Chapter 1036 Everything Comes Round
On the other side of the line, Brian shuddered upon hearing Tom’s forewarning. His expression turned solemn and he nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry, Mr. Brown. Please inform President Fuller that there will be no second time.”
He was not that dull. Some things were meant to be done only once; repeating the same thing would be digging one’s own grave.
“Okay. If there’s nothing else, I shall end the call.” Tom hummed before hanging up the phone. Following that, he informed Toby about Brian’s thank-you call through text.
In Bayside Residence, Toby was going to the room for a nap after drying his hair. Taking merely one step forward, he heard his phone ringing in the bathrobe pocket. He checked the message and replied ‘Got it.’ before keeping it and heading toward the room.
He stood beside the bed while looking at the woman, who was fast asleep with red cheeks. Smiling helplessly, he bent over to lightly pinch her nose. He muttered, “You heartless one. How could you fall asleep when someone is actually scheming against you instead of helping you?”
“Hmph…” With her nose pinched, Sonia could not breathe and frowned while squirming.
Noticing that she was going to wake up, he released his hand and patted her shoulder gently to lull her to dreamland again. Soon, she stopped moving and was in a deep slumber.
He let out a soft chuckle and lifted the blanket to tuck himself in bed. After hugging her in his arms, he turned off the lights and closed his eyes.
…
The next day, Sonia was dealing with some documents in her office when Charles rang her.
“Sonia, what happened?” he questioned as soon as the line got through.
“What?” The phone was propped on her shoulder and his indecipherable question floundered her.
He massaged his cheek. “The commerce port. I arrived at the company this morning and my father called me to his office saying that Toby has offered us cooperation with a commerce port in a free-trade zone. Our company also has the lion share of the benefit.”
“For real?” The pen in her hand stopped as she sat upright instantly.
He nodded. “Yeah. It happened this morning. A representative of Fuller Group came to our company to relay the news. Everyone was so shocked when I first found out about it. Is he out of his mind? Why is he consenting to work with us? It is a cooperation in the commerce port and most of the benefits favor us! Has he gone mad? Why is he giving us free money for no reason?”
Hearing his blather, she recalled how Toby mentioned that he was going to thank Charles and Brian. The puzzles fitted perfectly when she associated it with the news of the commerce port cooperation between the Fuller Group and Lane Corporation.
It seemed like it was Toby’s way of expressing his gratitude to Charles. Not only was he a man of his words, he was also fast in setting things into motion.
Sonia shook her head with a smile. “Alright, Charles. I think I know what’s going on.”
“You know?” Charles, who reclined in his office chair languidly with his legs crossed on the desk, immediately put down his feet and straightened his body. “Tell me. What exactly is going on? Did he lose some screws in his head? Why is he giving us free lunch out of the sudden? Isn’t he always fussy when it comes to me? He must be crazy to do that.”
She found it hilarious. “His brain is functioning fine. He’s doing it because of you.”
“Me?” He was slightly baffled and his brows creased in confusion. “What does it have to do with me?”
“I told him about the components.” Instead of answering his question straightforwardly, she brought this up.
There was a nuance in Charles’ expression. “What? You told him about it? Are you—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m perfectly fine. At first, he was unhappy that I kept him in the dark and did not seek help from him for such a serious matter, but we managed to talk it out after I decided to listen to you and Mr. Smith’s advice. Plus, he’s grateful to you guys for advising me, hence the token of gratitude,” Sonia narrated with a smile.
“Gratitude?”
“Yeah.”
He went silent for a moment before snorting as though he comprehended something. “So, the cooperation is his way of thanking me?”
“It should be.” She nodded.
He pursed his lips. “Who needs a ‘thank you’ from him? I told you those for your sake and nothing else. He—”
“Charles.” She sighed and interrupted him. “Don’t tell me that you’re turning down the offer.”
“I can’t accept it without any merit. So, why should I?” He pouted.
With a smile, she shook her head. “Who says that you don’t have credits? The advice you gave me is the merit. You saved his time of persuading me and made me fully understand my situation. Otherwise, I could’ve ended up being a haughty person. It is all thanks to you. So, you should accept the offer from Toby. Besides, I heard that Lane Corporation needs a commerce port to make international shipments, but you can’t find the suitable one just yet. Even if there is one, I’m sure that you won’t get much benefit from the cooperation. Since Toby has given you a suitable one, why don’t you just accept it?”
He parted his lips, but nothing escaped through them.
Sonia added, “Yesterday, you even told me that we should seek help from a backer if we have one. Now, I’m advising you to earn the money when there’s a chance before you. So, why shouldn’t you accept it? Even if you turn down the offer, he’ll make sure to repay your merit through other means. What’s the point of hesitating? You don’t have to confront him anymore after accepting his favor this time. Isn’t it simple?”
Charles smiled. “It is true that everything comes around. I was still advising you just yesterday and look how the tables have turned. Alright, you win. I’ll accept the offer, but do tell him that I won’t say ‘thank you’ to him.”
With that being said, he terminated the call. Sonia looked at the screen which displayed the main menu and smiled while shaking her head.
They’re all the same—prideful yet warm on the inside.
She kneaded her eyebrows before clicking on Messenger to send a text to Toby. “About the commerce port cooperation with Lane Corporation, is it your way to show your gratitude?’
Then, she set her phone down as she did not expect him to read the message right away. Since the new year was approaching, every big company should be busy with the annual assessment, let alone Fuller Group. Now was its peak period, so it was normal for him to not reply to messages immediately.
However, to her surprise, her phone lit up as soon as she placed it aside. It was a video call invitation from him.
Sonia raised her eyebrow. This man. I thought he’s busy, but he wasn’t. He gave a response so quickly and it’s a video call.
Smiling, she picked up her gadget and accepted the call. Toby’s handsome face appeared on the screen at the very next second with his office as the background.
“Aren’t you busy?” She took a sip of coffee before smiling at the man.
He gave a light nod. “Tom worked overtime last night and most of the tasks are done. So, I’m not that busy.”
“I see.” She nodded and gave him a sideway glance. “What a nice boss you are to have Mr. Brown pull an all-nighter.”
