Chapter 289 In All Probability It’s the Truth
“Yes, Daddy. You can go and find Mommy,” Charlotte agreed. The responses from the children irritated Justin so much that he was almost rendered speechless. “She’s working late because she’s very busy.”
“That’s not what it is!” Charlotte dug through the pile of junk food to find something she liked. As she looked, she added, “She still has time no matter how busy she is. She just doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“You think she doesn’t want to talk to me?” “Isn’t that obvious?” “Charlotte.” Justin then caught hold of the girl’s arm. “Stop eating. Come with me to pick up your mother from work.”
“No.” She pulled away mercilessly, scampering up to Samuel with some crisps as she shot Justin a disdainful look. “You’re too stupid, Daddy. I don’t want to talk to you.”
Deep down, she thought, If I keep talking to Daddy, even Mommy will find me annoying. I don’t want that to happen!
Of course, Justin was incensed.
Clearly, the little girl was spending too much time with Samuel if she was becoming as indifferent as him to the development of her parents’ relationship.
Helplessly, Justin stared down at his cell phone for a long time before finally calling Rachel.
“Hello?” Rachel asked at the other end of the line. “Is something wrong?”
“Haven’t you finished work yet at this hour?” he asked.
“Well, I just took over the company, so I’ve had a lot to do lately. Are Charlotte and Samuel okay?”
“They’re fine.”
“Oh—that’s good. Thank you.”
“No problem. You—”
“I have an overseas conference call in a bit, so I’ll have to hang up now. Get some rest.”
Just like that, Justin swallowed the words he had been about to say.
The call ended and his cell phone returned to its home screen.
Nearby, Charlotte nudged Samuel’s arm, and Samuel looked up from his game to take in Justin’s lost expression before shrugging helplessly to show that he didn’t know what to do either.
After all, they had tried everything, but Justin was a fool who always dropped the ball at a crucial moment. It was no wonder Rachel was indifferent to him.
Feeling somewhat bad for him, Charlotte said, “If I’m not wrong, Aunt Gloria’s tour is about to return to the country, Daddy.”
At that, Justin hummed absent-mindedly.
Exasperatedly, she reminded him, “Mommy and Aunt Gloria have a very good relationship.”
Pausing, he looked up at his daughter. “How do you know?”
“Because Aunt Gloria always talks to me about Mommy,” Charlotte pointed out matter-of-factly. “You rarely see Aunt Gloria, so you don’t know.”
Since Justin woke up from his car crash five years ago, Gloria had gone overseas to study music and only came back during the holidays. Although she rarely saw him, she would spoil Charlotte with presents and take Charlotte out for trips.
Did she actually have a good relationship with Rachel?
Justin didn’t have the slightest idea.
Right as he was thinking about it, his cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“President Burton.” It was a call from his assistant, who only had to say a few words before Justin was heading toward the balcony with a grim look on his face.
“Are you sure?”
“I haven’t verified the news yet, but in all probability, it’s the truth.”
Through the glass door, Charlotte sprawled out on the couch and watched her father speak on the phone.
After staring at him for a moment, she sighed helplessly.
“What are you sighing about?” Samuel asked next to her.
“I think you’re right, Samuel. My Daddy is stupid.”
“I told you so. You didn’t believe me.”
“But I don’t want him to be so stupid. I want him to be with Mommy.”
“What else can we do now?”
“When Aunt Gloria comes back, she’ll know what to do.”
At the thought of Aunt Gloria, Charlotte suddenly developed a bit of confidence.
…
Half a month later, Hudson Pharmaceuticals was holding an opening ceremony in honor of the establishment of a foundation to help children who were unable to speak.
All over the scene, there were news reporters and media outlets taking photographs and conducting interviews.
“Chris.” Jolly arrived fashionably late.
On behalf of Carter Enterprise, she had donated ten million to the foundation and was thus a special guest of the opening ceremony. In addition, she was using the establishment of the foundation as an excuse to promote the friendly cooperation between Carter Enterprise and Hudson Pharmaceuticals.
Pulling her over so that they could be photographed together, Rachel said in a low voice, “I thought you weren’t coming. Why are you so late?”
“I ran into something on the road.”
“What was it?”
“It’s a long story.”
Since Jolly was always a straightforward person, her evasiveness gave Rachel the sense that something was wrong. “You’re not keeping something from me, are you?”
“Look at the camera,” Jolly changed the subject, taking Rachel’s hand and reminding her that they were being photographed.
Meanwhile, the ceremony hostesses went on the stage with the tray carrying the scissors for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Upon spotting a familiar figure among the five ceremony hostesses, Jolly asked in astonishment, “My eyes aren’t deceiving me, are they?”
The person she was looking at was Amber, who was dressed in a red gown and wearing a welcome sash. Rachel frowned.
On the other hand, Amber nodded at the duo in greeting.
It wasn’t until the ribbon-cutting ceremony ended that Rachel sent her employees to entertain the guests and news reporters while she and Jolly collapsed in the hotel lounge.
Eagerly, Jolly asked her, “I heard you accepted Amber into Hudson Pharmaceuticals, but I thought that was because you felt bad for her. What’s going on now? Isn’t she in R&D? Since when did she become a ceremony hostess?”
“Without anyone to lean on, she would be picked on so easily,” Rachel answered mildly. “Ever since that hullabaloo all the while back, everyone knows we don’t get along. It’s already kind enough for them to keep their distance from her and not bully her out in the open, but there are plenty of people who would step on her to climb the work ladder.”
As for who came up with the idea of sucking up to her by arranging for Amber to become a ceremony hostess, Rachel had no idea.
“By the way, are you free this Saturday?” She pulled two concert tickets out of her purse.
Glancing at them, Jolly said, “A piano performance? Since when are you into this stuff? You know I have no interest in cultured stuff like this.”
“It’s Gloria’s tour.”
“Gloria?” Jolly immediately sat up and snatched a ticket over. Sure enough, Gloria’s name as the solo pianist was printed in an extremely eye-catching way on the flier. “Why has she suddenly returned?”
“She’s touring the country and happened to be reaching Riverdale.” Rachel’s expression gentled as she stared at the elegant side profile of the woman in the evening gown on the ticket. “It didn’t matter to her that I haven’t seen her in years.”
Feeling jealous, Jolly commented, “I heard from Julian that she has a fantastic relationship with Justin, and is the daughter of the person who saved Justin’s life. Justin basically raised her.”
“Yes, and she’s helped me a lot as well.” Rachel didn’t realize what the jealousy meant and only said, “But I won’t waste your time if you aren’t interested in the performance. I’ll find someone else to go with me.”
However, before she could take the ticket back, Jolly suddenly raised it above their heads to keep it out of her grip. “Who says I’m not going?”
“Are you?” Rachel questioned in surprise.
“Of course I am! I want to see how truly prodigious this Piano Prodigy is.” Jolly’s eyes suddenly gleamed with fighting spirit.
She wanted to see how great this woman whom Rachel wouldn’t stop praising actually was!
