Chapter 602

Debra suddenly sneezed as she sat on the bus, heading back. “Damn, who’s talking behind my back?” Then she felt a hand touch her forehead. Looking up, she found Juan standing over her, his expression serious. “You’re running a fever,” he said.

He remembered when Debra had first married him. Her health hadn’t been the best, and Melody had told him to take good care of her. The house was still filled with the various medicines she’d brought with her. But ever since then, Debra had shown no signs of being frail. She was always running around and never backed down from a verbal sparring match.

Debra brushed his hand away. “Just a mild fever. I’ll be fine.” She turned away from the camera, and Juan turned to the cameraman. “How long will we reach the place?” “Just the next stop.” “Is there a pharmacy nearby?”

The cameraman hesitated, embarrassed to admit he had no idea since he wasn’t familiar with the area either. Juan sighed, “Forget it. I’ll order something.” Debra mumbled under her breath, “Ordering everything online. Where’s the life experience in that?” “If you’re sick, you need medicine,” Juan said seriously. Debra didn’t want to argue with him. “You’re right. I’ll take it.” There was no point in refusing free medicine.

In the meantime, Joe was following Juan’s instructions to handle the daily meetings. But when he arrived at the conference room, he was stunned to find Melody sitting at the head of the table, the other board members looking equally tense. “Mrs. Nichols Sr.?”

Melody didn’t own shares in the company. By the usual rules, she shouldn’t even be sitting there. She looked at Joe and demanded, “Where is your boss?” “He is working,” Joe stammered. “Working? Or off filming some reality show with Debra?” snorted one of the board members. His sarcastic tone made Joe frown.

“Mr. Johnson, I don’t think it’s your place to judge Mr. Nichols’ business,” Joe said sternly. “He’s got a mess of problems piling up at the company. Instead of dealing with them, he lowers himself to film some ridiculous, brainless show. It’s as if he doesn’t care about us at all,” Nathan Johnson retorted.

Melody chimed in, “Joe, tell me. Do you know about their divorce agreement?” Joe’s heart sank. It was supposed to be a top secret. Yet Melody had found out. Her fist slammed on the table, jerking Joe back to reality. Her voice was sharp and cutting. “How could Juan and you keep such an important matter from us? This company does not belong to him alone.”

“Mrs. Nichols Sr., this is a private matter. It would be better to wait until Mr. Nichols returns and discuss it behind closed doors.” “Private? There’s nothing private about it. Every person in this room has been with the Nichols Group for decades. Juan’s marriage isn’t just his business. It concerns the entire company.”

Melody’s eyes glinted with cold resolve. “I’ve already reached out to the media to release the news. Since they’re separated, Debra can forget about clinging to any more of our fame.”