Chapter 14- Renewing the contract

The next morning, Aidan called Charles at his office and instructed, “Our contract with ‘Vision Networks’ is coming to an end. I already talked about renewing the contract with Mr. Mills. Go and sign the contract.”

Vision Networks was a service provider to many small and large companies of city M, and ‘Thompson and Co’ was one of them. The net profit of this company was huge and which is why Aidan set his eyes on this company. Abigail was the only child of Robert Mills, and naturally, she was the future CEO of this company. If he married her, he would register the company in his name and would become the owner of Vision Networks. She would remain as a mere puppet of his hands.

Robert Mills, on the other end, was worried, thinking that after his death, his younger brother and his nephew would acquire the company and treat Abigail unfairly. They were always scheming against him for the position of the CEO. Therefore, he wanted Abigail to marry Aidan so that Aidan could take care of her as well as the company.

Charles was a little flustered to hear Robert Mills’s name. His hostile gaze upon him was still vivid in his mind. He hesitated to meet with him, so he tried to avoid going there, “Could you send someone else? I… I don’t think that Mr. Mills would like to see me. He seems angry with me. What if he refuses to sign the contract after seeing me?”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Aidan pushed a file toward him. “Go sign the contract.” He waved his hand, signaling him to leave soon after he finished speaking.

Charles had no choice but to carry out his command. He grabbed the file and exited the office.

Almost an hour later, he reached the headquarter of ‘Vision Networks’ and directly headed to the CEO’s office. He knocked on the door and waited for the response.

“Come in.” A few seconds later, he heard Robert’s cold deep voice.

Charles adjusted his tie and buttoned his blazer before going inside. He offered a smile to him and greeted, “Good morning, Mr. Mills. I am here to renew the contract.”

Robert Mills looked up at him through his glasses and said, pointing to the opposite chair, “Please have a seat.”

Charles was somewhat astonished to hear his gentle voice. There was no hostility and coldness in his gaze as before. He nodded and sat down on the chair. He passed the file to him and said, “The contract agreement is here. Have a look.”

Robert Mills began to study the file carefully, flipping one after another page. The room went silent as they didn’t speak a word. Only the rustling of the pages could be heard. It took nearly half an hour for him to finish studying the file. Finally, Robert Mills signed the contract and passed the file to Charles. He smiled a little and said, “Convey my gratitude to Mr. Thompson for giving Vision Networks the chance to serve his company for another year.”

“Sure. Thank you for your time.” Charles smiled and stood up to leave, but Robert’s next words stopped him, “Mr. Shaw, wait a minute.”

Charles turned around to look at him and asked, “Yes, Mr. Mills. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Uh…” Robert waved his hand and said, “No… I simply want to thank you for sending Abi safely home that night. I…” He paused for a while before speaking again, “I should have thanked you earlier, but I was upset with you.” He sighed and leaned over his chair before speaking again, “Abi is my only child, and I am really worried about her. I panicked to see her suffer due to food poisoning, and when I found out that she was with you, I blamed you for her suffering. That night she returned home drunk and when I saw you with her, I couldn’t control my temper. But later, Aidan explained to me how loyal and reliable you are. I am lucky that Abi is in safe hands every time she is out of the house. Thank you, Mr. Shaw, for taking care of her.”

Charles was speechless, and for a few seconds, he didn’t make a sound as though he had lost his voice. Gradually he gathered himself and smiled awkwardly and said, “Following my boss’s order is my job. So, there is nothing to thank me for. I will do my best to protect her whenever she is with me.”

Robert Mills’s lips curled up slightly and said, “I am certain about that.”

“Well, then, I will leave first.” Charles smiled at him before leaving the office.

Just as he stepped out of the office, he encountered Abigail. His face lit up with a wide grin.

Abigail was pleasantly surprised to see him, and she exclaimed, “Hey… What a surprise! I was not expecting you here.” She narrowed her eyes and asked, “Do you have some work here?”

“Yup… I came here to renew the contract,” He answered. The smile on his face grew wider.

“Oh… Then, is your job done?

“Uh...huh…”

“Well, if you have nothing to do now, join me for lunch.”

Charles let out a soft chuckle and rubbed his neck, looking sheepishly at her. He had lots of pending work in the office, but he didn’t want to miss the chance to spend time with her. He said, “Alright. But I can’t stay much longer.”

“It’s okay. It won’t take much time.”

“Then let’s go.”

They smiled at each other and strode out of the company. They got into Charles’s black sedan and headed to the nearby restaurant. It took only fifteen minutes for them to reach the desired destination. After parking the car in the parking area, they entered the restaurant and took an empty seat. They sat face to face, and Abigail started saying, “I usually come here for lunch. The food here is pretty good. You will like it.”

“Is that so?” Charles raised his eyebrows and looked at her. Amusement was visible in his eyes.

“Try it. I am sure you will love it.” She called the waiter and ordered some dishes that she had tasted earlier.

“So, I have a get-together party to attend this weekend.” She started speaking the moment she finished placing the order.

“Okay.” Charles drank a mouthful of water and responded shortly.

“I want you to come with me.”

There were several emotions in her eyes. She wished that he should say yes to her, but at the same time, she was also worried, thinking that he might not agree with her. Her fingers were crossed under the table.

Charles laughed and asked, “What would I do at the get-together party? I don’t know any one of your friends. You can take Mr. Thompson with you.” He said the last sentence sarcastically.

“Yeah, right. And you think that your Mr. Thompson will agree with it.” She simply rolled her eyes, and Charles laughed heartily.

“Come on… come with me. I insist.” Abigail was persistent.

“Okay, I can go with you if you make sure that I won’t get bored.”

“You will not. I will be with you all the time.”

She was so delighted that she couldn’t stop smiling. She never felt such contentment even with Aidan.

By then, the food was served, and they started eating silently. When they were almost done, Charles received a call from Angelina. He frowned slightly and answered the call quickly, “Hey, what’s up?”

“I got discharged.”

Angelina chirped excitedly from the other end of the phone. She didn’t sound dull like earlier, and Charles felt relieved in his heart.

“Really? That’s good, that’s good.” Charles couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes. I was dying to come back home,” She chimed. “Now I am relaxed. Okay… Come home quickly. I will cook for you.”

Charles’s smile faded straight away, and he said coldly, “Angelina… No, not today. You should take more rest. Let me cook for you tonight…”

Charles continued his conversation with Angelina unaware of the change of expression in Abigail.

Abigail felt like her heart was pierced by needles when she heard him calling the name ‘Angelina’ so affectionately. She could see the concern in his eyes. Her heart ached, even more, to hear him promising to cook for Angelina. After last night, she desired him to cook only for her, not for others, but could she tell him loud and clear? The answer came ‘no’ from her inside, and her mood became sour. She lost her appetite and dropped the fork on the plate.

“Okay, I will try. Now I am hanging up the phone.” He chuckled after hearing something from the other side of the phone and said, “Bye.” With that, he ended the call and said, “Sorry, I needed to take the call. She is…”

“It’s okay.” Abigail didn’t allow him to finish speaking because she didn’t want to hear anything about his girlfriend. She didn’t meet his girlfriend, but she started disliking that woman. She was jealous. “It’s getting late. We should go now.”

“Alright.”

After the payment, they went out of the restaurant and got in the car. Charles started driving. Abigail was very quiet. She kept looking out through the windshield. Charles sensed something wrong and asked, “Are you alright?” He glanced at her while driving.

“Yeah. It’s just… a headache.” She replied with despair.

“Is that so?” His eyebrows pulled together while glancing at her, and he asked again, “Shall I drop you at home?”

“No… no.” She shook her head and refused. “Just drop me at the office. I still have work to do.”

“Okay.”

He dropped her off at her office before driving back to his office.