Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman
Chapter 283 Private Detective

Jean was awed by Moore's splendid performance. So much so, that she had begun to view him in completely new light now.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Moore asked her,when he saw her look at him. She gazed on,eyes fixated on him in complete adoration.

"I'm just so pleasantly surprised! I didn't expect you to be so shrewd and intelligent. It's like you're a different man from what I saw yesterday." Jean couldn't hold back the truth. She was flatly honest.

"Well, yesterday I had no idea what was going on. Whatever little I knew,I had managed to judge from the situation and the few words that I picked up in the conversation yesterday. Then I went home and looked up online to understand the whole thing. That's when I saw the video and the whole picture was clear in my mind, only after that." Moore was a little embarrassed, but he explained this to her patiently.

He told her how he had no inkling of the situation at all. That was the reason he came across as a little dumb.

"Oh, I get it now."

Once she knew what had happened, she too saw the whole thing clearly. Suddenly, lost in deep thought, Jean lifted her finger up to her chin, as if thinking hard. "Maybe, the person who wants to hurt me is someone around me. This means that I have very few friends, whom I can completely trust."

'I know I can trust Miranda. But the temper on that girl is too terrible. I saw it when she had that argument with Jesse yesterday.'

Jean decided that Miranda wasn't a strong contender to ask for help from.

She thought harder, who else could she depend on?

Disappointed, she finally gave up! "It seems that I don't have many people that I can trust." She glanced at Moore with a defeated look. "I guess this method won't work."

Initially taken aback by Jean's sorriness, Moore gave it a deeper thought and realized that she had been through a lot. He had to give her a chance instead of judging her. "How about we hire a private detective?" "We can trust them. They'll be professional and have strong work ethics. Of course, we will have to pay a big,fat amount for it." Moore continued.

"But it will be completely worth it. If money can solve this problem, so be it." Well...he once gave me... ...a black card. Maybe I can use it now?" Jean said. She was letting the idea sink in but she was hesitant also.

Again,at a loss, Jean looked grave. She didn't know where to start from and what to do. Her mind was blank again and her worry reflected on her face.

"I doubt the card will be of any use to us. Since he had the bodyguard withdrawn, there is a chance that it might not work anymore." Moore reminded Jean,truly believing that the card would not work.

"Hmm...alright. Let's check it right now and see. I have to pay my medical fees. Let's try to see if it works." Jean stood up to go out and replace an ATM to check the card.

"Wait!" said Moore. "I'll go with you. There is an ATM right here, in the hospital. Let's go replace out if it has money in it. If it does, we can check the card to see if it works or not. It is a good opportunity." Moore was extremely thoughtful and considerate towards Jean. "You're right! We could do that," exclaimed Jean. She walked towards the payment booth in order to pay the medical fees.

Jean's anxiety was palpable as the nurse took her black card to swipe it. She fixated on the card the whole time, until finally,the nurse smiled and said, "Your payment has been done. Here's your card." Jean gave off a sigh of relief and took the card back. Her heart filled with new hope as she clutched the card close to her and walked towards the nearest ATM with Moore.

She had to discreetly withdraw enough money and that too before Zed came to know of it.

Watching Jean get so excited about the money, Moore felt a little bad and blamed himself, "I should have carried more cash with me. And I'm sure that my credit card is also frozen after I called the lawyer."

"It is absolutely alright! Look,you see this? We've got money." Jean said to him comfortingly and smiled as she waved the black card at him.

This lifted Moore's spirits and he followed her into the ATM, a bright new leap in his steps.

The moment Jean inserted her card into the ATM slot, the screen lit up and flashed. Jean's face fell and she disappointedly said,"A sum of 20,000 dollars at most can be withdrawn. What does that mean? We only get 20,000 dollars?" "No,it means that you can withdraw up to 20,000 dollars only at one time. But you can make this transaction several times and withdraw this amount each time." Moore comfortingly told her.

"Oh wow,really?" Jean hastily withdrew 20,000 dollars for a first transaction and her eyes lit up as she saw the money.

She used the card five more times. Finally, at the sixth trial, the machine flashed a message that said she couldn't withdraw any more money from it, because there was no money left in the ATM. Enraged, Jean said, "What the hell! This ATM machine only has 100,000 dollars in it." She cursed and her face shone with disappointment.

"It is probably because the machine is in the hospital and very few people use cash in a place like this." "In fact, getting 100,000 dollars is a good start," he consoled her. "But.." he paused. "But what?" asked Jean worriedly.

"Well the commission charge will be quiet considerable. And once he sees it, he will know. He will freeze your black card as soon as he knows." Moore sighed, pondering the next step.

"I think it is fine. We have at least managed to withdraw some money. It shouldn't be a problem." Jean seemed like she didn't care about it anymore.

She knew that for a rich man like Zed,this sum was going to seem like a tiny drop in the sea. Moreover, Jean had never been a big spender and had never blown his money. And now, she had no future prospects of doing so either. Armed with their loot of 100,000 dollars, Jean and Moore walked back to the ward to think of their next move.

They looked up multiple private detectives online and finally agreed to settle on one that they had both found trustworthy.

They immediately called the agency and took an appointment. But suddenly, Jean seemed apprehensive of the whole idea.

"Moore,do you think the money we have will cover all the costs?" Jean asked, worried.

"I guess It should be... ... enough. It will cover our costs," said Moore vaguely. He wasn't too sure about it himself, as he didn't know the conditions of the domestic market right now.

"Alright. Well I can borrow some more money if this doesn't cover it." Jean had it all figured out. She wasn't worried now that it made sense to her.

"Jean,don't think so much. We'll figure out a way. We'll bargain if needed." Moore gave her an encouraging smile.

"Okay,perfect. It is almost the time. Let's go now." She put the money in her handbag, safely and freshened up. With a fresh change of clothes, she and Moore headed out.

Just when they were about to reach, Jean looked back, as if conscious.

She made sure that Toby wasn't following them. Seeing nobody behind them,she felt lost as well as pleased at the same time and walked in.

They were ten minutes early to the meeting. So they both chose a cosy corner in the cafe and sat down, waiting.

Jean cast furtive glances around her, looking for anyone or anything suspicious. Once she had made sure that everything was normal, she cradled her cup of hot coffee and began drinking it. Exactly on time, about ten minutes later, a simple looking man walked into the cafe. He was tall and thin and wore slim glasses.

Jean looked at Moore. They both had the same doubts about this.

Was it the person that they had come to meet? The detective?

They were unsure. He neither looked shrewd nor did he look like a detective.

Before they could think any further, the young man came up to them and spoke, "Hello."

So, he was the detective that they had come to meet!

Jean and Moore knew that their speculations were true. This indeed was the man.

"Hello." "I'm Leo Li," said the young man,nodding at both of them.

It was now confirmed. He really was the detective.

Both Jean and Moore were shocked, but managed to say, "Hello Leo. Please sit."

Leo sat down next to them, fishing out a recording pen from his pocket expertly.

This time,both Jean and Moore looked at each other and frowned.

Both were thinking the same thing. Was he going to get to work right away? They hadn't even set the fees yet. Things were getting weirdly out of hand now. What if it was the wrong person! Was it possible that this was a mistake and he wasn't actually a detective? "Mr. Li,if you don't mind, we'd like to talk about the fees first, okay? We can only go ahead and work together if the fees are reasonable." Jean could no longer hold her apprehensions and awkwardly blurted out.