"That insolent son of mine. Wait till I find him. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind." She was ready to explode when she heard how Oliver treated the daughter of one of her close friends. "Where is he now?"
"Madam Dianne, he is still at the hospital with young Master Caleb." Taylor, her husband's most trusted assistant, informed her.
"And where is my husband?" She asked, noticing that he had been gone since this morning.
Since handing the reins of their family business to Oliver, Maximus had been running around the estate, trying to find anything to distract him.
Maximus was so used to handling his empire's daily operations that he was now bored to his wits' end with nothing to do.
"Sir Maximus is in the greenhouse." Taylor smiled, clearly just like her, they were both unused to hearing that her husband was doing something as mundane as planting seeds and taking care of her roses.
For someone who was used to killing, bringing something into life was completely out of his element.
"Well, leave him be." She instructed, grabbing her cane and purse. "Get the car ready. I'm going to see my grandson."
Although she really would like to see Caleb, that was not her only reason. Her grown-ass son needed a little beating for being such a stubborn fool. This time, she would teach him a lesson that he would never forget.
"Wait!"
"Yes, Madam Dianne, did you forget something?" Taylor asked as they cruised through the busy street on their way to the hospital.
"I need to get my grandson a gift. Can you stop by Rodeo Drive?" She instructed. "He has been through a lot today. I only want to give him something to smile about." Truly concerned with her grandson's heart condition.
For half an hour, she already bought several toys she thought Caleb would want, which covered most of the car's trunk.
"I think if you stayed a little longer, you would have bought the entire store." Taylor jokingly said.
"I can buy all the toys in the world, but I don't think it will ever be enough." She felt that she had failed her son. "You know it was partly my fault... why Oliver ended up with Hazel."
At that time, she thought that Hazel would be the perfect wife for her son.
After Hazel prioritized her career over her son, she realized she had made a mistake.
"Now, Caleb is growing up without a mother." To correct her mistake, she had been pushing her son to date again. But this time, she would make sure to find the right woman for Oliver and Caleb.
"I don't think it was entirely your fault, Madam Dianne," Taylor assured her. "But I think Honey is not exactly the woman Oliver is looking for."
"Hmm... What exactly is my son's ideal woman?" Maybe she was looking at this whole dating thing the wrong way. "Am I pushing my son with the wrong kind of woman?" Then, as if a light flickered in her brain, she came up with a new idea.
"Maybe I am. Oh, I think I need to correct that." Answering her own question.
"Madam, what do you mean?" Taylor asked as they continued their journey to the hospital.
"You'll see." She winked at their most trusted assistant and butler. Actually, Taylor was a man of all trades. If she needed something done, she could trust him to do it without a hitch.
After a few minutes, she entered the hospital premises, and a few minutes more, she walked out of the staff's locker room looking like one of the hospital cleaners.
"Madam... Are you sure about this?" Taylor looked at her, seemingly doubtful about her plan.
"Yes... And you'll keep my identity a secret for now." She had a theory that she wanted to test. "Now, go stand somewhere else... and don't blow my cover."
She grabbed the cleaning cart and pushed it slowly along the hallway, keeping her head down to avoid being recognized. Regardless, she was skeptical whether anyone would suspect she was Dianne Morton, especially with her disguise.
"Excuse me." She tapped a stunning woman who was waiting by the elevator, wondering if she could move aside to make way for her cart.
Out of the blue, an idea popped into her head. "Excuse me." She repeated. "Do you want to go out on a date with my son?" She realized that her son might not like the socialites that she had been setting up with him.
Perhaps Oliver preferred someone like her. A woman who was nothing like them. Not a superstar, not another political pawn, and definitely not an heiress.
But instead of giving her space, the woman smirked at her and spoke several colorful, harsh words.
"You should know your place, dirty old hag." The woman with a beautiful face looked at her with disdain. "Why would I date your son?" It appeared like she was going to die if she touched her with her filthy hands.
"Hey, that's not such a nice thing to say." She didn't like the woman's reaction, especially the way she belittled her because of her clothes.
In her eyes, the woman might be gorgeous. She might be wearing nice clothes, but it didn't give her the right to say such awful things.
"Get away from me. You're going to dirty my clothes. And I know you'll never be able to afford it." She continued as if she carried the plague. Then, the woman kicked her cart away from her, accidentally knocking her, making her fall to the floor.
She could see that Taylor was about to walk over to her rescue, but somebody else beat him to it.
"Hey, that's not how you treat other people." Another striking beauty walked over to them, but unlike the first one, she came to defend her. "...especially those who couldn't defend themselves."
The newcomer, her savior, quickly knelt to the floor, not minding if her exquisite dress got dirty, and helped her up to her feet.
"Come on. Are you alright?" The other woman asked with genuine concern. "Are you hurt?"
At that point, she signaled to Taylor to back away. She was suddenly curious about what would happen next.
"No, I'm ok. My bones are as tough as an ox." She playfully said. "But you got your clothes dirty." She pointed at her white dress, which had a stain at the hem.
"Don't mind that." The woman quickly brushed aside her observation. But instead, she focused on the woman who caused all the trouble. "Hey, you should apologize to her."
"Me?" The bitchy woman laughed at them. "You must be kidding. I'm not apologizing." She fiercely stood her ground. "If anything, she should be compensating for my dress." She pointed to the lower portion of her dress, which was wrinkled. But there was nothing else wrong with it.
"If you don't apologize, I'll make you." The unknown woman defended her honor and strode to the other woman with a few long strides. Then, she slapped her hard on the face. "If you want compensation." Another loud smack echoed in the small hallway. "There...You crazy bitch... You can sue me all you want."
"You slapped me." The woman shouted as tears dripped down her face, while the imprint of the other woman's fingers gradually appeared on her cheeks. "You'll hear from my lawyers."
"Go ahead... I'll be waiting." Her savior said while the other woman entered the elevator, bawling her eyes out.
That must be one mean slap.
"She'll not be bullying you anymore." The woman said as she returned to her side. "Are you sure you're ok?" She asked again, even checking her body for any injury.
"I'm perfectly fine. Maybe just a little bruised ego. But I want to thank you for what you did." She placed her hand on hers, squeezing them mildly to express her appreciation. "I'm Dianne. Can I also get your name?"
"It's nice to meet you, Dianne. I'm Sophia." The kind-hearted, lovely young lady introduced herself. "But I have to go, I have a meeting, and I'm going to be late."
"Wait! Can I get your number? I wish to invite you to my birthday this coming weekend as a token of my gratitude." She pulled out her phone and handed it to her. "Please, your presence will make my birthday really special." She could see her hesitation, but she was not taking no for an answer.
"Okay, but I'm not promising anything." Sophia saved her number on the sweet, cleaning lady's phone and finally walked away.
Once she was out of sight, Taylor finally walked towards her. "Madam Dianne, are you okay?" He asked. "Do you need me to call Dr..."
"No, I'm fine." She smiled animatedly. "I'm perfectly fine." She repeated, thinking of Sophia. "Come on, help me get out of these clothes. We have a birthday to plan."
"Birthday? Whose birthday?" Taylor asked, clearly confused.
"Mine." She told him. "You're asking too many questions." She silenced him. "But I think I found her."
"Her?"
"My perfect daughter-in-law."