Chapter 201 A Hard Choice
Charlotte left the hotel and sat down at a nearby coffee shop. She looked through her notes again and again as she made some corrections.
Suddenly, a man appeared before her. She thought it was Avery so she didn’t even raise her head and said, “I still have to look through some documents. You can go back first, I’ll have my friend pick me up.”
“Is Rick picking you up?”
This voice didn’t sound like Avery’s.
Charlotte raised her head and was shocked for a moment. “Shane?”
“Let me treat you to dinner tonight. Consider it as a thank you for that day at the bar. Okay?” Shane leaned back against his chair and looked at her.
“We…” Charlotte muttered.
“Although you no longer have feelings for me, I still feel indebted towards you. I will leave you alone after I pay you back.”
Charlotte pursed her lips and explained in a low voice, “I didn’t do it for you. I just felt it was dangerous for Anne, a girl, to go alone that night.”
“However, you’ve also indirectly helped me by that.”
That seemed to be true.
Charlotte immediately froze. She fiddled with her fingers hesitantly as she stared at the table blankly.
“If that’s the case, then I wouldn’t want to waste your time. You can just tell me what you want to say at dinner now.”
“Dinner is not a waste of time.”
“You clearly want to help me obtain a seat in the Airline Union. Why do you need to use dinner as an excuse?” Charlotte asked him with confusion.
Shane’s thin lips curled and he leaned forward. “Alright. Miss Charlotte, may I have dinner with you?”
Charlotte didn’t know what to say.
Did he mean his main purpose was to have dinner with her?
“I’m on a diet. I don’t eat dinner.” This reason seemed impeccable to Charlotte.
“I’ll eat.”
Shane’s words made Charlotte speechless.
In the end, she helplessly went to a restaurant with him.
It was very quiet. Not another person was in sight.
Charlotte was a little scared, “Shane, why is there no one here? It feels so empty.”
“It’s mine.”
“Uh…” She was at a loss for words.
The dishes were served very quickly. They also tasted very delicious. Shane did have very fine taste, but his character…
Charlotte thought for a moment. Finally, she secretly texted Rick her address and an explanation on what happened. She thought if something were to happen, she would have a way out.
But she didn’t know Shane was watching her every move.
“You sent a message to Rick.”
It was not a question.
Charlotte nodded her head subconsciously before suddenly raising her head. “Huh? What?”
“Aren’t you afraid that I would already have done what I wanted before he comes?” Shane’s lips curled slightly.
“You, stop messing around,” She said cautiously.
Shane put down his fork and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “Mr. Kent of the Airline Union is a close friend of the president. If you want to deal with him, you’d have to get rid of the president altogether.”
Charlotte frowned.
The topic changed a little too quickly. She needed some time to think about it.
“I’ll need to obtain all the start-up capital and become the president at the same time.”
“You want to make him a mere puppet? And you want to get his money?” Charlotte was shocked.
“That’s right.”
“First of all, you have to make his company inseparable from the Airline Union. Secondly, you’d have to get rid of Christopher as the secretary. If you can’t achieve the first point, you wouldn’t even be able to control his funds. If Christopher is around, you can’t get all the official seals even if you have all the money and power.”
Shane was quite surprised and he nodded in approval.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
She had changed a lot since they last met.
She was indeed very perceptive. All he did was put forward his request and she had already planned out her goals.
Shane leaned back and his gaze fell on her slender fingers, which were clasped together due to her nervousness.
He asked, “If it was you, what’s your plan?”
Charlotte was quiet for a moment before shaking her head with a bitter smile. “If it were me, I would’ve just quit.”
“So, you’re working with me just to maintain your position and I’m working with you because I have no choice,” Shane continued.
Shane stood up. “Think about this.”
He was gone.
He didn’t do anything else.
The awkward scene she imagined didn’t happen.
Charlotte sat in the restaurant for a while before Rick arrived. When she turned around to look at him, he was panting hard with sweat rolling down his forehead.
She choked up and rushed over to hug him tightly. Then, buried herself in his arms.
Rick’s body stiffened up. He wrapped his arms around her when he noticed the bitterness in her eyes. “What happened. Did he bully you?”
She shook her head. “No, but I missed you very much.”
“I missed you too.”
The two of them hugged each other quietly. Then, they left together.
When Charlotte got on the car, she noticed that there was a car at the corner of the street. She didn’t pay attention to it at first, but as Rick drove away, the car also moved in the opposite direction. She caught a glimpse of the license plate.
It was Shane.
He had just left.
Charlotte couldn’t help but take another look. Her phone vibrated and she took it out from her purse.
“Are you marrying Rick or going against the world with me? I’m waiting for your answer.”
Shane…
She was filled with panic.
Rick took her hand and said, “I got a call on my way here. The Italian designer had sent over the wedding dress. Is the date of the engagement part as usual?”
She immediately came to her senses and smiled as she said, “I’m fine with anything.”
“Lottie, I don’t want to hear you say anything. Tell me when you want it.”
“I’m really okay with anything. Earlier or later is fine. You can arrange everything as you like,” she answered with a smile.
“Do you think marriage is my own business?” Rick’s voice turned cold.
How could he think that?
Charlotte quickly denied, “No, I just thought you could decide on such big matters. I would work with you on the small matters. isn’t that okay?”
“Would you still say this If the groom was Shane?”
The car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road making an ear-piercing sound.
Charlotte was startled. She quickly held onto the armrest in shock. “Rick, what’s wrong? I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Shane’s car didn’t leave until we left. You saw it. After that, your phone vibrated. It was a message from Shane, right?”
Rick was very smart.
Charlotte lowered her head in silence.
“I was actually quite happy today. You told me before you met him and called me to pick you up. However, this made you even more hesitant, right? If I did something Shane could do, you’d choose him without hesitation, right?”
His line of question broke Charlotte’s line of defence in an instant.
She bit her lips and retorted with frustration, “I don’t understand. What more can I do to make you trust me? I’ve already tried my best to stay away from him but…”
Rick sighed and laughed bitterly, “Trust… Alright, Charlotte, if you think that I don’t trust you, I have nothing to say.”
“If it’s not distrust, then what is it?”
“Do you believe I can guess what he texted you?”
Charlotte pursed her lips speechlessly. Although she didn’t say anything, she didn’t believe he could guess it.
Rick smiled and said word by word, “He asked you to choose between staying by his side through this hard time or stay by my side and watch him suffer like everyone else. Either that or he asked you to choose between marrying me or standing against his enemies with him.”
Charlotte was really shocked.
He had guessed almost everything accurately.
“Are you surprised?” Rick looked at her. He was smiling but he was so lonely that he didn’t look happy at all.
“I…” She opened her mouth but she did not know what to say.
“I know you and I also know him so I understand every single move you make. You’re afraid of me now, aren’t you? But do you know how much more afraid I am of you going back to him?”
Charlotte’s mind was in a mess as she clutched her phone tightly.
Rick sighed and said, “Do you want to cancel the wedding and go back to him. Perhaps, he may love you even more after you get through this hard time together…”