Chapter 200
Michael felt a bit resentful. He brought Nora here because she was timid, didn't like meeting people, but loved swimming, watching the sea, and enjoying the scenery.
He had originally planned to help Nora relax properly, but instead she started working.
"Mr. Smith, look, this venture capital firm recently acquired a project in the new energy sector. It's a small company, and Unity Realty invested a hundred million dollars in their Series A funding. They're currently in the Series B trial phase. If you step in, could you secure this project as a partnership?" Nora's eyes were bright, and she spoke without any stuttering.
Michael soaked in the pool, looking at Nora helplessly.
She looked beautiful when working seriously, but right now he just wanted to swim with her.
"Mr. Smith, can you do it or not?" Nora was getting a bit anxious.
Could he or couldn't he? Michael needed to say something.
If he couldn't, she'd figure out another way.
"Unity Realty likes to dominate their investments. They don't like sharing benefits with others, especially not with the Smith Group." Michael shook his head.
Nora deflated like a punctured balloon.
Then they could only wait for Nolan to play his tricks.
What should they do?
With Unity Realty hope gone, the only options left were choosing between the Clark family and the Fields family.
But whether it was the Clark family or the Fields family, both required sacrificing Michael's marriage.
He would have to either marry Aria, or marry the Fields family's daughter, or Tessa.
Looking at Michael with some heartache, Nora sat dejectedly by the pool edge, at a loss.
Before, she thought people like Michael were born superior, natural-born winners from the start.
Now it seemed even his marriage wasn't his own choice—he was being traded like a commodity.
Michael watched the changes in Nora's expression and couldn't help but laugh.
What was she being so sentimental about?
Pretty cute though.
"What are you thinking about?" Michael tossed the tablet from Nora's hands onto a nearby towel and pulled her into the pool.
Nora got scared and clung to Michael's neck, holding him nervously.
"If Mr. Nolan Smith uses the shares to force you to leave the Smith Group, what will you do?" Nora was worried sick.
This was all she could think of right now.
Her abilities were limited, she had no family background, she couldn't help Michael much.
That feeling of helplessness made Nora panic.
"You've already helped me enough by dealing with Gia and Kurt. Leave the rest to me." Michael placed Nora in the pool, "Trust me."
Nora's heart was racing. She believed Michael was capable, but she was also afraid Nolan would be hard to deal with.
Besides, there were wolves like Luna and James watching hungrily.
Michael always seemed to be alone, moving forward by himself in the Smith family's toxic environment.
"I want to help you." Nora lowered her head, her eyes getting a bit red.
She didn't know how much benefit she could bring Michael, but whatever she could do, she wanted to try her best.
What Michael had given her was something she could never repay.
"Then just stay by my side. I'm too tired to face this alone." Michael leaned on Nora's shoulder.
All these years, Michael had been going it alone, battling wits with Nolan and Luna. He was really tired.
Until Nora appeared, he finally understood the importance of having a partner in life's journey.
It turned out there really could be someone who appears and sweeps away all your inner exhaustion, giving you more passion and motivation to accomplish everything ahead, just so you could become stronger and protect her completely.
"Can you swim a few laps non-stop first?" Michael pointed to the far end of the pool.
Though this wasn't a standard competition pool, it was still big enough to stretch out in.
Nora hadn't swum in a long time, and her body was a bit stiff.
She stretched her arms upward and looked at Michael expectantly, "If I do it, do I get a reward?"
Michael was surprised for a moment, then pleased.
These few days together hadn't been wasted—Nora's guard against him was getting weaker and weaker. This was a good thing.
But Nora's change was a bit too drastic, making Michael inexplicably nervous.
He felt something was a bit strange about Nora, yet he was also happy about her change.
She was slowly lowering her defenses toward him, exposing her tender belly.
"What reward do you want?" Michael generously pulled Nora into his arms.
He considered himself capable of fulfilling any wish his woman had.
"Could you..." Nora bit her lip.
"Say it." Michael ruffled Nora's hair.
"Take Samuel and me to an amusement park?" Nora looked at Michael nervously.
This was Samuel's wish.
Originally, Nora had wanted to ask Michael to attend Samuel's kindergarten parent day with her on the 19th, because parent day required both mom and dad to attend together.
Samuel had never participated in parent day activities all these years because he had no father.
And his mom was in prison.
Nora owed Samuel this and wanted to make it up to him, but this wasn't Michael's fault—he shouldn't have to pay for it.
Besides, the parents at the kindergarten were all either rich or powerful. It wouldn't be appropriate for Michael to attend her and Samuel's parent day.
Michael's heart tightened. Recently his mind had been on how to make Nora fall in love with him, and he'd actually neglected Samuel, "Okay, I'll arrange it."
Nora got a bit excited and spontaneously hugged Michael, then felt it was inappropriate and wanted to pull away.
Michael held Nora in place, his voice teasing, "Don't seduce me."
Nora's face turned red. She turned and dove into the pool, swimming toward the far end.
After touching the wall, Nora turned around smoothly, just like a little mermaid.
Michael sat on the pool edge and glanced at his phone.
Nolan had called many times, but he hadn't answered any of them. He felt irritated.
"I swam over!" Nora happily emerged from the water.
Michael reached out to grab Nora, pressed her head down and kissed her.
Nora's heart was racing fast, and she wanted to hide in Michael's arms out of fear.
"Don't be afraid. The hotel isn't open to guests. There's only the butler and a few servants, and I've already told them to go elsewhere. They won't come over." Michael spoke seductively.
Nora was thin-skinned—this was too embarrassing.
But her body seemed bewitched, more honest than herself in wanting to get close to Michael.
Just as their dopamine was surging, Nora's phone rang.
"It's Jasper." Nora wanted to answer, but Michael didn't agree.
Nora had set a special ringtone for Jasper, so she knew it was him.
Hearing it was Jasper, Michael had no choice but to let Nora go for now.
Nora picked up her phone and looked, "Nori, when are you coming back?"
On the other end, Jasper sounded a bit uneasy.
"Jasper, did something happen?" Nora was a bit nervous.
"No, I didn't pick up Samuel today. Clea... my boss went. I came to the prison—Mom's been released."
Nora's heart jumped. She was out.
Actually, Nora still resented this mother somewhat, but she also knew she did it to keep her alive.
Yet she still didn't know how to face her.
"No rush, I'm just letting you know." Jasper quickly said, "If you don't want to see her, I'll just find her a place to stay."
"No." Nora shook her head, her voice hoarse.
"I picked her up. Mom said she wants to see you." Jasper sounded conflicted.
"Okay." Nora also wanted to see this so-called mother.