Chapter 343

Chapter 343

Caroline had no choice but to sit down. Over there, after Clifton and Gavin finished their greetings, they turned around and saw this strange scene, both stopping in their tracks at the same time.

Arthur and Caroline... so that's the kind of relationship they have?

"Ms. Hamilton..." Clifton was about to say something when Arthur's cold gaze swept over, "She's eating. Whatever you have to say can wait until she's done."

"I'll head back then." Gavin's gut told him that staying here wasn't a smart move. After all, everyone present was a boss, and he couldn't afford to offend any of them, so he just slipped away.

Clifton hesitated for a moment but didn't follow. Instead, he stayed in the reception room.

Being stared at by the two men, Caroline was about to speak when Arthur had already added food to her bowl, telling her to eat first.

To escape this awkward situation as soon as possible, Caroline could only eat the food in her bowl as fast as she could.

Seeing the empty bowl, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Arthur, who had already spoken, "Looks like today's food really suits your taste, so I'll prepare the same thing tomorrow."

"No..."

Caroline was on the verge of tears. Before she could finish, Arthur smiled at her, "Any other comments? Do you need me to stay and keep you company?"

"No need." Caroline answered quite quickly this time.

In front of Clifton, Arthur's actions were already enough to cause misunderstanding.

If he continued to stay, she wouldn't know how to face Clifton.

Arthur seemed a bit disappointed, "Then I'll come see you again tomorrow."

With that, he took the empty lunch box and walked out. As he passed Clifton, he gave him a meaningful look before pushing the door open and leaving.

Helen was right after all. Caroline was so outstanding that more and more men would gather around her. He had to seize the initiative to prevent them from finding opportunities.

As soon as he left, Caroline breathed a sigh of relief and gestured to Clifton, "Mr. Farley, let's talk in my office."

Although there were only the two of them in the reception room, it really wasn't appropriate to sit here right after she'd finished eating.

Clifton was very good-tempered. Even after being kept waiting for so long, he showed no sign of anger. He followed her to the office and took out the documents he had prepared.

It was a contract to give up the exclusive agreement for the cancer drug. He was voluntarily giving it up, and Caroline didn't need to pay any price.

After reading it, Caroline signed her name on it.

"Mr. Farley really has no other requirements?" She looked at Clifton. Although she had heard about him from Gavin, she still felt that Clifton's goodwill came somewhat inexplicably.

Clifton shook his head, "It's not that I have nothing."

Just as she thought. In business, as the president of Vanguard Enterprises Group, how could Clifton want nothing?

Caroline sat up straight, waiting for Clifton to name his price.

Then Clifton took out his phone.

"I'd like to use this to exchange for Ms. Hamilton's friendship. Ms. Hamilton has already signed the contract, so adding each other as contacts shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"

Of course not.

Caroline shook her head and, meeting the smile in Clifton's eyes, added him as a contact.

Clifton stood up, "I came here today first to sign this contract with Ms. Hamilton and show my sincerity toward Ms. Hamilton and your company, and second to see how Mr. Bennett is doing here with Ms. Hamilton."

"Since both purposes have been achieved, I won't disturb Ms. Hamilton any further."

He left decisively, different from any scenario Caroline had imagined.

Perhaps she really had misunderstood, and not everyone was like Richard.

Caroline looked at her newly added contact and lowered her eyes.

But now that the contract was signed, she passed on the good news about the cancer drug being included in medical insurance to Harlan.

Harlan was naturally delighted and asked her to come over today to finalize the matter as soon as possible.

Caroline called her secretary to give some instructions, then set off with the contract and related documents.

When she arrived, Milton was there too.

He had just returned to Sovereign City today and had dinner with Harlan, who kept him for tea. He didn't expect to run into Caroline here.

Meeting again, Milton seemed a bit awkward, while Caroline appeared quite calm. She greeted both of them and handed the relevant documents and materials to Harlan.

"I thought this day would take another three years, but I didn't expect Ms. Hamilton to make it happen so quickly."

"Milton, good thing you recommended Ms. Hamilton to me, otherwise I wouldn't have known where to find such a good entrepreneur."

After checking the documents, Harlan had his secretary handle them, then turned to tease Milton.

Milton smiled, "It's her own hard work."

He looked at Caroline, remembering their first meeting when she was still trying to restore her identity.

When he helped her, he had already looked into Caroline's family situation and knew that unlike him, Caroline didn't have a happy family. Everything she had now was earned through her own efforts, and he had witnessed her rise firsthand.

Caroline still smiled faintly, looking completely unfazed, "It's also thanks to your recommendations and support. Otherwise, how could a small company like mine have such good opportunities?"

"Don't be so polite. Didn't that previous project just end? I'll have my secretary send you other projects later, and you can pick one to take on." Harlan rarely stood on ceremony with Caroline when talking to her, mostly just giving her benefits directly.

For example, last time when Caroline mentioned progress in her research, Harlan immediately sent over five million dollars in research funding, telling her that if it wasn't enough, she could ask anytime and the secretary would approve it directly.

Caroline was used to his personality and thanked him without refusing.

As she was leaving, Milton caught up with her. Caroline turned to look at him, "What's wrong?"

Milton looked at her deeply, and after a long while finally spoke, "I've already talked to my parents. They won't misunderstand our relationship anymore. Sorry for the trouble during this time."

"It's good that it's cleared up." Caroline nodded. When she agreed to help Milton, it was because he had helped her, just a favor in return. She never expected to have so much interaction with Milton and his family afterward. Now that it was cleared up and misunderstandings could be avoided, it was naturally for the best.

"We can still be friends, right?" Milton looked at her. Caroline smiled and nodded, "Of course. If you hadn't recommended me to Mr. Morales, I wouldn't have been able to get through that difficult time. In a way, you're my benefactor."

"I wouldn't say benefactor, as long as... we can still be friends."

He watched Caroline get in the car and leave, but his mood gradually sank.

In the car, Tim was fishing for information, "Ms. Hamilton, I heard the research institute has made a new breakthrough in treating late-stage Alzheimer's patients?"

Caroline nodded, "Yes, but it's still in clinical trials and hasn't been announced. How did you know?"