Chapter 20

They were on the balcony alone, so his words were perfectly clear. Melody lifted her eyes to look at him. His deep voice was inherently warm, but his lack of emotion made it sound cold and detached. "Think about it carefully." Her heart sped up a little. Melody stared at Jeremy in a daze. "You..." Was he worried about her? Jeremy's eyes were beautiful—deep and dark. Whenever he looked at someone, it seemed affectionate. However, he was so reserved that few people dared to make eye contact with him. Right now, though, Melody could see her reflection in those eyes. Before she could respond, he spoke again. "Regallo Group has always been in the public spotlight. If you make the move to separate from the family, that spotlight will turn on you. It will probably affect our department too." Jeremy paused, then added, "The department is already drawing a lot of attention, and some patients have been disturbed." It took Melody a while to grasp what he meant. He was worried she might drag the department into the mess. She calmed down and asked, "So?" "I'm just telling you one of the possible consequences. If you bring trouble to the department, there's no guarantee you'll be allowed to stay at the hospital." Cheryl often reminded him to look after Melody. She said Melody was kind, and others could easily push her around. Jeremy spelled out the consequences for her clearly. "Ask yourself if you can take the fallout. If you can't, then refuse as soon as you can." The Chesson family worked with the Wardolf family, so he could help if needed. Melody pressed her lips together. She didn't reply. She was only an adopted daughter. The Wardolf family had never treated her badly. She knew Andrew did make use of her. However, she wouldn't be who she was today without them. She had no right to be willful. Jeremy realized she had nothing more to say, so he turned and left. The next day, Melody had the night shift. She spent the morning going to the airport to pick up Felicia, who was Melody's best friend and a reporter. Felicia had been on a business trip out of town and just got back today. Felicia was wearing an orange jacket and had her hair in a ponytail. It made her stand out in the crowd. She spotted Melody right away and broke into a bright smile. "Hey, babe! I'm back!" Melody took the suitcase from Felicia's hand and said cheerfully, "I reserved a table at your favorite restaurant. Didn't you say you barely had anything decent to eat while you were away? You look so much thinner." Felicia waved both hands, looking worn out. "Don't even mention it. There's no good food in those remote mountains. The only nice meal I had was because I ran into Jason." They chatted while making their way to the restaurant. As soon as they sat down, Felicia's phone kept going off. She sighed. "I guess I'm just doomed to be worked to death. Can they not give me a break?" Even though she complained, she still checked her phone. After reading the messages, she looked at Melody with a gasp. "Mel, there's this huge story about your hospital. Some well-known entrepreneur's medical info got leaked, and her company's stock is tanking. You'd better steer clear of whoever's behind it." Right after she finished speaking, Melody's phone rang. It was a call from the department. "Ms. Wardolf, there's a notice. Everyone must return to the department for a meeting by 1:00 pm."