Chapter 105 Still Has Weaknesses
Zoey shot her father a withering look.
"Alright, you have fun. I've got actual business to attend to," Mr. Turner said, walking away.
Zoey didn't need her father hovering anyway. She grabbed a glass of wine, downed it in one gulp, then headed to the hotel garden to call Matilda.
"Matilda, Charles blocked me again. What should I do?"
Matilda didn't have any patients at the moment, so she chatted with her. "If you said Wentworth blocked you, I could help. But Charles? I can't do anything—I'm scared of him too."
"Then can you ask your husband what kind of girls Charles likes?"
"I asked before. I think he said something about liking sexy women."
"Really?"
"That's what Wentworth told me."
Zoey walked over to a mirrored marble panel in the garden and studied her reflection. A white princess dress, long hair flowing down with two small braids by her ears—young, cute, playful, but definitely not sexy.
She immediately called the family butler to bring her a black evening gown. It was a gift from a cousin for her coming-of-age ceremony. She'd tried it on once, but her mother said it made her look old, so she'd never worn it again.
Actually, her mother had objected because the neckline was too low, showing way too much cleavage.
The butler arrived with the dress shortly. Zoey quickly changed, swapped her lipstick for bold red, and pinned up her hair.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw curves in all the right places—ample where it counted, narrow where it should be. The low-cut gown revealed skin and a deep valley of cleavage. With her hair up, her neck looked long and elegant.
She looked like a young socialite.
Normally she hated dressing this way—too mature, too attention-grabbing. But if Charles liked it, she'd make the sacrifice.
When she returned to the conference hall, the meeting had already started. Guests sat in the audience while Charles spoke on stage.
Zoey found herself mesmerized again.
That man on stage was so handsome, his voice so compelling. Even though his expression remained neutral, something about him made you want to listen.
Normally these investment conferences went completely over Zoey's head, but when Charles explained things, she actually understood.
So every time Charles finished a section of his speech, Zoey applauded enthusiastically from the audience. "Wonderful!"
Because she started clapping, the other guests felt obligated to join in.
What should have been a serious business event turned into something resembling a fan meet-and-greet, all thanks to Zoey.
Charles glanced at her a couple of times.
Where did this ridiculous woman come from? He'd never seen her before.
Whatever. Ignore her and finish the presentation.
When he completed his next section, the woman in the audience clapped even more enthusiastically. Everyone else followed with thunderous applause.
As soon as Charles stepped off stage, Zoey rushed over with a glass of juice. "Charles, are you thirsty? Have some water."
Only now, up close, did Charles recognize her—Mr. Turner's daughter. He'd just blocked her on his way over here.
He remembered her as a schoolgirl who favored cute hairstyles and frilly dresses. Now she'd completely changed her look.
Trying to get his attention?
This woman was too loud.
He didn't take Zoey's drink. Instead, he accepted the bottled water Kai handed him, drank from it, and gave the bottle back to Kai.
"Charles!" Seeing him about to leave, Zoey called out.
Then she straightened up, emphasizing her figure to show off how sexy she looked.
Charles didn't spare her a single glance. "I've got work to do. Go entertain yourself."
Zoey quickly stepped back, not wanting to be a nuisance.
Of course she knew he was busy. She'd just wanted to offer him water and catch a glimpse of him.
So he didn't like juice—he preferred bottled water. Mental note taken.
She retreated to the side and watched him. He approached the guests, who immediately stood and gathered around him like stars orbiting the moon.
She admired him even more.
Near where she stood, two women looked at Zoey with barely concealed disdain.
"Girls these days will do anything for a man. Shameless."
"At her age, dressing like that—if I were her mother, I'd beat some sense into her."
"Can't really beat her though. What if her mother's the one who put her up to it? If she could land Charles, she'd be set for life."
"..."
Zoey didn't hear the women gossiping. All her attention was fixed on Charles.
...
Evening came, and Wentworth arrived again.
After Matilda finished with her last patient, she returned to the back quarters. They greeted each other with a tight embrace.
After the hug, Matilda said, "You're on duty later tonight, right? We've got time—let me make you a proper meal."
"Won't that be too much trouble?" Wentworth asked. "It's just dinner. Anything's fine, really. Don't wear yourself out."
She disagreed. "It's just cooking. How is that wearing myself out?"
Matilda was the type who didn't give her heart easily, but once she did, she threw herself completely into showing love through actions. Just throwing together a quick stir-fry or bowl of noodles felt like phoning it in—not enough to express how she felt.
Wentworth let her have her way. Watching the woman he loved pour effort into caring for him was its own kind of happiness.
"Wentworth, help me wash these vegetables."
"Wentworth, can you cut this meat for me?"
"Wentworth, show me how to use this machine."
"..."
Wentworth wanted to take back what he'd just thought. Wouldn't it be easier if he just cooked the whole meal himself?
By the time darkness fell, she'd finally finished preparing everything.
While bustling around, she chatted. "All these gadgets are from Zoey. She was worried I wouldn't eat properly, so before she left, she bought me a ton of small appliances. Now I won't go hungry."
"That girl's really good to you," Wentworth observed.
"Yeah, we clicked right away. She treats me like a big sister. Actually, scratch that—she wants to be my sister-in-law. This afternoon she was asking what Charles likes in a woman. I remember you saying your brother likes sexy women, right?"
Wentworth couldn't remember if he'd actually said that.
Just then, Matilda's phone lit up with a message. She opened it, glanced at the screen, then handed the phone to Wentworth. "It's Zoey again. She's really bummed out. Says your brother doesn't actually like sexy women after all. She dressed super sexy but he wouldn't even look at her."
Wentworth was surprised Matilda would just hand him her phone like that. He'd heard couples weren't supposed to casually look at each other's phones.
The gesture filled him with happiness. His wife really did trust and love him.
"What are you smiling about?" Matilda asked.
"Nothing." Wentworth didn't scroll through her phone, just said, "Actually, my brother does have weaknesses. If Zoey wants to get close to him, she just needs to find the right opening. When necessary, she might need to be a bit strategic about it."