Chapter 344
Paige met Carson outside the restaurant.
“Where’s Audrey?” Carson asked, scanning the entrance.
“On her way,” Paige replied. She suggested they order first so the food would be ready when Audrey arrived. Pregnancy made timing important, and once hunger hit, it couldn’t wait.
Carson nodded, seeing the logic, and they went inside to take their seats.
Paige ordered a few of the house specialties. As she browsed the menu, she noticed Carson glancing toward the entrance every so often. She didn’t comment, simply added another dish and handed the menu to the waiter.
Only once the waiter walked away did she casually ask, “So, which private room are we in?”
Carson hesitated, then gave a sheepish smile. “We’re in the main dining room. I booked late. There were no private rooms left.”
Paige’s expression hardened. “You could’ve gotten a large one at least. Eating out here in the open? Seriously? Do you realize who she is? Just agreeing to meet us was already a big deal. This is not how you treat someone like her.”
She stood up, clearly ready to go complain to a staff member, but Carson reached out and stopped her.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t plan it well enough. But let’s just go with it for tonight. Audrey’s not the type to care about stuff like this. She’s had meals with us at hole–in–the–wall places before.”
What he didn’t say out loud was that if they’d chosen a private room, Clayton would have no excuse to “accidentally” run into them. And staging an accidental appearance in a private space would be far too obvious.
Paige wasn’t convinced. Things were different now, and the past wasn’t a free pass for poor decisions.
But before their argument could escalate, the first few dishes began to arrive, placed neatly at a table tucked into a corner by the window, the one Carson
had reserved.
She didn’t press the issue further. With a quiet sigh, she sat down.
As the table filled with dishes, Paige picked up her phone and made a call. “I ordered the mushroom soup you like. It’ll be hot and ready when you get
here. Perfect.”
Carson glanced toward the window, his expression tense, laced with unspoken warning.
Outside, the temperature had dropped. Clayton, in his usual effort to look effortlessly cool, had dressed far too lightly and stood waiting in the chill long enough to lose any warmth.
Ignoring Carson’s clear signals, he strolled into the restaurant, slid into the table next to theirs, and acted surprised to see them.
“Well, what are the odds?”
Carson didn’t bother to respond.
Paige, who had just picked up her fork and knife, slammed them down with a sharp clatter. She fixed Carson with a stare.
“I didn’t know he was coming here,” Carson said quickly, raising his hands in defense.
“Didn’t you?”
“No! I swear I didn’t.”
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“Then swear it,” Paige said, arms folded across her chest. “And if you two planned this together, you deserve exactly what he got
Carson swallowed hard. His eyes flicked toward Clayton, full of silent reproach, before turning back to Paige.
“Paige, I mean it. I had no idea he’d show up. You have to believe me.”
She gave a cold, dry laugh. “So you can’t swear to it?”
“I could swear, sure, but what would that prove? If swearing solved anything, this world wouldn’t be full of liars and cheaters.” He reached for her hand, bút she pulled it back without hesitation.
“How do you know it doesn’t work?” she said sharply. “Maybe he swore once, said he’d treat Ms. Brown right, and look what happened when he didn’t.
She stood, clearly ready to walk out. Carson moved quickly to block her path.
“Paige, I swear!1 really didn’t know.”
“Alright then. Say it properly. I’ll say a line, and you repeat it. No dodging.” she said, grabbing his hand. “I swear,”
“I swear.”
“If I conspired with Clayton to make this look like a coincidence, then I deserve to get the same cancer he has.”
“Paige…” Carson hesitated, deeply uncomfortable.
He didn’t exactly believe in curses, but he wasn’t eager to tempt fate either.
The truth was, Clayton’s illness had not been caught early. Carson had only said comforting things back then, but the signs had already been there.
Maybe the bone marrow donation had weakened his immune system, and the constant pressure in his life had triggered the rapid deterioration.
Whatever the cause, it wasn’t something Carson wanted to echo in any way.
“Excuse me, here’s your soup,” the waiter announced politely as he set the bowl of mushroom soup on the table.
Almost at the exact moment, a woman’s voice sounded from behind.
“Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a nightmare.”
Carson instantly pulled his hand back as if burned, a smile snapping into place on his face.
Clayton, too, straightened his windblown hair with practiced ease and turned around, beginning to greet her, “Au…”
“The food just arrived. Perfect timing!” Paige interrupted brightly, pulling out the chair next to her. “Let me introduce you. This is our chief secretary, Tiffany, and this is Dorothy. We all work in the Secretariat Department.”
Tiffany and Dorothy both gave Carson and Clayton a curious glance before sitting down, prompted by Paige’s warm invitation.
Both men remained stiff, their smiles momentarily frozen as they instinctively glanced toward the entrance.
“Where’s Audrey?” Carson finally asked.
“Are you looking for Ms. Brown?” Tiffany asked, raising an eyebrow at Carson.
‘We agreed she’d be here!’ Carson thought, a sinking feeling forming in his gut.
Something was clearly off. He turned to Paige, who was busy handing drinks to Tiffany and Dorothy. “How would I know?”
“But didn’t you say she was on the way? You literally said she’d show up as soon as the soup was served!” Carson pressed.
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I was on the phone with Tiffany,” Paige said, her face blank with confusion. “Did I ever say I was talking to Me. Brown?”
Carson frowned deeply, now visibly agitated. “You told me Audrey agreed!”
“Agreed to what?”
“To have dinner with us!” Carson snapped, his voice rising involuntarily.
Paige nodded as if that explained everything. “Sure, she agreed to dinner.”
“Then where is she?”
Paige tilted her head, unfazed. “Ms. Brown said she’d have dinner with us eventually. She never said it had to be tonight. Why are you so worked up?
Carson had plenty of reasons to be worked up.
First, he was eager to see Audrey.
Besides, if Clayton didn’t see her soon, he’d likely spiral and not quietly.
Paige followed his gaze to Clayton and gave a cold smile. “You couldn’t even swear just now, because this whole thing
was a setup between you two.
“You assumed Audrey would show up tonight, and you wanted to create a ‘coincidental‘ meeting so he could latch onto her again.”
Her words had an immediate effect. Tiffany and Dorothy’s expressions shifted, both of them now looking at the men with clear disapproval and
suspicion.
Carson tried to pull Paige aside to explain, but she stood her ground.
“Say what you want right here!”
“Paige, I asked you where Audrey was when we got here. You told me she was on her way!”
“She was, on her way home.”
Carson nearly choked on his own breath.
“You also said she’s too important to be seen eating in the main hall!”
“She is! Tiffany’s our chief secretary, and she never eats in the main hall, always in a private room.”
Carson pressed on, desperate. “Then you said we should start eating, because a pregnant woman shouldn’t go hungry!”
“That’s right. Tiffany’s pregnant.”
As Carson stared at Tiffany in disbelief, she gave a polite nod.
She didn’t say a word and just nodded. It wasn’t exactly confirmation, but it wasn’t d
denial either.
Dorothy, barely holding back laughter, pressed her lips together tightly. Tiffany pinched her thigh hard under the table, prompting an audible yelp.
With everyone’s eyes suddenly on her, Dorothy stood and widened her eyes in mock outrage. “You tried to trick Paige into getting Ms. Brown here? What exactly were you planning? She’s pregnant and a high–profile figure in our company. How dare you scheme against her like that!”
Carson’s face darkened, fists clenched at his sides.
And Clayton turned to him, lips curled in mockery.
“I told you, Carson,” Paige said icily, signaling the waiter. “If you ever lied to me, we were through.” She pointed at him. “This reservation is under his
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Chapter 344
name. He’ll be
Dorothy
with
a
brights
smile. “This,
ladies,
is our breakup
dinner.
Enjoy it to the
fullest.
paying.”
Then she turned to Tiffany and
