Chapter 155: Shall we get going?
The next morning arrived with a crisp, clear sunlight that cut through the high arched windows of the villa, chasing away the lingering shadows of the previous night.
April woke up feeling entirely refreshed, having been completely restored by the revitalization spring water.
The first to greet her was Rufus. He climbed over her side of the bed, its front paws resting on her arm, and his tail wagging excitedly from behind.
She reached her hand towards him and scratched his chin.
"Good morning, Rufus!" she grumbled, her voice still heavy with sleep and Rufus gave a loud acknowledging bark.
She sat up and found Lily resting on her climbing frame, giving a light purr. This stirred Rufus up. How dare she not come to the bed and greet their master? He growled but April just let it go with a quiet huff.
"Good morning to you too, Lily." she said as she threw her legs down and stretched her arms high above her head. "Today is going to be a busy day so I better get ready so I don’t keep the jealous tycoon waiting."
...
When April descended the grand staircase, she found Xavier already waiting near the main entrance. The cold, stiff aura that had wrapped around his shoulders the day before was entirely gone, replaced by his usual smooth, composed presence.
As soon as Xavier caught the sound of her footsteps, he turned his head and gazed upon her. She was wearing a simple white dress, topped with a black blazer and black loafers.
She stopped in front of him and asked,
"Did I keep you waiting?"
But he shook his head and said,
"No, Miss April." There was that warmth in his tone again, the kind that he always used before their little mishap. "Shall we get going?"
April nodded and they both headed for the door.
But before they stepped out into the courtyard toward the waiting sedan, Xavier turned to glance at her. "The location is roughly twenty minutes away," he noted, his dark eyes checking her face for any signs of lingering fatigue. "It’s a specialized facility under the Reed Group’s private logistics umbrella. Completely off the public registry."
April stopped for a moment, her mind immediately assessing the security metrics of an unlisted property. "Are you getting me something secretive that the public shouldn’t know about?" she asked, her voice calm as she turned to look at him.
Xavier glanced down at her, a small, amused smile playing on his lips. "Not exactly. But I didn’t want public interference."
"Okay," she replied simply, accepting the explanation without pressing further.
Once they settled into the back seat of the car and the driver pulled smoothly out of the estate gates, a quiet stillness settled over the cabin.
Usually, there was no problem with sitting in a car for twenty minutes to get to their destination, but after what had happened the previous night, there was no way they could not feel the subtle, lingering aftereffects of the conversation in his study.
The air felt heavy with a newfound awareness.
Xavier spent the first few minutes holding his tablet, ostensibly reviewing market data, but his focus was fractured.
Every few moments, his eyes would subtly linger on her, his gaze tracing the calm line of her jaw before returning to the screen.
Because April was a little more aware of him now, she felt the weight of his stare every single time. She didn’t call him out on it, keeping her face turned toward the passing scenery, but the silent tension between them grew palpable. It was as if she could feel it with her bare hands.
To break the quiet without making it even more awkward, she decided to introduce a new update.
"I am going to start trading in the black market next week," April said, her flat voice cutting through the steady hum of the car. "Nat is setting up a secure channel for me."
Xavier’s thumb froze against the glass of his tablet.
"I need to generate an independent stream of capital, not just through fortune telling," she explained, entirely matter-of-fact. "I will be selling a specialized commodity. The miracle water."
Xavier had never heard the full, exact details of this ’miracle water,’ but he was well aware of the fact that she had used it on Robert Greels.
His medical team told him about how she had miraculously gotten Robert Greel up on his feet and out of his vegetable state within seconds. But as his brain processed her words, his focus locked onto the name she had just dropped so casually. Nat.
She seemed to be hanging out with the volatile mafia lord far too often lately, and a deep, instinctual worry flared up in his chest.
"Nat Collins operates in a sphere of extreme violence, Miss April," Xavier said, his voice dropping into a lower, darker register. "If you are constantly exposed to his plays, the crossfire alone is a liability."
"Danger from humans is the last thing I need to worry about," April assured him calmly, her mind firmly fixed on the catastrophic timeline of the undead. "Plus, he promised to protect me."
Xavier’s grip on the edge of his tablet subtly hardened, his knuckles turning white for a brief second before he managed to force his features back into a controlled mask.
He let out a slow, tightly controlled breath, his voice sounding noticeably tense despite his best efforts. "If the Golden Dragon himself has pledged to protect you... then I suppose I have nothing to worry about."
"And also," April added, entirely oblivious to the sharp spike in his jealousy, "after next week, I will need your assistance."
That instantly caught his interest. Xavier turned his head, his full, unyielding attention locking onto her.
"Nat plans to have his primary accountant contact Reed Industries because he wants to purchase a stake in the project," she said. "But I figured I should let you know first. I am hosting a global cooking competition the week after next, and I plan to invite all world-renowned, Michelin-starred chefs, utilizing the combined influence of the Reed and Greels families."
Xavier blinked, completely thrown off by the sheer randomness of the escalation. "A cooking competition? All of a sudden?"
"Yes," April answered, her eyes deadly serious. "I really want this to work."
Before Xavier could press her on more details regarding why she decided to host a culinary event right before a supposed apocalypse, the sedan slowed down, turning off the private road and passing through a high-security checkpoint.
The car came to a smooth stop inside a vast, private airfield hangar.
"Let us discuss this on our way back," Xavier said, forcing his professional composure back to the surface as he looked out the window. "Perhaps over a meal. I would love to hear all the details as to how this particular idea came about."
He opened his door and stepped out, and April followed.
They walked only six steps before her eyes caught what was under a spotlight.
Standing directly in the center of the pristine, polished concrete floor under the bright industrial lights was a sleek, ultra-modern, two-seat helicopter. Its dark, reinforced carbon-fiber frame was compact and built for quick flight.