Chapter 262: Finding a New Husband
Emily's face turned crimson. She had indeed been spending time with Charles these past few days, so the employees weren't wrong—but having to acknowledge it publicly still made her incredibly embarrassed.
"Alright, alright, everyone back to work. Thank you all for your hard work during this time. I'm giving everyone a bonus this month."
"Yay! Thank you, Ms. Johnson!"
The employees cheered and dispersed. Emily breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Charles, finding him watching her with amusement.
"What are you smiling at?" she asked quietly.
Charles leaned closer, whispering in her ear, "I'm smiling at how cute you look when you're shy."
Emily's face grew even redder. "Stop it, we're at the office."
"Fine, let's go inside." Charles straightened up, but the smile didn't leave his eyes.
As they were about to head to Emily's office, the elevator doors suddenly opened. A woman in a business suit stepped out—it was Kismet.
Kismet hurried over. "Mr. Windsor, the meeting has been moved up. It needs to start now. It's a video conference with international investors—very important."
Her gaze swept over Emily, a flash of barely perceptible jealousy crossing her eyes before she quickly masked it.
Charles had actually accompanied her to work!
How dare he!
"Ms. Johnson, long time no see." Kismet greeted politely.
"Ms. Vaughn." Emily nodded calmly in return.
Charles frowned. "Wasn't the meeting supposed to start at ten?"
"The investors' side had a last-minute schedule change."
Charles glanced at Emily, his eyes full of reluctance.
Emily said softly, "Go ahead. Work is important."
Charles nodded and said to Kismet, "Go ahead, I'll be right there."
Kismet looked at Emily, a flash of unwillingness in her eyes, but still nodded. "Yes, Mr. Windsor."
She turned and left, her high heels clicking crisply on the floor.
Charles took Emily's hand. "Emily, I'll come find you as soon as the meeting's over."
"Don't rush. Handle your work first—I have plenty to catch up on too."
"Lunch together then?" Charles asked.
"Sounds good." Emily smiled and nodded.
Only then did Charles feel at ease. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Wait for me."
With that, he turned and left.
Emily watched his retreating figure, a complex emotion welling up inside her. Kismet had indeed appeared by Charles's side.
But she trusted Charles. She trusted their relationship.
If one day Charles really couldn't resist the Windsor family pressure, or couldn't withstand Kismet's temptation, then she'd just find herself a new husband.
After all, there were 3.5 billion men in the world.
Emily took a deep breath and headed toward her office. Just as she reached the door, her phone buzzed.
It was a message from Elodie: "Emily, help! The chief is really mad! Says I'm losing my bonus this month!"
Emily couldn't help but laugh, replying: "You shouldn't have drunk so much yesterday. But don't worry, I'll give you a bonus from here."
Elodie quickly responded: "Really? I love you! But... I think I did something stupid last night."
"What stupid thing?"
"I... I think I confessed to Nathan."
Emily was stunned.
"What?"
"Then he said I was drunk and rejected me." Elodie sent a crying face emoji. "So embarrassing. How am I supposed to face him now?"
Emily thought for a moment and replied: "It's fine. Nathan's a good guy—he won't make a big deal of it. And maybe he really did think you were just drunk."
"Really?"
"Really. Don't overthink it, just focus on work."
"Okay. By the way, are you at the office today?"
"Yeah, just got here."
"I won't keep you then, get to work. Oh, are you coming to tonight's cocktail party?"
"Not sure yet."
"Alright. I'm going to work now, bye."
Emily put away her phone and pushed open her office door. Everything inside was as she'd left it—clean and tidy, clearly maintained daily by someone.
She walked to her desk and sat down, opened her computer, and began tackling the work that had accumulated during her absence.
Work helped her temporarily forget her troubles—forget the feud between the Campbell and Windsor families, forget Kismet's appearance.
She just wanted to run her business well and love her family well.
Meanwhile, at Windsor Group, Charles was in the conference room. Kismet sat beside him, occasionally passing him documents or whispering reminders about details.
Her movements were professional, but her gaze kept drifting to Charles with undisguised adoration.
Charles felt her stare and was filled with disgust. But he couldn't show it—he could only pretend not to notice and focus on the meeting.
The meeting went smoothly. The investors were very interested in Windsor Group's projects and indicated they would consider investing.
After the meeting ended, Charles stood up, preparing to leave.
Kismet called after him. "Mr. Windsor, there's a business cocktail party tonight that you need to attend. I've already prepared your formal wear."
Charles frowned. "Cancel it."
Kismet hesitated. "But... this was arranged by your great-uncle. He said it's very important."
Charles's frown deepened. If his great-uncle had arranged it, he probably couldn't get out of it.
"What time?" he asked.
"Seven PM, at the Imperial Hotel. Do you need me to accompany you?"
"No. I'll go myself."
With that, he turned and left the conference room.
Kismet watched his retreating figure, a flash of disappointment in her eyes, but it quickly transformed into determination.
It didn't matter. Just because Charles didn't accept her now didn't mean he never would. As long as she stayed by his side, there would always be opportunities.
She believed that someday, Charles would see her worth and fall in love with her.
At seven PM, the ballroom of the Imperial Hotel was brilliantly lit.
Kismet wore a champagne-colored off-shoulder gown, meticulously styled to look radiant. She arrived half an hour before Charles, immediately drawing everyone's attention as she entered.
A middle-aged man approached with a wine glass. "Ms. Vaughn, you look stunning tonight! Is Mr. Windsor not here yet?"
Kismet smiled graciously. "Charles is still on his way—he asked me to come ahead. You know how it is with his busy work schedule."
The man chuckled. "Of course, of course. Mr. Windsor has so many responsibilities. But having such an excellent assistant like Ms. Vaughn by his side, Mr. Windsor is truly fortunate."
Kismet displayed just the right amount of bashfulness. "Mr. Murphy, you flatter me. I'm just Charles's assistant."
Though she said this, her every gesture exuded the bearing of a hostess. She expertly mingled with various business moguls, chatting and laughing, frequently dropping phrases like "Charles says..." and "Charles likes...", as if she and Charles shared a special relationship.