Chapter 1000
"No way!" A look of disapproval crossed Sonia''s face as she hastily kept refusing.
Daphne was visibly shaken as she stood anxiously behind the lounge door and firmly grasped the
door handle with both hands. It was obvious that she was resisting. So, she had to quickly stop
Charles from entering the room by blocking the door while thinking that Sonia should give it her all
and prevent Charles from entering.
Sonia''s rejection had only fueled Charles'' suspicions as he eventually asked, "Sonny, are you
keeping a lover inside, which is why you won''t let me look?"
"What?" Sonia''s lips quivered into a questioning twitch as she answered, "A lover? Am I the kind of
person that does that?"
"Exin why you''re blocking my entry if that''s the case." He rolled his eyes.
"It makes no difference why. I said no." Sonia''s arm was still outstretched to block his way.
"Could you be anxious because Toby is in the room? That''s not right. If he''s your man, there''s no
need to keep him from me. To top it all off, he is a jealous man. If I''m here now, he''ll be out in an
instant. So, Sonny, who are you hiding behind closed doors? Are you doing something that might
upset Toby?"
"Do you believe it is possible?" She rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh.
"It''s impossible," he replied as he shook his head.
"That''s it," Sonia stated tly.
"Why won''t you let me in if you aren''t trying to keep a lover hidden inside and haven''t done anything
that would cause Toby any harm? Who is it that you have hidden inside? Why are you acting soN?velDrama.Org ? content.
suspiciously?" Charles asked while pointing to the lounge that was located behind her.
"I won''t reveal who''s inside, but I can tell you she''s a girl. She felt ufortable, so I invited her to
take a break in my lounge. She was ready toe out after her nap, but she''s too embarrassed to
leave my office while I have a visitor. She is pretty shy," she said as she lowered her arms.
"Oh, really?" He arched his brow.
Sonia looked at him coldly and responded, "Yes, without a doubt. How could I possibly betray
Toby?”
"No, of course not! I believe you, then. It would be disrespectful and inappropriate for me to have a
look given that the person in question is a girl," Charles chuckled as he spoke.
"You shouldn''t be seeing in the first ce." Sonia sneered before continuing, "It''s almost lunchtime
now. Let me buy your lunch, okay?" she said this as she looked at the watch on her wrist.
Such words were said to hold Charles at bay to allow Daphne to leave the lounge room. Otherwise,
he would be endlessly curious about who was in the lounge, causing her to fear being discovered at
any moment. Sonia was also anxious about the potential oue of the encounter between the
two. For this reason alone, Sonia knew that both she and Charles should leave the office.
After hearing Sonia''s words, he feltpelled to lower his head and rub his tummy. "Okay, I''ll admit
it: I''m starting to get hungry. Where do you suggest we eat? Should we eat at the cafeteria or go to
a nearby restaurant?"
Sonia shed a grin as she reached the shelf where her purse was kept inside. "Ick the courage
to ask you to the cafeteria because you are such a distinguished guest. Of course, we should eat at
the restaurant. What kind of food are you craving right now?"
"On this cold day, let''s have a spicy dish. It''ll be delicious," Charles answered as he licked the edge
of his mouth.
Sonia nodded and said, "Of course, but I suppose you favor it because you fear the cold."
Her eyes wandered down his bare chest and ankles as she spoke and she let out a mischievous
laugh.
"What? Do I, Charles Lane, seem like the kind of man afraid of the cold?" His eyes widened in
surprise and he swiftly shot back, "To bepletely honest, all I care about is satisfying my craving
for a spicy dish. As you have inferred, I do not suffer from a fear of the cold."
After seeing the stubborn look on his face, she found it impossible to contain herughter. "Well
then. You don''t fear the cold because you''re the best? I was wrong."
"Hmph! You''re right!" Charles proudly raised his chin.
"Okay." Seeing him responding in such a manner, Sonia rolled her eyes. "Please wait for me
outside. I''ll be there as soon as I change."
"Alright." He nodded and strolled away, hands in his pockets as he hummed.
Sonia shook her head in surprise as she gazed at his back. After making sure he was gone, she ran
straight to the lounge.
She knocked on the lounge door with a hand, saying, "Daphne, please open the door. It''s me."
Daphne turned the door handle and then pushed it open. When she realized it was Sonia and not
Charles, she let out a sigh of relief and greeted, "Miss Reed."
Daphne could not resist craning her neck to look around while weing Sonia as if she was
searching for something.
"You don''t need to look," Sonia reassured her, knowing who she was seeking. "Don''t worry; Charles
has left."
As soon as Daphne heard Sonia''s words, she quickly averted her gaze and smiled while pursing
her lips. "I am very grateful to you, Miss Reed, for keeping President Lane from entering the lounge
anding over to find me. If not, the consequences will be severe. It''s my fault; I shouldn’t have
peeked through the door in the first ce, or else he wouldn''t have noticed that I was staring at him.
I apologize for giving him the impression that you harbored a man inside and acted inappropriately
against President Fuller. My sincere apologies to you, Miss Reed."
"It''s alright. It''s not your fault, and you shouldn''t me yourself either. Moreover, you are on my turf,
so I''ll help you. I have just sent Charles out and I will take him to lunch. You are wee to stay
here until we leave Paradigm Co., at which point you are free to leave."
Daphne was aware that Sonia''s aim was to keep her from being discovered by Charles by leaving
the lounge earlier with him. "Okay, I understand. Miss Reed, thank you so much."
A grateful Daphne nodded.
"There''s no need to thank me." While removing her hand from Daphne''s shoulder, Sonia said, "All
right, take a little break and rx. I should be going; if I amte, Charles will be suspicious, and that
will cause problems down the road."
"Goodbye, Miss Reed." Daphne waved her hand.
Sonia returned the gesture before turning around to pack her belongings from the desk.
However, when Charles was done with his smoking, he had an idea that made him narrow his eyes
as he nced at the assistants and secretaries working at the office next to the chairman''s room.
He threw the stubs of his cigarettes and opened the assistant secretary''s door. It was still early;
Sonia''s assistants and the secretary were still working hard. As soon as they heard the door open,
several heads swiveled to observe who was there.
When they saw Charles, they immediately greeted him. "Greetings, President Lane."
He nodded, but his eyes darted about the room as if trying to locate someone.
Despite this, he could not locate the person he was seeking, so he pursed his lips and asked,
"Where is Daphne?"
The other secretaries in the workce knew that Daphne had been in a rtionship with Charles
before she started working for Paradigm Co. as Chairman Reed''s secretary. However, they were
unaware that Charles and Daphne had ended their rtionship and thought those two were in a
superiorsubordinate rtionship.
When they heard his question, the assistant secretaries said without hesitation, "President Lane,
Daphne is with Miss Reed. Didn''t you see her when you were looking for Miss Reed?"