Not like he could do anything anyway. Since he loved Sonia, he let her do what she wanted.
Sonia continued laughing for a while, but eventually she heaved a sigh and stopped laughing. Then she took a piece of handkerchief out. “Here. Wipe yourself off with this.”
“My hands are dirty. Just repaired the tire, so why don’t you wipe me off?” Anticipation flared in Charles’ eyes.
Sonia rolled her eyes, but she wiped his face off anyway.
Charles closed his eyes in enjoyment. “You’re the best, darling.”
“Oh, shut it.” Sonia was amused by his reaction.
But someone wasn’t happy to see them looking so loving. Toby clenched his fists, and his face fell.
His reaction did not escape Tina. She knew why he did that, so her eyes gleamed with fury. “They’re such a loving couple, aren’t they?” Tina smiled.
Toby stared down to hide his fury. “Let’s go.” He was afraid he might just go up there and pull Charles away if he didn’t leave immediately, though he didn’t know why he thought so. What’s going on with me?
Tina nodded. “Okay.”
After that, the group left the place and went home in three different cars.
Right after Sonia and Charles came back to the Lane Residence, Grace held Sonia’s hand happily. “How was it, Sonia? Did you have fun?”
“I did.” Sonia took the apple Grace was handing her, answering with a smile.
Grace smiled too. “Good to hear that. Did anything special happen?”
“Special?” Sonia looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Grace’s smile gradually froze up. “I mean, did you two fall into a hole or get locked in a room?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Why do you think I’d run into that kind of situation?”
Grace averted her gaze and waved Sonia down. “Just saying. It’s a drama I watched a few days ago. The couple got into that kind of situation when they were on a vacation, so that’s why I asked.”
Sonia nodded in understanding, then she chuckled. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Lane. That’s just fiction. There’s no way that’ll happen in real life. We’re not in a novel.”
“True.” Grace forced a smile and stood up. “Sit down, Sonia. I’ll go get something upstairs.”
“Sure,” Sonia said.
Grace then went upstairs. Specifically, she was heading toward Charles’ room.
Charles had just finished bathing and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Once again, he was his old handsome self, but before he could praise his perfect body, his mother barged in. Charles quickly stopped his JoJo pose and glared at his mother. “Why’d you barge in, Mom?”
“Did you make any progress over the date?” Grace asked.
Charles was quiet for a moment, then he pouted. “Nope. And that wasn’t even a date.” We got seven people. That’s not a date. That’s a party.
“Not a date, my foot.” Grace glared at him. “Your uncle’s turf club is filled with entertainment stuff, and it’s a perfect spot for a date! I set up a lot of romcom situations in there, but you didn’t trigger even one of them!”
“What do you mean ‘romcom situations’? What did you do?” Charles looked at his mother in surprise.
Grace rolled her eyes. “I hired someone to make a pit on the golf course so the two of you would fall into it and have an accidental kiss. The third floor’s master bedroom’s room is set up so the two of you would be locked in. That’s how you make progress, but none of those were triggered.” Grace was shivering angrily. “All the time and money wasted, all for nothing.”
Charles was half amused, half annoyed. “Wow, you went really far for us.”
“Of course I did. All so you can get in a relationship with her.” Grace sighed and sat on his bed.
Charles scratched his head. “You should have told me sooner. We didn’t go to the golf course, and we stayed in the guest rooms, not the master bedroom. Of course they weren’t triggered.”
“You think I didn’t want to? I know you too well, so you’d mess up even if I gave you a hint. Sonia would realize it as well, so it’d still be a waste of my time,” Grace grumbled.
Charles shrugged.
Grace stood up. “Forget it. Guess I’ll have to find another chance. Dry your hair ASAP and come down. Lunch is ready.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Charles nodded.
Grace went back downstairs, leaving Charles alone.
Sonia went back to Bayside Residence after she had lunch with the Lanes. Her home was starting to collect dust over the last couple of days, so she tied her hair up and wore an apron, then she did a simple cleanup. After that, she went to her study to finish her proposal about alternative energy technology, since the deadline was the next day.
She emailed her finished proposal to professors of distinguished universities so they could make some improvements, though they said her proposal was decent. Thanks to that, she was confident about her proposal.
Sonia worked for a long time after that, only stopping when it was getting dark, and her stomach was starting to rumble.
“It’s almost eight, huh?” She took a look at her phone and stretched her arms. When she was about to put her proposal in the drawer, she saw the key Rose gave her lying in there. Rose told her there was an important item in the Reed Residence that she had to get at all costs, for it was related to a great secret.
Seems like I have to take some time out for this. She put the key back and fell into her thoughts.
After she came to Paradigm Co. the next day, Daphne followed her around as usual, reporting, “President Reed, Mr. Dafoe has turned some of your supporters to his side during your absence.”
Sonia wasn’t surprised he’d do that. Asher had been trying to boot her out of the top brass so she’d only be a stakeholder in name. Naturally, he’d turn her supporters to his side at every chance he got. It wouldn’t be like him if he didn’t.
“I don’t mind. That just means they aren’t tough enough. At least now we know they can’t sell us out when it matters the most. But since they took his side, I’m taking back their privilege.” Sonia sneered, then she said, “I want you to trip those guys up and fire them. Then get someone else to replace them.”
“But what if Mr. Dafoe tries to protect them?” Daphne voiced her concern.
Sonia smiled. “Tell him I’ll sell my shares and get him another rival in this battle for control if he does that.”
“I understand. Right away, President Reed.” Daphne nodded in excitement.
After that, Sonia went to her office to settle the documents that had been piling up for the last couple of days. Halfway through that, Daphne told her a meeting would start soon, so Sonia closed the document before her and went to the conference room. There, she met Asher, who was coming from the other side.
However, he wasn’t looking too happy. “I did not expect that move from you. Selling your shares just to stop me, huh? Surprising.”
He thought she could do nothing when she found out what he did during her absence. Even if she tried to fire them, he’d step up for them and force her to swallow her loss. However, he did not expect her to go off rails and force him to stay still. He didn’t want to make another rival, so Sonia’s plan worked well. All he could do was watch as his newly-gained supporters were fired. Dammit.
