Mandy, who was in the driver's seat, opened her mouth, only to find that she couldn't utter a word to comfort Gloria. She knew Gloria too well, which was why she felt no need or words to comfort Gloria.
The Carter Group had many problems. Maybe they had been overlooked, or maybe Alger didn't think they were serious.
Mandy was a little distressed for Gloria, who was in the back seat. When Gloria was busy, she was working in an almost suicidal way.
Mandy figured that she was supposed to hate Patrick. After all, he was the one who forced an outgoing woman bit by bit till she was cornered.
In all of Gabbs, Patrick was the only person who could drive Gloria into a corner.
But now, Mandy felt grateful for Patrick. At least he would come in time to pick Gloria up for lunch and dinner, or Gloria would be too busy to eat at all.
Mandy accompanied Gloria to work for several days, and Patrick did not appear during this time.
Gloria knew that he was on a business trip.
It was not Patrick's first time on a business trip. Before, he would call her no matter where he went. He would call her three times a day when it was time to eat, as if he was checking his watch all the time.
One time, her phone died. Unexpectedly, Patrick reached her door at three in the morning.
The second she opened the door, she was shocked.
He stood at the door and pulled her into his arms without a word.
The moment she was held in his arms, she felt his rapidly beating heart. He held her tightly, and at that time, she hesitated. In the end, she did not push him away.
In the Carter Group's office, Gloria and Mandy were busy working.
"Miss Carter, what are you looking at?" Mandy was briefing, yet she found that Gloria was absent-minded, sitting behind her desk.
"What? Nothing." Gloria glanced at her phone screen again, but still, no one called.
Mandy put down the quarterly report in her hand and sat down opposite Gloria. "Miss Carter, you checked your phone a dozen times this afternoon. Whose call are you expecting?"
There was a smile in Mandy's eyes.
She figured out the reason why Gloria was absent-minded.
"No, I didn't," Gloria said faintly behind the desk.
"Miss Carter, you should be honest with your feelings," Mandy said. "Otherwise, you are the one who will suffer."
"You saw it wrong." Gloria was still indifferent.
Mandy decided to expose Gloria. "Gloria, is it that hard to admit that you are expecting Alpha Patrick's call?"
"I am not," Gloria said decisively.
Mandy could not help but roll her eyes. Suddenly, someone's phone rang.
Mandy glanced at the table where the phone was and saw the caller ID sharply. "He's calling."
"I'm not waiting for his call," Gloria emphasized again before answering the call.
Mandy nodded impatiently. "Yeah, right. You aren't for his call."
Before she could finish her sentence, Gloria's expression changed.
"What's wrong?" Mandy jumped up.
Gloria's face was visibly pale, and it seemed as if the blood on her face was completely drained.
"Gloria! Say something!" Mandy could not help but urge.
Gloria opened her mouth, but there was only the sound of breathing. She could not even utter a word.
"What's going on?" Mandy was utterly anxious.
"He's abroad." Gloria's face was ghastly pale, and her lips trembled so much that she could barely speak. "He was shot in the heart and has been taken to hospital for rescue. He is still in a coma." It took her almost all her strength to finish the sentence, and by the time she had finished, she had already burst into tears.
Mandy was shocked. She said in disbelief, "Patrick was shot and unconscious?"
Mandy felt that Gloria was tricked by her fate again.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. Didn't you say that he had been sent to the hospital for rescue?" Mandy was desperate to comfort Gloria, and she found that behind the desk, Gloria's eyes were wide open, tears streaming down her face.
"Hank told me..." Gloria choked.
"Yes?" Mandy said tentatively.
"That his life is at stake." Gloria almost couldn't make a sound in the end.
Mandy opened her mouth, and her expression changed. She thought, 'How could this happen to him?'
Suddenly, Mandy's phone rang.
Gloria was immediately agitated. She asked eagerly, "Who is it?"
"Hank," Mandy opened her mouth and said.
"Pick it up! Now!" Gloria, who had always been calm and composed, shouted.
"OK. Calm down. I'll pick it up now." Mandy felt that Gloria was going to lose it.
"What did he say?" Gloria's eyes were red, and she urgently asked.
Mandy's expression was grave. She looked at Gloria. Under Gloria's extremely eager gaze, Mandy calmed down and said, "Hank left a message for you to leave for Italy immediately."
Mandy did not give Gloria any chance to speak. She continued, "Stewart will prepare a visa, passport, and a private jet for you. Someone will come to pick you up later. Maybe you should bring an exquisite black dress as well. I'm afraid you won't have time for that with so much going on out there."
Gloria's body shook violently. She wiped away her tears and said in a deep voice, "I'm on it."
Gloria came to one of the most expensive stores in the best part of Gabbs. She said, "I am looking for a dress."
"Ma'am, what kind of dress do you want?" the shop assistant asked.
"Something black and solemn," Gloria said expressionlessly.
The shop assistant frowned at her strange request, since it sounded like something for a funeral.
"I want the best-looking one." Gloria paused for a moment. A glimmer of light appeared in her dull eyes. Then she continued, "I want a dress that will impress him. I want him to never take his eyes off me again."
The shop assistant gave an even funnier look.
"Per her request," Mandy, who was at the door, said while panting. She went after Gloria since she was worried.
She opened her purse, took out a black card, and handed it to the shop assistant. "Do as she asks."
She understood Gloria's madness right now better than anyone else.
When the shop assistant returned, there was someone else besides her. "I couldn't find a suitable black dress per the lady's request, so I passed her request on to our designer, who was willing to modify the dress for her on-site."
Mandy nodded. "Awesome."
They didn't explain more. Everything was done in silence.
The designer seemed to know what Gloria wanted.
After he picked a black dress for Gloria, he began to fix it while she was wearing it.
Everything was done according to Gloria's bizarre and contradictory demands.
Indeed, the dress was so contradictory that no one dared to wear it.
"Ma'am, is backless acceptable?" asked the designer.
Gloria asked, "Is it solemn, dignified, and stunning?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the designer replied.
"Alright then," Gloria said coldly.
Mandy looked at Gloria in surprise. She knew Gloria would never want anyone to see her back because it wasn't perfect.
The designer's hands remained steady, even after he saw the ferocious scar on Gloria's waist.
"You are a brave woman," after all the work was done, the designer praised Gloria and gave her a gentleman's hug.
After leaving the mall, Gloria went home to pack her luggage, and then Stewart came to pick her up.
Everything was ready.
When the plane took off, Gloria felt that she could barely breathe.
By daybreak, they reached Rome, Italy.
Hank had already arranged a car. As soon as they got off the plane, they drove straight to the werewolf hospital.
Along the way, Gloria did not ask anything.
Hank stood stone-faced at the door of the ward. Gloria knew the others with him. They were Patrick's pack guards. They wore black suits, and all were silent.
Stewart asked Hank, "Is Sean inside?"
Sean was the one who accompanied Patrick on this business trip.
"Yes." After that, Hank lowered his head and asked the calm Gloria beside him, "Luna Gloria, are you ready?" His hand was on the door handle.
"Wait a minute," she suddenly said.
The silent Gloria did not say a word along the way.
She was so calm that Stewart frowned a few times. He had ridiculed her on the plane a few times, but she ignored him. She just kept her eyes open and looked out of the plane window.
It was the first time she opened her mouth today.