Chapter 712 Your Reward
Both Sonia and Toby looked like they were taking a stroll in the park instead of attending a press conference. This didn’t matter, of course—what mattered was that their intimate actions left everyone gasping in surprise. The people who were on Sonia’s side felt their hope reigniting when they saw the couple walking in.
Asher and his people, on the other hand, were starting to feel nervous at the sight of them. When they saw how gentle Toby was toward Sonia, they could tell that he was deeply in love with her. Even if the press conference didn’t go well, and even if he got into trouble for it, he definitely wouldn’t give up on Sonia. Things didn’t look too good for Asher’s people.
Toby was a man of power, after all, so such minor inconveniences wouldn’t be an issue for him at all. He’d eventually find a way to resolve the matter, and he would gain authority over Fuller Group once more. Wouldn’t he be able to offer help to Sonia then? Once Sonia had his support, she’d be able to retrieve everything she had lost, and she might even use his power to take revenge on the people who had attempted to oust her…
The more Asher’s people thought about it, the grimmer they looked. They shifted their gazes toward Asher as if they were asking, What are we going to do now? Asher merely clenched his fists without responding. How was he supposed to respond? I have no idea what Toby is doing here.
His appearance is ruining all my plans, and I don’t know how to fix things now. I guess all I can do is to go with the flow. Asher rubbed his face in frustration.
Meanwhile, Toby went up a step before he stopped and turned around to look at the woman behind him. “Watch your step. Don’t fall,” he reminded her. Sonia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that moment. “I’m not blind, and walking is something I do everyday. Why would I fall?” While she was talking, Toby held her arm and guided her toward the front of the room. He continued to hold onto her as he spoke. “Just in case.”
“You’re always worrying about unnecessary things.” Sonia smiled as she shook her head. The rest of the people in the meeting room noticed the couple’s interactions—those who were happy for them felt happier, while those who were against them looked more dejected than ever.
Jessica was the outlier in the room as she was the only one who felt jealous of them. She felt as if she were losing her mind as the jealousy ate her insides. Her face was twisted into an ugly expression as she glared at the couple walking to the front of the room with bloodshot eyes. I don’t understand.
Why would this rich and powerful man choose someone like Sonia, who’s just an illegitimate daughter that doesn’t know who her biological dad is? He can go for any other girl he wants! What’s so great about Sonia?
Sonia wasn’t aware that there was a certain someone who was deadly jealous of her at that moment. As Sonia walked toward her seat, she turned to give orders to Daphne. “Bring another chair over for President Fuller. He’s going to be a part of this press conference as well.”
“Okay.” Daphne smiled and nodded before she proceeded to complete her task. Once the rest of the people heard that Toby was joining the meeting, they had mixed emotions. However, no one had the guts to step forward and question anything. Toby was too powerful of a person for them to provoke. Furthermore, more than half of Paradigm Co.’s partnerships were related to Fuller Group, so Toby was practically like a sugar daddy to their company. Would anyone reject their sugar daddy’s money and chase him away?
Eventually, Toby took a seat next to Sonia at the head of the meeting room’s table. The strong aura Toby gave off easily overpowered Sonia’s presence. It seemed almost like the chairman of Paradigm Co. was Toby instead of Sonia. However, Sonia didn’t tell him to hold himself back as she knew that he wasn’t an insensitive individual.
Toby wasn’t someone who would disregard the situation and overpower her intentionally—he was only acting in such a manner to scare the people who were working for her. Specifically, he wanted to make Asher and his people feel threatened.
From the moment they entered the meeting room, both Toby and Sonia had noticed the greed in their eyes. That was the reason Toby intentionally made himself appear more domineering—he wanted to extinguish the greed in these people. If Sonia had been alone, she might not have been able to gain control over them.
“It’s about time. Since everyone’s here, I’ll proceed without wasting everyone’s time. Daphne, please get the media companies who have been invited for the press conference to enter the room. They’re over in the lounge area. Also, you may start the live stream.” Sonia took a glance at the people sitting below her before she raised her hand to look at her watch.
Daphne nodded before she took the walkie-talkie that was hanging on her belt and spoke into it. Soon enough, more than ten representatives from various media companies squeezed into the meeting room from the lounge next door. When the representatives saw Sonia sitting next to Toby, they were stunned for a second before holding their microphones up to throw out all their questions.
“What are you doing here, President Fuller? Are you here to give Miss Reed support?” one asked.
“President Fuller, do you think Miss Reed will be able to produce evidence during the press conference today? Will she be able to prove that she hasn’t done all those things to Miss Jessica?” another asked.
“Yeah, President Fuller, if Miss Reed doesn’t manage to produce the evidence, that would mean that whatever Miss Jessica posted on the internet might be the truth. If that’s the case, will you break up with Miss Reed?” Toby hadn’t intended to respond to the reporters, but he knitted his brows together when he heard one reporter ask him if he would break up with Sonia. Am I still a man if I just pretend not to hear the question when this reporter’s asking me about a breakup? Toby took the microphone that had been placed in front of Sonia.
“What are you doing?” Sonia grabbed his arm.
“It’s nothing.” Toby patted the back of her hand before giving her a smile. “I’ll just answer one of their questions.” Toby had spoken directly into the microphone, so everyone in the meeting room heard what he said. All the reporters’ eyes lit up immediately. Even the audience who was watching the livestream were extremely excited. They all began to guess which question Toby was about to answer. “President Fuller…” one of the reporters uttered in an attempt to clarify his intentions.
However, Toby merely ignored the reporter before turning to the female reporter who had questioned him earlier. “Just now, you asked me whether I would break up with Sonia if what Jessica said was the truth, right?”
The female reporter was extremely flattered by the fact that he had chosen her question, so she immediately nodded. “Y-Yes, President Fuller!”
“Well, my answer is simple. No.” Toby spoke in a firm and straightforward tone. Sonia held a teacup in her hand and had been about to sip on her tea when she heard his words. The corner of her lips curled into a smile as she sneakily lowered one of the hands that she had placed on the desk. She secretly slipped it under the table to reach for Toby’s thigh before resting her hand there.
Toby sensed something pressing against his leg, and he looked down to find her hand there. She wasn’t just placing it on his leg, she was even giving him a squeeze. It didn’t hurt him, but it sent an electric current through his entire body. His gaze darkened as his voice turned hoarse. “You…”
Sonia turned to face him before she edged closer to his ear. “It’s my reward for you.”
He raised an eyebrow before he smiled. “I like this reward. I’d like it even more if you were the reward.”
“Pfft.” Sonia blushed as she rolled her eyes at him. Then, she straightened her figure as she decided not to fool around with him any longer. She had been about to pull her hand away from his leg when he reached over just in time to grab it . Sonia turned to stare at him, and he put her hand back onto his thigh. “You shouldn’t pull away since you’ve placed your hand here. This is your reward for me, isn’t it? Shouldn’t I be the one to decide when this reward ends?”
Sonia was speechless in response to his answer, but she eventually complied to his request and left her hand on his leg. The reporters below them couldn’t tell what the couple was doing, so they held their microphones up to pose them more questions. “Why won’t you break up with her, President Fuller? Can you give us a reason?”
“Because I love her. Isn’t this reason good enough?” Toby gave the female reporter a sideways glance.
