Chapter 26- Meeting with Erica

Charles winded up as soon as the sun sets on the horizon. He made his way to the parking lot and got into the car. He drove straight to the Ambience. It was an upscale restaurant in city M. It didn’t take much time for him to reach there. After he parked the car, he went inside the restaurant and asked the receptionist about Erica Barrett. The receptionist informed him that Erica had already arrived and asked him to go to the second floor.

Charles headed to the second floor and saw her seated on a corner table. She also saw him coming and waved at him, wearing a smile on her face. He nodded slightly and walked up to her. Sitting across her, he asked without wasting a second, “What do you want to say?”

She chuckled and said, “Let me order some drinks for you.”

“Miss Barrett, I am not here to drink with you. Say what you want to say. I don’t have time to waste.” His tone was cold, making him unapproachable.

Erica frowned and stared at him for a while before she began to say again, “Alright. If you are so eager to know about it, I will not waste time.” She went silent and took a few moments to say the next words, “If I say that Aidan doesn’t love Abigail, will you believe me?” She peered at him inquisitively.

“So the rumor of you chasing after Mr. Thompson is true.” Charles chuckled meaningfully. “You want to create a rift amongst them. And if you think that I will buy this baseless accusation of yours, you are wrong. I know my boss very well, and I have seen how much he loves Miss Mills. So leave them alone and don’t make trouble for them. And never try to contact me in the future.”

He got up from the sofa and turned to leave soon after he finished speaking, but her next words stopped him on the track, “Believe it or not, it is true that he doesn’t love Abigail. He only likes her property, and he is getting married to her only because of it.”

Charles turned around frantically and looked back at her incredulously, eyebrows knitted tight.

She stared at him attentively for a while and then spoke again, “I have slept with him countless times, and he told me everything. After the marriage, he will register the property in his name, and she will remain a mere puppet of his. He would never give her the love that she deserves. Once he told me that he would spend the wedding night with me. Humph…” She snorted and laughed bitterly. “I foolishly believed in him and see, now he threw me out of his life. This is the true nature of Aidan. He is not with me now, but I am sure he sleeps with random women every night. He will continue this even after the marriage. He doesn’t care about what she feels. She will only suffer endlessly if she marries him. I know you like her. I saw it in your eyes at that get-together party. Would you like to see her suffer every day?”

Charles frowned even more deeply after hearing her last few sentences. He was uncomfortable. He didn’t want anyone to know how he felt about Abigail, so he denied instantly, “You are wrong. I don’t like her. I only care about her because she is my boss’s fiancee. That’s all. Don’t make assumptions about anything. And the story you made up is cheap. I don’t trust a single word of yours. Goodbye, Miss Barrett.”

He turned around to leave, but she exclaimed, “I can prove it.”

Charles’s expression froze, and he turned back slowly to look at her, utterly astounded.

“I can prove it.” She was anxious and got up from the sofa. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on the table and looked straight at his eyes. “It’s okay if you won’t believe me. But what if Aidan reveals the plan of his own accord? Will you believe it?”

“And how is that going to happen, and why would he do that if he is planning it secretly?” He sneered.

“I know his weakness. Just trust me once. I just need to get close to him. Nowadays he doesn’t allow me to enter the office or his residence. He even blocked my number. I don’t know his schedule. Please, let me see him alone once, and I promise I will make him confess to his plans.”

“Why are you doing this?” Charles couldn’t understand her motive behind this move.

She exhaled deeply and said, “Mr. Shaw, you should think about Abigail, not why I am doing this. You should think about how to expose Aidan to her so that she can get out of this relationship.”

“And do you think I will help you without knowing the true motive of yours?” Charles asked fiercely.

“It is up to you if you want to trust me or not. I will wait for your call.” As she said, she grabbed her purse and walked out of there, swaying her hips left and right.

Charles stared at her retreating back, dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that he came here to meet this madwoman and listened to her blabbering patiently. He shook his head and strode out of the restaurant. After getting into the car, he drove directly to the hospital.

While driving, his mind, again and again, drifted to Erica’s words, and his expression grew pensive. He didn’t trust her at all, but he also couldn’t shake off her words completely. What if she was telling the truth? What if Aidan was planning something cunning against Abigail? These questions never stopped coming to his mind, making him agitated. He couldn’t let Abigail suffer at any cost. Now he was impatient to know the truth of Aidan. There was no harm if he helped that madwoman meet Aidan secretly. After considering the situation over and over again, he made up his mind to set up Erica’s meeting with Aidan.

The next morning, when he came to the office, he checked Aidan’s schedule for the week. He was occupied by the meetings with clients and investors. Some of the meetings were to sign new contracts with new clients. All these situations were inappropriate for Erica to meet him, and most importantly, Aidan’s bodyguards wouldn’t allow her to get close to him. He was feeling despair. He closed the diary and shoved it in the drawer.

Just as he was about to close the drawer, his gaze landed on an invitation card. His eyes sparkled and took the invitation card out of the drawer. Only then did he remember that two days ago the new model that replaced Erica gave him the invitation card to pass it on to Aidan.

A big bass fashion show was going to happen in the city M next Friday, and she was the showstopper of that event. She wanted Aidan to attend that fashion show. At that time, Charles was disheartened to know about Aidan’s plan to propose to Abigail on her birthday, and he forgot to inform Aidan. Later on, this matter slipped away from his mind. Now after seeing this invitation card, he remembered everything, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

He took out the diary and rechecked the schedule on Friday. He found out that Aidan had no appointments after 6 in the afternoon that day. His eyes sparkled in anticipation.

He walked up to the CEO’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Aidan summoned.

Charles pushed open the door and went inside.

Aidan was busy working on his laptop. He glanced at Charles and asked, “Is everything ready for the morning meeting?”

“Yes, everything is done.” Charles looked down at the invitation card and then moved his eyes to Aidan. “This is an invitation to a fashion show that Miss Cambell gave. She wants you to attend the show.”

He put the invitation card down on the work table and said again, “The fashion show is going to happen on coming Friday, and you don’t have an appointment or meeting after 6 o’clock that day.”

He went silent and gazed at him curiously. He was hoping Aidan to say yes.

Aidan glanced at the invitation card nonchalantly and looked back at the laptop screen again. He resumed his work and said, “Okay, I will think about it and let you know later. Go prepare for the meeting.” He spoke indifferently and showed no interest in the fashion show.

Charles was anxious, and he wiped his face with his palm. He wanted to persuade him, but after noticing his unwillingness, he didn’t say anything further. He turned around and left.

The moment Charles left the office, Aidan picked up the invitation card from the table and looked at it. The corner of his mouth curled up slyly. He liked the new model Mia Cambell. Unlike Erica, she looked innocent. He was looking for the opportunity to get closer to her and have her. This was a good chance to spend time with her and get to know her more. The smile on his face grew wide in anticipation.

Charles came to his desk and sat on his chair. He loosened the tie and threw the phone down on the desk. Frustration was apparent on his face. This was a good chance to execute his plan, and he thought that Aidan would agree to attend the event. But Aidan just showed his disinterest. Now Charles had to wait for the next opportunity to come. He pressed his forehead, keeping his elbow on the desk, eyes shut tight. He stayed that way for a while and then started organizing the files for the meeting.

Grabbing the file, he strode to the conference hall. All the board members started coming one after another, shortly after he entered the hall.

Aidan came after everyone. The meeting started soon after he arrived and lasted for over an hour. When the meeting was over and everyone went out one by one, Charles tidied the files. He was about to leave the conference hall, which is when Aidan called him, “Charles, wait.”

He lifted his head to look at him and asked, “Yes, Boss. Is there anything you want to say?”

“Hmm.” Aidan tapped the pen on the table and said, “I thought about attending the fashion show. Arrange some gifts for Miss Cambell.”

He got up from the seat and left the hall elegantly, putting his hands inside his pocket as soon as he finished speaking.