Two Reborn, One Throne novel Chapter 138

Ever since Amber had mouthed off to her that morning, Grace had been in a foul mood.

The more Amber disrespected her, the more Grace felt the need to flex her control over Arthur.

She had spammed him with dozens of messages demanding restocks for the diner and dictating exactly what she and Lucian wanted for dinner.

But Arthur hadn't replied to a single one. She didn't know if he was deliberately ignoring her or if he just hadn't seen them.

Grace figured it had to be the latter. Even if she gave Arthur a hundred times the courage he normally had, he would never dare ignore her on purpose. So, she lowered herself to actually call him, intending to ask if he'd seen the texts so he couldn't use the 'I didn't check my phone' excuse later.

He was still technically on probation with her. She was just generously choosing not to be angry at him right now.

The phone rang, but for some infuriating reason, he wasn't picking up.

Grace's temper flared. Was that pathetic pushover taking a dump? Even if he was, he should still be answering her call! Didn't he know making her wait was unacceptable?

She had been far too soft on him yesterday afternoon. She shouldn't have let him smooth things over so easily; she should have made him grovel more. Just wait. As soon as he picked up, she was going to scream his head off.

"Hello? Grace? It's Dustin. Arthur is up on the scaffolding. For safety reasons, I hold onto the guys' phones while they're working. Did you need something urgent? I can pass the message along when he's down."

Grace froze, the vicious insults she had prepared dying instantly in her throat.

"Oh, Dustin! I'm so sorry, am I interrupting your work?"

Why the hell was Dustin answering the phone?

Dustin had practically snatched it from Arthur's hand. When he saw Arthur hesitating to answer, Dustin had forcibly grabbed the phone and ordered Arthur to stay put and listen to what Grace had to say.

"Not really. Luckily, I make them hand their phones over before they climb. Grace, this site isn't like a normal job. It's high-altitude work. One wrong step and someone dies. Arthur's phone has been blowing up with notifications all morning, and now you're calling right in the middle of the day. I was worried there was a real emergency, so I answered it for him. You don't mind, do you, Grace?"

Dustin practically spat the words through gritted teeth. She didn't give a single damn about Arthur's safety. Did she think a construction site was a playground? Spamming him with texts and calling him incessantly? He really wanted to hear what 'emergency' she had cooked up.

Grace looked profoundly embarrassed. How was she supposed to know Arthur had to surrender his phone? He just moved bricks all day; it wasn't like he was a rocket scientist. Why were they making such a big deal out of it?

"Dustin, please, you're making it sound so dramatic. You're his foreman. Of course he listens to you, and it makes perfect sense that you'd answer for him."

Dustin ground his teeth. "Glad you understand. So, what was the massive emergency?"

Grace forced a laugh. "Oh, nothing major. I just wanted to see if Arthur got my messages. If not, no big deal. I was just calling to check what time he gets off today, or maybe just to ask him to text me back when he sees them."

Dustin knew she was a toxic manipulator playing innocent.

"Oh, you mean the messages about restocking the diner? Yeah, the screen kept lighting up, so I saw them. Let me answer for him: Arthur is clocking out at ten tonight. He missed a lot of shifts recently, so he has to pull a double today. We're a brotherhood out here. Since he finally showed up, he's got to cover for the guys who covered for him."

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