Chapter 368 Have Fun Together
Meanwhile, Gloria was putting Charlotte to sleep in the apartment. She gently patted Charlotte’s chest and read aloud, “In the end, the little rabbit found its mother and the family lived happily together…”
Generally, during the storytelling, Charlotte would have fallen asleep before the end of the story. But today, her eyes were still wide open even after Gloria had finished telling the story.
“Aunt Gloria, why isn’t Mommy coming to pick me up yet?” Charlotte wondered.
“Oh sweetie, it is the weekend, so your mom might be still at work. However, tomorrow is a school day, so she will definitely pick you up after school,” Gloria assured her.
Charlotte thought about her parents, and said, “Mommy and Daddy had a fight because Samuel was lost. Daddy is an idiot.”
“No, don’t say that. It wasn’t easy for your dad either,” Gloria explained to her patiently.
Just then, Gloria heard the sound of the front door opening. Consequently, she tucked Charlotte in bed and whispered in a soft tone, “Alright sweetheart, why don’t you put yourself to sleep now? Auntie still has work to do.”
“Mmm.” Charlotte nodded obediently and closed her eyes.
After shutting the door behind her, Gloria found Justin settling himself on the couch. “Are you here to pick Charlotte up?” she asked.
“No. Let her stay here with you for another night.” Justin held his forehead with a tired look, and said wearily, “I still have some family matters to be settled. If Rachel is coming to pick her up, I will be here.”
“Why don’t you make things clear to Rachel? You did not lose Samuel on purpose, and no one had anticipated Old Mr. Burton to be hospitalized overnight,” Gloria suggested.
Last night, Arthur was hospitalized with a sudden cerebral infarction, and it happened at that time when Samuel went missing. As a result, Justin had to attend to both matters simultaneously, and he hadn’t been able to catch some sleep since then.
With the absence of the backbone of the Burton Family, a storm was brewing within the Burton Group and some people were ready to stir up some trouble. Now that Justin was no longer the president of Burton Group, people like Robin were abusing their power by firing senior workers as they pleased. In the meantime, staff from the technical department was reaching the highest turnover rate. If this turmoil went on, Burton Group might have to change its name to Gunson Group.
“Thank God we found Samuel in the end. If something had happened to him, none of my excuses would suffice,” Justin sidetracked the conversation. Then, he cautioned, “Don’t mention Grandpa’s matter to Rachel; she has got a lot on her plate already.”
“Come on, don’t you start on me. How are you holding up?” Gloria asked with a worried look on her face.
“Everything is fine,” he replied blandly.
“Yeah, right. I have heard rumors about Robin putting you in charge of the logistics, am I right? How much longer can you put up with this kind of treatment?” She sounded irritated.
“The Burton Group is the painstaking effort of the Burtons for generations, and it can’t be destroyed in Robin’s hands,” he said. So, even if he was humiliated by Robin, he just had to bite the bullet and continue to stay in the company.
Gloria looked aggrieved. “Can’t you think of something? What about Jason? He is your uncle. Why don’t you let him handle Robin? After all, what good would it do for him if the Burton Group was ruined?”
“We haven’t heard from Jason recently. The investigation bureau is still tracking him down. For this, they had already stopped by our company three times.” At the mention of Jason, Justin scowled. Ever since the drug trafficking case was busted and a huge amount of smuggled drugs were seized on the spot, the Riverdale Investigation Bureau had been looking into several pharmaceutical companies. Coincidently, Jason was nowhere to be found. After all, guilty conscience turned men into cowards.
“Oh well, I guess you really can’t count on anyone now!” Gloria sighed.
“What’s the sighing for? Don’t worry about me. The Burton Group will return to my hands sooner or later. Let’s talk about you now. Are you still in touch with that fellow recently? Given my responsibility as an older friend of yours, let’s meet together for dinner so I can check him out.” With a sly grin, Justin remarked. Of course, it went without saying who the fellow he was referring to.
Gloria immediately shook her head and denied, “What are you talking about? We are just friends.”
Justin leaned on the couch as his lips curled up, and he tittered. “How did you even know who I was talking about?”
At that moment, Gloria was stunned, and her cheeks were burning red.
As they were talking, Justin’s cell phone rang suddenly and interrupted the conversation. “Hello?” he answered, and his voice had a touch of amusement from the prior chat.
Jolly’s voice came over the phone in a panicky tone, and she asked, “Where are you? Did you know that Rachel was asked to meet Robin at Golden Hill? I can’t seem to get through to her phone right now. We had a feud with him before and he will definitely target her!”
Justin’s face froze and he stood up swiftly. “Since when have you not been able to reach her phone?” he asked with a commanding tone.
“About five minutes ago,” she replied.
Meanwhile, at Riverdale’s largest nightspot—Golden Hill Nightclub. In a private lounge, tables were full of lowball glasses in various colors, reflecting alluring rays under the strobe light.
Surrounded by the constant barracking sound, Rachel downed a glass of whiskey one after another, yet her face remained unperturbed. “President Gunson, now that I have finished the drinks you offered me, shall we discuss the development project’s approval?” she persuaded.
“What’s the hurry? We shouldn’t talk about business before we have our fun,” Robin teased. “This is just the beginning. Have another drink, Miss Hudson.”
To make a point, she blocked the drink that was handed by the waiter and responded solemnly, “President Gunson, you have to give me a clear direction. If you are not going to approve the project, give me a heads up earlier so I can consider other options.”
Rachel had mentally prepared herself for this. If Robin wanted to humiliate her by insulting her or forcing her to drink some alcohol, she would have agreed to his silly request and called it even between them. However, if his purpose was only to mock her and prolong the Northlane development project, she would not bother entertaining him.
After Robin heard what she just said, his face darkened as he forcefully put down his whiskey glass. “Miss Hudson, do you think we can call it off with just a few drinks after all you have done to me in the past? You must be dreaming! At least show some sincerity if you are trying to obtain something from me,” he sneered.
Annoyed, Rachel picked up her purse and attempted to leave without saying a word.
“Wait a second!” Just then, Robin laid a document on the leather couch and drummed his fingers on it slowly.
Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she stared pointedly at the document. It was the approval by the Environment Bureau in black and white, with the red seal of the Environment Bureau on the back. Just when she was reaching for it, the corner of the document was pressed down by a whiskey glass.
“Miss Hudson, the deal is on the table. However, if you want to take this document home with you, you have got to show me what you got,” Robin said, with a mischievous smile on his face.
Well, if Robin was willing to hand her the approval, it had certainly made things easier for her. After all, it is just a drink, right? She wasn’t a light drinker, and she had drunk tons of them while negotiating deals for Hudson Pharmaceuticals back in those times. What’s the harm in having a few more drinks?
Having made her mind up, she said, “Let me make some toasts for you, President Gunson!”
“The first toast, is to apologize for the reckless comments that I made earlier, and to express my gratitude for his forgivingness by letting go of our old grievances.” Rachel reached for a glass of whiskey and chugged it down her throat.
“The second toast, is to thank you for greasing the wheels and getting the development project approved, President Gunson. You will surely be invited to attend the opening ceremony once it is completed.”
“This third toast…” At this point, she started to sound tipsy. “…is to friends, as there are no lasting enemies in business. I hope that we will have a pleasant working relationship with you in the future, President Gunson.” Rachel could feel her head getting a little dizzy.
Robin leaned on the chest of the female escort behind him and glanced at Rachel in silence. With a contemptuous and smug smile on his face, he said, “Easy, Miss Hudson. You can take it slow. There is no rush in drinking.”
After the three shots of whiskey, Rachel could feel the alcohol rushing up to her head, making her light-headed. “Alright. I will have to excuse myself now. President Gunson, enjoy the party with your friends and have a good time,” she said.
After saying that, she reached out her hand to pick up the document, but it was suddenly snatched away, landing back into Robin’s hand.
“Excuse me, President Gunson?” she frowned and questioned him.
“Since you are already here, we should have some fun together. When I said ‘show me what you got,’ I didn’t mean for you to drink, Miss Hudson.” Right then, Robin clapped his hands twice. Following his clapping sound, a swarm of male escorts flooded the lounge.
