Chapter 273 The Heart to Resign
Although Darwin's awakening wasn't publicized, the steady flow of executives to his hospital suggested the news had leaked. The whispers were enough to spark a buzz on social media with the hashtag 'DarwinAwakens' trending for hours.
After catching up on sleep in the afternoon, Darwin was ready to face the evening's visitors.
Before letting them in, Fiona warned in her no-nonsense manner, "The moment you feel off, you stop. If you trick me this time, those executives won't see the inside of this room again—I'll stake my name on it!"
He nodded with a contented, henpecked grin, making it impossible for Fiona to stay annoyed. She gave up lecturing and marched off to give the execs a piece of her mind, but Darwin caught her wrist, halting her.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling ill?" Fiona's concern was etched on her features.
"Darling, give me a kiss," Darwin requested softly while gazing up at her.
She couldn't recall when the hardened edges around him had softened and when he'd become so gentle and vulnerable in her presence. Suppressing a smile, she leaned closer.
Instead of pushing her away, he wrapped her in an embrace. Fiona didn't resist. She cupped his face, planting a tender kiss on his lips.
"Darwin, I'm serious. Don't make me worry," she whispered after.
He was always a workaholic. He had jumped back into the grind shortly after emerging from a vegetative state.
"Just for today," Darwin soothed, caressing her back. She'd visibly lost weight from worry, stirring a pit of regret for letting work take over and causing her such stress.
"Mhm," she murmured and kissed him once more.
After opening the door to the room, Fiona was met with familiar faces. The web had been abuzz with these people; they had all seen the new boss' wife online.
But at that moment, as the door swung open, despite knowing who to expect, the surprise was palpable among the crowd.
Henry, once an assistant at Darwin, was particularly taken aback.
He stared at Fiona, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"Miss Rhoads!"
As everyone caught their bearings, greetings flew from every direction.
Fiona nodded slightly; her demeanor polite yet distant. "Thanks for coming everyone. Mr. Solomon has just woken up and he's not in the best shape. I would appreciate it if you could get straight to the point and keep it brief."
"Sure thing! Of course!"
They all chimed in.
These folks were leaders in their fields.
They shouldn't be acting so skittish around the boss's wife.
But then again...
Who could blame them when the new boss’s wife was such a big deal?
Being the heiress of the Rhoads family was intimidating enough, to say nothing of being the head of Monsoon Investment, a Wall Street luminary with a reputation and prowess remembered and revered by many.
"Appreciate it."
Fiona stepped aside.
Darwin wanted her to stay in the hospital room and join the meeting, but Fiona knew better.
After setting a time, she headed to the lounge.
Making good use of her time, she initiated an online meeting with her team.
Laura reported succinctly on the day's meeting with RH Company and the insights gathered from their encounter.
"They seem fairly cooperative," Laura concluded.
"The big sales event coming up is the annual Black Friday sales event. Take a look at their original promotion plans and see if there's anything that needs tweaking," Fiona directed.
"Got it!"
Since the day’s work proceeded smoothly, there wasn’t much else to discuss.
The meeting wrapped up quickly.
Laura was the last to sign off.
It was the longest and most worrisome separation from Fiona she had experienced.
"Chelsea, feeling any better?"
Laura asked just before Fiona was about to disconnect.
"Much better; don't worry," Fiona replied soothingly, "while I'm gone, I'll need you to look after things."
"Don't worry, I've got it covered!" Laura responded eagerly.
Fiona smiled gently, "Just think, your end-of-year bonus will reflect it too."
With a click, the video call ended.
Fiona stretched her shoulders and yawned broadly.
Checking the time.
Exactly half an hour had passed.
She leisurely made her way out, sending in the fruit she had arranged for earlier.
Henry glanced at the clock.
He suddenly realized why Miss Rhoads had chosen this moment to have fruit brought in.
"Let's take a break and have some fruit," Henry suggested. Seated close to Darwin, he asked quietly, "Mr. Solomon, you holding up alright?"
At Darwin's desk, there sat a tray of fruit unlike any of theirs.
His wife had prepared it just for him.
"Nice," he muttered, skewering a piece of the fruit and popping it into his mouth—it was sweet to the core.
Henry watched this and felt a surge of inexplicable sorrow.
Miss Rhoads and Executive Assistant Woods shared striking similarities; maybe Mr. Solomon found her because of Executive Assistant Woods, but... Mr. Solomon was always so stoic or irritable around Executive Assistant Woods.
Never like he was now.
If Executive Assistant Woods could see this...
Henry's mind raced with denial.
She was such a good person; she must have reincarnated into a better family by now. She was probably scampering around gaily by now.
The meeting lasted two hours.
Darwin covered everything that needed to be addressed.
As the executives left, they each reminded Darwin to take it easy and to come back to the company when he was ready.
In the end, it was the boss's wife who escorted them to the elevator.
"Thanks for the hard work," Fiona's voice softened much more than before.
The group made polite small talk.
When the elevator arrived, Henry hesitated for a moment.
He took one last look at Fiona.
His heart ached even more.
If Executive Assistant Woods were alive, she would surely outshine Miss Rhoads.
The elevator doors shut.
Henry rubbed his eyes.
Miss Rhoads was exceptionally capable, and Mr. Solomon already intended to involve her in the executive meetings—it was a matter of time before she was fast-tracked into Solomon's inner circle.
Henry had been with Solomon for over a decade.
He had never before considered leaving, but now the thought crossed his mind.
He couldn't help it.
Miss Rhoads was not like Lilian.
He knew Lilian's feelings for Mr. Solomon were unrequited, but just now, he clearly felt Mr. Solomon's deep affection for Miss Rhoads.
He couldn't bear the thought of working with Miss Rhoads because his memories of Executive Assistant Woods would never leave him.
Thus...
It was he who had to leave.
Here was Henry, lost in his grief, contemplating a faraway escape after his resignation.
Little did he know, his dearly missed Executive Assistant Woods was already lining up tasks for him.
"These contracts are well within Henry’s wheelhouse," Fiona asserted as she rapidly sorted through the piles for Darwin to review.
In less than half an hour.
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