The Cherished Wife

Wife 86

“Really?” Charles stood abruptly, yanking a paper from the pile behind him. “I didn’t come here to listen to your excuses. You seem to be in the dark on how I operate. Since I’ve brought you in, it’s clear–you’re out of the Collosus Group.”

“Mr. Hoffman!” Jenson’s legs turned to jelly, and he nearly dropped to his knees, “Mr. Hoffman, I admit it, I messed up! I was backed into a corner, you know? I’ve got my aging parents and my kids to look after, and sure, being the finance chief sounds like a sweet gig, but… it takes guts to do this job! I was desperate. My mom’s sick in the hospital with heart disease, she needs a transplant, and I was out of options.”

Charles gave Mr. Lowry an icy stare. “I gave you a chance to come clean, and you wasted it!” With that, Charles hit the intercom button, and Ronald was in the room in a flash. “Mr. Hoffman, Joey’s spilled the beans. A bunch of those phony accounts never reached you, so things were smooth sailing until now.”

A smirk played on Charles’s lips. “So, you’ve been pulling this off under the radar for quite a while, huh?”

“Mr. Hoffman, I’m sorry!” Jenson hit the floor on his knees. “I lost my way, but, but it was all Mr. Harris’s idea. He told me that if I didn’t participate, not only would my mom’s treatment go south, but I’d be out of a job too. My hands were tied.”

Charles just waved him off. Ronald stepped right up next to Jenson. “Mr. Hoffman, I’ve called the cops, and they should be here any minute!”

Jenson’s world crumbled. His face was the color of concrete. “It’s all over! All of it!” Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

“Not yet,” Ronald chimed in. Jenson’s head shot up, hope flickering in his eyes. “You’ve got a plan?”

Ronald squinted. “Mr. Lowry’s a clever guy. He’s gotta have a backup plan, right?”

“Of course, I do! I’ve always been worried that my secret would come out, so…” Mr. Lowry wasn’t dumb, He had had an ace up his sleeve from the start, just in case his secret was revealed. “If you can forgive me, I’m ready to give up what I’ve got!”

Charles’s eyes were like icy daggers as he glared at Jenson. “I really hate being pushed into a corner. It’s a really bad feeling,” he said coldly. “Too bad for you that you’ve just hit my biggest nerve!”

“Mr. Hoffman…”

“Ronald, take him away. He needs some time to think about his next move.”

“Right away, Mr. Hoffman!” Ronald gave Jenson a sympathetic glance, shook his head, and tsked.

After years of working with Charles, Ronald knew exactly how he played the game. Charles was the one who called the shots, not the other way around. He figured Jenson must have lost his marbles to try and pull a fast one, “Come on, Mr. Lowry, let’s go.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere. Mr. Hoffman, I’ve got what you’ve been after, the very thing that could topple Mr. Harris. Are you sure you don’t want to think it over?”

“You are not the one setting the terms,” Charles said, his stare cold and merciless, as he took what Jenson had. “I make the rules here!”

Jenson gazed at Charles, his eyes filled with despair.

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Ronald had just come back when he spotted Charles gazing out the towering window, lost in thought. Clearing his throat to announce his presence, Ronald caught Charles’s attention.

Charles shot a brief look at Ronald, who snapped to attention. “The guy’s been taken care of, but Mr. Hoffman, are we good to go with this?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Charles strolled over to his desk, picked up a cigarette, and rolled it between his fingers without lighting it. “It’s high time we dealt with this. Letting it drag on isn’t doing us any favors.”

Charles was the kind of guy who liked to get things done in one fell swoop since it was less hassle that way. “He’s so fond of making moves, so let’s give him a grand one to think about.”

Ronald sensed that Charles was dead set on taking Robert down this time. Things seemed to be moving faster than expected, and he could not quite catch Charles’s drift. “You said before that you’d let him keep hopping around for a bit. I thought you weren’t going to touch him just yet.”

Charles’s lips curled into a sly smile. “I’m feeling good today. Don’t bother trying to guess what I’m thinking.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Ronald knew better than to try and read Charles’s mind. After all, figuring out what Charles was planning was a puzzle no one could solve.

With a cold huff, Charles added, “Joseph thinks he’s invincible with Robert backing him up.

“Are you saying Mr. Hoffman wants us to move on Frotconn right now?” Ronald could not help but think of Noelle again. He did not see what was so special about her, but Mr. Hoffman seemed to have taken a liking to her.

Ronald was a bit puzzled. Charles had been known for doing whatever he wanted, and even though he was caught up in the Hoffman family drama, his wild side was usually kept under wraps, except for the occasional outburst. Was Noelle the reason this time?

If Ronald was being honest with himself, he was not too thrilled about it. In his eyes, Charles was untouchable and almost flawless. Noelle, however…

“Have you got something to say?” Charles’s eyes narrowed with a hint of challenge.

“No, sir!” Ronald was quick to deny it. “Frotconn has been pushing it, hiding behind the Collosus Group’s name for too long.”

“Keep an eye on Mr. Lowry, and as for Joey…” Charles paused. “You’re on it,”

“Understood.” Ronald nodded. “And what about Mr. Harris?”

“Why the hurry? He’s the one who should be sweating it out,” Charles said with a dismissive snort. “Give it three days–he’ll come crawling to us.”

After hanging up on Charles, Noelle felt a mix of frustration and resignation. She had never expected Charles to call her during work to ask what she was having for lunch.

Noelle was not exactly comfortable with being a couple yet, but if Charles was all in on this life– together deal, she would get on board.

Charles had hit the nail on the head: she could not stay on memory lane forever or keep dodging reality.

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The best thing to do was to embrace reality. She owed it to herself to live a better life after all she had been through.

Then Xavier showed up, and Noelle’s brows knitted in annoyance.

Xavier loomed next to her, his face all storm clouds and shadows, eyes drilling into her phone like he wanted to laser through it. Noelle was not having any of it. She scowled and asked, “Mr. Harris, what’s up? Do you need me for something?”

Xavier was not a fan of Noelle’s chilly vibe. “Who were you talking to just now?”

Noelle’s lips tightened. “Why should I tell you?”

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