Chapter 260
"If Mr. Windsor has the time and energy to research stuff like this, maybe you should put that effort into something else."
Arthur looked somewhat embarrassed at her mockery, defending himself. "At least it was useful. When something happened to you, I was the first one there, wasn't I?"
"Well, thank you for that, Mr. Windsor. But you should know—if you hadn't changed my emergency contact, Alton would've come too."
She trusted that Alton would never stand by and do nothing if he received her distress signal.
"He wasn't in the city today. He went elsewhere on business. I'm afraid you would've waited for him in vain."
Arthur shook his head. "But I'm different. I've been staying in the city. Anytime you need help, just call me, and I'll be there immediately."
"In what capacity, Mr. Windsor?"
Caroline leaned halfway against the doorframe, watching him.
"We're already divorced. Don't you think you're overstepping?"
Faced with her questioning, Arthur looked down and met her eyes.
"You're the mother of my children. That will never change."
"Even if it's just to make the kids happy, I'll keep you safe. Is that reason enough?"
Caroline was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Thanks for today."
"And... Richard going after me—you've been helping deal with that, too, haven't you?"
Today's incident made her realize Richard was no pushover.
Combined with what Richard had said at the bidding conference, the more she thought about it, the stranger it all seemed.
Tonight's injury had actually sharpened her mind.
This definitely wasn't the first time Richard had come after her, but she'd never noticed. That meant someone must have been quietly taking care of things for her beforehand.
Ruling everyone else out, it could only be Arthur.
"Yes."
Arthur didn't hide it from her. He nodded.
"Is this also for the kids?" Caroline asked again.
Arthur looked at her, his Adam's apple bobbing before he finally answered. "You can think of it that way. Or you can think of me as your protector."
His last sentence came out softly, but his eyes locked straight onto Caroline, eagerly waiting to hear some acknowledgment from her.
But Caroline only gave him a brief glance and said calmly, "I don't need a protector."
That one sentence completely doused whatever hope Arthur had been harboring. A bitter taste touched the corner of his mouth, and he could only nod. "Alright. I understand."
The moment the words left his lips, Caroline had already closed the door, with absolutely no intention of asking him to stay. Arthur could only trudge back, utterly deflated.
Although she was injured, as long as she wore loose clothing and moved carefully, it wouldn't interfere too much with her work.
Now that the company had landed two projects in a row and was about to get on track, she—as the boss—had a lot on her plate. Of course, she couldn't rest at such a critical juncture.
Dragging her injured body, Caroline went to the office first thing the next morning, leaving Arthur, who'd planned to check on her at home, to make the trip for nothing.
She had, at most, seven or eight usable employees under her. Whoever made contact with which university would be responsible for liaising with them.
This task wasn't particularly difficult—they just needed to coordinate with the universities, compile the list of students being sent over, and hand it off to the research institute. After that, they wouldn't need to worry about the rest.
The truly tricky part was the project from the bidding conference—partnering with the government to promote certain domestic pharmaceuticals. These medications were mostly public welfare projects, priced low, with very little profit margin.
Slim profits, but plenty of work.
Doing this project could honestly be described as thankless labor. All the companies willing to participate were doing so to build a relationship with Harlan.
Caroline reviewed the list of medications and finally understood what Milton had meant. This really wasn't an easy moneymaking gig.
No wonder Milton had been so confident in her back then. The big companies participating in the bid probably never seriously intended to take on this project—they were just going through the motions. Barely any of them were earnest about it.
Still, she had nothing to complain about. Her company desperately needed projects, and landing her very first one through a government partnership was a starting point most companies could only dream of.
Taking a deep breath, she called in her secretary, and the two of them launched into intensive preparations.
Now that they'd secured the project, they couldn't afford to be perfunctory with their approach and strategy.
For an entire day, just doing research and developing proposals left Caroline dizzy and drained. She barely left herself any time to eat.
Her secretary, keeping pace with her, was equally swamped.
By the time they finished organizing everything, they checked the clock and realized it was already an hour and a half past quitting time.
Outside, everything was eerily quiet. Most of the companies in the office building had turned off their lights.
Caroline stretched, easing her aching shoulders, then turned to her secretary. "Thanks for staying late with me today. Log your overtime hours—you'll get your overtime pay, no question."
The secretary happily agreed.
Honestly, she hadn't expected overtime pay at first. After all, a fledgling company like this would be lucky just to survive—how could it possibly provide proper labor protections like established companies?
The fact that Caroline brought it up on her own made her even happier.
"Ms. Hamilton, call me next time you need to work late, too!"
Caroline nodded with a smile, waved, and parted ways with her secretary.
Her secretary had a boyfriend picking her up. Caroline, all alone, had originally planned to call a cab.
But just as she picked up her phone, she spotted a familiar figure standing not far away.
Caroline froze for a moment. Then he started walking toward her.
"What are you doing here?"
She thought she'd been clear enough with Arthur—their relationship was best kept to being the parents of their children, nothing more.
But Arthur had shown up again anyway. What was he playing at?
"The kids missed you today. They asked me to pick you up after work. They're both in the car right now waiting for you."
Arthur gestured toward the vehicle parked nearby.
Caroline looked over. Though she couldn't see much through the car window, Arthur's words made her feel as though she could vaguely make out two little faces full of anticipation.
She nodded. "Alright."
Seeing she wasn't resisting, Arthur smoothly took her bag and led her in that direction.
"You just got hurt yesterday. No matter how busy work is, you need to take care of yourself. Don't overdo it."
She only gave his concern a casual hum, clearly not taking it to heart.
Arthur sighed.
"If you need any help, you can come to me."
He'd said these words many times already, but Caroline had never once asked him for help.
This time, Caroline didn't even respond. She quickened her pace and walked past him.
The two kids couldn't wait any longer. They'd already rolled down the window and were staring at Caroline with wide, eager eyes.
Caroline's face had already broken into a smile as she gathered both children into her arms.
"Who missed Mommy?"
"We both missed you, Mommy!"
Seeing Caroline made both kids incredibly happy. Their voices rang out, clear and bright.
Surrounded by her children on both sides, Caroline said, "I missed you too."