Chapter 12 #2
For the last few years, I’ve been following her work.
I have to say that her reputation among the Chinese Elite was highly respected.
She and the clinic had been recommended multiple times in digital magazines, and social media, among other articles and blogs etcetera, by wealthy couples who had been successful in their fertility treatments.
Of course, being able to pay for her hefty bill was also one of the reasons those wealthy couples liked to brag about it.
That was one of the reasons why so many rich Chinese couples had chosen to fly all the way to New York to see her. They simply wanted the best fertility treatments the world could offer, with her.
My dad’s company had been working on a proposal to bring the Bennet Fertility Program to China. My intel told me that the board wanted no one but June to be the person to oversee the program. Sadly, thanks to the pandemic, the project had been postponed until further notice.
Legally, I had no say on the board of Dad's company. I didn’t want to be accused of meddling in my half-brother’s inheritance.
Dad suggested that I come and help him out.
Lately, he’d become a lot more sentimental, and we’d been talking a lot more.
Perhaps he wanted to mend our relationship.
Perhaps the pandemic had really changed people.
Still, I tried to stay away from family politics as much as I could.
However, I have my ways if and when there’s a need to sway any decision on the board.
At one point last year, I was really desperate to get the fertility program in Shanghai kick-started. Everything was ready. The funding was there. They even had the location of the medical center reserved – all they needed was a green light and the renovation team would start.
George Bennet, June’s dad, had even signed the contract. I knew that June was more than ready to live and work in Shanghai. If it wasn’t for the new woman health campaign that her brother Liam had forced upon her, she would have left the country already.
My phone vibrated. I glanced down and saw a notification – a message from Lucy. I unlocked my phone to see the full content of the texts in Chinese.
Lucy: Samantha just told me that June sent everything back to the store. Did she tell you why?
I couldn’t say I was surprised.
June was complex. An American girl with a part Chinese mother. In some ways, she was very American. At other times, she seemed a little out of place, like she didn’t quite fit in here in America. It was hard to know her thoughts, or what she wanted, but that didn’t mean I didn’t try.
I searched through my phone for a contact, then stepped outside for a quick call. As I was about to head back to June’s office, my phone vibrated again.
Call me. TC.
It wasn’t a saved contact. Just a random number. I called.
“Tom Cruise is an alien.” I said as the person on the other end picked up.
Then the call was put through to a pre-recorded message.
I listened carefully, trying not to miss any details, as these messages only played once before they were deleted.
That was a very peculiar way to stay in contact set up by my private investigator.
He would only contact me on a new burner number each time, so his work could stay confidential at all times.
Bad news.
Mack was missing. Someone in the police department had released him without charge.
But I already knew that from Wendy. No one saw him leave the precinct where he’d been held.
The guess was that someone smuggled him out.
No one from the police department had contacted June about pressing charges against Mack.
It was very naive of me to think that they would actually try to do their job.
The question was who had the authority to let him go?
My guy couldn’t find out who was behind everything.
And what’s more, he couldn’t find any information about Mack in the United States, like it had been purposely wiped squeaky clean.
Mack was either using a fake name or had been issued a new identity.
It didn’t make sense though. People always leave some kind of a trace, that is how criminals end up caught. I was going to suggest having Mack followed, but no one knew where he was, no one had seen him leave.
My guy suggested we should look into him outside of America. Now that would involve more people – internationally. Though I wasn’t keen on the idea, I knew it was necessary. But where do we even begin?
Oh princess. What have you gotten yourself into?
* * *
I had Clare escort Jenny home and texted Lucy to keep an eye out on her.
Jenny seemed alright – just a little on the quiet side – after her consultation with June. But I wasn’t a mind reader, and I didn’t know how she really felt.
Perhaps June could tell me more.
That would be my excuse to stay at the clinic.
Normally, June’s OBGYN services were only supposed to be for her fertility clients only. She had made an exception for Jenny. She would probably do that for her close friends and relations but Jenny and her only just met. Needless to say, she was doing it as a favor to me.
“Can I help you with anything?” June’s assistant asked as soon as I approached her office door. Her gray eyes questioning my intention like a guard dog.
“Yes, I was just here a minute ago with my cousin, Jenny Law. I would like a word with June,” I paused as she cleared her throat and glared at me. “Dr. Bennet.”
Her eyes X-rayed my body from top to bottom and she gave me a one moment hand gesture.
She mumbled a few words into the mic on her headpiece and spoke after what felt like a very long minute later.
“Dr. Bennet will see you now.” Unapologetically, she added, “please make it brief, her next appointment has arrived.”
I couldn’t help but laugh inside. What on Earth was going on with people?
Did she really just tell me to hurry the fuck up?
Was that part of her job description or was she just keeping an eye out for her boss?
I couldn’t be bothered to give her the, “do you know who you are talking to” talk.
I could use the “I’m rich and famous and important card”, something a lot of my peers would often do, but I knew that wouldn’t work here.
Not in America. Nobody knew, nor did they care.
Whatever. I gave her an eye roll and walked straight into June’s office.
“Hey!” My rant about her assistant was about to start. But she looked a little under the weather, her eyes were watery from tears. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” She touched her eyes to wipe away any makeup smudges. “I got a little emotional, is all.”
“I was going to ask you about how Jenny was doing, in there. Is this a bad time?”
“No, it’s fine. She and her baby were doing fine. I told her about my concerns, and really you should talk to her. You know, patient doctor confidentiality.”
Right, I’d thought there would be no secrets between us and that she would just spill all the details without hesitation.
I was wrong and I felt a little betrayed, even though I knew full well that she was doing the right thing.
“So, this concern that you have…”
“Don’t you dare try to fish it out of me.” She replied, her voice stern. “Look, if there’s nothing else, you should leave. I have a busy day today.”
Ouch . Cranky, huh? Something must have set her off.
“I’m here as a patient.” What for? I pinched myself ever so lightly on the thigh. Having feelings for her was one thing, but I really hated acting like a lovesick loser. What was I going to say now, huh? That my lady parts needed some love?
“This is a women’s health hospital.” She gave me a look and believe me, I knew I sounded like a toad.
“Yeah, you know.” I looked around her office, searching for an answer. Then I saw it on her notice board. “Sperm bank.”
“What?”
“You know. I’m here to donate my sperm.” Not really. I was there to make sure Mack didn’t show up and twist her head off her neck. But I couldn’t really tell her that.
“You want to donate sperm?” She sucked a breath in. “You? Mr. Kai Billionaire Li? Why would you do that?”
Why indeed.
“So that we could have more billionaires in the world.” I cringed inside because I knew those words didn’t make any sense, and it sounded stupid.
“It’s a good thing, isn’t it? My business mind alone is worth–” I couldn’t come up with anything smart sounding. I wanted to say receive, or download – definitely not it, “purchasing my product, right?”
“You said donate, not selling sperm. I won’t pay you anything for it.”
“I don’t need your money.” I said proudly. “Just your time.”
She shook her head hard and there was an unshakable smile on her face, followed by a flush as my words brought some color to her cheeks. “You will have to go to the reception and register.”
“No, I need you to oversee this.” I demanded. “I’m shy.”
The sound that followed that statement was a weak groan of distress. And weak was right because I should feel weak for being an immature idiot.
“My next appointment is here, and they have been waiting for,” she checked her watch, “quite some time now. Stop wasting my time, Kai.”
“I’m serious, princess.” No woman could resist me when I called them princess.
“Fine. If you’re sure, then wait outside until I’m free.”
Yes! That was exactly what I wanted. Free pass to stay as long as I want – for now. “And I cannot guarantee how long you’ll have to wait. My schedule is very full today.”
Double wham . That was even better. I had been given permission to camp out in her office.
I walked out of her office with a triumphant smile and found the best and most comfortable seat in the lounge to settle in. Believe me, I had time to test every single seat in there.
It was a good thing that Andy, my assistant, arrived today in New York. I gave her a call and had her set up my essentials right there in the middle of June’s waiting room.
Within thirty minutes, I had turned a corner of the waiting room into my personal workspace.
I had my eyes closed, meditating as well as trying to get over my jet lag.
Andy sat on my side working away on her iPad.
Occasionally, I would bark out some words at her.
That was because during meditation, my mind would suddenly remember something.
Sometimes it was important. Sometimes not.
Then at times, it would create some problems. Problems that I didn’t know existed in my life.
At times, there were some answers that I had been seeking, usually something that had troubled me for some time.
Many of my creative ideas during my meditations had benefited my business.
Andy was no stranger to this behavior. This was something I would do often. To other people, it may seem a little odd. June’s assistant must have reported the situation to her as she peeked out of her little cave and gave me a strange look.
I grinned at her, wondering if she regretted not letting me skip the queue yet. Now her clients had to witness this weird man doing this weird thing in her waiting room. But I pretended to be in the zone and kept ignoring Siti, the lovely assistant, whenever she frowned or huffed in my direction.
Dave was out on his security assignment, a suitable vantage point across from June’s office. Just a protocol – for her own safety. I did this even for myself and it had proven to be very effective. My team had successfully eliminated conflicts before they even happened many times.
Sometimes, it wasn’t anything serious. Mainly opportunity seekers trying to sell their ideas to me in return for an investment.
Or stalkers that wanted to say how much they loved me.
Some just wanted to get a selfie.
The love of the public could be problematic, but my team kept them at bay.
Back home, people love to gossip about celebrities and rich people. Magazines, blogs, forums. They can’t get enough. Some people literally cannot live without them. They love knowing what the celebrities do from day to day, who they are dating, what they are wearing, where they are hanging out.
It’s exhausting trying to avoid them. And that’s why I take every opportunity that I can to stay overseas.
“Ahem,” Siti cleared her throat. “Here’s your Americano.
From Starbucks.” Damn right, I had her order a coffee for me.
I knew they had a coffee machine. I also knew that I had my own personal assistant who could just go and fetch me coffee.
But I loved seeing people with an attitude put to work.
If she decided to be rude to me, then she’d have to deal with me being difficult.
Besides, I was sure that June didn’t pay her well to just sit there and be pretty.
Lunch time came and there was no sign of June.
No one brought lunch in for her either. I had Andy check with Siti and found out that June often worked through lunch and would skip any food as part of her intermittent fasting regime.
Good thing that Siti and Andy got along.
It was almost like they had a code among them as assistants.
They talked about everything. It was like magic, as if they shared the same taste – reading the same books, haunting the same cafes, e-shopping the same clothing brands.
Andy’s loyalty remained with me, however, and she would tell me later what she found out from Siti.
I had no idea just how much information personal assistants know about their bosses until Andy came along.
And Andy? She’s very good at digging that information out of those personal assistants.
Five coffees and six hours later, Sit finally smiled in my direction with a condescension that made my blood boil. “Mr. Li? Dr. Bennet will see you now. And it’s now or never. Her words.”
“Thanks, Siri.” I said, using the wrong name on purpose.
“It’s Siti.”
Whatever.