Chapter 45: Is that Really All?
“I’m at your door,” Fletcher clarified, resolving my confusion. “Charlene, come back right now.”
Before I could respond, he hung up.
His tone was as sharp as ever.
I thought about Davina, who had been reduced to a background figure at the banquet. I couldn’t help but understand his impatience.
He must be upset on her behalf.
I decided to deal with things head–on, returning to my place calmly.
It was a hassle, but it was something I had to
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chapter 45. that Really All?
Peint
face.
Though I had mentally prepared for this encounter earlier, when I saw Fletcher leaning against my door, a flicker of surprise ran through me.
The man had his eyes half–closed, his expression weary as he leaned against the doorframe. His high–quality suit and tie were casually draped over his arm, leaving him dressed only in a white shirt. The once neat collar was now loosened, exposing a patch of pale skin.
In the dimly lit hallway, with his finely chiseled features, there was an inexplicable aura of brokenness around him. He seemed like a completely different person compared to the confident CEO of Lynton Group from the banquet.
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OL Realty Alf
He looked even more exhausted than I did.
Suddenly, I didn’t know how to greet him.
But just then, as if sensing my presence, the man slightly lifted his eyelids and revealed his brown, intense eyes.
Our gazes met, and I heard Fletcher say, “You’re back.”
His voice, naturally low, carried an
unapproachable tone when he was serious, but when he lowered it like this, there was an inexplicable gentleness.
Just like now.
I tightened my grip on the car key in my hand, pretending to be calm as I said, “Mr. Lynton, is there something you need at this hour?”
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Chapter 45: is that Really All?
+5 Point:
The man’s gaze drifted downward, his eyes finally landing on the key in my hand. His lips curved into a faint smile as he said, “Ms. Grande, you’ve certainly gone to great lengths to please Winston.”
He was staring at the matching car key I was holding.
It seemed Fletcher had noticed the coincidence too.
I gently shook the key and responded calmly, “Well, Mr. Lynton, I’d say a part of this success belongs to you too.”
Fletcher frowned at my words, asking, “What do you mean by that?”
“If it weren’t for that 100,000 from you, the down payment wouldn’t even have
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been enough.” I stated the facts without hesitation.
Fletcher looked at me silently, his gaze deepening as he asked incredulously, “Charlene, you’re using my money to please another man?”
The last words came out louder than usual.
“Mr. Lynton, as I told you before,” I didn’t want to escalate the situation, so I tried to explain, “Though the money is yours, we made a deal, didn’t we? How I spend it doesn’t really require a detailed report to you, does it?”
Fletcher’s expression faltered for a moment, his frustration evident as he tugged at his collar, only to realize the tie had already been undone. He stared at me and asked, “Ms. Grande, after all your efforts, did Winston agree to invest?”
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He was convinced that my “pleasantafe Winston was all aboud momsayey
But what was he so anxious abouttat
“It seems not yel Fletcher guest dealsas 1 stayed silent. “So, Ms. Grande, are you cou planning to use the same wick you used orthon me to win over Winston next??
Tonight, Fletcher was acting a bit out off! character, talking much more than usualalal
And what surprised me was that he wasn’t here to defend Davina.a.
I met Fletcher’s deep gaze, feeling g inexplicably irritated. The words slipped out t before I could stop them. “Mr. Lynton, whatat exactly are you bothered by?“?
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Fletcher was momentarily caught off guard
by my question. He quickly avoided my gaze and fell silent.
The details were the answer. In that second, I suddenly realized my drunken slip of the tongue.
I was about to explain myself when Fletcher asked another question, “What’s the deal with the admission letter?”
That was when it clicked.
All the previous lines had just been a prelude -what he really wanted to ask was this.
I shrugged nonchalantly, trying to appear indifferent. “As you can see, Mr. Lynton, I just didn’t want to go, so I gave it up.”
I tightened my grip on the car key as I said it.
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What flashed through my mind was the scene where I handed over the ten thousand I had painstakingly saved to the study–abroad agency.
Two years ago, the requirements for studying abroad weren’t as strict as they are now, but there was one crucial thing we had to meet: the financial guarantee. That was the most important part of the review process. As a student, I only had so much money available.
But the agency told me that the total amount of our savings was only enough for one person to go abroad.
At the time, I thought it didn’t matter. I figured, with my abilities, even if I went a
year or two later, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
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But Fletcher, he needed this opportunity more than I did.
So, I kept the admission letter from him.
I gave my entire ten thousand to Fletcher, all of my savings.
“Why did you hide it from me?”
The man’s sharp voice jolted me back to reality. I tugged at the corner of my mouth and smiled, saying, “Giving up studying abroad was my personal decision. Mr. Lynton, you don’t need to dwell on it. If you really feel bad about it, just think of it as me making a fixed deposit with you–just pay me, and we’ll call it even.”
“Charlene!”
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The sudden outburst startled me. Fletcher’s face had turned ashen, and he stared at me in disbelief.
His gaze darkened, and an air of danger surrounded him.
I suddenly felt that mentioning money at this moment had been a terribly unwise move.
“Sorry,” I said with the sincerity I used when speaking to a financial backer, “I just-”
“Is that all, Charlene?” Fletcher shouted my name again, his tone biting. “Is that really all?”
For some reason, when I heard Fletcher ask like that, my heart skipped a beat.
I thought to myself, being overly sentimental wasn’t something to be proud of. Without
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thinking, I asked, “What else would it be?”
Fletcher scoffed, then turned and walked toward the elevator. As he walked, he said, “Alright, a fixed deposit, huh? Fine, we’ll calculate it with the highest interest rate. Charlene, I won’t owe you a single penny.”
When the elevator doors closed, my legs went weak. It felt as though the support had suddenly been pulled out from under me, and I slumped against the wall in exhaustion.
I had gotten another sum of money. I should have been happy about it, right?
But that night, I couldn’t sleep.
The next morning, I arrived at the office
early. To my surprise, I ran into Davina by the elevator.
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Her ponytail was tied high, and she held a folder in her hands. She looked as radiant as ever, completely unaffected by last night’s events.
When she saw me, Davina was clearly surprised. “Charlene, you came so early.”
Her voice was as sweet as always.
I nodded. “You’re up early too, Davina.”
“Well, after hearing your conversation with Stack last night, I was honestly a little embarrassed,” she said, glancing at me shyly. “So, after I got home, I spent the whole night going over our project.”
I looked up, my gaze sweeping over Davina’s delicate face, but I didn’t respond.
Then, I heard her say, “But Charlene, you
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Point
know what? When looked into in casebellewi actually found a major bug in our gramme”