Chapter 26: What if it wasn’t me in that situation?
「Monday, in the director’s office at work.」`
"What’s gotten into the Grant Group lately? They’ve conceded so much profit on our joint project. Isn’t this just giving away free money?" A director stared at the contract sent over by the Grant Group that morning, genuinely questioning reality.
"Caroline, how exactly did you negotiate this deal?" someone asked curiously, genuinely seeking her guidance.
In truth, when Caroline saw the profit-sharing terms in the contract today, she was both surprised and not surprised at all. This was probably the most direct way a businessman could express his apology.
Franklin, however, scoffed at the idea. Looking rather smug, he said, "Do you think my attending Mr. Grant’s birthday banquet the other day was for nothing?"
"So it was our big brother who pulled the strings!"
"Of course. I completely conquered Mr. Grant on the chessboard. Yesterday, he even invited me to his house for tea and another game."
"Huh?" Caroline was taken aback. "What? You were invited by Gavin Grant to play chess?"
"What’s wrong with that? You didn’t see it that night. I utterly conquered Gavin Grant and his grandson! I slaughtered them on the chessboard until they had nothing left." Whenever he talked about this, Franklin couldn’t help but look a little proud.
Caroline was speechless. It was truly a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut. Well, it was for the best. It saved her the trouble of coming up with an excuse.
After the weekend ended and work began, Caroline continued her routine of leaving early and returning late. Tonight, she once again didn’t get home until midnight.
When she entered, just like always, a small nightlight had been left on in the entryway.
Caroline stood by the door to change her shoes, set down her bag, and took out her phone as she headed toward the guest bedroom.
As she passed the living room, she jumped in fright at the sight of a dark silhouette sitting on the sofa. She stared for two full seconds before confirming who the tall figure was.
"It’s so late. Why are you sitting here?" Caroline hesitated for a moment before finally asking.
Adrian looked at her. "I’m waiting for you."
Caroline’s heart skipped a beat.
Feigning composure, she asked, "What are you waiting for me for?"
"Have you been busy lately?"
"Yes."
"Did you receive the project contract?"
"I did. Thank you for the generous concessions, President Grant," Caroline said politely. She was very satisfied with this outcome. Who wouldn’t want to make money? Who would say no to money? "If there’s nothing else, I’m going to take a shower first."
Turning around, she headed into her room.
When she came out after her shower, Adrian was still in the living room.
"Can we talk?"
"About what?"
"Since that day, you seem to have been avoiding me," Adrian noted, facing her head-on.
Caroline thought to herself that this man was far too perceptive, but even so, she wasn’t about to admit it.
She chuckled. "You’re overthinking things. The company is in a period of growth right now, so it’s normal to be busy. I imagine President Grant has experienced this kind of busy period as well."
Adrian gave a noncommittal hum. After a pause, he said, "I apologize for what happened that night. I’ve already punished Matthew for his actions."
"Alright, understood."
As for what the punishment was, Caroline couldn’t be bothered to ask.
Given the villain’s vindictive nature, he definitely wouldn’t have let him off easy. But given their uncle-nephew relationship, it was highly likely that someone in the family would step forward to plead on his behalf.
"I hope you won’t take this matter to heart, Miss Whitman. If there’s any other compensation you need, just name it," Adrian said calmly.
Caroline had been about to turn and leave, but upon hearing this, her curiosity was piqued. "Anything at all?"
Adrian nodded. "As long as it’s within my power."
Looking at that face carved from cold jade, Caroline suddenly felt that it had been a very wise move for him to promptly put a stop to their intimate contact that night. Being caught in that kind of situation had already made her feel like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. If they had crossed that forbidden line, things between them would be far more than just awkward.
However, Caroline still wanted to ask, "So you truly haven’t taken this to heart at all? You don’t even mind that I was the one who forced myself on you at the beginning?" Pausing, she asked with a hint of amusement, "What if I had actually succeeded in the end?"
The living room fell silent for a few seconds.
"We’re both adults. There’s no point in dwelling on a mistake born out of an accident," the man replied evenly to her first question. He paused before addressing her second point. "In that kind of situation, being unable to control one’s desires is simply human nature."
"As for succeeding," Adrian chuckled softly, "you didn’t succeed, did you?"
"True." Caroline smiled as well.
Hearing his admission that he hadn’t taken it to heart, the knot in Caroline’s chest that had been bothering her for the past few days completely unraveled.
She didn’t know why her heart felt a tiny bit sour, but she still let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Since he didn’t care, acting overly concerned and awkward would only make it seem like she was harboring some ulterior motive.
They had only crossed paths because of the child.
Perhaps one day, when the child went back, the only thing left between them would be a corporate business relationship.
Having figured this out, Caroline couldn’t resist asking one more question. "What if it hadn’t been me in that situation, but someone else asking you for help?"
This question had been lingering in her mind for days. If it hadn’t been her he ran into that day, but someone else crying for help, would someone with Adrian’s personality still have taken her upstairs?
In the dimly lit living room, Adrian leaned back on the sofa. Tilting his chin up slightly, he looked at her and smiled. "In that situation, I wouldn’t have given anyone else the chance to get close to me. Running into you was an accident. If you hadn’t told me that Matthew Grant had his eye on you, I wouldn’t have taken you upstairs either."
Caroline fell silent. She thought, "Then should I be thankful that Matthew chose to target me?"
"You still haven’t answered me. What if it was someone else asking for help?"
"I would have had the butler handle it."
"Oh." Caroline pursed her lips, the inexplicable sourness in her heart suddenly easing a bit.
"Any more questions?" Adrian looked at her with unhurried ease.
Caroline was about to say no, but after a moment’s thought, a new question popped up. She gritted her teeth. Well, since she had already asked so much, one more question wouldn’t hurt.
So, braving it out, she asked, "In that case, why didn’t you have the butler step in and handle it for me?"
Adrian was speechless.
He took off his glasses.
When he stood up, his towering figure stood in the shadows of the living room.
A faint smile could be seen on his face, but his voice was calm and even.
"Miss Whitman, you are the child’s mother. Both reasonably and emotionally, I shouldn’t leave you in any kind of danger."
It was a very simple sentence without any excessive explanation. Caroline understood. If anyone else had asked for his help in that situation, regardless of who it was, he would have had the butler deal with it. He only made an exception for her because of their connection through the child.
"Get some sleep. You don’t need to work so late next time," Adrian suddenly reminded her gently as he walked past her, then left the living room and returned to his bedroom.
Caroline was left alone in the living room. She walked over to the balcony and spaced out for a while before slowly heading back to her room to wash up and go to sleep.
`「Over the next few days.」`
Although they had cleared the air, Caroline continued to leave early and return late. Leaving early meant heading out at seven in the morning. As for returning late, while she didn’t get back at midnight anymore, she still didn’t arrive home until nearly eleven.
It wasn’t that she was still hiding from Adrian. Rather, her fake busyness had somehow turned into genuine busyness.
Ryan Grant’s private tutoring sessions were very thoroughly arranged. Besides tutors for the arts and sciences, he also had physical training. In short, he didn’t have a moment of free time throughout the whole day. His daytime activities drained a lot of his energy, resulting in him going to sleep by eight or nine at night.
Because of this, it gave him the illusion that he hadn’t seen Caroline in several days. Ryan’s sense of crisis struck once again.