Scarlett's POV:
I yawned.
"It's late now. Why don't you take a shower and go to bed?" A shadow of a smile appeared on
Charles's handsome face, his eyes turning sharp.
"Okay. Goodbye now." I beamed and poked his face on the screen. "All right then. Let's hang up the
video call."
But Charles remained on the line.
I raised my eyebrows at him. "What? Do you want to watch me take a shower?"
"That's an incredibly tempting offer."
"Oh, you wish!" I glared at him and, from his background, found that he was still out and about. "Go
back to work."
"Don't stay up late, okay? Good night." After saying that, Charles's face gradually enlarged on the
screen, and then the screen went dark. He planted a kiss on the camera, and I could not help grinning.
"Good night."
After hanging up our video call, I picked up my clothes and went to the bathroom. Then, my phone
beeped. It was a message from Charles.
"I miss you so much," his text read.
I slept soundly the entire night.
Charles insisted that Richard accompanied me to my business trip to France. He told me that he was
worried about my safety, and I did not want to fight him about it, so I just agreed.
"Scarlett, do you want to have meals with your colleagues or have a table of your own?" Tracy asked.
I thought for a while and smiled. "I want to eat with my colleagues. But I think I'm going to attract too
much attention if I bring all you three with me. You accompany me, Tracy."
Janet frowned. "But what about me? I want to accompany you, too."
"Well, you can go with Richard and find a table of your own, someplace near ours. That way, you can
still keep an eye on me. Besides, Tracy likes one of my colleagues. I would like to introduce them." I
turned around to look at Tracy who flashed me a confused look. I took her hand and pulled her aside.
Tracy whispered in my ear. "Scarlett, I don't remember liking one of your colleagues. Care to fill me in
on what's happening?"
"Just go with it. I'll explain later." I winked at her.
I wanted Tracy to accompany me because I had noticed some subtle tension between Janet and
Richard. I wanted them to spend some time alone together.
Charles's POV:
When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I saw was Scarlett's good morning text. I let it fill my
heart with so much joy that I started smiling like a daydreaming idiot.
When I arrived at the office, everyone stared at me like they were witnessing a miracle. I did not care.
All I knew was that I was ecstatic.
Amy immediately followed me the moment I entered my office. "Sir, Rita has been waiting for you
downstairs. She wants to see you."
When I heard Rita's name, the happy smile on my face died. "Tell her to go home. I'm busy."
Amy nodded and hurriedly left.
I stood in front of the big French windows in my office, picked up my phone, and called Roy. "How's it
going?"
Roy cleared his throat. "I've found a loop
hole in the Lively Group for Lily's people. They're taking action. It won't be long before the Lively Group
is destroyed."
"Time is of the essence. Make something happen and speed things up. I want this problem taken care
of as soon as possible, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
When it was time to get off work, I left the company building and climbed into my car. It had been a long
day. I leaned on the backseat and closed my eyes for a bit.
Then, the car suddenly screeched to a halt in the middle of the road.
I opened my eyes and frowned. My driver looked at me through the rearview mirror. He appeared as
startled as I was. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Moore. Someone just stopped us."
I looked out and saw a car in front of us, which Rita got out of. She started walking toward us.
She rapped on my window.
I ignored her and looked at my driver. "Ram her car out of our way."
My driver swallowed audibly. "But, sir, it's in the middle of the road. Innocent people might get hurt if
we..."
"Then have her car towed away. Right now!"
Rita was still knocking on my window.
I sighed, rolled my window down, and met her eyes with a cold stare. "What do you want?" I snapped.
Rita braced her hands on my rolled-down window and looked at me pitifully. "I'm sorry. You left me no
choice. You wouldn't talk to me in your office. I'm begging you, Charles. Please save my company. I
can't let the Lively Group go bankrupt in my hands."
I looked away and kept my face neutral.
"Only you can help me now. I promise I won't tell Scarlett about it."
I whipped my head toward her again when she mentioned Scarlett's name. "What's that supposed to
mean?"
"I know you're only refusing to help me because you're worried that Scarlett will find out. You're afraid
that us talking is going to affect your relationship. But don't worry. I won't let her know."
"How do you know that Scarlett is not in the city?" I watched Rita carefully. The moment our eyes met,
she shivered.
For a moment, she did not know what to say. Then, tears started welling up in her eyes. I could tell that
she was going to play the victim again. "You don't have to be so mean to me, Charles."
I shook my head and started rolling up my window.
"Wait!" Rita cried out.
Her fingers were still gripping the glass.
I watched her sad, anxious face through the crack. "What do I have to do to make you help me? Please
tell me. I'll do anything."
I lowered the window again a little and said coldly, "Get your hands out of the way, Rita. If you hurt
yourself, I won't take responsibility."
As a tear rolled down her cheek, Rita withdrew her hands.
A few moments later, the tow truck arrived to get her car out of our way.
"Let's go."
My driver gunned the engine.
"No! Don't let them tow my car! Charles! Please! How can you be so heartless to me? Charles..." I
stared ahead and let the wind behind us drown out Rita's pleas.
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