Chapter 1086
“Why don’t you start by getting the last ball in?”
Nicole sneered and rolled her eyes at him.
Carl narrowed his eyes and gave her a thumbs up.
“Alright, I’ve got to admit that your confidence is admirable.”
Then, he went back to the table, took aim, and prepared himself for the winning shot, but before he went on to strike the cue ball, he glanced over his shoulder back at Nicole.
“Are you sure you are not going to concede defeat?”
Nicole waved her hand as if to dismiss him, and Carl proceeded to pocket the eight – ball.He walked over to Nicole with a look of smug satisfaction on his face.
“You refused to concede even after I’ve given you the chance, but I’ve won anyway.”
“What’s so humiliating about that? It is just a game.Now that we have eaten and had our fun, let’s get out of here.”
Nicole walked out with a confident gait, as if she had not lost the game at all.
“You know, there is something about your composure that tells me that it is not genuine,”иσνєℓєвσσк. ¢σмCarl ran after her.
Soon after, Nicole arrived at the reception desk and met the service staff.
“May I have the tab, please?”
The service staff looked at her, and in a respectful tone, said, “Miss Riddle, as someone who possesses a gold card, you aren’t required to pay.”
Before Nicole could utter a word in response, Carl turned to the staff member in shock.
“Wait, we aren’t required to pay because she has a gold card?”
“Sir, let me explain it to you,” the staff member said.
“Miss Riddle is a gold card holder, and one of the privileges afforded to her, but not our regular patrons, is that she isn’t required to pay a dime when dining in our establishment.”
Carl stared at her, flabbergasted at what he just heard.
“I didn’t know that you were held in such high esteem.”
“Well, since none of us are required to foot the bill, let’s just go.”
Nicole walked out with a look of indifference, devoid of even a single ounce of pride.
Along the way, as she drove him to Martin’s factory, Carl darted her a look.
“Where are we headed to now?”
“To the factory.”
“The factory? What are we even going there in the first place?”
Carl asked in a state of puzzlement, wondering if she did own a factory.
“What’s on your mind?” she replied.
“You’re probably thinking to yourself that I don’t own such a place, aren’t you?”
“Wait, how do you know what I’m thinking?” Carl eyed her with incredulity.
“Are you reading my mind?”
“I can’t read your mind.It is written all over your face.”
Nicole rolled her eyes at him.
“Really?” Carl said, refusing to believe so.
Soon after, the duo arrived at Martin’s factory.
Nicole got out of the car and walked in, noticing an entire crowd of employees bustling about in an orderly fashion.
Among them was the engineer who had underestimated her earlier.
When he spotted her, he ran up to them and greeted her with a smile on his face.
“Hi, Miss Riddle.”
Nicole stared him down.
Recognizing him as the engineer with whom she had a scuffle, she remained tight-lipped, nodded, and walked on.
After a few steps forward, she halted, and found that the engineer was still behind her, tailing the both of them.
“Why are you following me? Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
Realizing the issue, the engineer smiled, backed up, and left.
“Nicole, who’s that guy and what’s his deal? Why is he acting like a dog when it sees its master?”
Carl glanced at the engineer, and back at Nicole.
“You know the engineer to whom I’ve taught a lesson? He’s the one.”
Carl nodded in understanding and directed his gaze at the equipment.
“What are these machines producing?”
She looked at him and beckoned him to come along.
“Follow me.”
Arriving at the assembly of completed product parts, Nicole grabbed one of the samples that had passed the Quality Control inspection and handed it to Carl.
“This is it.”
“What is this?”
Carl took The Beacon and examined it.
“This is a new medical device developed by Martin.It can speed up the recovery process for those who are suffering medical conditions,” Nicole introduced.
“Is it really that good?”
Carl scrutinized the tiny Beacon in disbelief.
Chapter 1087
Nicole produced a knife out of nowhere and stared at Carl.
“If you don’t believe me, you can go ahead and try cutting yourself.”
“Come on, do you think I’m that stupid?”
“You don’t seem very smart, either.”
Nicole sheathed her knife and walked into one of the office rooms.
There, she caught sight of someone she knew, and without hesitation, she walked over and tapped the person on the shoulder.
“Nicole!?”
Kelly whirled around and shouted out in surprise at seeing Nicole.
“What are you doing here?” Nicole asked, her eyes fixed on what Kelly was holding.
“Nothing much.Just getting something done for Mr.Wyance.When did you get here, by the way?”иσνєℓєвσσк.¢σмKelly said, happy to see her.
“I just arrived and here I am, bumping into you!” Nicole replied and smiled.
Kelly responded with a giggle.
“You don’t ever get bored working here, do you?”
Nicole looked at Kelly.
“Not at all.I’ve got to say, each day is a fulfilling one, as there is so much for me to do,”Kelly replied, though she looked knackered.
“You won’t have to be here tomorrow,” Nicole said.
“Come over to the hospital and help me out by taking care of an elderly person.”
“The hospital? Sure! I’ll be happy to be with you no matter where.”
Kelly smiled.
“Where is Martin?”
“I think he is in his office up above.”
“Okay.I’ll go check on him.”
Nicole headed upstairs.
“I’ll leave you to it, then.”
As the door to the office was open, Nicole walked right in.
When Martin saw her, he beamed.
“You didn’t tell me that you were coming.”
“I’ve got nothing better to do, so why would I tell you in advance? Besides, surprise visits like these will allow me to see if you are slacking off.”
Nicole smiled and walked in, after which she took a seat.
“Allow me to introduce, this is my friend, Carl, and this is Martin, whom I’ve just mentioned to you,”Nicole said, introducing the two men to each other.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Carl looked at Martin with a smile.
Martin responded in kind.
“Hello.”
“Martin, he didn’t believe me when I told him that The Beacon was good, so I’d like you to give him a demonstration.”
Nicole eyed Martin with her eyebrow raised.
“Sure.”
Martin grabbed The Beacon on his desk, and looked around for a mouse on which he could test the device.
“There are no mice here.Let’s go outside and look for one.”
Then, the trio marched out of the room and headed downstairs together.
‘How could there be mice in the factory when there aren’t even rats?’ Martin thought, anxious for something he could test his invention on, but when he heard a scream, he rushed over to the source.
“What’s going on?”
“Mr.Wyance, Joe accidentally injured himself while he was working on the machine,” one of the workers said.
“I think we need to take him to the nearest hospital.”
“Let me see.”
Martin walked up and inspected the wound on Joe’s arm.
“A trip to the hospital won’t be necessary, as I can take care of it.”
He turned to Carl.
“Carl, allow me to demonstrate what The Beacon can do.”
Upon concluding his sentence, he pressed a red button, removed a syringe containing a rapid-healing concoction from the compartment, and thrust the needle into Joe’s arm.
Seeing that the drug was taking effect at once, Martin glanced back at Carl.
“What do you think?”
“Amazing!”
Carl yelled, his eyes fixed on Joe’s wound in amazement.
It was a minor wound that would usually take a few days to heal, but with Martin’s injection, Joe’s arm was restored within a matter of minutes.
“Martin, how did you even come up with The Beacon?” Carl asked.
“The healing effect is miraculous!”
Martin smiled at him.
“Rapid healing is one of the best features about The Beacon.
It took me forever to develop it.
If it didn’t work as well as it does, I wouldn’t have produced it en-masse.”
Chapter 1088
“Gosh, you’re a genius! I can’t believe that you actually invented something this futuristic! Can I buy one?” Carl asked, wanting to buy one because he felt that this device would be of use to him.
“Weren’t you skeptical of it?” Nicole teased.
“Why would you want to get one now?”
“How could I doubt it now? It’s just that…didn’t know what it was capable of,” Carl explained, his face flushing due to embarrassment.
“You don’t have to purchase one.” Nicole looked at Carl and smiled.
“I’ll give one of these to you.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He looked at Nicole in disbelief, thinking that she was just messing around with him.
“It’s fine if you don’t want it.”
She turned around and headed for the exit.
Carl ran after her, stammering, “Oh, sure! Please, uh, get me one.When can I have it?”
“You’ll get one later when I leave,” she replied.
“Martin, when Carl comes over to receive his order, you may pass him the latest batch of The Beacon which I’ve just ordered.”
Nicole glanced to the side at Martin and ordered.Martin kept his eyes fixed on Carl for a moment and turned to Nicole.
“Understood.”
“Alright, we better get going now,”иσνєℓєвσσк.¢σмshe said, passing her Beacon to Carl as she began walking off.
“See you around.”
“See you,” Martin waved.
“This is yours.”
Carl received The Beacon, and wore it on his arms with a look of delight.
“Man, this thing looks really cool on me.It matches my aesthetics.”
Nicole darted her eyes at him.
“Indeed, it does look good on you.”
“Are we leaving already?”
Carl glanced over back at Martin.
“Yeah, unless you’re thinking of spending the night here, that is.I don’t mind leaving you here if that’s what you want,” Nicole said without giving him another glance and got into her car.
“Why would I want to live in a factory?” he asked and entered the vehicle, afraid that Nicole would leave him behind.
“Where are you staying?” she asked.
“I’ll send you home so that you can catch some rest.”
“Do you have anything going on for you?” he asked in response.
“I can keep you company if you’d like.” Nicole replied.
“No, I’m just heading over to my grandmother’s for a visit.”
“Now that I’m here, we can both pay her a visit together.”
Carl stated, knowing that he had nothing better to do in the hotel where he was staying.
At least he would have someone to talk to if he tagged along.
“Okay, sounds good to me,”
Nicole said, flooring the accelerator and heading off to the sea view villa.
“It’s beautiful here.”
Carl looked out from the window and admired the sea that stretched off into the horizon.
“Yeah.I love lounging around at balcony and gaze off into the sea when I’ve got nothing else to do,” she said.
“I can keep my eyes on the view all afternoon at times.By the way, do you see that building in front? That’s the villa.”
“Wow, that’s huge!”
Carl exclaimed as he stared at the only villa overlooking the sea.
“Of course it is,” she said upon reaching the villa.
“It was my grandpa’s gift to me.”
Then, she entered the driveway.
“Wait, whose car is this?”
Nicole questioned as she noticed an unfamiliar car parked at the courtyard.
“Could it be Jared?”
Carl asked, hazarding a guess.
“It can’t be him.That’s not his car.I guess we’ll find out once we’re inside.”
Nicole parked her car and strutted off into the villa.
As Nicole and Carl entered the living room, they spotted a man sitting on the couch, chatting with Mrs.Riddle Sr.1 “Nicole, you’re back!”
Mrs.Riddle Sr.said the instant she noticed Nicole walking in.
The guy on the sofa turned around to look at the entrance.
“Nicole, what kept you away for so long?” Harvey asked as he eyed Nicole with a look of concern on his face.
“I’ve heard from Mrs.Riddle Sr.that you haven’t visited her for a few days.”
Nicole shot him a glare and made a beeline for Mrs.Riddle Sr.”
Grandma, why did you let him in?”
“What kind of question is that?”
Harvey glanced at Carl and back at Nicole, his face red with embarrassment.
“Why can’t I be here?”
‘It is fine if Nicole wants to have a dig at me in front of our friends and family, but how could she do it in front of a stranger?’ Harvey thought.
Chapter 1089
Harvey stared at Carl and asked, “And who is this?”
“A friend of mine,” Nicole replied, foregoing the need to introduce them to one another.
“Hi, I’m Harvey Ellison.A friend of hers too.”
Harvey extended his hand to Carl.
Carl, sensing that Nicole was not on good terms with the man in front of him, gave a short reply.He did not even shake Harvey’s hands.
Seeing this, Harvey withdrew his hand, sat down awkwardly, and turned to Nicole, “What have you been up to lately? Has Mr.Johnston Sr.woken up?”
Ever since Jared returned, Harvey had not visited the hospital.
“He’s awake,” Nicole said, before turning to Mrs.Riddle Sr.and introducing Carl to her grandmother.
“Grandma, this is my best friend, Carl.”
“Hello, Mrs.Riddle Sr.,” Carl greeted.
Mrs.Riddle Sr., who noticed Carl’s tall and athletic physique, laughed, “This boy over here looks fit.You better be eating more later on.”
Nicole turned to look at Carl.
‘Grandma’s right.He is buff indeed”
As Nicole and her grandmother chatted, Harvey sat down in his quiet little corner, and watched them.иσνєℓєвσσк.¢σмHe felt ostracized as no one could be bothered to talk to him.It was as if Mrs.Riddle Sr.had forgotten about his presence as well.
Not feeling content with being left out any longer, Harvey decided to interrupt their conversation.
“Mrs.Riddle Sr., have you gotten any sun today?”
Mrs.Riddle Sr.looked at Harvey.
“Huh?”
“I mean, would you like to go out to the balcony and bask under the sun?” Harvey asked.
“Sure.”
Mrs.Riddle Sr.nodded “I’ll keep you company.”
Nicole helped Mrs.Riddle Sr.up.
Seeing this, Harvey hurried over and kept the old lady supported on the other side.
Carl was perplexed as he looked at the both of them rushing to the aid of Mrs.Riddle Sr.
‘’She is still pretty strong and healthy.Does she really need two people on her flank to prop herself up?”
Harvey smirked as he saw Carl staring blankly at them.He felt that he had finally been given a chance to shine, and as both Harvey and Nicole walked Mrs.Riddle Sr.to the balcony, Carl followed closely behind.
Nicole glared at Harvey.
‘Why is this guy everywhere? He’s just trying to get himself some attention and brownie points”
All of them sat down after they had brought Mrs.Riddle Sr.to the balcony, and as the gentle breeze blew and caressed her face, Nicole gazed out into the sea.
“Such lovely weather today.”
Harvey nodded in agreement.
“Yeah.We should all just chill out under this climate.”
Nicole turned toward Harvey and suggested, “Why don’t we have a game of volleyball at the beach?”
Harvey eyed her with a look of approval.
“That’s a great idea! But then, grandma just came up.”
The both of them simultaneously turned their attention to Mrs.Riddle Sr., after which Harvey came up with a bold suggestion.
“Why not bring her along?”
Nicole pondered for a moment.
“She is in no condition to play volleyball.”
Harvey rolled his eyes and frowned.
“Who said she’ll be playing with us? She can be our referee!”
“Well, that sounds like a good idea,”
Nicole replied, feeling that Harvey was capable of spurs of brilliance at times.It was then that Tia walked in with a platter topped with fruits.
“Have some, Nicole.”
Nicole looked at Tia and glanced around.
Realizing that there were four people present, she concluded that they could team up in pairs.
“Tia, would you fancy a game of volleyball with us?”
“Sure!” Tia beamed.
“And Carl?” Nicole asked.
“Yeah sure,” he answered.
“Okay, we’ll bring grandma along, then,” Nicole said.
“Hey grandma, we’ll take you to the beach for a game of volleyball.”
Mrs.Riddle Sr.waved her hand in dismissal.
“You guys can go ahead.I don’t think I can play at all.”
“No worries.You can be our referee.You can bask under the sun there too,” Nicole said, as she helped her grandmother up on her feet.
Chapter 1090
All of them strutted to the beach with chairs and parasols in hand.
When they had found a spot they wanted, Carl went about setting up the parasol as Harvey arranged the chairs, and Nicole and Tia sat Mrs.Riddle Sr.down.
“Grandma, you can just sit here and watch us play,” Nicole said.
“Whichever side the ball lands, you can go ahead and deduct points for that side.”
Mrs.Riddle Sr.kept nodding her head, but Nicole was not certain if her grandmother actually understood the instructions.
“Alright, let’s split into teams.”
Nicole turned to the rest of them.
“What is the arrangement?” Harvey asked.
“I’ll team up with Carl, and you’ll be with Tia,” Nicole said, not wishing to be in the same team as Harvey.
On the other hand, Harvey wanted to team up with Nicole, but due to the fact that Nicole had already paired him up with Tia, he could not decline.
Doing so would only make Tia feel awkward.
“Alright, let’s move out!” Nicole said.
“The both of you can decide who gets to go first with a game of Paper, Scissors, and Stone,”
Carl suggested, whereupon they did.
“I won!”
Nicole yelled, and started the game.
With a bang, Nicole struck the ball, launching it to the opposite side.
However, Harvey was light -footed and quick to act; he sprinted over and bounced it back to her.
Nicole was well-prepared to strike the ball again.
Once the ball had reached her side of the court, she quickly stretched her arms out and launched the ball up and over the net.
Once again, Harvey countered and sent it flying back to her.
Seeing that Harvey had bounced it back once more, Nicole sent the ball toward Tia instead, and as Tia did not really know how to play, the ball grazed her hand and fell to the ground.
With that said, Nicole had won the first round.
In spite of this, Harvey stepped forward and encouraged Tia.
“Don’t worry, let’s try again.”
This time around, Nicole eluded Harvey and focused on engaging Tia, and as expected, Tia could not track, let alone bounce the ball back, and thus, Nicole won the second round.
After Nicole had won a few rounds in a row, Harvey stopped the game.
“Nicole, I don’t think our teams are balanced in terms of skill levels.I think we should reshuffle them.”
Nicole asked, ‘How are we supposed to do that?”
Harvey considered her question for a moment, and after some thought, he decided to seize the opportunity and say, “Both you and Carl are good at this, but the same can’t be said for Tia and I.Why don’t I switch places with Carl? That would even the playing field.”
Nicole turned to Carl, who had no objections.
“Okay, let’s do that.”
“First off, let’s catch a break.”
Nicole strutted off toward Mrs.Riddle Sr.”We’ll continue in a bit.”
“Grandma, did you see that?”иσνєℓєвσσк.¢σмNicole asked.
“I won a few rounds in a row.”
“I saw that.The ball has been flying back and forth.It made me dizzy,” Mrs.Riddle Sr.replied.
They erupted into a gale of laughter when they heard her response; the atmosphere at the beach was lively, indeed.
After their break was over, Nicole stood up and turned to look at them.
“Are you guys ready?”
“Let’s go!” Harvey yelled.He was in good spirits.Now that he was in the same team as Nicole, he would take this opportunity to showcase his abilities to her.
“Tia, you can attack from the front.I’ll stand guard on your six.” Carl said, explaining his strategy to Tia.
“Sure, but I’m not very good at it.” Tia looked at Carl and blushed.
“It’s okay.I’ll be here,” Carl replied, his tone exuding a sense of trust.
“Nicole, you can remain in the front.I’ll take care of the back.”
Harvey spouted with a tone of confidence to Nicole.
“Okay,” she responded.
When the match began, Tia opened by launching the ball onto an area unguarded by the opposing team.
In response, Nicole rushed over and bounced it into the air.
Then, Harvey followed up with a jump and sent the ball flying toward Carl.Carl caught the ball with relative ease and sent it hurtling back to the ground across the net, winning the game.
Seeing this, Tia whirled around in excitement and gave Carl a high five.
“He actually got it.”
Harvey sighed, thinking that Carl wouldn’t be able to reach the ball because it was rather far away from him when it was sent over the net.Yet, Carl not only caught it; he had sent it flying back to them with a winning shot.
In the subsequent round, Tia opened with a shot across the net once more.
Nicole saw this and sent the ball flying back to them, prompting Carl to lurch forward and strike it.
With the ball flying past Nicole, Harvey thought that she would not be able to reach it in time, so he lunged forward to secure the ball.
At that instant, both of them collided into other and fell to the ground, as the ball landed right beside them.