Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Braden was the first to notice Charlotte. "Lottie? Why didn't you say you were coming?"
Shane quickly came to his senses. His gaze was cold and stunned.
Christopher slowly turned his head and looked first at Zoe before his gaze fell on Charlotte. He smiled and waved at her in greeting.
"This is a recording. It should be useful to you." Charlotte came to stand before Shane's face and said, "Listen to it first."
Shane didn't hold much hope, but hit the play button casually.
When the voice of the programmer's ex-wife sounded, the expressions of the three men changed.
Although everyone had their own standpoints now, none of them wished for NC Company to collapse.
If NC Company collapsed and they tendered their shares, no one would be able to recoup their losses. Even if the company did not collapse, the negative impacts from this matter would continue to expand, and the stock price would plummet. Industry talents would not dare join the company, which would be the greatest loss.
It seemed to be a small thing, but it could affect the company big time.
Although roadside hawkers didn't earn much money, there was a limit to how much they could lose. They work hard all their lives, but they might only vacillate between losses and gains.
But big companies were different.
Even if a butterfly flapped its wing, it was likely that it would create a tsunami and affect the industry.
That was why.
Charlotte's recording came at the right time.
Zoe also did not expect that Charlotte would make her move with such an explosive gambit.
"Lottie, you gave her 3 million dollars?" Braden was surprised. "Where did you get so much money?"
"I have some savings over the years," Charlotte replied with a smile, "Of course, it's still because Rick gave me an opportunity. I obtained a lot of projects. You know what they say in the industry, that I was the one who brought the Jane Corporation to the next level. Although I didn't do much, I did make a lot of money."
"It's too amazing. This move is too amazing."
It was really impressive.
In total, she had spent more than six million dollars.
In order to solve a problem for Shane that he could have solved himself. When you thought about it, she was really silly.
Unfortunately, at this moment, she was silly without any regrets.
After Shane finished listening to the recording, he looked piercingly at Charlotte and said, "Wait here." Then, he looked at Braden and said, "Prepare for the press conference. At the same time, we will start charges for extortion."
"Yes." Braden shivered. Then, he secretly gave Charlotte a thumbs up.
For a press conference, you needed to present yourself somberly.
Charlotte turned around and asked Shane and Zoe to leave.
All of a sudden, she was the only one left in the office.
Charlotte walked over to the chair and reached out her hand to touch the spot where he had just sat. She took out her phone, looked at the less than 20,000 dollars in savings there, and closed her eyes.
What if...
Before, she had thought that Shane saw her as dispensable.
Then now, it was like she had given herself from back then a tight slap.
But it didn't matter, as long as he could solve this crisis.
Charlotte didn't wait for Shane to come back. She left NC Company alone and found a mostly empty bar in which to drink.
She didn't have a good alcohol tolerance, so she only ordered some low proof drinks.
"Oh, I'm scared to see the ending. Why are we pretending this is nothing? I'd tell you I miss you, but I don't know how. I never heard silence quite this loud..."
The singer on stage sang as he strummed the guitar.
Now that she thought about it, it was quite strange.
The singer looked like he was in his thirties. His appearance was extremely unkempt, but his voice was pure. There was a hint of sorrow in his clear and youthful voice.
The song was written and produced by the ever-popular Taylor Swift.
The original composition of the song had a rock flavor.
She had always thought that the song was quite sad despite its upbeat music. She never thought that, by playing the guitar, the singer here could bring out the sadness of it so well.
It made her want to cry and laugh at the same time. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
It was just like life.
In addition to the preordained joys and sorrows, most of the time she felt the helpless feeling of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Didn't I tell you to wait for me?"
A cold voice rang in her ears along with the music.
Charlotte raised her glass and took a sip. She laughed and said, "Didn't you find me even though I didn't wait for you?"
Shane sat down beside her and ordered a drink, "A Singapore Sling."
The bartender quickly placed the drink on the table.
"Did Rick get you to send me the recording?"
She did not answer but looked at the singer with empty eyes.
"Charlotte."
"That is not important. As long as things turn out well, it's fine," she said.
Since she had said that, Shane naturally knew that she had been the one who had helped him.
He grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him.
Shane's image was reflected in Charlotte's eyes.
"How much did you spend?"
"You care more about the money, do you?" She wanted to turn her head and avoid his gaze.
But as soon as she moved, Shane grabbed her chin.
He kissed her with his lips smelling of alcohol.
Charlotte closed her eyes.
He only held it for a few seconds before he moved his lips away.
She opened her eyes, which were a little red. "I don't care about money at all. When I heard the news, I thought, what if you can't handle it, but I also thought that you could definitely solve it."
"I did spend a lot of money, but that doesn't matter at all. I just wanted to know what happened. If it wasn't serious, then you wouldn't need me."
"It didn't matter how much I thought about it. Even though you definitely could have dealt with it, I still couldn't help doing it."
"I'm sorry. I put my nose into your business." She lowered her head. "I'll control myself in the future."
Shane looked at her deeply.
Her heartbeat inexplicably sped up.
He took out his wallet and put a few large bills on the table. Then, he grabbed her hand, turned around, and left.
Charlotte was pulled to the car by him without knowing what he was doing.
The narrow space left her nowhere to hide. She could only endure it as she came face-to-face with his lips.
Charlotte was shocked when she saw his hands move all the way down. She grabbed his arm, "Shane, you can't..."
"You're single now."
"Even if that's the case, you can't..."
However.
Where could she get the strength to resist?
Charlotte didn't know what was wrong with herself. Until she was his, that strange dream from five years ago suddenly became exceptionally clear.
It was the same night, the same face, and the same moonlight that made his facial features look extremely handsome.
The only difference was that she knew his name this time.
If she was with Shane, she would betray Rick.
If she was with Rick, she would be doing Shane wrong and... It was a contradictory situation she couldn't get out of.
In the end.
She slumped in his arms, seemingly exhausted.
In a blur, she felt him kissing her hair.
He said.
Have a good sleep.
After some time, she heard the sound of water and felt some warmth. Then, she was sent to a soft paradise.
This entire night, she was like a puppet that he could manipulate at will.
Late at night.
Shane stood in front of the window. He was wearing Bluetooth headsets and holding Charlotte's phone in his hand.
"I don't think I'm a good man," he started.
On the screen of Charlotte's phone, the name Rick flashed.
"You're a piece of scum." Rick gnashed his teeth in anger.
"Yes."
"It was so hard for her to be free from your influence and to live a normal life." Rick suppressed his anger and said, "Shane, you don't even love..."
"Yes, I do."
It was a simple proclamation, but it left Rick speechless.
He rubbed his temples and said, "Take good care of her. Send her home tomorrow."
"Rick, are you not involved in this incident?"
"If I was involved, do you think that you could do such dastardly things?"
Rick hung up the phone angrily.
Shane turned around and looked at Charlotte's sleeping face in the moonlight.
She was as exquisite as a doll, or as beautiful as Sleeping Beauty was in the fairy tale.
He had never been taken care of by anyone.
Ever since he was born, he always stumbled his way through life.
No one had protected him before.
Except for this matter, he always dealt with things by himself. There would inevitably be accidents in the process, and Heidi was the person who had suffered the consequences.
He had assumed that things like that would never happen again now that he had reached his current status and new worth, but...