"You know exactly what I mean. You're a clever man, Mr. Jiang. I don't think you would like switching cities again,"
Jonas threatened. Kent knew that Jonas was powerful and it would just take one phone call for him to terminate Kent from the role of editor-in-chief.
Kent knew that Jonas was threatening him because he was possessive of Melinda. He wasn't bothered by his threats, rather found it was too childish of Jonas to behave this way.
Kent felt that Jonas knew nothing about love. He was overwhelmed by the emotions as he was experiencing everything for the first time.
"Got it," Kent replied tersely.
Jonas would have usually looked beyond Kent's answers but he wasn't in the right frame to care about it.
Jonas had a simple conversation with Kent. He had thought that it would take a lot of effort for him to change Kent's mind and didn't expect that it would be too easy.
He sneered at Kent because he believed that he was a cheap person who would abandon anyone for money.
Jonas felt that Kent was afraid of his threat and immediately agreed to him because he wanted to safeguard his post of editor-in-chief.
A lot of things were buzzing in Jonas's mind.
The glass of wine was untouched as both of them were busy protecting their interests. Since they had come to an agreement, Kent decided to leave. He had nothing to say. "I'm still new to the job and there are a lot of things that I need to learn. So, I'm leaving. Have a good day, Mr. Gu."
Jonas felt that Kent's words were insinuating something else but by the time he came back to his senses, Kent was gone and Jonas was all alone in the private room.
Kent returned to the periodical office. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Melinda. He asked his assistant to lead him to the security department.
"I want you to retrieve the surveillance video of the parking lot from 9 to 11 o'clock this morning."
Kent showed a picture of the parking lot to the security guard. The head of the guards immediately got the surveillance video and began to look for the footage.
As expected, a furtive figure appeared on the screen. The person was carrying a big bag, a mask, a pair of sunglasses concealing his face, and a hat propped on his head.
The person was dressed in typical winter clothing, so he didn't grab anyone's attention. The figure walked towards Melinda's car and looked around to check if anyone was watching. Once he was sure that no one was around, he took a small bucket from the bag.
Kent was sure it was a bucket of paint. The person put on a pair of gloves and poured the paint on the car.
It was hard to look at the person's expression because of his mask but it looked like an act of revenge. Kent could see that the person had done everything out of spite.
His eyes widened and began to wonder who Melinda had offended. There must have been a reason behind the person's actions.
Melinda always had to deal with problems but this time she didn't know anything about the perpetrator.
The person looked unfamiliar but the actions were planned carefully. He cautiously hid the bucket in the bag, looked around, and absconded immediately.
"Go and check which direction the person had come from and where he has gone,"
Kent ordered. The security guard checked the other videos of the car and looked at the direction where the person was headed to but he couldn't find any information about the masked figure.
The only option Kent had was to call the traffic police. Otherwise, there was no way for him to find the truth.
"Can you make use of the car's number plate to find out the whereabouts of the person?"
Kent asked, pursing his lips but the security guard was stressed by the unnecessary responsibility. "We can't find such information. We need to either call the police or consult a private detective."
Kent realized that it was hard for him to find any information unless he was a powerful man like Jonas.
He knew that Melinda wouldn't want to attract unnecessary attention and make this into a big issue. But Kent was close to finding the masked person and he wasn't ready to give up.
"Do you know any private detective?"
The head of the security guards nodded and skimmed through the phone book. He gave the number of the private detective and Kent asked him to call him right away.
"Sir, are you looking to find information about the owner of the license plate?"
"Yes."
The security guard knew the detective, so he briefly explained what had happened. The detective agreed to work for Kent, so he immediately transferred the money to the detective's account. The detective analyzed the situation and called Kent.
"The car belongs to a rental company, Sir. I think we should call the police."
The security guard felt that the issue was complicated than he had expected. Kent felt that the methods of the masked person seemed familiar but he couldn't figure out who the person was.
"All right, send the information of the car rental company along with the license plate number. I'll contact them to see if we can get any information."
The head of the security guards was confused as he couldn't understand Kent's intentions. The problem would have been easily solved if he had contacted the police and he didn't know why Kent was complicating the issue.
But he didn't bother questioning Kent and gave the information he had asked.
It was nine o'clock in the evening when Kent finished his work. Everyone in the periodical office had left except for Kent and his assistant.
"Sir, are you going to the car rental company?" his assistant asked. Kent lifted his head and nodded. "Can I come with you? I'd like to know who was trying to hurt my goddess," the assistant hissed through gritted teeth.
He had worked overtime but there was no trace of tiredness in his face. He was excited to find out who was behind all this.
"Goddess?" Kent arched an eyebrow.
"Yes, Melinda is my goddess. I love her novels. There is some kind of magic in her writing. I've always wanted to get her autograph but... err..." The assistant scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "But I am too shy. Sir, can you help me get a signed copy of her book?"
he asked shyly. Kent was surprised. He shook his head and smiled.
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