Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 180: "Don’t Tell Me You’re Still Single?
A cold wind seeped into the car through the gap in the door.
Sean Harrison was just about to get out of the car...
The phone in his pocket rang.
He glanced at the number on the screen and pulled the door fully shut.
Then, he answered the call.
"Mr. Harrison, you’re scheduled for an eleven o’clock appointment this morning. Have you arrived yet?"
On the other end of the line was a renowned psychiatrist from Veridia.
"I got held up on the way. I’ll be there within half an hour." Sean Harrison hung up and said to the driver, "Let’s go."
-
Time flew by in a flash.
Five years had passed since Sean Harrison last saw Rory Linden at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
His net worth had multiplied several times over since then.
Naturally, his workload had multiplied as well.
His daily schedule was almost completely packed with meetings and social engagements. Some days, he would even take three flights to visit three different cities.
His life now consisted of one thing and one thing only: work.
"President Harrison."
Sean Harrison had just returned to his office. His special assistant, Ethan Dixon, followed him in to give his report.
"The hospital says your mother is getting on in years, and the surgery would be very risky with the technology currently available here. However, there’s a new piece of equipment that’s just been imported, though no local doctors are proficient with it yet. Sanctum Hospital recommends we invite a cardiac surgeon from abroad who is skilled with the device to perform the operation."
"Whatever." Sean Harrison took off his suit jacket and said nonchalantly, "From now on, the hospital can make its own decisions regarding her. There’s no need to report to me."
"Understood."
Ethan Dixon left.
Ever since Rory Linden left five years ago, Sean Harrison’s relationship with Charlotte Rhodes had turned icy.
No longer trapped in their sham of a mother-son relationship, he had sold the old Harrington family estate and the assets of Harrington Enterprises to recoup the money he had once invested in the family.
He left Charlotte Rhodes only a modest villa and an annual living allowance of five million.
Beyond that, he had no further contact with her.
It was only because Charlotte Rhodes had recently been hospitalized in critical condition that the doctors had managed to contact Sean Harrison through Ethan Dixon.
Sean Harrison merely stated that he would cover her medical expenses, and nothing more.
His time with Rory Linden had taught him that affection had to be mutual. Even with his own mother, if she did not love him, he felt no obligation to love her in return.
Meanwhile, Ethan Dixon didn’t relay Sean’s exact words to the hospital. Instead, he told them, "Proceed with your proposed plan. Don’t worry about the cost."
Sanctum Hospital was another private hospital in Veridia. While it couldn’t compare to Elysian Hospital in terms of scale, its facilities were decent.
However, as Charlotte Rhodes was only registered as a standard member, she couldn’t stay in the hospital’s most luxurious private suite, only a regular member’s room.
Even so, as Sean Harrison’s mother, no one at Sanctum Hospital dared to treat Charlotte Rhodes with anything less than the utmost care.
They feared that if anything were to happen to Charlotte Rhodes, a man of Sean Harrison’s power could, with a lift of his finger, force the hospital into a full-scale internal audit that would end in bankruptcy and liquidation.
After speaking with the hospital, Ethan Dixon returned to the office and asked,
"President Harrison, President Lancaster’s birthday banquet is tonight. The gift is ready."
Sean Harrison had been so busy with work in recent years that he saw Henry Lancaster far less often.
For the past two years, he had been away on business trips for Henry Lancaster’s birthday, merely having Ethan Dixon prepare a gift to send over.
Even though Sean Harrison was in Veridia this year, Ethan Dixon wasn’t sure if he intended to attend.
"Henry Lancaster?" Sean Harrison asked.
Ethan Dixon nodded.
Sean Harrison’s gaze lingered on the document before him for a moment. "Put the gift in the car," he said. "I’ll go in person tonight."
"Understood."
Ethan Dixon reported on a few other work matters before leaving.
-
That evening, Sean Harrison canceled a meeting and headed to the banquet with the gift.
He had just stepped into the banquet hall when...
"Mr. Harrison!" Henry Lancaster appeared out of nowhere. "Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would’ve driven over to pick you up!"
Though they hadn’t been in frequent contact over the past few years, Henry Lancaster had made a considerable fortune by following Sean Harrison’s business ventures.
Mr. Lancaster, who had once considered him an unreliable spendthrift, had now completely changed his opinion of his son.
"I had some free time, so I decided to stop by." Sean Harrison presented the gift. "What, not happy to see me?"
"I could turn anyone else away, but never you!"
Henry Lancaster was beyond excited.
As the two men were talking, Rachel Lancaster came running out of a corner. "Mr. Harrison, it’s been so long!"
Sean Harrison gave a slight nod.
He was so busy with work that while he still had opportunities to see Henry, his path almost never crossed with Rachel’s.
The last time they had met...
...was back when Rory Linden was still in the picture.
Rachel had promised to help Rory pick out a wedding dress.
Five years had passed. He’d heard Rachel Lancaster’s fashion studio had become quite successful, but the order they had agreed upon all those years ago was still missing its bride.
Rachel glanced around before asking, "Mr. Harrison, don’t tell me you’re still single after all this time?"
"AHEM! AHEM! AHEM!"
The moment Henry Lancaster heard his sister’s question, the color drained from his face.
Everyone knew that ever since Rory Linden left, topics like dating and girlfriends were strictly taboo around Sean.
No one dared to bring them up.
Once, at a bar, some guy had too much to drink and insisted on setting Sean Harrison up with an actress.
After being rejected, he’d slurred, "Wasn’t your old girlfriend just a housekeeper for the Harrington family? Totally unpresentable. Good riddance, I say."
Sean Harrison had smashed a bottle over the man’s head on the spot.
Not long after, the man’s company vanished from Veridia.
"Busy with work."
Sean Harrison deflected the question with a flat tone.
"You can’t let being busy get in the way of settling down. Even my brother’s about to get engaged." Rachel thought for a moment before asking directly, "A lot of my friends are here tonight. I could introduce you to some of them later?"
"No, thank you. I’m about to leave."
Sean Harrison refused outright.
Afraid his sister would say something else to put her foot in her mouth, Henry gave her a nudge. "That’s enough. Go on and see to your friends."
Rachel started to say something else, but she saw the look on her brother’s face, seemed to realize her mistake, and excused herself.
Watching his sister walk away, Henry was quick to apologize. "Mr. Harrison, please don’t mind Rachel. The last time you two saw each other was five years ago. She didn’t mean anything by it."
"It’s fine. I have to get going anyway," Sean Harrison said. "Happy birthday. Call me if you need anything."
"Alright, Mr. Harrison, I’ll see you out!"
Henry Lancaster walked Sean Harrison all the way to his car.
Sean Harrison rarely drank these days, so he almost always drove himself.
Henry Lancaster opened the car door for him.
After getting in, Sean Harrison lowered the window and rested his left arm on the frame. "You’re the birthday boy," he said. "Hurry back inside."
"It’s fine. The main event won’t start for a while."
Henry Lancaster glanced down and saw it again—the silk scarf wrapped around Sean Harrison’s left hand.
It was an exceptionally plain little square scarf—yellow and blue stripes, made of the most common synthetic fiber.
He didn’t know when it started, but Sean had been wearing that scarf wrapped around his hand for a long time now.
Perhaps from being washed over and over through the years, the scarf had already started to fade.
