Winning Her Heart Back

 Mr. Davis, Do You Know This Waitress?

Emelie leaned back in her chair and signaled for the waitress to pour her more wine.

Charles stroked his lips and nodded as he studied the document. "Ms. Hoven, as expected of you. Your work is always thorough."

Then, as if it dawned on him, he raised his head and said, "Oh, I forgot you're Ms. Pierce now."

Emelie's expression remained calm.NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.

Behind her, Jodie's face was devoid of emotion. It was clear that Charles' repeated references to her past were meant to test Emelie, to see if she would be thrown off balance.

"It's fine. I did spend many years as a secretary. I worked for Mr. Middleton and Mr. Swanson, and when I first joined the Filo Group, I was also Mr. Cronus' secretary. It's normal to be stereotyped as a secretary."

Emelie took it all in stride with a calm demeanor.

William, with a cold look on his face, threw the document on the table and picked up his glass of wine. He seemed to be the one who had been thrown off balance instead.

Just as the glass touched his lips, he stopped, as if suddenly remembering something, and put it down. Then he motioned for Ashton to bring him tea instead.

Emelie glanced over at William. He didn't seem to have fully recovered, for his lips seemed a little pale.

"Ms. Pierce, while we're on the subject, I can't help but be curious about something." Charles rested his chin on his hand. "How did your sister, Ashlyn, come to be Arsen Sorrel's adopted daughter? Of course, if you'd rather not discuss that, we can change the subject."

Emelie replied in a friendly tone as if they were old friends, "This is something I wouldn't discuss with others, but it's all right to share it with Mr. Middleton and you."

In fact, they were old friends, and their relationship had once been quite close.

If it had not been for the things that had happened, her attitude now would be seen as perfectly normal.

However, Emelie's composure after their falling out was somewhat unsettling, as if she was hiding something.

Charles had his suspicions but chose not to voice them. He continued to play along. "So, how did it happen?"

"Ashlyn ran away with a man a few years ago, and it turned out that he was a scoundrel who had sold her. By the time I found her in the human market, she was poisoned and unable to speak."

Emelie sighed. "The only thing I could do was take her to live with me in Baliz. One day, while she was out for a walk, she came across the Sorrel couple in danger and saved them. The rest is history. Arsen took her in as his adopted daughter."

Charles fell into a moment of thought before he came up with a conclusion. "Arsen's decision to adopt her was probably because he knew that she was the younger sister of the future lady of the Filo family. In other words, your sister has a certain status, but not a high one. By adopting her, he could benefit from the Filo family connection without infringing on their core interests. Arsen is a very clever man."

Emelie picked up her wine glass with a teasing expression. "Romanee-Conti. It's an excellent wine. Mr. Davis, Mr. Middleton, you must taste this."

Charles took the opportunity to take a sip. He said, "Ms. Pierce, we haven't apologized for interrupting

your sister's wedding. I should drink to atone."

Charles downed the wine in one gulp. Emelie signaled for the waitress to refill his glass, and she said, " You didn't disrupt it. The wedding was a success after all."

The waitress, who had been standing in the corner with her head bowed, approached Charles with a bottle of wine at Emelie's signal.

Just as Charles was about to say something to Emelie, he was suddenly distracted when he caught a glimpse of the waitress' profile.

Emelie called out, "Mr. Davis?"

William glanced over as well and frowned slightly when he saw the waitress. Then, he moved his gaze back to Emelie.

Charles snapped out of his reverie. Emelie asked curiously, "Mr. Davis, do you know this waitress?"

The waitress kept her head down and remained silent. Charles' eyes flashed for a moment before he forced a smile and replied, "I don't know her."

Emelie didn't press further. She continued to discuss the matter of charity with him. Charles, however, was clearly distracted.

The dinner went on for two hours before it was over. As the three of them left Westward Club, a glass suddenly flew out of a private room they were walking by.

The glass shattered into a million pieces at their feet.