Chapter 396 Answer the Phone First
"Ms. Smith, you won't even give me a chance to choose?"
Thalia almost laughed out loud when she heard that.
"Did you give me a choice? When you had Eileen drag me into this mess, you didn't ask me first."
Michael got the gist of what Thalia was saying.
Thalia made it clear she always gets even. Michael dragged her into this, so she'd strike back one way or another - it was just a matter of time.
What Michael didn't expect was that she could actually get William to do her dirty work.
"So, is it true what everyone's saying?" Michael asked.
"There are so many rumors - which one are you talking about?" Thalia asked.
"Avoiding the question is as good as answering it, wouldn't you say?"
"Think whatever you want. After all, it's your choice," Thalia said. Just then, the waiter came to serve coffee. The two sat in the cabin, with the window overlooking the nighttime river view of the entire Emerald City.
Ferries occasionally crossed the river, their whistles echoing across the water before fading away.
Michael watched the waiter set up the tools and prepare to pour their coffee, then reached out to stop him. "I'll do it."
Thalia leaned back in her chair, watching Michael stand up. She couldn't help comparing him to William in her mind. In terms of looks, both being Jimenez family blood, William had the edge.
In terms of temperament, Michael and William both had those phoenix eyes - William's were deep and reserved, Michael's were sinister.
She suddenly felt lucky for William, glad that he hadn't been raised by the Jimenez family back then. Otherwise, who knows how messed up William's values would be now.
Michael stood up, sat back down, and just as he looked up, his eyes caught a hint of sympathy and relief in Thalia's gaze.
Sympathy?
Something flashed through Michael's mind.
"It's good coffee." The man's sudden voice interrupted Thalia's thoughts.
She looked up at him but didn't respond.
"Ms. Smith, how about we make a deal?"
"What deal?"
"Let me off the hook with my grandmother, and I'll owe you three favors. Whatever you need in the future, just ask."
"Letting you off the hook has nothing to do with me. I think you've got the wrong person."
Michael knew Thalia was playing dumb. "With Mr. Brown, I'll need you to put in a good word for me."
"If I had any say with Mr. Brown, people in Emerald City would be calling me Mrs. Brown by now and not Ms. Smith."
Michael's request was deflected by Thalia's casual remark. In his twenty-plus years with the Jimenez family, he'd always been the overlooked one. The Jimenez family's treatment of his older brother versus him was like night and day. To maintain his image as a useless person, Michael hid all his talents and played the fool in the Jimenez family. At first, things went smoothly enough, but over time, he realized that when you're useless, you get forced to do things you don't want to do. So he changed tactics. The useless person developed ambition. After that, the Jimenezes both suppressed and guarded against him. Then in high school, the Jimenezes threw him abroad, and he finally broke free from the Jimenez family's control, breathing fresh air for the first time.
Only then could he hide his abilities, calm down, and plan his own future.
Originally, if he maintained this image until the end, he could get everything he wanted. But out of nowhere, Thalia showed up, dragged him into the game, and forced him to get involved with Eileen. Going forward like this, there were only two paths.
One: He'd have to wrap things up early.
Two: After this whole thing ended, Eileen would toss him aside.
Either outcome was something he didn't want to see.
When the time came, the beneficiaries would benefit, while he, who should have been the ultimate victor, would become the victim.
"Ms. Smith, you have a way." He added.
Thalia twirled the coffee in her hand, eyes downcast, seemingly lost in thought. "Just because I have a way doesn't mean I have to help you, does it?"
"Name your conditions."
"Sorry, I don't have any requests that need you to fulfill them."
"Ms. Smith, aren't you afraid I'll drag you into this?"
Thalia stared at him. Michael continued, "In the Jimenez family, except for my grandmother, everyone hopes I don't amount to much. You drag me into this, make me get involved in these core Jimenez family matters - in a couple of days, Sean Jimenez will come after me. When I have nowhere to hide and no way to escape, I'll definitely use you as a shield."
"What makes you think Sean won't assume we're working together?"
"What makes you think people would believe I'd be interested in a useless person like you? You're a bit too confident."
Thalia didn't want to waste more time with him. She stood up and looked at him. "Whatever's between you, the Jimenez family, and William - that's your business. Don't drag me into it."
"Unless you don't mind making another enemy, then pretend I didn't say anything."
Not long after Thalia left the cabin, the café staff came to clear the place. After all, this kind of private, year-round rental café's main selling point was privacy. If someone stayed inside alone and did something shady, it would be their loss.
...........
"You said William wants to meet with which Jimenez?"
"Michael."
In a penthouse apartment in Regal City, a man in a black suit stood facing the window, his secretary behind him.
Hearing Michael's name, he chuckled. "He sure knows how to play."
The secretary, hearing this, stayed quiet, waiting for the man's next words. "If the person's alive, he can meet him. But what if he's dead?"
The secretary froze for three to five seconds, then nodded. "Understood."
This meant taking action.
"No true feelings among the wealthy." That saying applied to any relationship.
As he turned, he saw a corner of clothing disappear around the corner of the apartment.
.......
"Done talking?"
"Yeah."
"What did you talk about? That was quick." Evelyn hadn't even finished one game when Thalia came down. A few minutes later, just as she finished her game, Michael came out of the café too.
Evelyn was about to say something when she saw several motorcycles roaring past from the other end of the street.
Wearing helmets, license plates covered, heading straight for Michael.
"Holy shit!"
"Hold on tight." Thalia sensed trouble. Seeing one of them pull a knife from their pocket, she gunned the engine and headed toward Michael.
"Looks like our Emerald City scene is more civilized after all."
The sharp screech of brakes rang out on the asphalt. Thalia was about to rush forward.
The phone rang.
"William, William, answer the phone first..." Evelyn was so scared her tongue wouldn't work straight.