31 Chapter 31: Private Thing

Avery is shocked, though it's only fitting that a man like Evan would have such forceful and rude servants.

"I am so sorry," Robert apologizes, "Mr. Howel asked me to recover the photos. After recovering them, I'll have the phone sent back to you."

"What a thief!" Avery tries to keep the anger from her voice, "I want you to return the phone to me now."

"I can't do that, Mrs. Howel. But don't worry, except for the photos, only Mr. Howel will have access to the information on your phone. "

Like pouring fuel on a fire, Robert's words only further anger Avery.

"Why not directly tell me that Evan will see every private thing on my phone?" she thinks.

"I want to see Evan," she demands.

She knows that Robert is just following Evan's orders; it's useless to argue with him.

"Mr. Howel anticipated that," he says, "In fact, he has already sent a car and it's waiting at the door. It will take you to the Howel Group and the two of you will have lunch. Later in the afternoon, you will attend your physical examination."

"He wants to have lunch together?" Avery asks incredulously.

She has no desire to have lunch with him. She just wants to get her phone back. She imagines that lunch and the car are meant to distract her so she can't find a way to escape from the examination later in the afternoon. She feels the muscles in her back tighten as soon as she thinks about the physical examination.

"I'll go change my clothes first," she says stalling for time.

Robert Tinder and the maid exchange a glance, remembering how Avery escaped from her room before. The maid follows Avery under the guise of helping her change, and two bodyguards stand in the front of the dressing room doors. Evan has already ordered Robert to ensure that multiple servants keep an eye on Avery at all times. There's no room for error before the afternoon's examination.

Avery chooses casual clothes. Nonchalantly she walks to the jewelry cabinet and pretends to look at the pieces. Then she pushes the stained glass window open and looks out at the grounds. The bodyguards remain steadfast in their positions along the perimeter—it's impossible to escape. Evan has taken every precaution to ensure she makes it to the hospital.

She was hoping to escape for a few days, giving Charles time to figure out a plan. She never thought that Evan would be domineering enough to take her phone, leaving her with no way to communicate with Charles.

She worries that Evan will jealously look at her messages with Charles and see the texts about the new toxin in her blood. It'll be risky for anyone to know she's being poisoned before she finds out who's doing it. If they're trying to kill her, her texts will tip them off and they'll find some new method.

She smooths her white shirt and wide-leg trousers and pulls her hair into a ponytail. In the sunlight, her pale skin seems to glow against the white fabric of the shirt. The maid stares at her in admiration.

Avery goes down the stairs and finds Robert waiting for her holding a narrow white box.

"Mrs. Howel, Mr. Howel asked me to send this to you," he says, handing her the box.

The lid of the box is embossed with a thistle, the symbol of the Howel family. Avery opens it and finds a cellphone inside. 

"This is a couple's phone," Robert explains, "Mr. Howel has one just like it in black. He hopes that you can use this phone to take photos of him to replace the ones that were lost before—just in case the recovery efforts aren't successful."

Tactfully, he avoids mentioning that all information on the phone is automatically copied and uploaded to Evan's phone.

"A couple's phone?" Avery asks with disbelief, "Why would he do that?"

Robert remains quiet.

Avery puts the phone back into the box and hands it to Robert, "I don't need it. Besides, everyone knows that Evan doesn't like being photographed."

"Actually, Mr. Howel said he was very satisfied that you took 72 photos of him."

Robert returns the phone to Avery, and she rolls her eyes. From Evan's apparent obsession with the photos to Robert's weird insistence on the number 72, the entire situation seems absurd. She wonders if Evan expects her to take another 72 photos of him.

"If you don't want to use this phone, please send it back to Mr. Howel by yourself," Robert says, "Mr. Howel has insisted that it will always be brought back to him, no matter where you leave it. He was quite clear about the consequences for anyone who helps you dispose of it."

Angrily, Avery takes the phone and opens the back. There's already a SIM card in it.

Avery arrives at the Howel Group just before noon. In the lobby, some employees stop and stare at Avery. Robert walks beside her and ten bodyguards trail behind them. The staffers recognize Robert Tinder, but most don't recognize the woman beside him.

"I saw her one time when I sent documents to the Howel's house," whispers one, "She might be Mr. Howel's wife. I wonder why she came."

"Oh, I think I recognize her," whispers another, "Is her last name Summers?"

"No. Her last name was Peters—you know the one. I heard that she was specifically chosen by Mr. Howel's grandfather, but Mr. Howel hates her. He refuses to even touch her."

"She's so beautiful."

"Doesn't matter how beautiful she is if she can't attract her husband," yet another employee whispers maliciously, "There are many pretty women around Mr. Howel. Haven't you heard the gossip? He hates her so much they're going to divorce."

"She must sense the crisis in their marriage and fear the divorce," an employee speculates, "She must be trying to win him back."

"Hey, get over here," a manager whispers, 'Lower your voices."

Avery hears the whispers and sees the stares, and she knows the employees are gossiping about her. She feels like a convict with so many bodyguards, but she holds her head high and walks with confidence through the lobby. They take the executive elevator to the fifty-eighth floor.

A male secretary greets them when they step off the elevator, "Welcome Mrs. Howel, Mr. Howel is currently in a meeting."

"Ok, I'll go to his office," Avery says.

"Actually, Mr. Howel has asked that you meet him in the conference room."

The secretary leads her down the hall to a closed door. Avery can hear voices behind the door—the meeting is still clearly in session. She tries to refuse, but the secretary opens the door and ushers her in. The moment the door opens, several dozens of black-suited executives turn to stare at her in unison. From the confusion and curiosity in their expression, she can tell that they were not expecting her arrival.

At the head of the long oak conference table, Evan leans back casually in his black leather swivel chair. His black phone rests on the table and he casually types something on the screen. He looks up and meets Avery's eyes, smirking at the discomfort in her expression.

"Come in," he says, smiling wolfishly.

The executives are baffled. They look at one another with confusion but don't dare say a thing.

"Did Mr. Howel really just allow his wife to interrupt a meeting?" they wonder, "Everyone knows that women aren't allowed to just wander around Mr. Howel's office—he shows such a strong preference for hiring men. Now his wife is allowed to interrupt an important meeting. It's outrageous!"

Avery stands in the door without moving. Evan stares at her intently and gives a slight nod. It seems that the entire meeting will stay on hold until she enters the room. The men stare at her in wonderment, and she slowly enters the room. The secretary follows behind her and places a seat beside Evan, gesturing for her to take it.

"Continue," Evan commands.

The chief financial officer recovers from his surprise and says hurriedly, "In the last quarter, the profit of most of our subsidiary companies exceeded two hundred percent, but the subsidiary company Star earns less than all other companies: the profit margin there is only one hundred twenty percent."

"Is a profit margin of one hundred twenty percent bad?" Avery wonders lazily, "Has the Howel Group ever lost money on anything?'

Avery feels bored. Her new phone pings and a message appears on the screen—she has forgotten to put it on silent. Everyone stops and stares at her again. She twists her mouth into a charming but apologetic smile, and the executives stare at her enchanted, forgetting the business of the meeting.

"Continue," Evan glances severely at the executives.

Several dozen sets of eyes look down at the reports in front of them, not daring to look at Avery again.

Avery reads the message on her screen: "I want you to take more candid photos of me."

Even if Evan wasn't the only person to have her new number, the commanding tone makes it obvious it's him.

"I never shoot animals," she types, "Give my phone back."

Evan raises his eyebrows at the message on the screen. Although they are still in the meeting, she can feel his mood changing. The executives notice too. Before Avery entered the room, he seemed angry and unhappy, ready to destroy the executives. Avery's arrival seems to have lightened his mood.

"He looks almost happy," they think.

All of them secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"What phone?" Evan replies to Avery's message.

"Is he going to deny taking my phone?' she thinks furiously.

If they weren't still in the meeting, she would probably throw the new phone in his face.

"I'm warning you not to look at my phone," she messages.

"Why? Are you keeping secrets on there?" he types.