Chapter 181 How Fair Are You to Him
“You were victimized by Sunhill Hotel. Don’t tell me you still plan to continue working for them?” Casey’s tone was slightly playful.
Courtney frowned, feeling empty inside. What Sunhill Hotel did to me this time was truly heartbreaking. The department that should have borne the greatest responsibility for this fire should have been the safety inspection department. It was never my responsibility to bear. But, they suspended me for investigation. She wasn’t stupid. It didn’t take much to figure out who was behind this order.
Alexander refused to allow her to resign. Instead, he used this roundabout method to buy some time to prevent her from leaving. It was clear that he was abusing his authority for personal gain and revenge. Thus, it was reasonable for her to confidently accept the olive tree branch that Casey was offering to her at this point.
“I don’t know what kind of position you can give me, Mr. Lewis. Aside from what is within my ability, I won’t accept pity nor nepotism.”
When she said the word ‘nepotism’, Shay’s expression looked like he was forced to eat sh*t.
“Naturally, it’s because I admire your abilities. I don’t know why Alexander only placed you in the position of a lobby manager. I believe you will have greater career prospects if you come and work for me.” Casey spoke confidently as if he had already taken a fancy to her and wanted to head-hunt her for his company.
“For example?”
“Come and be my administrative secretary.”
“You can’t—” Before Courtney could reply, Shay’s voice sounded out suddenly. His expression was rather contradictory. “My sister cannot become your secretary. Sis, you cannot take his offer! He doesn’t have good intentions!”
Courtney felt slightly helpless when she saw how anxious Shay was. Then, she glanced at Casey and said, “Look; Shay has known you longer than I have. Even he thinks that you don’t bear goodwill. How could I possibly join your company?”
Casey did not try to explain himself. Instead, he raised his eyebrows slightly. “It seems to me that you are reluctant to leave Sunhill. I’m not going to force you if you don’t want to. Feel free to come whenever you change your mind.”
“It’s not that I’m reluctant to leave. It’s just that your company isn’t suitable for me, Mr. Lewis. It’s better for me if I find a different solution.”
His eyes flickered. “Do you mean you truly do not wish to remain in Sunhill anymore?”
“No comment.” She smiled at him. Her attitude made it clear that she did not wish to say more about this.
Although the Lewis Family and the Duncan Family had a good relationship with each other, they were still business competitors. As an employee of Sunhill Enterprise, there was no need to tell him too much about any changes within the company. Besides, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he did not bear good intentions. It was better to be wary of him.
“Do you really plan to resign from Sunhill?” As soon as they arrived home, Cameron questioned her about what had happened in the car earlier.
Courtney changed her shoes and went to the kitchen to boil some water. She turned her back to Cameron as she said, “Yes. There are too many personal issues involved. It’s not good to let private issues interfere with work matters.”
“Then, why didn’t you accept Casey’s offer? Being his administrative secretary is way better than being the lobby manager at Sunhill! You’ll be standing at the top! Don’t you know that?” Cameron took off her evening dress, casually picked up a white T-shirt, and put it on. The T-shirt exposed her fair thighs as she sat down on the sofa.
“He’s trying all sorts of methods to get involved with Shay. Couldn’t you tell that he simply wanted to pull me to his side?” Casey is a businessman; he is not a philanthropist. He would never offer me such a good job out of sympathy just because he noticed that I am out of work. He clearly wants to use me for his benefit.
Cameron waggled her eyebrows, looking like she disagreed with Courtney’s outlook. “You think too much. You shouldn’t think too much about everything. It’s not only bad for you, but also bad for others. In my opinion, you should come clean with Alexander. Don’t keep hiding the truth from him.”
When the water boiled, Courtney poured two cups of water and walked over to the sofa. She sat down and handed one cup to Cameron. “You make it sound so easy. Out of all the times to talk about that, now is not the time. If he really plans to break up with me, he will surely fight for custody of both children if I tell him that Tina is his daughter. I know the extent of my abilities; I will never win the lawsuit.”
The Duncan Family was extremely influential in Melrose City. If Alexander truly wanted to gain custody of Tina, she could only resign herself to that fate.
“Can’t you think positively? If Alexander knows that both children are his, he won’t suspect you of playing favorites anymore when it comes to the children. Won’t that resolve all the previous misunderstandings between the two of you?”
“It’s not like that at all.” She frowned deeply.
“Then, why don’t you tell me what is it that you want? Just what do you want from Alexander?” Cameron sat up straight. For the first time, she wasn’t siding with Courtney. “You always feel that Alexander is asking too much of you and that he is not being fair to you. But, how fair are you to him? He doesn’t even know that Tina is his daughter.”
Courtney fell silent, and the entire house became very quiet. After a long time, Cameron stood up and clapped her on the shoulder. “Think about it yourself. When it comes down to it, it’s your personal affairs. I suggest that you come clean with him. If the day comes when you are faced with a lawsuit… Did you forget? We still have Elijah who’s overseas. He will never allow Tina’s custody rights to be snatched away by somebody else.”
After Cameron left, Courtney remained sitting in the living room alone until late at night. She often weighed the pros and cons of her relationship with Alexander. However, she never felt that there was anything wrong with doing that. She was a mother; a mother who was robbed of her child five years ago at that. Even if she resented Alexander for that, it was well within her rights to do so.
Inside the master bedroom, Cameron saw that she had a missed call on her phone. Thus, she returned the call. “What’s up?”
Gale’s voice came from the other side of the phone; it was filled with excitement. “I’ll be back from my business trip tomorrow. I’ll be on vacation for a while. Why don’t you go on a trip with me?”
“Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean that I’m on vacation. Do you think I have so much free time to go on a trip with you?”
“I’m doing this because I heard Alex and Courtney had a fight. Don’t you want to help them reconcile? Let’s go on a trip and invite them along.”
“What has that got to do with me?” She continued indifferently, “If they are quarreling, that’s their own problem. They can fight if they want to. You can go ahead and be their mediator if you want. I refuse to do it.”
He pretended as if he did not hear what she said. “Survival on a deserted island or a relaxing vacation; which do you prefer?”
“Deserted island.”
“Alright, that’s decided then. I’ll prepare everything. You only need to be ready to leave.”
Gale was well-versed with Cameron’s disagreeable temperament where she could not be honest with her feelings. Nowadays, he could tell from her tone whether she was pleased or displeased with something regardless of what she said.
Early the next morning, Cameron told Courtney about the plans to go on a trip before she left for work. “This is a great opportunity. There are no other people on the island. So, the two of you should have a good talk with each other.”
Courtney mulled over it for a moment and finally nodded. Cameron could tell from the dark circles under Courtney’s eyes that Courtney had not gotten a good night’s sleep. She probably stayed up all night thinking about whether she should come clean about Jordan. Then, she casually asked before leaving, “What are you doing this afternoon?”
“I’m going to visit Tina at Old Master Duncan’s place.”
“You leave your daughter at the Duncan Residence every now and then so that you have a reason to visit your son, don’t you? Wow, you sure are calculating!”
“He is my son.”
“Yes, that’s right. He’s your son. Nobody is denying that. You are the only one who doesn’t dare to admit it.” Cameron picked up her keys. “I don’t have time to talk to you anymore; I’m going to be late for work. Bye!”
“Bye.”
