Ch. 1236..1240: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 1236-1240

Chapter 1236

“Hurry up and cook the steak. I’m starving.” Nicole looked at the steak on the grill and her stomach growled.

“Alright. It’ll be ready soon.” Jared gave Nicole a doting look, after which he started grilling the steak with utmost seriousness.

Jared brought the steak into the dining room after they were cooked. By then, Nicole was already holding a knife and a fork, ready to taste the steak.

Then, he looked at Nicole, who looked like a toddler waiting to be fed, and smiled, “Are you that hungry? Did you not eat much at the Riddle’s?”

“I did. Every dish was tasty, and they were all my favorites too,” Nicole replied, salivating when she thought of the lunch she had had at noon.

“Really? I should’ve gone there with you earlier,” Jared joked.

Nicole then proceeded to cut a piece of steak and chew it. It’s so tender. Your grilled steak is the best.”

“You have to pay for my delicious steak,” Jared joked.

“Okay. Name the price.” Nicole continued to eat with a look of nonchalance.

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll name a hefty price?” Jared looked at her.

“Nope. No matter how expensive a steak is, I won’t go broke.” Nicole glanced at Jared.

She had expected that Jared would not accept her money, and so, she was confident that she would do just fine.

“Indeed, but what if money isn’t the mode of payment?” Jared asked, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly with a wicked glint in his eyes.

Nicole paused as she was cutting her steak, whereupon she lifted her head to look at Jared. ‘What does he mean?’

“And what’s that mode of payment you’re talking about?” Nicole asked Jared with probing eyes.

“Chill. Don’t worry about it. Have your meal first.’ Jared comforted her with a smile and proceeded to eat his steak contentedly.

“Wow, the steak today is really good,” he bragged.

Nicole nervously finished her steak and was prepared to leave the dining room under Jared’s gaze. “I’m done eating. You can take your time.”

Nicole slowly climbed the flight of stairs, after which she hurried into her room and locked the door. Then, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jared felt that it was hilarious to see her scurrying away like a frightened bunny and shook his head. Then, he placed his utensils down and made his way upstairs. Upon passing Nicole’s room, he paused.

Nicole was sitting on her bed when she heard his footfalls outside, and that was when her heart tightened. ‘He’s not going to come in, is he?’

After a second had passed, the thudding of his footfalls quickened and dissipated entirely. Relief flooded Nicole at once.

Jared went into his study and sat down, and when he took his phone out, he saw a message from his subordinates abroad.[Mr. Johnston, we’ve found Henry. He seems to have taken refuge with a

foreigner. There are bodyguards following him everywhere. We can’t get close to him.

‘Foreigners?’

Jared could not help but think that Henry’s contacts were all locals. The chief executives from around the world knew about him, and no one would dare to cross the Johnston family just to protect him.

‘Who would be the one willing to take him in?’Launch an investigation into the background of the foreigner who took him in. Do not let Henry find out about who you are.Yes, sir.

Then, Jared called Max and instructed, “Track the movement of the McCarthy’s and confirm whether Joyce is in the country.”

“Yes, sir,” Max replied.

After hanging up, Jared began to cogitate, his eyes showing a wave of unrest.

It was then that his phone sounded out with the notification tone. Thinking it was a message from one of his men abroad, he picked his phone up to check.

Chapter 1237

[Mr. Johnston, what have you been busy with? Why didn't you have the time to answer my call?]

As it turned out, it was sent by Fiorella. Jared sighed and thought, "Why is she still pining over me...?'

Jared replied perfunctorily, as it would be rude to just ignore the text.

[There are too many things for me to deal with as of recent. I am busy during the day. I must've missed it.]

[I've heard about the fire at The Beacon factory. Don't get too angry, things will get better with time.] Fiorella comforted him.

[Are you going to your office tomorrow?]

Jared stared at the message she had sent and ceased all of his responses for a moment. ‘What does she mean? She's not going to come to the office to find me, is she?’

[I'm not sure.] Jared replied in ambiguous fashion.

[It's okay. Are you going to the office or Martin's? I know the address to both locations.]

[Anyway, it's already late. I won't bother you anymore. Please get some rest. It must've been very stressful these days. I'll see

you tomorrow.] Fiorella texted and sent him a goodnight emoticon.

Jared stared at Fiorella's messages in shock.

‘What is wrong with Fiorella? Is she really going to come over to find me tomorrow? If she does bump into Nicole, there would be a huge misunderstanding.’

[I'm too busy to keep you company these days, Miss Fisher. I'll visit you some other day.]

Jared quickly edited his text and sent it before he awaited her reply.

Minutes passed and still, a reply was not seen. ‘It seems that she must've slept.’

At this point, Jared was worried about what he should do the next day, and after a while, he raised his head. He could only allow the chips fall where they might. He walked out of his study and towards Nicole's room. Then, he pushed the door with his hands just to find that they did not budge.

"You locked the door! Do you think it can keep me out?" Jared's mouth curled slightly, and he walked away before coming back with a key.

Nicole was falling asleep on the bed when she suddenly heard someone unlocking the door.

Alarmed, she immediately turned the light on and sat up, staring at the door with her eyes wide open. “It's broken!”

He seems to have the key," Nicole murmured.

The door opened with a click. It was the sixth key that Jared had tried. If he could not open the door with the keys, he would have tore the door down, but as it did, he pushed it open and walked in.

He thought Nicole was fast asleep on the bed and did not expect the bedroom light to be on with Nicole sitting on the bed whilst looking at him.

"Why haven't you slept?” Jared looked at Nicole in surprise.

"I was about to fall asleep, and you woke me up." Nicole looked at him in the eye with dismay.

"So, I woke you up?" Jared placed the bunch of keys he had in his hands on the table and walked towards the bed.

"Yeah. That's right, and why are you here?” a wary Nicole asked.

Jared smiled at the sound of Nicole’s words.

“Of course I'm here to sleep. What do you think I am doing?"

It was then that he slowly approached Nicole.

"Don't come any closer." Nicole shrank back without knowing it.

‘What are you afraid of?" Jared looked at Nicole with an evil glint in his eyes as she looked at him with her eyes half open. It was obvious she was feeling very sleepy.

"You can sleep in peace.” Jared went over and laid down gently with his arms around her.

Then, Nicole fell asleep peacefully in Jared's arms.

Chapter 1238

After that, the two of them slept until the sun rose.

Nicole was woken up by the sound of her phone. She fumbled around carelessly and ended up touching Jared. Furrowing her eyebrows, she was instantly awake. Then, she immediately withdrew her hand with her heart pounding.

At this point, Jared was also partially awake. He looked up and found Nicole sitting there in a daze.

‘What are you doing?" Jared's voice suddenly sounded, which almost startled Nicole into falling off from the bed.

Seeing this, Jared quickly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms before pinning her onto the bed.

The two looked at each other with Nicole's heart pounding even faster than before. "You...why are you awake?” Nicole murmured as she looked into Jared's eyes.

"Aren't you the one who woke me up?" Jared helped smoothen her messy hair, and as the gentle teasing caused Nicole to bring her hands up to her chest, Jared took this opportunity to plant a light kiss on her face.

He sat up with a smile and looked at her, "Are you going to get up anytime soon?”

Nicole immediately sat up upon hearing Jared’s question. She then searched around for her phone and looked through it.

Having gotten a missed call from Claus, she immediately called back.

‘Claus, have the results returned?" Nicole asked.

"Yes."

“Ok, wait there. I'll be there right away.” Nicole hastily hung up, put on a change of clothes, and walked out.

‘Where are you going?” Jared asked, seeing that she was in a hurry.

“I'm going to the factory. The test results came out.” Nicole said, and was about to leave when Jared stopped her.

"Wait."

"What's up?”

"Since the results are out, there's no need to rush. I'll head over with you after we have had our breakfast," Jared said calmly as he put his clothes on.

“Aren't you going to the office today?" Nicole looked at Jared in surprise.’ Isn't his company filled with things waiting for him to deal with?’ she thought.

"I'll send you there as I need to see the results too." Jared walked past her and went downstairs.

Nicole followed him into the dining room where Jared then quickly made two servings of breakfast and ate before driving them to Martin's factory.

When they arrived at Martin's office, both Claus and Martin were already there, looking at the test results. Noticing that Nicole and Jared were walking in, Claus hurriedly brought the results over to them.

"Mr. Johnston, Ms. Riddle, have a look,' he said.

Nicole took the sheet and examined it carefully with Jared by her side doing the same. As they progressed from the second to the last line, her expression became progressively more indignant. Without knowing it, her brows had narrowed to the point that they looked to be knitted together.

"Look." Nicole handed it to Jared.

"It seems that this was the thing that had caused the fire," Jared said after reading the test sheet.

"That's right.”

"Martin, do you have this in your factory?" Nicole asked Martin.

Martin pondered for a moment before he shook his head and said, "No."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure. The raw materials in the factory were used to produce the Beacon's medical equipment. This thing is a volatile chemical which we have no need for, and so, it'd make no sense for US to purchase it,” Martin firmly denied.

"Now things are beginning to come to light. Since it's not from the factory, it must've been brought in by someone else." Nicole's eyes narrowed.

"You must investigate the workers in the factory. Inspect everyone other than yourself,” Nicole confessed, looking into Martin's eyes.

Chapter 1239

"Is this necessary?" Martin asked, worried about the worker's reactions, and how they would be affected.

"Yes." Nicole answered him firmly.

"By the way, one question. Have you recruited any new employees as of recent?" Nicole asked, having suddenly thought about it.

"I did. Last week, the maintenance guy was too busy. They insisted that we get more hands on deck. They have been working hard, so I agreed to it." Martin looked at Jared and Nicole as he recalled.

"How many people were recruited?"

"There were five."

"Focus on investigating these five people," Jared advised.

"Okay. I'll do so right away," Martin said.

"Wait." Nicole stopped Martin, who was about to leave.

"Is there something else?" Martin whirled around to look at Nicole.

“Find an excuse to do so. The last thing you'd want to do is spook them," Nicole advised.

“Okay.” Martin went out after they were done speaking.

Then, Nicole turned to look at Claus and said, "You have worked really hard. Go home and get some rest."

"You're welcome. This is just what I do," Claus said respectfully, and looked at Jared, who nodded before the latter proceeded to leave.

Nicole glanced at Jared and said, "They really are your men. I can't order them around.”

“Well of course, if they take orders from everyone, would they still be my men? If you want him to listen to you, I can order him to do so," Jared said as he looked at her.

“No, you better keep him for yourself. There's nothing important here anymore. Go back to your office and get busy," Nicole urged Jared.

“Are you going to stay here?" Jared looked at her and asked.

"Not really. Maybe I'll go home in a while, or do you want me to accompany you to the office?" Nicole raised her eyebrows as she eyed him.

Jared thought, 'If she wanted to, she could think about it.’

Jared initially wanted to bring her to the office, but when he suddenly remembered the text message Fiorella had sent him last night, he decided not to, as Fiorella would come to the office to find him today.

“That won't be necessary. You've worked hard enough. Why don't you go back to your grandma's and have a good rest. It's been a few days since you came home. Your work abroad must still be waiting for you, right?" Jared said, attempting to balance between his own interests in her, and his wish to prevent another misunderstanding.

"Makes sense," she said. "It's about time I return to Lanningbourg. It's an important week, after all"

"In that case, I won't be sending you off. I'll see you tonight."

Nicole waved at him.

"See you tonight." Jared hugged her and walked out.

From the window upstairs, Nicole watched as Jared got in his car and left. She then sat down and calmly pondered. ‘Who was the person who started the fire? Is there anyone backing them up?

Why did they burn the factory down if someone was behind it? Was it a case of jealousy after they had seen the Beacon? Or was it Joyce, who probably came back for revenge? Or is there someone else?'

Many questions kept popping up in Nicole's mind.

After a while, Martin walked in, and noticing that Jared was not there, he asked, "Where's Mr. Johnston?"

Nicole raised her head and looked at Martin. 'He had left. Have you started your investigation?"

"It's already in motion. At first, everyone was anxious, but after I reassured them, things became alright."

"The five newly recruited are being investigated now, right?" Nicole asked Martin.

Chapter 1240

Heading to the direction of the Sea View Villa, she proceeded to make her way back to visit Mrs. Wallace Sr. before leaving, as the latter would think that Nicole had gone missing if she did not.

As soon as Jared arrived at the office, an assistant walked over to meet him. "Mr. Johnston, the directors are waiting for you in the conference room.”

Jared frowned and looked at the assistant, “What are they here for?”

"The reasons they're here seems to be related to the fire at the Beacon factory." The assistant said, having gotten information about the Beacon factory incident.

"Let's go take a look.” Jared changed and made his way to the conference room.

Jared pushed the door open and walked in. The conference was silent for a moment. No one dared to speak.

Seeing this, Jared sat at the head of the table, looking at everyone, “What brings everyone here today?”

After a while, an elderly man looked at Jared and asked, "Mr. Johnston, did we invest in Martin's Beacon Company?"

‘What are you trying to say?" Jared looked at the person who had spoken and asked.

The man shrank at once, whereupon he looked at Jared with a smile and said, "We all heard about the fire at the Beacon factory, and we happen to be the major shareholders over there, and that is why I must ask, what caused the fire, Mr. Johnston? Will it affect our investment?"

‘Do you all have the same questions?" Jared asked whilst looking around without giving them a direct answer.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Jared continued, “The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The results should be available soon. As for the investment, I don't think it will be affected. After all, The Beacon is still considered a world-class device.

We have high-end products like these. Are we still worried that there will be no clients?"

"However, the fire had indeed caused US to lose a lot in terms of our investments. Now that the cost has not been recovered, all prospects in relation to The Beacon are in question. Besides, who can guarantee whether the same disaster won't happen again," a middle-aged man questioned.

"Do you really wish to see another disaster happening to The Beacon industry? Or does the fire at the Beacon having anything to do with you?" Jared shifted all the blame on him in one sentence, causing everyone in the meeting room to immediately focus their attention on that person.

‘Why are you looking at me like that? Why would I want something disastrous to happen to The Beacon!? I am also a part of the investment,” the man retorted.

"Mr. Johnston, you have done me dirty by saying this. I've been looking forward to the success of The Beacon before it was too late. What does that have to do with the fire? You can't just say something that slanderous, as it would cause everyone to be suspicious of me," the middle-aged man said as he became nervous.

His face was pale, and he could not afford to have something like the disaster attributed to him.

Jared glanced at him coldly and thought, 'He really is a wimp. All I did was scare him a little and he’s already petrified. What a chicken.

Jared's tactic worked, as he wanted the board of directors to make fools out of themselves.

Once they had kept mum, Jared continued, "The investments I have made over the years are obvious to everyone. Of all the projects we've been involved in, which one isn't lining your pockets with revenue?"

I didn't see you guys coming here to thank me when I paid you all the dividends, but now that something as trivial as this had occurred, you showed up here with your knickers in knots. It would be a joke if people knew about this.”

"Anyway, you're all veterans here," Jared continued. "So tell me, why are you uncertain about this matter?”

"Anyway, I have other things to take care of, so I won't be arranging dinner for any of US." Jared said, his words causing everyone present in the room to flush as they got up to bid him goodbye.

‘Wait a minute." Jared suddenly called out to stop the middle-aged man who had questioned him earlier.

The middle-aged man suddenly shivered, looked at Jared with his head lowered, and forced a smile. Jared could not help but look upon the gesture in disgust, as it looked uglier than an ugly cry.

‘Next time round, if you hear any gossip, don't be in such a hurry to jump to conclusions. At least take the time to understand what the issue is, and let your brain process the situation before you spew your take, do you understand?" Jared reprimanded in a cold and harsh tone of voice.

The man was so frightened that a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead at once, causing him to nod and bow in a gesture of apology.

"I'm sorry Mr. Johnston. It was because I was confused and wasn't able to think clearly. I won't dare to do so again next time. No. Actually, there won't even be a next time."

"Very well." Jared said, not listening to the words that the man had spluttered out.

"Okay." The middle-aged man hurriedly left the conference room, not daring to even turn his head around.