Men''s minds work differently from women''s. Hull suspected Susanna of being rted to ck Gate. If he told Ronald his thoughts, Ronald might join him too. Without Ronald''s help, saving Susanna from Hull''s clutches would be like chasing a rainbow.
Seeing Ronald lost in thought, Ste sidled up to him and tugged at his sleeve with puppy-dog eyes. "Hey, Ron..."
She looked so determined yet adorably soft.
Barnaby sighed, rubbing his forehead. Oh boy, Boss''s gonna lose his girl this time.
Ronald gave Ste''s head a gentle ruffle. "I''ll go have a word with Hull."
Ste nodded sweetly. "Okay," she chirped, but added, "I''m taking Susie with me no matter what."
Barnaby shook his head in disbelief. What kind of bond did they share, to stick together through thick and thin?
Ronald headed off, with Barnaby trailing behind, leaving Ste and Susanna alone.
Susanna clung to Ste''s arm, her wide eyes full of fear, as if Ste might vanish if she let go.
Ste looked right into Susanna''s bright eyes. "Don''t worry. I''m not leaving you behind."
"Okay." Susanna nodded emphatically.
Just then, her phone rang.
"I need to take this," she said, stepping aside.
"Sure," Ste replied.
Whoever was on the other end must have had some juicy news because Susanna suddenly gasped, "Are you serious? Kicked out for real? And Jaxon did it? And Cloudia agreed? I thought she protected Urs so fiercely as if she was her own. Now she''s just letting her go?"
The questions came fast and furious, with Susanna''s voice rising in disbelief with each one.
Ste instinctively nced over at her friend, thinking to herself, Susanna''s such a gossip hound, isn''t she? Even during all this drama, she couldn''t resist a good story.
Seeing Susanna''s engrossed face, the fear she had earlier seemed to have vanishedpletely. There was something about gossip that was like a balm for her soul.
Susanna caught Ste''s eye and eximed, "Thane wants his illegitimate son to join Quarry Group? Then what happens to Yorick?"
Ste''s jaw dropped. First, it was the Larkin family drama. Then, it was the Quarry family. Susanna never missed a beat.
Susanna continued, "Yeah, but isn''t Quarry Group a sinking ship now? Why fight over it?"
"What? They''re at each other''s throats? That''s brutal!"
Ste''s eyes widened.
With each passing second, Susanna''s excitement grew, and the fear she had felt earlier waspletely forgotten.
Is this what they call distraction therapy? If so, it sure seemed effective...
"Imogen''s in the hospital again? And Frost isn''t doing anything? Yorick''s as good as done for."
Ste could only shake her head. Imogen''s hospitalization meant Thane was serious about putting Hogan in charge of Quarry Group.
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Images of Hogan in the boxing ring on the cruise ship shed through Ste''s mind. His sharp and dangerous eyes were like a hawk Surveying the desert.
Compared to Hogan, Yorick was definitely a greenhouse flower. If Thane really intended to bring Hogan into Quarry Corp, Yorick''s future looked bleak.
To be fair, Yorick was a genius at managing thepany in some ways. Under
his leadership, Quarry Corp had seen some growth.
But s! Even if Quarry Corp was a shadow of its former self, it still represented a
lot of Yorick''s hard work, now about to be taken away.
Though he kind of deserved it. His self-serving antics over the past couple of
years had hurt not just her, Ste, but also his peers.
Lost in thought, Ste was jolted back to reality as Susanna hung up and rejoined her. "Star, karma''s a real kicker, isn''t it?"
Ste couldn''t help but smirk. Seeing her so excited over gossip now, she wondered if she''d been worrying too much about her friend during her time i Portis City. But hearing her cry over the phone made it_ impossible not to worry!
Susanna whispered, "Urs got kicked out of the Larkin family for good. Someone saw her sitting on a bench under a bridgest night. seem Jaxon took everything back, and now she has nowhere to go."
Thinking of Urs on the streets, Susanna felt a rush of satisfaction.
Ste''s lips curled into a grin.
Wasn''t this a fate worse than going to jail?