Chapter 801 His Business Trip Was a Lie Deirdre returned to the living room from the garden and changed the subject, âIâm hungry, Mrs. Engel.â
âIn a minute, sweetie. Your porridge will be ready soon!â
The night, surprisingly, turned out to be a restless one. Then, the next early morning, Deirdre found herself woken up by a shrill commotion with Mrs. Engelâs best attempt at consolation thrown in. She rose, put on a coat, and pushed open her door. The racket became clearer and sharper. It crashed into her ears.
âFor the last time, where the h*ll is Brendan Brighthall!? Tell him to get down here right now! I am not leaving until everythingâs even!
âHow could he do this to me? I sacrificed my entire youth, my better years, to the Brighthall Group! I let them drive me like I was a slave! And heâs repaying all that devotion by sending me away to some foreign country and forcing my childrenâs schools to expel my kids!?
âWhat the f*ck is this!? If heâs not going to give me godd*mn explanation, Iâm taking this to his old residence!â The manâs eyes were practically spitting fire. His voice was also too loud to ignore.
Deirdre descended the stairs and asked, âWhatâs wrong, Mrs. Engel?â
The older woman quickly approached her.
âThis angry man suddenly barged in and demanded to see Mr. Brighthall. I told him the master of the house isnât at home, but he wouldnât listenâ¦â
Deirdre raised her head. She could only make out a vague, blurry outline of a personâs face, but she could tell from the content of his rant that this had something to do with work.
âSir, Mr. Brighthallâs not at home. If you have anything meant for him, please wait for him to come back before talking about it. Compared to him, weâre not in the position to help.â
Mr. Jensen stared at Deirdre, his steam temporarily replaced by confusion. Why did this one act as though she was the mistress of the house? Words were that Brendan was not interested in women except his partner. But should that not be someone else altogether? He furrowed his brows and snarled, âThe h*ll are you supposed to be?â
âIt doesnât matter,â Deirdre replied patiently.
âYou could be here all day, shouting until your face turns blue, and Brendan still wonât show up. If you must shout at him, just do it over the phone or talk to him personally.â
âAs if thatâs an option! Where the h*ll am I supposed to drag him out to the open?â Mr. Jensen scoffed.
âHeâs not in his office at all today! Nobody knows where the h*ll he went, either. Oh, but I know one thingâs for sure. Heâs trying to cut me off from my rightful influence over the company by exiling me to a foreign country, so he alone can rule the Brighthall Group like a tyrant!â The corner of Deirdreâs lips twitched.
âAre you telling me Brendanâs scared ⦠of you? Are you telling me that Brendan Brighthall is hiding from you?â Mr. Jensen could not give a counterargument, so he bit back with a brusque snarl.
âI donât give a sh*t what heâs doing. I know heâs here, and Iâm going to see him. Tell him to show himself now!â Deirdre stepped aside. âYouâre welcome to search every room in the house if you donât believe us.
â Mr. Jensen knew better than to do that. Gritting his teeth, he growled,â Where is he?â
âOut on a business trip.â
âA business- Oh, shut the h*ll up!â Mr. Jensen snorted.
âYou actually thought an excuse as sh*tty as this one is going to fool me!â Deirdre was startled.
âW-What?â
âDo you know how much cr*p is pending in the company itself? And what? He takes one look at the mountain of work heâs supposed to solve and decides to go on a business trip instead? My *ss!â he rebutted.
âIâm one of the board of directors, and even Iâve never heard of any golden-goose project so important that it warrants his personal attendance!â Mr. Jensen sounded so sure of himself that Deirdre could not help but clench her hands.
Was he telling the truth? If Brendan had lied, then where had he gone? Mr. Jensen probably realized nothing was going to come out of his agitation, so he stormed away after waving a threat about coming back to them tomorrow. Deirdre was still rooted to her spot after he left. She thought of the manâs farewell.
Was it all fake? She was almost amused. She had believed him. God, she had believed his excuse and thought he was on a business trip. But it seemed to her that Brendan had just finally become bored of her now that he had her back in his pet house.
The truth was that he was heading to see Charlene, was it not? It was time to share some nights with the woman he loved instead of wasting his time playing a character with Deirdre. Mrs. Engel could see the growing dejection on her face and felt a pang.
â Miss McKinnon, please. Letâs not jump to conclusions, okay? Mr. Brighthall would never lie to you. I bet he really is on a business trip, but he decided not to tell that man for some reason.â