Chapter 343
“Grandpa? Did you maybe miss a zero? This says five hundred.”
Tony’s hand clenched tighter around his phone.
He had thought a small amount would be enough to send her away.
What he didn’t expect was for that little brat to flash her phone in front of the entire hallway. She even spun it like he was protecting her, too kind to give a kid too much all at once.
The people hovering outside the office wore mixed expressions.
Some looked like they’d caught on, suspicious, silent, judging.
Others seemed to believe Riley’s version entirely. After all, Tony didn’t look like the type to cheat a child.
Then someone, too far back to see the screen but close enough to hear the buzz, called out, “Mr. Woodson, she said it was five thousand.”
“Did she? Must’ve been my mistake.” Tony pulled open a drawer, took out a pair of reading glasses, and slid them onto his face. “Ah. Looks like I hit the wrong kèy.”
At this point, there was no graceful way out. If he sent anything less than the five thousand Riley had announced, he’d look petty.
So, without another word, he made the full transfer.
“There,” he said, voice flat. “Take your grandmother and get her cleaned up. It’s cold out. You don’t want her getting sicker.”
“Thank you, Grandpa!” Riley beamed. “We really appreciate it.”
She didn’t stick around to gloat. As soon as they were outside, she practically skipped down the hall, then leaned down to hug Lillian tightly.
“We got it!” she whispered, elated. “We got the money! Valerie is a genius!”
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Lillian’s face sagged against Riley’s shoulder, drool soaking her sweater, but the girl didn’t seem to care. She was glowing.
Lillian, however, was torn. On one hand, she was relieved that Riley/had managed to pull money out of the Woodsons. On the other, the way her granddaughter spoke, like Valerie was some divine figure, deeply unsettled her.
The more she listened, the more it felt like Riley wasn’t just influenced by Valerie. She was becoming her.
By the time Riley disappeared down the corridor, Earl had already stepped into Tony’s office. The smell hit him the moment he walked in.
Tony barely kept from grimacing. He was still shaken, grateful he’d gotten rid of the two of them just in time. If they’d crossed paths with Earl, it would’ve turned into a full–blown moral drama.
Carson received a text from Paige saying the dinner would wrap up in a little over half an hour, so he headed over early.
It had been a long time since he’d seen Audrey, and he was hoping for a chance to ask how she was holding up. Carrying triplets had to be exhausting.
He wasn’t an obstetrician, but before coming, he’d asked one of his colleagues for advice, just in case he could offer something use
comforting.
Now, sitting behind the wheel, he ran through different scenarios in his head about how to steer the conversation toward a possible meeting with Clayton.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about that part.
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Chapter 343
If he was honest, a big part of him didn’t want Audrey to see Clayton again, not after the way Clayton had treated her, discarding her without as thought, and now, crawling back when her life looked more enviable,
But Carson also knew that if he refused to help, Clayton might get desperate and say something reckless to Paige.
Carson had been set up with Paige by friends of their parents. He hadn’t wanted to go, but his mother had persuaded him to at least meet her, saying that even if there was no spark, it wouldn’t affect the families‘ relationship.
Back then, he hadn’t even noticed the mole near Paige’s eye, so whatever Clayton had fixated on, it had nothing to do with Audrey What had caught Carson’s attention was her job. She worked at Stride Commerce.
Being with Paige, somehow, felt like a way to get closer to Audrey.
Their later conversations only deepened that illusion. Paige idolized Audrey and couldn’t stop talking about how capable she was. Every word she said fed Carson’s interest, made Paige seem even more appealing by association.
Carson turned his head and saw Paige reaching for the door handle. He quickly hit the unlock button.
She got in, smelling faintly of alcohol. Buckling her seatbelt, she said, “Let’s go.”
Carson glanced in the rearview mirror, looking back at the hotel entrance.
A few people were leaving in twos and threes, likely part of the same group Paige had come out with, all heading off to catch cabs. He scanned the crowd again, but didn’t see Audrey.
“Aren’t you Audrey’s assistant?” he asked. “She didn’t come to the dinner?”
“Ms. Brown’s pregnant. Drinks and smoke everywhere, not exactly ideal for a pregnant woman.” She gestured for him to drive. “Anyway, she picked up the tab tonight.”
She threw up a cheerful peace sign as she said it.
Carson’s eyes darkened slightly as he started the car and pulled away. On the way, he tried to ask indirectly how long Audrey planned to stay in the area.
Paige had been drinking, but she wasn’t drunk. There were things she wouldn’t say, things she wouldn’t even tell her own mother.
All she offered was that FlexiTech Group’s headquarters were in Ashbourne, and their smart tech division was entering a new phase. Audrey would probably shift her focus there.
As for specific plans, she didn’t know. She was with Stride Commerce, not Audrey’s personal assistant.
“I’ve been meaning to thank her,” Carson said with a smile, glancing at Paige. “Just never had the chance. Think you could help me arrange something? Maybe a meal. Just the three of us?”
“You’re inviting Ms. Brown to dinner?” Paige asked, checking her phone.
“Yeah. Small world, right? I happen to know her, you work for her. Would be nice to sit down together. Might even help you a bit at work.”
Paige let out a dry laugh. “If it’s for my career, then do me a favor and skip it. With the way she feels about Clayton, the moment she sees you, she’ll start hating me by association.”
She pulled a pack of toothpicks from her bag, shielded her mouth with one hand, and started picking her teeth. “I finally landed a decent job. Don’t mess it up for me.”
Carson finally dropped the subject.
When they reached her building, and she was about to get out, he grabbed her wrist.
“Paige. I’ve been done with Clayton for a while now. I even stood up for Ms. Brown and argued with him about how he treated her. She really helped me
Chapter 343
before. We’re friends.
“Can you just ask her for me? If she doesn’t want to see me, I won’t push it.”
“Okay,” Paige replied, then got out and went home.
The next day at the office, she brought it up to Audrey.
“Ms. Brown, I don’t think Clayton’s letting go.”
Audrey took the file Paige handed her and asked calmly, “What makes you say that?”
Paige told her about seeing Carson visiting Clayton in the hospital. She mentioned the cancer diagnosis, Carson suddenly asking to see Audrey, and her own suspicion that Clayton had asked him to set something up.
“He didn’t get to see you at the company, and now that he knows I work for you, he probably had Carson arrange a dinner. He said it’d be just the three of us, but I’m sure Clayton will just happen to show up.”
Audrey finished reviewing the document, signed her name, and looked up.
“You’re seeing Carson?”
Paige scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed. “My dad’s friend introduced us. He’s a doctor. Figured that’d be convenient if I ever got sick.
“I went to meet him, thought he looked okay, so I gave it a try. Found out later he used to be friends with that jerk.
“But I told him straight. If he keeps hanging out with Clayton, I’m done. He kept asking about your schedule yesterday, but I didn’t tell him anything. If he lies to me, I’ll dump him!”
She straightened up with a snap, her tone firm.
Audrey smiled. “Alright. Then I’ll give you one chance.”
Carson soon got a message from Paige, saying Audrey had agreed to meet.
“Wait until we’re halfway through the meal,” Carson reminded Clayton seriously. “Then come over and make it look like a coincidence. If she doesn’t want to talk to you, do not push it.”
Clayton, however, wasn’t paying attention to a word he said.
In order to make a good impression on Audrey, he had gotten a haircut and dressed himself in clean, tidy clothes.
Whether she wanted to acknowledge him or not was irrelevant. He was determined to seize this opportunity.
