Chapter 1018


    In the future, if Sonia faced any difficulties, she would no longer escape, and would go to Toby for help


    instead. However, she would remember every single time she received his assistance, so that she


    could return the favor in her own way. Only by maintaining this mutually beneficial rtionship would


    she not feel any kind of burden.


    At Sonia''s words, Charles was able topletely rx as well.


    After that, Sonia lifted her ss of wine and looked at Brian. "Mr. Smith, please approve my application


    for a loan. I really need the funds to be in ce today, as Paradigm Co. urgently needs the money.


    Your help would be much appreciated."


    Saying that, she lifted her ss of wine at Brian.


    Smiling, Brian followed suit and clinked his ss with Sonia''s. "Don''t worry, I''ll instruct the bankter,


    and I''ll make sure that the funds will be in ce before nine o''clock tonight by thetest."


    "That''s great. Thank you, Mr. Smith." Sonia felt extremely excited and grateful. Then, as if recalling


    something, she bent over and lifted a gift box from the ground before handing it to Brian with both


    hands. "Mr. Smith, this is a small gift to thank you for your help. Please ept it."


    Before she arrived, she had found out that Brian''s biggest hobby was collecting antiques. Hence, she


    specially brought an antique vase from her house as a gift for him. After all, she had a favor to ask of


    him, so she couldn''t just show up empty-handed. That would just be aide.


    Besides, preparing a gift that would satisfy the other party was also a trump card. What if they were


    unwilling to pass her application for a loan at first, but they changed their mind after seeing her gift?


    Even if they refused after seeing the present, they might still give her some other usefill suggestions.


    In short, a gift was a must no matter what, and nothing would go wrong with it. Besides, it would make


    the other party feel better about themselves. Even if they couldn''t work together this time, they might be


    willing to give her another chance because she had prepared a gift for them in the past. In any case, a


    gift was no longer only needed to achieve a certain purpose, but it was also a necessary step in the


    negotiating process.


    Brian was not too surprised when he saw the gift from Sonia. After all, he had watched her walk in with


    a gift, and he knew very well that it was prepared for him. Hence, when he was faced with Sonia''s


    present, he did not refuse, but reached out to ept it with a smile.


    If he didn''t agree to her loan, he would not ept this gift. However, now that he had agreed, then he


    would naturally have no qualms about taking the gift. Besides, this gift was a part of the negotiations,


    so it wouldn''t be appropriate for him to refuse. Now that he had epted it, it was also a way to


    reassure Sonia that he wouldn''t go back on his word.


    Sure enough, upon seeing that Brian took the gift, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief.


    Brian ced the gift on the table and opened it to take a look. When he saw the antique vase inside,


    his eyes lit up. "Miss Reed, this is from the medieval era, isn''t it?"


    "Yes." Sonia nodded with a smile.


    Brian''s face instantly lit up when he confirmed the vase''s origins. He couldn''t help but lift the vase to


    get a closer look. As he observed it, he gasped in awe, "The craftsmanship is really good. I never


    expected you to have a treasure like this, Miss Reed."


    Sonia calmly sipped on her wine while she replied with a smile, "Let me tell you something, Mr. Smith.


    My grandfather is an archaeologist, and this vase was awarded to him by the country, and he gave it to


    me as a birthday giftter on. Now, I''m giving it to you. Because I knew that you like things like these, I


    brought it over as a present. Since this vase was just an ordinary vase in the medieval era, it may notMaterial ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    be worth much, but there aren''t many of these that have been preserved, so it''s still a rare item. I hope


    you won''t mind."


    The vase was only worth around 100 thousand, which was nothingpared to other antiques.


    However, due to the fact that there weren''t many of its kind that had been preserved perfectly, it was


    still worth collecting.


    "No, no, of course I don''t." Brian hurriedly waved his hand and replied, "I have many antiques in my


    collection, but I don''t have this vase yet. Now that you''ve gifted me one, I don''t have to worry anymore.


    I have no reason to dislike this. Instead, I''m feeling overjoyed. Still, Miss Reed, this was a birthday gift


    from your grandfather. Is it all right for you to give it to me?"


    Charles looked at Sonia as well. To be honest, when they were in the car, he had asked what she was


    nning to give to Brian, but she didn''t answer, making him itching to know the answer for the rest of


    the day. It was only then that he found out she had prepared a vase.


    Sonia still smiled calmly after Brian''s question. "Don''t worry, Mr. Smith. There will be no problem with


    my grandfather. The reason why I can inherit Paradigm Co. is because my grandfather has put in a lot


    of effort. I''m giving the vase to you for Paradigm Co.''s sake, so I believe my grandfather would support


    my decision."


    "In that case, I''ll dly ept this vase. Thank you, Miss Reed," Brian said as he lovingly caressed the


    vase.


    Sonia nodded. "You''re wee, Mr. Smith."


    For the rest of their meeting, Brian happily admired the vase, while Sonia and Charles discussed ways


    to perfectly solve the consequences of the missing parts after getting the loan. After all, they couldn''t


    just throw money into this case after acquiring it, and they had to n how to use the money in the best


    way. If they used up the money without thinking, they might end up wasting it all.


    The meetingsted at least three hours before it ended. By the time Sonia and Charles bade Brian


    goodbye and walked out of the room, it was already five in the afternoon. After Sonia paid the bill, she


    immediately waited at the hotel entrance with Charles for the hotel''s jockey to drive their car out of the


    parking lot. They had no choice as both she and Charles had drunk alcohol that night, so they could


    only ask the hotel to arrange a driver to take them home.


    "Achoo!" Suddenly, a cold breeze blew over, causing Sonia to sneeze. Her body was trembling slightly


    as well.


    When Charles turned to look at her and saw that she had turned pale from the cold, he hurriedly


    unbuttoned his coat and put it on her. At the same time, Sonia was rubbing her hands with her head


    down, trying to warm her cold hands a little. She had just started rubbing her hands together when she


    felt a warmth on her back as something was ced on her body. When she turned, she saw a gaudy


    suit jacket, and Charles'' hands that he was just about to retract from her body. She realized that he had


    taken off his coat and put it on her because he saw that she was cold.


    "What are you doing?" She lifted her head to look at the man beside her.


    Charles sped his hands together and brought them to his face to blow on them. "Aren''t you cold? I


    gave you my jacket so that you wouldn''t feel cold anymore."


    Seeing that he was trembling from the cold, Sonia felt amused and quickly took off his coat before


    tossing it back into his arms. "I don''t need it. You''re wearing even less clothes than me. I''m cold, but not


    to the point where I would be shivering. Look at you, after you take off your coat, you only have a shirt


    left. I feel cold just from looking at you. You''d better put your coat back on quickly. Don''t give it to me.


    What if you get a coldter?"


    "No, I''m a man. I wouldn''t... Achoo!"


    Before he could finish, he immediately sneezed. All at once, he turned speechless.