I Once Married You (Harper and Benjamin)
Chapter 71

Chapter 71 Upset With Me

"Yep, it's all settled now. She's moved out of Pineview Villa to Maple Apartment."

Frank glanced at Harper while they waited for the light to turn green. "Was that Benjamin's idea?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, it was his idea," Harper sighed. "But he seems a bit upset with me..."

"Upset that you shouldn't have treated Lauren like that?"

Frank hit the nail on the head. Harper instinctively looked at him, replying calmly, "Something like that. Frank, do you feel the same way?"

"Honestly, I just wish you'd let me handle it. If you'd gotten hurt, I'd never forgive myself for not protecting you. Please, let's not do this again, okay?" Frank spoke gently, and Harper just nodded and agreed.

As for why she didn't tell Frank, Harper had no answer either. She hadn't thought to discuss it with him at that time. She just wanted to handle it herself. Maybe she just didn't want to bother him.

In the meantime, they arrived at the Martin Group.

Charlie and the others led Harper and Frank directly to the conference room. The architectural drafts were complex, with significant differences between the designs for office buildings, villas, and residential areas. This required a lengthy discussion.

In the Martin Group's president's office, Curtis informed Benjamin immediately, "Mr. Martin, your wife and Frank are at the company discussing the drafts with Charlie. Would you like to come over?" "Are you telling me you have nothing to do now, Curtis? Or do you think I am?"

Benjamin's expression remained stoic, his eyes chilling. The sarcasm in his tone made Curtis quickly lower his head.

Curtis said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Martin. I shouldn't say that. I'll go prepare the materials for your meeting this afternoon right now."

After speaking, Curtis quickly left the office.

He wondered if he had gotten the wrong idea.

But last night, Benjamin had called him at midnight, asking him to replace a well-equipped apartment for Lauren to stay in immediately. Curtis thought that meant Benjamin was growing closer to Harper. In the office, Benjamin stared at the document in his hands, but he couldn't make out what it actually said.

His eyes narrowed, and his expression was cold.

Just then, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Grandfather's birthday is coming. What's the plan?" It was Scott.

Paul's birthday was less than a week, and Benjamin had already made plans. He shared his thoughts with Scott, saying, "Let's do it at the Martin Manor. It's been a while since we all got together there. Plus, Grandpa was in the hospital lately, and many of us were worried. This could be a nice way for everyone to see him."

"Sounds good. Let's do it this way. Also, when you have a time in the next few days, bring Harper over for dinner. Things ended awkwardly last time, and Grandpa wants to check in with you two." "We'll see. These next few days are busy, and Harper is busy too."

"Fine, you decide. Just one thing. No matter what, it has to be approved by Grandpa, or I won't let it slide."

Scott threatened. Even though he'd left the Martin Group, he was still Benjamin's father.

After ending the call, Benjamin put his phone on the table and rubbed his temples, lost in thought.

Harper had disrupted his work more than once. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he got. "What kind of magic does this woman have?" he thought.

Time flew by quickly, and before he knew it, it was lunchtime.

Harper was just wrapping things up in the conference room when Charlie suggested, "Hey, how about grabbing some lunch together?"

"No, thanks, but we've got a lot on our plate this afternoon. There are some stuff we need to finalize. Maybe we can do lunch another day?"

"Alright, then I won't keep you any longer."

Charlie shook Frank's hand and watched them leave.

As Harper and Frank waited for the elevator, he asked, "Do you think Charlie was hinting that we should work directly with the Martin Group instead of going through Summit Realty?" "Seems like it," Harper replied. She was a bit frustrated. Although Summit Realty had been unreliable, they had a contract, and terminating it now seemed somewhat unethical.

Frank then asked, "Charlie works for the Martin Group. Do you think this is what Benjamin wants, too?"

"I don't know, but I'd rather not think about it for now. Things are fine as they are."

She wanted to avoid getting too involved with the Martin Group and Benjamin at work. It would not be beneficial after the divorce.

However, she didn't share this with Frank. She just thought it to herself.

Harper fell silent.

Frank scrutinized her expression and said softly, "Harper, honestly, I think working with the Martin Group directly could be the right move. A big step up, and it would definitely help our company grow." Harper looked at Frank in surprise. Their eyes met, but before she could reply, the elevator doors slid open.

Curtis stepped out of the elevator. Harper gave him a brief nod, but Curtis paused in front of her. He lowered his voice and said, "Mrs. Martin, Mr. Martin knows you're here. He asked me to invite you upstairs." "Is something wrong?"

Harper asked.

Curtis said, "It's about Sir Martin's birthday party. Do you think we should discuss it with Mr. Martin after we go up?"

"Sure." Harper didn't hesitate. She turned to Frank. "Frank, you go back to the office. I'll talk to Benjamin about Grandpa's birthday."

Frank nodded in understanding and asked, "Alright, go ahead. Do you need me to wait for you?"

"No need, it's getting late. Go grab something to eat. I'll take a cab back to the office when I'm done."

"Okay. See you." Frank entered the elevator and went downstairs ahead of her.

Then, Curtis and Harper took Benjamin's private elevator to the top floor. It was after hours, and the only people working on the top floor were from Benjamin's secretarial team. They weren't clear about Harper's identity, but they kept any speculation to themselves.

When they reached his office, Benjamin was on the phone, so Harper went to sit on the sofa and wait.

She noticed there were two lunch boxes on the coffee table.

One was clearly for her.

Watching his figure, she felt her heart fluttered slightly.

A minute later, Benjamin hung up and joined her, sitting on the armchair to her left. "Let's eat," he said calmly.

Neither of them mentioned what happened last night as they ate their lunches together.

Harper's pregnancy had changed her appetite, and she didn't eat much before setting her lunch box down.

Benjamin noticed and asked, "Don't like your food?"

"No, I had some snacks with Charlie earlier while we were working," Harper replied. "I'm just not that hungry."

Benjamin didn't think much and just grunted in response.

She asked, "Benjamin, do you want to talk about Grandpa's birthday party?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want me to do?"