Joshua looked at his watch the seventh time in the last ten minutes. It had been fifteen minutes past the scheduled time, yet there was no sign of the person he was meeting. He was waiting for Ivy in his office room, for almost an hour, though they had agreed to meet at the time ten minutes prior to the current time.
After her meeting with Valarie, Ivy had made a call to Joshua asking him to meet her. He had agreed at once, shifting all his work to the next day. He had informed Ivy to meet him at his office, which she had complied with.
Actually, Ivy had arrived a few minutes before the scheduled time. However, she had to wait at the lounge to get Joshua's permission to let her inside the office.
Joshua's secretary, Lucia, knocked at the door and waited for Joshua to allow her to enter in.
"Come in." Joshua's deep voice resonated, sending her heart into turmoil.
"Sir, Miss Ivy West has arrived. Shall I bring her up?" With great difficulty, Lucia spoke up. She had to keep herself from losing her mind, looking at the dashing human in front of her.
'Oh my god. It is a sin for such a handsome man to ever grace this earth. I must have saved the world in my previous life for being able to work as his assistant.' She thought, with invisible hearts practically flying out of her eyes.
Joshua's eyes glistened on hearing Ivy's name. "Yes, yes. Bring her in."
Meanwhile Ivy was waiting in the lounge, looking around her. It was the first time she had set her foot into a place like this. It was bustling with quite a lot of people. Although they were busy, when they saw Ivy, they smiled at her politely, before returning to their work.
A tall, blonde, woman dressed in an all-white skirt and blouse, stopped in front of her, after some time of her waiting in the lounge.
"Miss West, Mr. Martin is waiting for you. This way please."
Ivy stood up and followed the woman. She was pleased with the hospitality in his office. They were polite and well mannered.
"Is Mr. Martin busy? Am I disturbing him?" Ivy asked waiting for the elevator door to open.
"No Miss West. Mr. Martin has been waiting for you." The woman gave her a smile, revealing her perfect white teeth.
Ivy pushed the door to Joshua's office. The woman had led her only till his office door, before walking back to her seat.
"May I come in, Mr. Martin?" Ivy asked in a fake professional voice.
Joshua's eyes left the computer screen and landed at the beautiful intruder he had been waiting for.
"Please do." Joshua got up from his chair and walked around his desk. He led her to the black couch at the back of the room and gestured for her to sit.
"What would you like to take, tea, coffee or anything else?"
"Just water is fine."
Joshua poured a glass of water and handed it to her. She thanked him and gulped it one go.
"Tell me, Miss West. What can I do for you?"
'Wow, straight to the point. Good. I like it.' Ivy thought.
"I know you have already tried searching for details about the journalists involved in the incident three years ago."
"Look Miss West." Joshua started. However, Ivy interrupted him.
"No. No. You have got me wrong. I have not come here to ask you the same thing again. I have come here on a different purpose."
"What could that be?" Joshua asked with interest.
'Whatever her purpose for her visit is, it would definitely not be something small.' He said in his mind.
"I want your help with something else. I want to know who the Director of Royal Health Care Hospital is."
Joshua's eyes widened. As expected her words had taken him by surprise. He did not even expect her intention to this sudden meet was to ask him to find out about a hospital.
"But why?" He asked unable to comprehend why she wanted to know about that hospital in particular.
"Mr. Martin I searched for all the hospitals which had been involved in these illegal activities three years ago. Except for the Royal Health Care Hospital, all other hospitals have been shut down in this period of three years. So I wanted to know how this was possible. Why Royal Health Care Hospital was not shut down?"
Joshua was astonished. He couldn't deny that he was impressed with her determination. She had found out a lot about the incident. He had all the information she wanted. Yet he could only act and lie in front of her.
"Okay Ivy. I'll help you to find out more about the Director. However, I want you to answer some of my questions." Joshua waited for her approval.
"Sure." Ivy thought about it and felt that it was only fair that he should know a few things about why she was so desperate for his help.
"Umm. Why are you trying so hard to find clues about that incident?"
"That's a tough question. Let's just say that someone I know went missing covering this news."
Joshua's jaw dropped a little. 'Who could it be?'
"So you are searching for that person?"
Ivy nodded.
"Are you sure that person is alive?"
Hearing his question, Ivy's gaze constricted. She glared icily at him. She looked like a seething dragon, ready to spit out fire at any moment.
"Do not misunderstand me. It has been a long time. So I was just wondering."
Ivy calmed down a little. "I have a feeling that he is alive."
'So, the person she is looking for is a he.' Joshua thought.
"If you cannot find any information about the Director of the hospital, you can search for the owner of Royal Pharmaceuticals. They are both the same person."
"Oh. Interesting." Joshua mused.
"And Ivy, one last question. Who are you searching for?" Joshua's brain was urging him to ask this question since she revealed that she was searching for someone.
"My Dad."
Ivy answered him with just two words and those two words were enough to shake him to the core.
"Your Dad?" Joshua was perplexed. He did not anticipate this extraordinary turn of events.
"Yes. My Dad, Oliver West, was the one who was leading his team to cover this news.
"You are Oliver's daughter?" Joshua was knocked with a feather.
"Do you know my Dad?" Ivy turned to look at Joshua.
Joshua cursed himself for his slip of the tongue. He controlled his emotions and replied calmly. "Sort of. But not personally. I used to follow his news closely. He was an honest reporter."
Ivy smiled at his answer. Her father was definitely a person many people knew.
"So, I think now you know why I am so desperate."
Joshua could only nod. His hands were tied. Even though he wanted to help her, he couldn't. Noah had forbidden him to do anything related to Oliver and his family. Joshua could only follow his orders. He was helpless looking at the hopeful eyes fixed on him.
"I'll try my level best."
"Thank you Mr Martin. I'll never forget your help."