Charles' POV:
I finished my work ahead of time, so that I could go to the TV station and wait for Scarlett.
Unexpectedly, William showed up in front of me.
From the looks of it, he had carefully picked out his attire.
He wore a suit and tie, a dandy wristwatch, and cufflinks that suited him well.
He also wore a pair of thin-frame glasses on, making him look even more debonair.
We immediately caught sight of each other, but neither of us turned our gazes away.
Suddenly, Scarlett came out, so I averted my eyes from William.I must admit that in her office attire,
she had a completely different vibe.
She was sharply dressed and elegant to boot.Her charisma alone was enough to make anyone follow
her with their gaze.I stared at her, fascinated by her beauty.
But to my surprise, she went straight to William.
William greeted Scarlett with a smile, and then he shot me a defiant glance.I was so angry that I
grunted and glared at Scarlett before storming away.
But before I could enter my car, I heard a hurried set of footsteps in high heels.
'’Scarlett?’' I looked back, hoping that it was her, but I was disappointed to see that it was a woman I
didn't know.
The woman was short of breath.
She was looking at me with a grin on her face.
"Mr.Moore, would you do me the honor of having a drink with you?"
"Pass."
My face turned grim the moment I saw her face and then I left without hesitation.
Seconds later, I slammed the door of my car shut.
The chauffeur was staring at me, visibly nervous.I leaned against the backseat, removing my tie in a fit
of rage.
And then I told the chauffeur to take me to Mint Bar.
"Richard, figure out that woman's identity," I said, pointing at the woman outside.
Richard nodded in response and immediately made a phone call.
Soon, we received an email with an attached document.
The woman's name was Lucia, one of Scarlett's colleagues in her department.
She once competed with Scarlett for a program, but she lost because she wasn't as good as Scarlett.
It wasn't surprising to me, for I knew that Scarlett was an excellent and competent individual.
I decided to stop thinking about Lucia.
After arriving at the private room of the bar, Spencer and I drank away our sorrows.
Sadly, we couldn't enjoy ourselves just yet, because someone knocked on the door and entered the
room.It was Lucia.
"Who are you looking for, Miss?" Spencer asked, staring at her.
"I'm looking for Mr.Moore." I took a sip of my scotch, staring daggers at her.
"You followed me? Tell me, what do you want from me?"
"I'm terribly sorry if I've offended you, sir.That's not my intention!"
Lucia waved her hands standing at the door of the private room meekly.She then looked into my eyes
and said.
"I have no intention of getting in the way of your relationship with Scarlett.I just need your help." I
swiveled my glass, letting the ball of ice roll around, and creating a crisp sound.
"Listen, lady, Charles isn't a philanthropist.Why in the world should he help you? And who are you?"
Spencer asked in a voice laden with sarcasm.
"I'm not asking to be helped for free.I believe that this opportunity will also benefit Mr. Moore."
Lucia blushed, seemingly abashed.
"I'm a colleague of Scarlett.The program I was supposed to take over was given to her instead.And
now, I'm on thin ice.To make up for it, my boss has asked me to find sponsorship for another
program.Sadly, I'm just a commoner.I don't have any connections.The only person I could think of that
could help is you, Mr.Moore.I'm willing to accompany and drink with you if you're willing to help me."
"Who do you think you are? You're not even qualified to share a drink with Charles, let alone ask him to
pay for your sponsorship.Are you doing this because you sensed that Charles and Scarlett are on a
rocky relationship, so you figured you could seize the opportunity to gain a foothold?" Spencer rolled
his eyes at her.
Then, he slammed the glass onto the table just to show his contempt, regardless that he caused some
of his liquor to splash out.
Tears welled up in Lucia's eyes and she shook her head in response.
"Spencer, don't be so hard on the woman.She just wants to have a drink."
I pointed at an empty glass and said, "Give her one."
Spencer seemed shocked by my answer, and then I looked at him in silence.
"Fine.But she has to leave after drinking this whiskey," he remarked, glancing at Lucia.
Spencer looked away, but he still poured a glass of whiskey for the woman.
"Don't try to pull any tricks, got it? Remember, you don't even deserve to be in Charles' presence," he
added.
Lucia took the glass and gulped down her whiskey under Spencer's gaze.
She then glanced at me.
Now that she had finished her drink, Spencer pushed her away and said, "You've had your drink, now
leave! Don't think you can earn money through this ploy of yours.You're Scarlett's colleague, not a
barmaid."
However, Lucia remained silent.She just bit her lip, appearing to be aggrieved.Her helplessness felt
quite familiar to me.It reminded me of how I was chasing Scarlett around, but she would always refuse
me.
"What's the program?" I asked.
Right after I said that, both Spencer and Lucia looked at me in astonishment.
It seemed that he couldn't believe I said that.
Lucia, on the other hand, was over the moon and she immediately told me all about the program.
By the time she finished her explanation, I had finished my scotch.
I stared at the remaining ice in the glass, casually agreeing to help her.
"Wait! What? Charles, are you serious, man? Are you drunk? Why did you say yes?"
Spencer walked towards me, grabbing the glass from my hand.I turned a blind eye to him, and waved
at Lucia.
"You may leave now."
At first, Lucia was bewildered, but then she thanked me afterwards and left the room at once.
"What the hell is the matter with you, Charles? Do you even know what you're doing?" Spencer roared.
I stood up, casting him a stern glare.
It seemed that he was intimidated by my gaze that he had to take a step back.
"Scarlett doesn't even want my help.Is it not allowed for me to help others instead?" I asked.
Spencer seemed confused by what I said.
"Did you and Scarlett fight again? And even if you did, that doesn't mean you can be so nice to other
women! If Scarlett finds out about this, your relationship will become even worse.Try to put yourself in
her place, will you? How would you feel if Scarlett agrees to another man's request right now?" he
asked.
I gritted my teeth, visibly displeased.
When I thought of how Scarlett came to William right after work, I lost my temper.
And with every passing moment, I could feel my anger becoming more intense.
While Spencer was still chattering, I left the room and slammed the door behind me, unable to stifle my
anger any longer.
Scarlett's POV:
William had invited me to dinner, saying that he wanted to talk about the show with me while eating.
Normally, we would discuss the program in the meeting room, but it was fine with me to have a change
of venue.
Thus, I accepted his invitation without thinking on it too much.
In the middle of our conversation, my phone rang.
The second I answered the phone, I heard Spencer's loud voice.
"Scarlett, help! I've offended Charles defending you!"
"Spencer, get a grip! What happened?"
I could tell from his reaction that Spencer was filled with indignation.
He then told me that Lucia had asked Charles for sponsorship.
I acted as though I didn't care, and I even comforted Spencer for a time.
But after hanging up on him, I realized that my hands were trembling.
"Scarlett, are you okay?" William sounded worried about me.
I put down my phone, placed my hands on my lap and smiled at him.
"I've just received some bad news.I'm going to have a rival."
"Scarlett, I'm sure this won't be a tough nut to crack for someone like you.I believe in you." William
seemed sincere with his praises.
"But if you ever need my help, I'll always be on your side."
"Thank you, William.You're a great partner."
Having said that, I put some distance between us and said, "I think I can handle these problems by
myself.You don't have to worry about me.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda