Chapter 219: Small Talk

Coat check. Phone check. Wallet check.

There was no need for Derek to do a mental checklist. He already knew everything that he had taken with him.

But going through the list in his head was helping to calm him.

Coat check. Phone check. Wallet check...

They were not just random things that he was listing. The items were the components of his armour.

When it came to Haven Group and other events such as fundraisers. Derek had his suit and tie as his armour, with his tongue being both his sword and his shield. But now the situation was different. He was not at work, he was not at a gala,

This was not a fundraiser. He did not have a no-nonsense suit on and he could not fall back on the etiquette of doing business. It was after hours.

Derek was done for the day and there was no formal attire draped over him, making him feel every inch the CEO that he was. This was not a situation that required the CEO of Haven Group.

Instead it needed Derek and not just Derek but Derek Haven at his best. And so he was using the last few seconds that he had to himself to try and get his mind centered. He had his coat, he had his wallet and he had his phone. Somehow, even if he had no idea how. Those three things were going to be very beneficial in rescuing Emily.

Walking into the store, Derek expected to find a situation where Emily was on one end of the shop and his uncle was on the other.

The two of them unable to see each other, but Derek easily being able to spot them both.

In such a situation things should have been easy. He would have been able to just take out his phone and guide Emily. Leading her to safety by giving her directions. So that she took the path that kept her away from his uncle. That would have been easy.

But as it seemed to always be the case between the two of them, things did not work out like that.

Instead, Derek’s eyes found Emily, and his uncle, and his heart sank.

Not only were his uncle and Emily not far apart. They were close, very close, as in his uncle actually had a hand on Emily’s shoulder, kind of close.

Derek stared at them, his mind screeching. No!

He wanted to yell, but he grit his teeth. Nearly biting into his tongue as he reined in the urge to scream. This could not be. Had they already been discovered so fast? He had been running all the way there in an effort to avoid this exact situation but it seemed that he was too late.

Swaying in place, Derek had to fight off the effects of a dizzy spell. It would not do him any good to pass out at that moment. He had to keep it together. He had to handle this. Perhaps Emily

had already come up with some lie. Maybe she had told his uncle some fake story and the man had bought it. Taking a deep breath, Derek forced his feet to move, taking one step at a time as he walked forward.

He did not want to be doing this. In fact, if it were up to him, he would rush forward, grab Emily by the hand, and then the two of them would sprint their way out of the shop. Pretending as though his uncle did not exist. But such a scenario would not do them any good in the long run.

Derek had to get closer, assess the situation. See what was going on, and then handle it. He could not allow himself to let cowardice rule him at that moment. And so Derek walked forward, his steps nearly silent.

He managed to make eye contact with Emily.

One terrified brown eye locked on Derek’s green ones, strands of hair obstructing the other. And suddenly a light bulb went off in Derek’s head, based solely on how they were standing.

His uncle had a hand on Emily’s shoulder, but she was yet to turn back. Derek had not seen her address the older man. Could it be? They had not yet turned to each other? They had never been face to face.

So there was a chance that his uncle did not know that it was Emily that he was currently touching. Moving faster, Derek came up with a new plan on the spot. As he watched, his uncle flexed his fingers, relaxing his grip and then tightening it again in a clear sign that he was about to turn Emily to face him. Nodding at Emily to reassure her, Derek moved closer still.

Even if he had no idea what he was going to do, he was still going to do something.

Derek took a deep breath and then called out,

"Uncle!" What followed after that was instinct, as simple as that. The man jerked, his hand slipping off Emily’s shoulder, as he tilted his head to the side, finally seeing Derek. And if there had been any wonder as to why the man was there.

If there had ever been any doubt, the look on his uncle’s face wiped it all away. Upon seeing Derek, the man did not look surprised at all. In fact, he looked panicked, like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. So whatever it was that the man was doing in Derek’s neck of the woods. Then most definitely, it was not something that could be passed off as innocent.

A few more strides, and Derek found himself standing next to the duo, and he moved his body in such a way that he pushed Emily behind him. While actively shielding her from his uncle’s sight. His coat billowing slightly. Providing her with a bit more cover.

The move seeming natural, if a bit rude. To his uncle, it would like Derek pushing a stranger away. Not protecting someone he cared about.

Tapping at his phone in his pocket, Derek sent out a message, ’GO’, one word, simple. And he did not turn back to see if Emily had received it.

But he did feel her presence leave, and with her no longer, within his uncle’s firing range, Derek let out a breath.

"Uncle, what brings you here? I have not seen you anywhere near where I live in years. Do you happen to have a special girl that you are seeing?" Derek asked, admonishing himself internally at how chummy he was being. He and his uncle did not get along. No doubt the man would be suspicious if he continued to be overly friendly. But luckily for him, his first slip-up went unnoticed by his uncle because the man was still caught in a state of panic. His eyes wide.

Then the older man’s eyes narrowed, and he took a breath, eyeing Derek up and down. "What? Just because you’re an Haven group, you think that you own every single place you walk into? Please, do not think too highly of yourself, nephew. I was merely here to buy some...." He looked around in the aisle that he was in.

And then he grabbed some random cereal off the shelf. I was here to buy this nutritious snack, he said, holding it in such a way that it clearly showed that he had no idea what it was. Derek let it slide. "Oh well then, Uncle. I apologize for assuming. Since I live around here, I am merely here to buy myself some milk. I guess that you and I will see each other at work," He said, and walked away from his uncle.

The interaction had long served its purpose afterall. Emily was gone, and she would not be in any danger of being caught.

But Derek had a feeling that the night was ruined.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read