Chapter 265

Chapter 265
Jackson never expected Sophia to leave so decisively. She hadn't even gotten a definite answer from him yet, and she was willing to walk away?

At this point, he couldn't help but marvel again—Sophia now was completely different from before. Utterly unpredictable!

Of course Jackson didn't want Sophia to leave. After all, he still had so many unanswered questions!

Taking three steps in two strides, he rushed to the door and blocked Sophia's path. Jackson smiled, his brows carrying a hint of his old rakish charm. "Sophia, we just reunited after all this time. Don't rush off, okay? We've barely talked!"

Sophia shook her head helplessly. "Mr. Rivers, since I walked in here, have I pried into your private life? But you—you've asked about everything from my love life to my family. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Jackson raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and apologized. "Okay, okay, I was wrong. I sincerely apologize. I won't ask you personal questions anymore! Can we just talk a bit longer?"

Seeing that Sophia still looked unwilling to compromise, Jackson had no choice but to reveal his thoughts. "I've taken everything you said to heart. I'll consider it."

Sophia raised her eyebrows. "Consider?"

Jackson didn't know how many times he'd marveled at how formidable Sophia had become.

Clearly, unless he gave her a clear commitment, he couldn't expect to continue this conversation. And he still had so many questions for her. He was completely at her mercy.

"You're really something now. Fine, fine, I'll be honest. I'll cooperate with you! Thursday—the day after tomorrow—Amelia is holding a meeting."

To gain Sophia's trust, Jackson even gave her information that could be considered secret.

Sophia finally agreed to sit back down across from Jackson.

The meeting would be held at a villa under Amelia's name. Only a few people would attend—Victoria, Jagger, Zephyr, and his older brother Adrian.

The agenda was easy to guess. Drive out the extra party—Sophia—from the bidding, then discuss some other matters.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh, her tone somewhat sarcastic. "No wonder people say the four major families control everything in Emerald City. It's really true!"

Never mind how despicable it was to squeeze out other companies—just the fact that they were joining forces to manipulate the bidding showed they had complete disregard for the authorities!

Jackson shrugged nonchalantly. "This is Victoria's second uncle's idea."

Sophia was speechless.

What audacity!

But she didn't dwell on the topic too long. After all, some things couldn't be changed through individual effort in the short term. Right now, she only cared about the Harbor Village project.

"So Mr. Rivers, you're planning to reveal the truth at that meeting?"

Jackson asked back, "Is there a problem with that?"

He looked like he was humbly seeking advice, but Sophia knew that most men were petty creatures. If you opposed them too bluntly, they'd get emotional, and then things could go wrong.

So Sophia said tactfully, "Of course not! I really admire your decisiveness in taking action at such an occasion, Mr. Rivers! However, if I were Ms. York, with so few people present, I'd choose to play dumb."

Jackson fell silent. He didn't think Amelia could swallow this insult, but he also knew that when it came to the Howard Group's interests, she was capable of anything.

After thinking this through, Jackson gave Sophia a grateful smile. "Thank you for the advice. I'll think it over more carefully."

At this point, the meeting was basically over.

Sophia exchanged a few more pleasantries with Jackson, picked up her bag to leave, but was unexpectedly stopped by him again.

She was somewhat surprised. "Is there something else, Mr. Rivers?"

Jackson hesitated, but finally asked, "I want to ask you something."

Sophia habitually tried to guess what he wanted to ask.

From the moment they met until now, Jackson had been most curious about her two children, followed by her purpose for returning. Sophia didn't plan to tell the truth about either question, so she refused outright. "Mr. Rivers, it concerns my privacy. I won't answer."

Unexpectedly, Jackson waved his hands repeatedly. "Oh no, you've misunderstood me. I don't want to ask about your personal matters."

Meeting Sophia's puzzled gaze, he did quite a bit of mental preparation before finally asking decisively, "Where is Kenna?"

Sophia never expected to hear that name from Jackson's mouth. She didn't even react immediately to who Kenna was.

Seeing Sophia looking confused, Jackson grew anxious. "Kenna! Don't you remember? Five years ago at that dinner Zephyr organized, the girl I brought! You—weren't you two friends?"

Sophia frowned. "Why are you asking about her?"

Jackson was silent for a moment. A trace of melancholy appeared in his beautiful eyes. "We had some misunderstandings. I want to see her and clear things up."

His tone sounded very sincere right now. Sophia thought that if she didn't know the truth, she might actually believe him.

But the image of Kenna being driven into a corner appeared in Sophia's mind. Because she refused to be Jackson's mistress, he'd sabotaged several of her jobs. In the end, she couldn't even work peacefully as a waitress at a restaurant! What misunderstanding could there possibly be?

"I remember this person, but we haven't been in contact for a long time. I don't know where she is now either."

Jackson's expression dimmed.

Clearly, Sophia's answer disappointed him greatly.

"Can you tell me what kind of misunderstanding you had?" Seeing Jackson's hesitant expression, Sophia added, "Maybe I'll run into Kenna. If I don't know anything, it'll be hard to ask for her contact information on your behalf."

Only then did Jackson say quietly, "Back then, I wanted to invite her to come work for me..."

He spoke unhurriedly, occasionally showing sadness that made him look like a man who'd lost the love of his life.

Sophia heard a somewhat different version. According to Jackson, he'd only made Kenna lose her first job as a joke. Besides, that company didn't have good prospects anyway. He'd prepared another job for Kenna with better salary and benefits.

But plans couldn't keep up with changes. Robert had an accident, and Jackson had to rush to the border to find him. As for what happened after, it was all his assistant misunderstanding his intentions.

"I've already fired that person. The position I prepared for Kenna is still being held for her. I hope to make it up to her properly."

Jackson looked very sincere. At least Sophia couldn't tell he was lying.

She was silent for a moment, then asked bluntly, "Do you have feelings for Kenna?"