“Yeah.” Sensing my intentions, he did not go further into the subject either. “What I mean is, love is an unstoppable force akin to a great deluge or a savage beast. Even I couldn’t stop myself from secretly and compulsively calling you when my heart called out for you, let alone a man like Alexander.”
I nodded thoughtfully, feeling as if I was beginning to understand. However, another thought struck me suddenly, and I blurted out, “B-But Emery said she was going to limit her loss. She must have blocked all manners of communication with Alexander since the beginning. Then how did he manage to reach…”
“Oh, wait. Does that mean…” I trailed off, realization dawning on me.
Despite everything she said, she still couldn’t bring herself to cut connections with Alexander!
All this time, Emery had been secretly watching as he fought to win her love back. His messages were read but ignored, and his phone calls that came through were deliberately missed. Although she had betrayed none of her emotions, she had been struggling to hold herself back from accepting him as well. That was until she finally caved.
Before this, I always thought Emery showed impressive rationality when it came to relationships and was capable of weighing her advantages and disadvantages in each relationship accurately, whether it was in the case of Hunter or Alexander. Even if she might not step back from them completely, she would always keep herself in the most invulnerable position possible.
However, this rationality obviously did not apply to a relationship with a man like Alexander. Judging from her behavior, it was evident that he had turned into an irregular variable in her life.
I leaned against Anthony’s chest, patting him lightly. “How is it that you know so much about Emery? Have you sent someone to spy on her on something?”
“Of course not.” He reached out to hold my hand. “Alexander’s current status could be considered top in the industry right now. There are eyes on him at all times. I hardly need a spy to know what he’s been up to. However, I won’t deny I’ve indeed taken action a few times to help those two suppress news about themselves.”
His words clearly implied that the news was sexual in nature. Eyes widening, I giggled as I playfully probed him to reveal more. “News? What sort of news?”
Suddenly, he turned over and lay pressing down on me. By the time I caught on, he already had my arms locked above my head in a death grip. “Since you’re so interested in the details, why don’t I let you experience them for yourself?”
With that, his other hand slithered beneath the hem of my lingerie and traveled upward, asserting its presence on my body.
Realizing that he was serious about it, I immediately pleaded, “I’m sorry, Hubby! It was a mistake. I promise I won’t ask about it again. Please, let me go!”
Lowering his head toward mine, he rubbed his nose against mine fondly. “How dare you reject me after accepting my gift?”
“Huh?” I froze, utterly stunned. “Y-You mean the s-soup you prepared for me earlier? So this is where you were going with it?”
I should have known he couldn’t possibly have done that without any ulterior motives!
“Of course,” he answered softly. “Now that you’ve drunk it all, don’t you think you need to do something to burn off all that extra energy?”
I merely stared back at him, fully regretting ever drinking that flask of soup.
Nevertheless, I was simply not in the mood to satisfy his wishes that night.
“Anthony,” I went on with a pitiful expression, “I was busy in the office all day, sorting out work matters with Summer, and I even went shopping after work. I’m thoroughly exhausted today. Why don’t we do this… another time?”
I gulped nervously, having absolutely no confidence that my attempt was at all sufficient in convincing the hungry beast before my eyes to back down.
However, Anthony was surprisingly compliant. He slipped off my body and lay back down beside me without another word.
Before I could say anything, he spoke up languidly. “Well, there’s no such thing as secrets in this world, especially not when it comes to a famous person like Alexander. Sooner or later, the news will reach the Zimmermans, and that’s when all hell will break loose.”
I said nothing in response, thinking that the Zimmermans might be a powerful family, but Emery was not one who would easily back down in the face of abuse and insult either. It was far too early to tell who among them was on the losing side just yet.
Thus, I merely lay leaning on him in silence and eventually drifted off to sleep.
Due to the close connection between Luscious Wines and Skull, Summer decided to tackle the root of the problem and proposed to procure the largest wine company in Q City.
Once the project kicked off, Featherstone Corporation would be the only supplier of wines in the club. Not only would that be effective in avoiding the risk of selling fake wine, but it would also prevent any suspicious parties from tampering with the stock.
After Emery’s information confirmed that Lexis had had a private deal with Quince and Lucas, Summer and I set out for Q City to propose our acquisition formally.
Upon landing at the airport, we headed straight for the Koandrian restaurant where we would meet up with the manager of the wine company.
However, pushing open the door to the private room, we were suddenly reluctant to step in.
Besides the manager, there was another man in the room who was sitting with his back toward us. His short and thin build, as well as his coal-black skin, were such distinctive features that it was difficult and inexcusable for us to not recognize him.
Summer’s decision to procure the wine company in Q City was a last-minute idea, and not many knew about it. Yet, Quince had somehow managed to figure out her plan and even got here before us. He was obviously not a simple-minded man.
“You must be Ms. Stanhope.” The manager got up at once and greeted Summer, mistaking me for her secretary. “I’ve heard that you’re young, but you’re way younger than I imagined. So young, yet so promising! Come in and have a seat.”
Summer shot me a glance, waiting for me to speak.
However, before I could do so, Quince’s broken Chanaean sounded. “Isn’t there a Chanaean saying that goes, ‘keep calm and take things as they come’? Or are you still afraid, Stanhope?”
Hearing that, Summer immediately took my hand and led me to our seats with large, confident strides. Maintaining a calm composure, she addressed the room with a smile, revealing not the slightest hint of fear or doubt.
The manager seemed especially excited to collaborate with Featherstone Corporation. “It’s our honor to collaborate with you, Ms. Stanhope, and yet you came over here to meet us in person. You’re much too kind and sincere. Besides, Mr. Quince and I hit it off right away as well. With the three of us working together in the future, we’re definitely going to create a whole new empire in the wine industry, and Luscious Wines can see themselves out!”
He was obviously already a little inebriated, but his words were still making sense.
From the looks of it, Quince had stood in as a collaborator of Featherstone Corporation and reached a verbal agreement with the manager about a future three-way collaboration before we arrived.
Throughout the entire meeting, neither Summer nor I mentioned a word about procuring the wine company represented by the manager. Not only did our intention to settle things quickly not work out, but we ended up also feeling intensely humiliated by the way things had turned out.
The manager drank so much he ended up drunk as a skunk, and someone immediately came to pick him up once the meeting ended. Quince walked us to the door and asked to speak to me privately when we were about to get in the car.
“I hope what happened today will never happen again, Stanhope. Talk to Featherstone when you get back and have him sign the contract with us as soon as possible. Don’t spoil things for us now after we’ve been so happy working together.”
Being shorter than me, he gazed up at me with his eyes rolled up. It was indeed a rather frightening sight.
“There must have been a misunderstanding. We’ve never been collaborators, and I’m hardly one to dictate Anthony’s actions and decisions.”
Quince shook his head as I spoke as if he was running out of patience. “No, this is nonsense. There’s been a bond between us ever since I bought that painting of yours. So don’t even think of ditching us to work alone, understand?”
Shooting a vicious glare at me, he turned to walk away but doubled back only after a few steps. “Don’t mind me giving you a little trouble if you really don’t appreciate what we have between us.”
With that, he turned and strode away.
Watching his rather comical figure leave, I could not help the smirk that crept onto my lips.
That man had no idea about the amount of trouble I had dealt with in my life. His minor threat meant nothing to me.
Nevertheless, Summer and I were indeed feeling quite down to return empty-handed. Spotting Anthony waiting to pick us up at the arrival gates, we could only manage a mere smile through pursed lips.
I told Anthony about our fruitless venture on the way back, feeling somewhat helpless. “We’ll probably have to abort our plan of procuring Q City’s wine company for now. If Quince thought of Q City as well, then we can assume he has informants in most other companies in the country, too. We’d have to think of another solution.”
Anthony was driving, and his expression remained placid as he listened to me. “There’s no rush.”
After a moment’s silence, he asked in the same calm tone, “Would you like to go straight home to rest or grab a bite on the way?”
“Both are fine with me. You decide.” I could not get the thought of how Quince had just played us out of my mind, and it was sending waves of anxiety through my heart.
Before he could answer, however, Summer spoke instead. “Drop me off in front, Daddy. I think I’ll head to the club first before going home.”
Anthony cast a glance at her through the rearview mirror. “You sure you’re not too tired?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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