Chapter 493 Put on the Spot
When Charles caught sight of Toby and Lily, he curled his lips to give Toby a smirk. “President Fuller, your taste in women seems rather different nowadays. I have always assumed that you liked people like Tina, who look all innocent, weak, and pure. How did you end up with such a hot and feisty girl like her? On top of that, it seems like you guys also enjoy flirting with each other in public.”
Toby’s expression darkened the moment he heard Charles’s words. Immediately after that, Toby turned to give Lily a glare. “Let go of me.” He would have pulled his arm away from her, but he was worried that her dress would slip off her chest as she was wearing a strapless outfit. If that weren’t the case, Toby would have certainly shoved her away instead of speaking to her so nicely.
Lily didn’t seem to realize how displeased Toby was, so she pouted unhappily when she heard his orders. “I’m your partner, President Fuller. Holding hands—”
“I told you to let go!” Toby cut her off heartlessly. The air around them seemed to turn cold, and Toby’s expression looked grimmer than before. The iciness in his tone of voice was too obvious to be ignored. Lily shuddered at the cold aura surrounding them, and she unconsciously let go of Toby’s arm. Her face had turned into the color of paper.
Toby spoke without any expression on his face. “I told you about this before. I just want you to stand still and look pretty, okay? Don’t you dare mess things up for me—I’ve already told you that I will immediately cancel the partnership with the McRae Family if something like this happens. I can’t believe you completely ignored my orders.”
“I’m sorry, President Fuller. I… I’ll learn from my mistakes.” Panic spread across Lily’s face when she heard Toby’s threat to cancel the partnership with the McRaes. “I really won’t do this again, President Fuller. Please don’t cancel the partnership—my dad will murder me if that happens.” Lily was on the verge of tears because of how worried she was. I completely regret what I did earlier. In the past, I was only able to admire this man from afar—I never had the chance to be so close to him. Now that the guy of my dreams chose me as his female partner and that he’s even considering marrying me, I’m too elated to think straight. That’s why I did what I did. Furthermore, even if Toby noticed my actions, I would have never expected him to expose me in front of others. There are so many people here. He should’ve considered my dignity.
However, Lily was clearly wrong. Toby didn’t care about her pride and dignity at all as his actions put her on the spot. For the past 20 or so years of her life, she had never felt as embarrassed as she did at that moment. She instinctively covered her face, but her neck and ears had turned beet red.
Charles, who had been watching the entire scene, felt rather guilty and sorry when he saw the look on Lily’s face. He was the one who had provoked Toby, after all, which meant he was the reason Toby targeted Lily and placed Lily in such an awkward situation. Once Charles recognized that he was at fault, he no longer lounged around just to enjoy the show. Instead, he straightened his back and cleared his throat before speaking. “Well, Toby, she might have made a mistake, but I don’t think you have to cancel the partnership with her family, right? Isn’t that a little too heartless?”
Toby shot Charles a cold glare. “Mind your own business. You have no right to stick your nose into my matters.” With that said, Toby pulled a chair out to take a seat. Lily hurried to Toby with her head low, and she pulled out the chair beside him to sit down. He’s still insistent on canceling the partnership. I guess I’ll have to continue begging him once this event is over.
Soon enough, the social event came to an official start. Most of the well-known figures at the event were there to meet Toby—they all wanted to work with Toby on their new projects. Charles, on the other hand, only got a chance to be exposed to such powerful people because of his father’s connections. However, Charles realized that he couldn’t understand the other guests’ discussions about their new projects at all. The Lane Family wasn’t involved in the same field of business, so they had never explored such topics. At the same time, Charles was also well aware of the fact that the social event had nothing to do with him—he wouldn’t be invited to be a part of such projects even if he could fathom what they were saying.
The Lane Family couldn’t afford to provide such a huge sum for such projects as they were struggling with their own internal affairs. They would have to declare bankruptcy if they were to invest in such projects. Therefore, Charles merely listened to their conversations for a long while. He came to a point where he felt like sleeping, and he had to take his phone out just to prevent himself from dozing off. With his phone on the table, Charles sent a message to Sonia to tell her about what had happened with Toby and Lily earlier. He phrased his text in a playful manner.
Sonia was organizing some documents in her office, and she straightened her back after she read the contents of Charles’s message. Lily seduced Toby and got herself embarrassed in public? Sonia’s eyes widened before a serious expression formed on her face. It seems like Toby and Lily aren’t getting married, then. If they were planning to get married, Toby wouldn’t have embarrassed his wife-to-be in public. That’s why I think their marriage is impossible. All of a sudden, Sonia felt a weight being lifted off of her chest. She had even curled her lips into a grin without realizing it.
When one of the assistants entered Sonia’s office, she quickly realized how happy Sonia seemed. “You’re finally in a good mood, President Reed,” the assistant commented boldly.
“Finally?” Sonia froze for a second before she touched her own face. “Did I look like I was in a bad mood before this?”
“Yeah.” The assistant nodded. “When you came to work today, you seemed like you were in a bad mood. You were frowning as if you were worried or concerned about something. However, all of those emotions have disappeared now, and you look so much more relaxed.” This assistant usually worked under Daphne’s orders, but she had come over to help Sonia with some matters since she was replacing Daphne’s absence today.
Out of all the people in the office, the assistant had spent the most time with Sonia today, so she had the opportunity to observe Sonia’s mood throughout the day. Sonia was stunned to hear that she had been in a bad mood for so long. According to the assistant’s description, Sonia had been in a bad mood for most of the day, and she had only relaxed a little after receiving Charles’s text. She believed that she felt relieved after concluding that Toby and Lily would never get married to one another. Does that mean I’m happy because Toby and Lily won’t get married? At that thought, all sorts of mixed emotions surfaced in Sonia’s eyes. Why should I be happy after knowing that they won’t get married? What is there to be happy about?
Sonia grew more frustrated the more she thought about it. Finally, she lowered the pen in her hand and massaged her temples to force herself to calm down. “Are you here to collect these documents?” she finally asked.
“Yes, President Reed.” The assistant nodded.
“Take whatever you need and you can leave after that. I’d like to have some time on my own,” Sonia ordered.
“Okay.” The assistant had no idea what was going on, and she didn’t know why Sonia was acting so oddly. After shooting Sonia a puzzled glance, the assistant took all the files into her arms before she left the office.
Sonia only opened her eyes when she heard the door closing. “Sonia, oh, Sonia. What are you doing?” she cried to herself as she grabbed her own hair. She had the sense that something was wrong with her—she would experience all sorts of random, inexplicable mood swings that she had no control over. I don’t know what will be of me if things go on like this!
After taking a deep breath, Sonia lowered her hands to grab her phone. Just then, she received a call from the detective, whose number she had saved after Charles sent it to her shortly after he left yesterday. Sonia’s expression stiffened as she hastily picked the call up.
“Hello, am I speaking to Miss Reed?” A middle-aged man’s voice came from the other end of the call.
Sonia parted her lips to reply. “Yeah.”
“Greetings, Miss Reed. Yesterday, a man came over and told me to investigate someone. He told me to inform you once I find something,” the detective explained.
“Yeah. So what did you find?” Sonia narrowed her eyes as she questioned him in a stern voice.
