Chapter 22 What do you really want?
Meanwhile, Mason, the subject of the gossip, had just left The Ramirez Family estate. He was walking with difficulty, his white shirt covered in blood.
Daniel hurried over to support him, taking off his suit jacket to drape over Mason.
Mason pushed him away, his gaze icy. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, asking, “Is Leila back?”
Mentioning Leila made Daniel look awkward, and he didn’t respond immediately.
Mason turned to look at him, his impatience evident. “She’s not back?”
Seeing that Mason was about to lose his temper, Daniel quickly replied, “She’s back.”
“Then?”
Daniel said, “I sent the message you asked me to send earlier. Miss Patel also added me on WhatsApp.”
Mason, about to get into the car with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, turned back. “Give me that account. You go create a new WhatsApp account.”
Daniel was stunned. “Huh?”
He didn’t want to comply but didn’t dare refuse. “Yes, sir.”
A few minutes later, Daniel got in the car and drove towards Mason’s villa. After driving for a while, Daniel glanced at Mason through the rearview mirror. “Boss, should I buy you some medicine?”
“No need.”
“Boss, you’re pretty badly hurt. I think you should have those wounds treated, just in case…”
As he met Mason’s warning gaze, Daniel immediately shut his mouth and focused on driving.
A few minutes later, Mason suddenly spoke, “Daniel, find a pharmacy and buy some medicine.”
Daniel thought Mason had changed his mind and replied with a smile, “Yes, sir.”
After a while, the car stopped at a pharmacy, and Daniel got out to buy medicine. Mason took out his phone and sent a message to Leila: [What are you doing?]
No response from Leila. He sent another one: [Leila, I’m hurt.]
Still no response.
Mason: [Is the nursing home proposal ready? How long does it take?]
Leila replied instantly: [Should I send it to your email?]
Mason: [Good.]This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
With a ‘ding’, an email arrived in his inbox. Mason laughed, closed their chat, and opened the email. Besides the nursing home proposal, Leila had included a feasibility report. To be honest, it was well-done and exceeded his expectations. But that didn’t stop him from finding fault.
Mason switched back to their chat: [There are some issues with the proposal.]
Leila: [If it’s convenient, could you give me the project manager’s contact? I’ll discuss the changes directly.]
Mason: [I’m in charge of this. Be downstairs in half an hour. I’ll be waiting.]
At that moment, Leila was sipping her coffee. The phrase “The coffee isn’t bitter, life is” flashed through her mind.
Half an hour later, Leila appeared outside the office building with the nursing home proposal and feasibility report. Seeing Daniel standing outside the car, she walked up. “Mr. Daniel, is Mr. Ramirez in the car?”
Daniel replied, “Yes.” He then opened the car door for her.
As soon as Leila got in, she was hit by a strong smell of blood. She looked towards Mason.
Mason held a bag of wound care supplies. “Miss Patel, can you help me treat my wounds first? Then I’ll look at your proposal.”
Through their interactions, Leila found Mason to be completely unpredictable.
Hearing Mason’s request, Leila remained still.
Mason noticed her wariness. “I’m really hurt.”
Leila looked at him calmly, not saying anything.
Seeing she wasn’t budging, Mason smiled and turned around to show his back. When Leila saw his bloodstained shirt, her breath caught. He was wearing a white shirt, making the blood even more noticeable.
Leila frowned. “You got beaten up?”
The bloodstains on Mason’s shirt were from whip marks, clearly visible in lines. He turned back to face her, ignoring her question, and smiled, “Miss Patel, can you drop your guard now?”
“Mr. Ramirez, I can take you to a hospital to get your wounds treated.”
Mason scoffed, “Do you think someone like me can show up at a hospital in this condition?”
Leila paused. Given Mason’s status, going to a hospital like this wasn’t a good idea. If someone recognized him, rumors could start flying.
Seeing she didn’t respond, Mason leaned closer, teasing, “Miss Patel, is this how you treat your benefactor?”
Leila frowned. “What benefactor?”
Mason replied, “The video in your email. Mr. Brown helped you out when you were in trouble, and yesterday your lousy boyfriend got caught…”
The more Mason talked, the worse Leila’s expression became. Finally, she grabbed the bag of medicine from Mason’s hand. “Take off your shirt and turn around.”
“Trust me that easily? Not even gonna ask me a few questions?”
Leila sighed, “No need.” Mason’s status meant he wouldn’t boast about something so trivial. But she couldn’t understand why he came to her for wound treatment.
“It’s not convenient to treat the wound in the car. Also, my car is parked in front of your office. If someone sees us …”
Leila stared at him, feeling an unexpected surge of frustration. It was the kind of frustration that came from not being in control. She suddenly realized that ever since she got involved with Mason, her rationality and careful planning had all fallen apart.
Thinking it over, Leila remembered a saying: when dealing with a smart person, you can’t outplay them or escape them, so you might as well straightforwardly ask what they want.
Coming to this conclusion, Leila relaxed and looked at Mason sincerely. “Mr. Ramirez, what do you really want?”