Chapter 239: Not Knowing I Have So Many Suitors

George got more and more worked up the longer he thought about it.

Charlotte looked up from behind her desk and glanced at him.

"Alright, they're all gone. Stop staring."

"Tell me why you're really here."

George looked away from the door and turned to Charlotte.

He pressed his lips together and shifted his gaze, clearly uncomfortable.

"It's... it's nothing."

"Just came to see you."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. She wasn't buying it.

"See me?"

"Really? You're not here about the project?"

"You finished the proposal that fast?"

George felt a little guilty.

He rubbed his nose and kept looking away, avoiding Charlotte's eyes.

"Not yet."

Charlotte just watched him without saying a word.

Like she could see right through him.

The longer she stared, the more uncomfortable George got.

He sighed to himself.

Fine.

He'd have to say it sooner or later anyway.

George took a deep breath and looked up at Charlotte.

"Okay, I'll talk."

"I came today to tell you about your admirers."

Charlotte blinked. "Admirers? What admirers?"

George pressed his lips together. "The guys who are trying to pursue you."

"I looked into it. There are quite a few."

Charlotte stared at him, completely at a loss.

"George, how old are you?"

"Why would you even look into that?"

George said without missing a beat, "Of course I had to."

"You're amazing. You're beautiful. You're talented."

"There are so many people around you. I can't just not worry."

"What if someone tries to move in while I'm not looking?"

Charlotte pressed her fingers to her forehead, already getting a headache.

"How did you even find out about this?"

"I didn't even know I had that many people interested in me."

"David dug it all up," George said. "He was really thorough. He got info on every single one of them."

"I'm telling you, a lot of these guys are up to no good. Don't let any of them fool you."

George went on and on, listing out each person's flaws one by one.

He had it all laid out.

Charlotte listened, and the more she heard, the worse her headache got.

She rubbed her temple and said, "George, can you stop acting like everything's a threat?"

"It's not as serious as you're making it sound."

"Most of these people are just regular friends."

"Regular friends?" George frowned. "Regular friends send you flowers every day?"

"Regular friends ask you to dinner every day?"

"Regular friends look at you like you hung the moon?"

Charlotte went quiet.

She took a deep breath. "Okay, stop."

"Let me see the list."

"I want to see who's actually on it."

George blinked. "You want to see it?"

"Yes." Charlotte nodded. "Hand it over."

George hesitated, then pulled a USB drive out of his bag and handed it to her.

"It's all in here."

"Sorted by threat level. The most dangerous ones are at the top."

Charlotte took the drive, plugged it into her computer, and opened the folder.

There were dozens of files inside.

Each one named after a person.

Charlotte clicked through a few at random.

The more she read, the more exasperated she looked.

She'd finish one, close it, open the next.

By the time she was done, she was completely speechless.

Charlotte looked up at George with a tired expression.

"George, what is all this?"

"A lot of these people aren't interested in me like that."

"We just work together and happen to be in contact a lot."

"Why did you throw everyone in here?"

George crossed his arms. "How are they not interested? I can tell they're all up to something."

"You're just too trusting. You can't see it."

Charlotte had no words.

She pointed to a name on the screen. "This one is a designer I met in Starlight City. We're just work contacts."

"And this one is a brand manager. We've only met twice."

She went through them one by one.

George stood there listening, his expression getting darker by the second.

He wasn't convinced.

These guys all had ulterior motives. He could tell.

Charlotte was just too kind. That's why she couldn't see it.

When Charlotte finished explaining, George pressed his lips together and said, "Even if those are all misunderstandings."

"What about Jerald? That's not a misunderstanding, is it?"

He pointed to Jerald's name on the screen, his voice certain.

"He wants to pursue you."

Charlotte sighed.

She couldn't honestly say he was wrong.

Since she'd come back, Jerald had made it pretty clear more than once that he was interested.

"He already got scared off, didn't he?"

"Why are you still hung up on this?"

George heard that and walked over to her.

He crouched down and looked up at her.

His eyes met hers directly.

"But I wasn't the one who scared him off."

"It was Alaric."

His voice carried a trace of something — a quiet, almost hidden hurt.

And a hint of jealousy.

Charlotte looked down and met his deep, steady gaze.

George was still looking up at her, his eyes carrying a mix of hurt, reluctance, and something careful and tentative.

Like a big dog that felt ignored by its owner.

Charlotte's heart softened, just a little, without quite knowing why.

She turned her face away, breaking eye contact.

"Doesn't matter who scared him off."

"He's gone either way."

George pressed his lips together and said quietly, "It does matter."

"If I had scared him off, it would mean he saw us as a couple."

"But it was Alaric who did it."

His voice got smaller as he spoke, full of disappointment.

Charlotte said nothing.

She turned back and looked at him, half amused, half exasperated.

"George, seriously, how old are you?"

"What does it matter who did it?"

George looked up at her, completely serious. "It matters a lot."

"It means in other people's eyes, Alaric looks more like the person who belongs by your side."

"Otherwise why did Jerald leave the moment he saw Alaric?"

"He must have thought Alaric was your boyfriend."

George got more irritated the more he thought about it.

That made no sense.

He was Charlotte's actual husband. Legally.

And somehow Alaric was the one who looked the part to everyone else.

Charlotte shook her head at him, helpless.

"You're overthinking it."

"Jerald left because it was awkward. That's all."

"It had nothing to do with who was there."

George didn't believe that for a second.

He pressed his lips into a pout, looking thoroughly put out.

Charlotte looked at him and felt equal parts annoyed and amused.

She sighed. "Alright, stop sulking."

"He's gone. What more do you want?"

George looked up at her, eyes bright. "Then can you stay away from Alaric from now on?"