Chapter 187 A Piece of Work
Calista hurriedly walked out of the cafe with her belongings. Lucian stopped her.
“Where are you going? I’ll give you a ride.”
Calista cast a contemptuous glance at Lucian and then shifted her gaze to Lily.
“You’re quite a piece of work. You haven’t even settled things with her, and you already have a
backup plan.”
Calista spotted Charlotte standing next to Lucian’s car and eavesdropped on his conversation with
Lily.
She couldn’t help but relate to her former self, much like the current Lily, yearning for Lucian’s
affection.
Lucian furrowed his brows and retorted, “Charlotte’s just helping her dad with a project proposal.
She’s not my new romantic interest. I’m not into her.”
Lucian’s expression softened and continued, “If you care about her…”
Suddenly, Calista interrupted, “I don’t care. There’s nothing to do with me, and please don’t add to
my regrets about marrying you.”
Calista’s response provoked Lucian, causing him to release his tightly clenched hand slowly.
She hurried toward the exit where Hector’s car was parked on the roadside. The window winded
down, and Hector waved at her. Calista jogged to the car, opened the passenger door, and climbed
inside.
Even from afar, Lucian couldn’t miss the cheerful expression on Calista’s face. A sudden, intense
pain gripped his chest. Without paying more attention to Lily, he walked to his car.
As Lucian approached, Charlotte, who had been waiting next to his car, flashed a warm smile.
“Mr. Northwood, are we going to your office later?”
Charlotte had visited Northwood Corporation to meet with Lucian.
Her father had expressed interest in a potential collaboration with Lucian’s company, and she had
taken it upon herself to initiate the proposal to Lucian.
Charlotte had been contemplating how to arrange a meeting without a prior appointment, but she unexpectedly crossed paths with Lucian in the company’s lobby.
Lucian interrupted Charlotte and rejected her in a hurry. However, Charlotte was determined and
trailed after him..
“I’m not interested right now, and I have no plans to work with your company,” Lucian asserted
firmly.
“But my father is committed. He mentioned that you can choose any projects in the Turner Group’s portfolio,” Charlotte persisted.
Lucian didn’t entertain her any longer. He opened the driver’s seat door and slid into the car. He was driving a Maybach today, having handed his Bentley to David.
Charlotte attempted to follow Lucian in his car but hesitated when she encountered Lucian’s
piercing, commanding stare.
Overwhelmed by his commanding presence, she reluctantly let go of the passenger door handle
and stepped back.
Then, Lucian’s car kicked up dust and debris as it sped away, leaving Charlotte in a cloud of
exhaust fumes.
Charlotte clutched her business proposal tightly and stomped her foot in frustration.
“Why are you acting so high and mighty? Someday, I’ll make you beg at my feet,” she grumbled
angrily.
“Heh. Do you honestly believe you have a shot? With Calista in the picture, Lucian won’t even give
you a second look.”
Suddenly, a woman’s mocking chuckle echoed from behind her. Charlotte was startled and
turned, finding herself face–to–face with Lily.
“Are you some apparition? Why are you lurking behind me?”
She examined Lily’s face closely and remarked, “So, you’re Mr. Northwood’s mistress? You’re not
even that good–looking. Why would Mr. Northwood be interested in you?”
Being a pampered heiress from a wealthy background, Charlotte had no qualms about being
brazenly disrespectful toward others. Lily had a cunning plan brewing in her mind.
She had her eyes set on manipulating Charlotte, whom she deemed someone with a privileged upbringing and a naive disposition, into becoming a mere pawn at her disposal.
But that was not all. Lily wanted Charlotte to become more ruthless and cunning, someone who
could cause trouble for Calista.
In Lily’s eyes, Charlotte was just a mere tool, insignificant, and posed no threat to her master plan.
Lily smiled in a friendly manner and replied, “Lucian and I are just friends. Those media stories are all for show. No need to be on your guard with me. If you’re interested in Lucian, your real
concern should be his ex, Calista.”
“She used shady tactics to trap Lucian into marriage, but he was never really into her. Over the years, any woman who got close to Lucian didn’t exactly have a happily ever after. He keeps his distance from everyone to avoid dragging innocent into his world.”
Lily paused, adding to the tension, before speaking slowly, “Maintaining a certain level of detachment is the only way for Lucian to protect the people who matter to him.”
“How dare Calista deceive Mr. Northwood into marriage?” Charlotte fumed.
Lily smirked and responded in an ambiguous tone, “Ms. Turner’s naive and carefree facade is
rather charming, isn’t it?”
In the afternoon, Calista had to go to work, and Hector, though somewhat reluctant, dropped her
off at the entrance of Justa.
“Would you like to have dinner together tonight? I wanted to ask you for lunch, but that chatterbox
at the office wouldn’t stop talking,” Hector proposed.
As Calista was about to reply, Hector’s phone rang suddenly. He pulled out his phone, checked the
caller ID, and hung up. The phone rang again, and he dismissed the call once more.
Calista intervened on the fourth attempt.
“Perhaps it’s something urgent. You should answer it. I need to get to work,” she advised.
“Okay, we’ll catch up later,” Hector agreed.
While Calista moved away, Hector finally answered the insistent caller with growing annoyance.
“Why the relentless calls? Is there some life–or–death situation?”
The person on the other end said something that visibly alarmed him. He quickly started his car
“I’m on my way.
The reaction to last night’s show had been tremendous. Calista received an avalanche of congratulatory messages all day.
As she was about to send a generic thank–you message to everyone, she spotted Paul’s name.
“Calista, congratulations! How about we have dinner tonight to celebrate?” Paul asked.
Paul’s intentions of pursuing Calista were evident. Calista didn’t want to beat around the bush, especially considering their upcoming collaboration on the projects.
To prevent any potential misunderstandings, Calista chose to be direct.
Calista replied, “Paul, thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass the dinner. If you want to celebrate as friends, I appreciate the gesture. But if your intentions do not align with mine, I must respectfully
decline.”
Paul was understanding.
“I get it, Calista. You might need more time to be ready for a new relationship. I’m willing to be patient. So, please don’t feel pressured and turn me down so quickly. You never know what the future holds. What if you change your mind? I won’t pressure you, and we can continue our
friendship without any expectations.”
Calista replied, “Consider your family, Paul. They have high hopes for you. They would likely not support you marrying a divorced woman, especially your friend’s former spouse.”
Calista wasn’t belittling herself. She wanted to be clear about her stance.
Paul replied with a wry smile emoji.
“Calista, I’m almost 30. Why do you think a nearly 30–year–old man can’t make decisions about his marriage? If that were the case, I wouldn’t have approached you, let alone pursued you.”
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