Chapter 3

Nancy handed me my phone with an annoyed look.

The second I took it, Joshua called.

"Mr. Harris, where are you? The people from Apex Holdings are already here. I can only stall them for another half hour. You need to get to the office as soon as possible."

That was when I realized it was already the next day.

My stomach dropped. I threw back the covers and tried to get out of bed.

Nancy had clearly heard the call. She immediately moved to stop me.

"You can't go to that meeting!"

She seemed to realize how suspicious that sounded and quickly changed her tone.

"I mean, you just got hurt. Your health matters more. Work can wait."

I tried to move past her, but I was still weak from the accident. She easily forced me back down onto the bed.

When I tried to get up again, Nancy finally snapped and slapped me across the face.

"I told you to stay in bed!"

The second she hit me, we both froze.

Nancy seemed shocked by what she had done. She quickly turned and left, but before she went, she told the nurse to make sure I stayed in the room.

The next half hour slipped by before I knew it.

The more I thought about Nancy, the heavier the disappointment became.

I brought her out of the slums, gave her access to the best resources, and almost never told her no. Everything I felt I owed Claudia, I tried to repay through Nancy.

And somehow, I ended up raising someone utterly ungrateful.

My phone suddenly buzzed with a message from Joshua.

[Mr. Harris, you missed the meeting. Luckily, Mr. Henderson convinced the Apex Holdings team to give us one more chance. They've agreed to come back tomorrow to discuss the partnership.

[But tomorrow is our last shot. This deal is crucial to the company's future, so please don't miss the meeting again.]

I replied with a simple, [Okay.]

Nancy didn't come back for the rest of the day, and I didn't care.

Early the next morning, I went straight to the office. I had barely sat down with the representatives from Apex Holdings when the conference room doors flew open.

Nancy stormed in with Austin, followed by a crowd of doctors and nurses in white coats.

She hurried over to me, her face full of concern.

"Bradley, how could you sneak out of the hospital and come to work? You haven't recovered yet.

"The doctor said you need to rest and take it easy. I'm taking you back to the hospital right now."

One of the Apex Holdings representatives frowned. "Miss, we're in the middle of a meeting. Please take everyone with you and leave."

Nancy grabbed a glass of water from the table and splashed it straight at him.

"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?"

Then she turned to me. "Bradley, I don't like them. Tell them to leave."

I frowned but only gave her a mild warning. "Nancy, that's enough."

The representative's expression hardened immediately.

"Mr. Harris, is this really how you do business?

"You've already postponed this meeting more than once, and now you're allowing this kind of behavior in the middle of negotiations?"

Austin picked that moment to step in.

"From the way Mr. Harris has handled this, it doesn't seem like Apex Holdings is much of a priority to him.

"I'm Austin Burns with Burns Corporation. If you're open to it, I'd be happy to discuss what we can offer instead."

The representative made up his mind on the spot.

"Mr. Harris, if you're not serious about this partnership, we'll take our business elsewhere. Mr. Burns, shall we continue this conversation?"

"I'd be glad to."

Austin left with the Apex Holdings representatives, while several of my senior executives watched them go with grim faces.