Chapter 173: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
Chapter 173: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
"I don't want to go against you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Don't you think so? Miss Sanchez."
She vaguely felt of herself falling into a trap by Viola as she heard the female voice from the other end of the call. There would be big trouble if she didn't quit in time.
Addison took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The reason you did this is to get back at Hayden and Joseph just because you feel yourself losing everything that you could have. Isn't it just money? How much money do you want to end this? I can give it all to you."
The person at the other end snorted, "I hope that you can say the same thing in front of Joseph."
"You…"
"Do you still think you're a kind person, Miss Sanchez?" Viola's voice was oppressive, "Don't you think I have helped you on getting yourself back with Joseph?"
Addison was baffled as she recalled Joseph's caring attitude during her stay in the hospital.
Before she got married, Joseph treated her well, but she just took everything for granted back then. She could feel it only after being wronged out there. And now, he would only show such caring after she saved his son.
Thinking about it left a sour taste in her mouth.
"What else do you want from me?"
Viola sneered on the call, hearing this, as if she had expected it, "Don't worry. I won't ask you to do anything. You just go according to your plan. Try to get Joseph back to you."
Addison was speechless.
After hanging up the phone, Addison was in a daze as she sat cross-legged on the hospital ward bed. Viola's gloomy voice was lingering in her mind.
…
Jeff retrieved the dim sum chef, Arnold's exact address from the company's staff profiles. Hayden followed the directions given, but she was to a locked door.
A young graduate couple lived here for more than two months. According to them, they only knew that the landlady was a middle-aged woman, but her surname wasn't Bevis. They didn't know who Arnold Bevis was.
Three days later, after searching a few places, Hayden got to inquire after Arnold on an island in Zhangzhou City, "Arnold Bevis, the one that makes pastries, right? I know him."
A dark-skinned fisherman just came back from the sea, carrying a bucket of oysters pried out from the reef wall. He was wiping his sweat off as he observed Hayden, "We live in the same village and I heard that he just came back recently. What's the matter?"
"He is one of my colleague. He left something in the company when he resigned. So the company sends me here to return it to him."
"You're from the same company?" The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, showing his admiration to her, "I heard that Arnold Bevis worked as a chef in a high-class hotel, and it's well-known globally. Are you from that hotel too?"
Hayden nodded, smiling.
"Come. Follow me." The man was delighted and led Hayden into the village enthusiastically.
After walking along with the sparse village houses for about ten minutes, they stopped at the door of a well-kept whitewashed courtyard. The gate was opened wide, and there were talking sounds coming from the inside.
"This is it. The Bevis family is huge. Arnold 's brother lives in this building in the front. Walk in and say hello to his brother. Walking further is where he lives."
The fisherman who led the way spoke in detail. They chatted about a lot of things in the village along their way. And Hayden probably had an understanding of Arnold's family status in her mind.
His family was wealthy, with two brothers, and his aged mother was still alive and quite strong. But, his wife was ill, and they had no children. Baron from the hotel was like a half-adopted son to him, and they had a good relationship.
Hayden thanked him and walked towards the yard.
The people in the yard didn't notice her coming in. The corridor was the only shady place, with a few men standing there, surrounding a dark yellow cabinet.
A very tall man in a suit among the people had his hand on the cabinet, observing it.
He was most likely here to buy old furniture by looking at his appearance.
"Hey. What are you doing here?"
A middle-aged woman's harsh voice sounded behind Hayden. She turned around and saw someone stared at her warily, observing her.
Hayden explained, "Madam, may I ask if Arnold Bevis lives here?"
The woman waved her hand, "What do you mean? You're looking for the wrong place. Hurry up and leave. We have guests here."
Hayden had confirmed that Arnold lived here from the woman's dodging eyes. Hayden was in no hurry as she thanked her and left the Bevis house as intended by the woman.
After a while, the two men who were looking at the furniture in the Bevis house had come out.
The man who looked like an assistant held out his hand and gestured out a number, "Mr. Sanchez, they are asking for this price. If it's really made of rosewood, it wouldn't be considered as expensive for such a price. But I'm unsure about it."
"Did you take the pictures?"
"Yes. I have sent it to Mr. Davis as soon as we came out just now. But Mr. Davis said that he can't tell anything from just looking at the pictures. Do you need him to come over here?"
"Need not." The man frowned, "Mr. Davis is getting older and weaker. No need to let him come."
"Alright."
As they walked along the bluestone bridge, someone was standing in front of them, "Are you two uncertain with the quality of the bureau?"
The two of them stared at her. The man who seemed like an assistant frowned, "Who are you?"
"I was at the Bevis house just now and I saw that bureau too. But you guys didn't notice me." Hayden smiled and said evenly, "I was going to buy that bureau but I saw that you were there first, so I didn't intend to take it from you. But it seems that you didn't have a deal. If you don't want it, I'll go over to buy it then."
"For you to buy?" The assistant snorted, "We can't even sure about the quality of that bureau. You're still young and how much you know about it? I bet you're a capper hired by the Bevis family."
"What if I tell you that buying it with that price is a no-lose deal."
Hayden's determined tone had gained the boss's attention. The boss spoke in a low voice, "How can you guarantee it from just looking at it in a distance?"
"I think I just had a glance at it. But it is what I see. My grandfather has his lifetime collecting antique furniture. The rocking chair that I used to sleep on since young was made of rosewood too. There's plenty of antique furniture in my home. So it's easy looking at this."
Hayden was confident of saying this because it was indeed her experience during her childhood. Her grandfather was an antique collector. She knew that the bureau was something good at first sight. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Seeing that the man was still hesitating, she went on to explain, "It's colour is good, with not a single crack on it and it's preserved well too. The table legs are not even cut too. Such a perfect rosewood bureau is running out. You should know that when a thing is scarce, it's precious."
The man looked at her thoughtfully, "What's your purpose telling me this?"