Chapter 78: Already Found Her

It was another day of work and another day of absence for Wendy. Sarah had almost forgotten that she worked there.

“I know that she is rich, but she should at least let someone know that she is not going to come back, right?” Carson mumbled.

Sarah looked at him and with a small smile, she spoke, “It wasn’t like she actually worked. She contributes much more by not coming.”

The lack of emotion in her words made Carson laugh. “Wendy Stone tried to take your man from you but you treat her like she is nothing. How do you do it? Be so cool?” he questioned, his eyes sparkling with delight.

“Maybe I was born this way, or I don’t believe nonsense until I have proof of it on my hands,” she said coolly.

“You sound like my aunt, that is for sure,” Carson commented with a raised brow.

Sarah stopped what she was doing and looked at him intently, wondering if he was baiting her to say something. “I see,” she said after a beat before forcing herself to work. Their conversation ended and they remained silently working for the rest of the morning. That was, until, lunch breath when both of them stepped out to grab some coffee.

Sarah rubbed her neck as she waited for her coffee to arrive. Carson, on the other hand, was tapping on his cup of steaming coffee, as if trying to get the courage to talk to her.

“Out with it,” Sarah said, finally unable to take the intensity of his gaze.

Carson didn’t dawdle and went straight to the topic. “Do you want to grab lunch sometime next week?” he asked.

Sarah arched a brow. “The two of us? Why?”

Carson shook his head. “My family is visiting next week and they wanted to meet my friends and colleagues in this city. Apart from you, I don’t know anyone here. And I don’t want to look pathetic in front of them,” he admitted.

This was a problem Sarah never had. Moreover, she didn’t want to meet her mother’s family. Not after years of thinking she was all alone in the world. If she entertained them, people would point fingers at her. Would she have searched for them if she knew they were rich? Or would she do the same for her poor family who needed her support? If she didn’t meet them in the first part of her life, she didn’t feel the need to get to know them and get involved in their complicated family dynamic.

Would they recognize her from one errant meal? Probably not. But she couldn’t risk it.

“You should find someone else. I should be busy that day,” she responded firmly without paying attention to his reason.

“I never told you which date,” Carson retorted promptly.

Sarah didn’t turn to him. Instead, she smiled at the cafe employee and thanked them before taking her cup.

“There must be a reason I denied, then. Did you think about that?” Sarah questioned directly. She slowly walked out of the cafe, not waiting for Carson.

He sprinted behind the after he regained his composure. “I really thought we were becoming friends. But then you pulled away and keep treating me like a stranger. Did I do something wrong?” he questioned.

“We could have become friends if you didn’t suddenly ask me to join you for lunch,” Sarah said promptly. “That is an unnecessary demand to make from an acquaintance, don’t you think?” she questioned.

“Why are you so honest? I had no one else to ask and I thought you would genuinely like having lunch with a family rather than alone or your boyfriend.”

Sarah stiffened and swiveled around to face him. “Are you being sarcastic because I don’t have a family? Don’t worry… it doesn’t bother me as much as you think,” she said slowly.

Her phone pinged in her pocket and she pulled it out to see that William had texted her.

[Lunch was a success. The group of politicians is ready to support our project. We are celebrating tonight.]

Sarah sighed in relief. She had been a little on edge because it was a monumental day. And a part of that had been unloaded on Carson. She pushed her phone back into her pocket before pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I am sorry. I am a little sensitive because of all the work.” Her hands fell to her sides and she gave him a half-hearted smile. “I’m not as cool as you made me out to be.”

Still, she didn’t say she would attend the lunch with his family. The message was clear.

- - - - -

George was exchanging pleasantries with the guests when he noticed William from the corner of his eye. His son was busy texting.

Seeing that he wasn’t calling to ask someone to do something, it should be a matter that couldn’t be said aloud. Moreover, the unmistakable adoration in his eyes made it clear that he was talking to his secret girlfriend.

He returned to his son’s side and sighed. “You did well on the project. Thank your girlfriend for her contribution as well,” George said calmly.

Despite his capacity to take shock, William jumped. “Why should I tell her?”

“Miss Mitch should be worried sick at the office, wondering how the meeting went,” George scoffed. Seeing William aghast, he rolled his eyes. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you were head over heels for her? Or did you think I wouldn’t find out that she was the brains behind all the problems arising on Barn’s side?”

“When did you find out?” William whispered.

“Very recently. But you hid it pretty well before that. One of your old clubbing friends slipped up and told his parents. I found out through that route.” He shrugged. “Then, everything else made sense. You took her side multiple times and got jealous easily. I was too busy to notice that my son had been captured.”

“I wasn’t captured—”

“You’ve been bewitched by her. It is true. I was wondering what backing she had to act out in the interview. It turned out… she got that audacity from my own son!” He wanted to laugh in anger but couldn’t.

“She doesn’t appreciate the rich and influential. And she is competent. Haven’t you admitted that yourself?” William asked.

“Which is why I haven’t asked you to break up with her. But I also asked you to focus on finding Phillip’s daughter.” George gave William a pointed look. “I know you called off the search for her.”

William raised his brow. “Father, you have your sources, but they failed to tell you that I already found her.”