Charles hesitated for a while before nodding in resignation.
"Well, I can't find a better idea for it. We can use this now. Please take action as soon as possible. It's better to do this now than later," Charles ordered.
"Got it," David answered back. He looked at Charles as if he had something to say, but he shook his head instead.
Charles raised an eyebrow at him.
"Mr. Lu, please don't worry. I'm sure Shirley is fine and she would be back soon," he said, trying his best to comfort Charles.
To David, Charles was a can-do superman who was able to do anything and everything he wanted. However, he looked extremely vulnerable whenever his family was in danger, perhaps even more so than any ordinary man.
Sometimes, when he dropped by Charles' office to provide him with a report, he could see Charles look distantly outside with a sad look on his face. It looked like a drastically different man from the one he knew in the office, the energetic and cheerful man.
He had worked under Charles for several years. Charles was an excellent supervisor who always allowed an opportunity for his employees to showcase their skills and talents, and he also made sure that his employees were well taken care of.
David was immensely grateful for Charles. He was so thankful for him that it saddened him when Charles himself had something troubling his mind. He wanted to do everything he could to make sure that his boss would be reunited with his daughter. He wanted to comfort him as much as he could.
Charles nodded blankly and then dismissed him. Right before he could close the door, he saw Charles back in that remorseful and bitter expression. He sighed and felt defeated before shutting the door behind him.
As soon as David went back to his own office, several colleagues entered and asked him about Charles. Even though the news about Charles' wife and daughter was kept from the outside world, somehow, the entire office found out about it. It was also rare for Charles to skip work, which intrigued David's colleagues so much. They were both curious and concerned for their boss.
"What did Mr. Lu want to see you for?" one of the colleagues asked beside him while the others listening intently.
"Nothing special, really," David answered flatly, not wanting to join in the gossip culture.
"Really? Well... Did Mr. Lu look all right? Someone said that Mr. Lu looked so tired and worn out when he saw him this morning,"
the colleague continued. David clicked his tongue impatiently, not wanting to be in the center of attention. Being surrounded by so many people, he couldn't start the work that Charles wanted him to do.
"Listen. Mr. Lu is okay. All of us should better put our time and energy on our work," David couldn't help but reply sarcastically. He knew that they were dying to know how their boss was, but it wasn't his place to talk about a broken man like that.
He stood up and walked out of his own office. He headed over to the rarely used stairwell. He called a contact who could force Jim to tell Shirley's whereabouts.
After his colleagues watched him leave his office, they grew irritated at his sudden arrogant behavior.
"Who the hell does he think he is? He's just an assistant! I'm so sick of his arrogant behavior!" the same colleague spat, somehow forgetting that it was also he who bothered David in the first place.
For now, Jim could only comfort himself. 'Just you wait, Leila, ' he thought to himself. 'I'm going to obliterate you.'
Jim was confident about concealing Shirley's whereabouts. He was sure that Leila would never be able to find where he hid her. He was the only person in the entire world who knew where Shirley was.
As long as he could still hold Shirley hostage, the Lu family would be able to deduce that it was Leila who conspired with him to kidnap Shirley. He had nothing to fear.
He was sure that Leila would be even more miserable than him. Once they figured out that it was her who was behind the kidnapping, she would have a harder time rotting in a prison cell than he ever would.
Jim snorted, delighted by the idea. He just had to wait and see. If there was an opportunity, he would make sure to make Leila's life a living hell.
He turned to look at the clock and noticed that it was yard time.
For Jim, prison life was boring. He saw the same people every day. He saw the same white walls every day. Only the short yard time outside provided him with a fresh, new entertainment each day.
Jim felt that he could relax a bit during yard time. He was going crazy from the long hours inside his jail cell.
Jim would often situate himself in a small corner of the yard to watch the others play basketball, or listen in on the prison gossip. When he got bored, he got up and went to the washroom. Just as he untied his uniform's waist band, a strong and loud kick to his head resonated in the small, dirty washroom.
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