Lena, it's okay, Jamie I can always look after you until Rafael gets better and I'll give him to you, and besides, I like Jamie."
Although I was grateful to Emily, I declined her kind offer.
Caring for Jamie is not a laborious task, and having Jamie spend more time with Rafael now will be good for Rafael's recovery.
After another day of delaying Raphael's discharge from the hospital, Raphael, however, said to me, "Lena, I know this is not fair to you, but I'm just relieved that everything is in your hands now."
I don't understand what Rafael means.
However, I probably guessed a little.
Rafael continued, "If you don't want to, you can reject me and I'll think of something else."
"Do you want me to go back and help you run the company?"
Raphael shook his head: "I can hand over the management side of the company directly to Landon, even if it is communicated remotely, but one thing of necessary importance is that I need to attend a meeting."
My brow furrowed.
"If I can't step up to the plate, this opportunity will be taken away from me by William."
"So, you want me to represent you in this?"
Rafael nodded, "Only you can."
My plane arrived in New York early the next morning.
It was Landon who came to pick me up, and I handed Jamie over to Miller.
"Good morning, ma'am."
"Good morning." To this day I still feel a little dreamy, in every way.
Suddenly I was an executive of the Hill Group and had to represent Rafael at an important meeting. Although my previous job was to talk business with people, those were for others, and it was the first time I did it for myself.
I took a deep shuffling breath, then followed Landon's lead.
"Madam, you do not need to be nervous, I have given you all the information about the other side, as long as you have read it, the basic problems can still be dealt with down when the time comes, Mr. Raphael will keep in touch with you in the form of a meeting, you do not need to worry."
I nodded my head.
While I didn't seem all that nervous, in reality, I already felt like I was going to go crazy staring.
This is just crazy!
I have to admit that I can't do that.
However, since I have promised Raphael, I must do it, no matter what the cost.
The conference will be held this Friday, and I only have three short days to learn various things.
It would be a lie to say that you are not nervous.
However, the moment I saw Raphael lying in the hospital bed, I was relieved again.
The only person Raphael can rely on now is me, and I would only really regret it if I hid behind Raphael again.
Time passed very quickly, and the night before the conference started, Raphael was still comforting me.
"Lena, relax, we hold the initiative, although it is a very important meeting. However, both sides want this opportunity to cooperate, so you don't have to worry too much and rest early."
"I understand all the reasoning, Raphael, but, I still feel nervous." I took a deep breath, trying to work on easing my emotions, but it didn't work.
Raphael's voice was gentle, and he didn't rush me: "Lena, if you don't want to do it now, you can just give up and I won't blame you."
I shook my head.
I know that Rafael never blames me. But I won't forgive myself.
I looked to the screen and smiled at Rafael, "I'll be fine."
As a result, I didn't get a good night's sleep that night either.
The day has still come.
I tried to look somewhat refreshed, which was a difficult thing to do because my face looked so bad that I ended up relying on heavy makeup to save me from looking better.
After Landon helped me place all the equipment, he then left.
I had my Bluetooth headset on and Rafael was on the computer screen, and soon those guests arrived.
That's good, Lena, don't be nervous.
I took a deep breath, then stood up and shook hands with them one by one.
When I thought the meeting was about to start, the other party suddenly said, "Can you wait a moment?"
I certainly don't mind, but the voice of Raphael came out from inside the Bluetooth headset, "Strange, they are already here, why do they have to wait for being?"
I didn't dare to speak at all, otherwise, the others would surely have noticed Raphael's presence.
So, I had to type on the keyboard: That's all Landon told me to.
Rafael frowned.
It was puzzling, but it wasn't a difficult thing to wait for the other side.
Rafael didn't say anything else either.
My mind began to recall the basic identities of these people, hoping that everything would go smoothly next.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the door to the room was pushed open again and Mr. York in front of me stood up, he held out his hand to the door and said, "I've kept you all waiting, this is my son, Justin."
I turned my head toward the door and saw Justin standing there motionless with a surprised look on his face.