Chapter 86: Keep As Insurance

They finished the meal in silence, with William realizing that Sarah had weaved her own plans. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He noticed how she had grown up… not only had her style changed, but the way her cheeks were thinner and she looked tired made him pause. She looked like she was doing great things in life. Things he didn’t have any idea about.

When it was time to pay, Sarah snatched the bill and asked for the card machine. William raised his brow, about to argue, but he realized she was holding a limited edition card that very few people could obtain, no matter the amount of money they possessed.

“You’re all grown up,” he said gruffly. He got the message. It didn’t matter how much money he had and could spend on her. She now had it herself. She didn’t need him in the least. Even if the Cavanaughs were not as influential as the Colton Group, they were a force to be reckoned with.

“I will take that as a compliment,” she said calmly and tucked the card into her bag. She slung it over her shoulder and stood up. “Chairman Colton, I apologize for being rude in advance—”

“Then don’t say anything,” William bit out. “I have a right not to be offended just like you have the right to speak your mind. So, don’t hurt me.”

Sarah was silent for a moment. But she spoke nonetheless. “Let’s not meet until I have decided. Don’t bulldoze into my life again.” She wouldn’t condone it this time around. “If you show me the respect I deserve, I won’t hurt you.”

This was her promise to him.

William nodded. “It’s difficult to hail a cab from here. At least, allow me to drop you at the hotel,” he insisted.

Sarah thought about it for a moment before nodding.

William fixed his suit and followed her out. A waitress with a tray full of food almost bumped into Sarah. His body worked before his mind could catch up. He grabbed Sarah and pulled her to his side, using his body to shield her.

Sarah stopped breathing and waited until William realized that the ‘danger’ had passed.

“Thank you,” she whispered, trying not to make a big deal of it. She brushed past him and then hastily walked to the car where Luca was already waiting. He was scrolling on his phone and looked up, surprised.

He looked between his boss and Sarah and sighed. He had thought the meal would ease some of the tension. And even if the two didn’t get back into a relationship immediately, the distance between them would lessen. But that was not the same.

The drive was silent and Sarah barely said goodbye when she got out of the car and inside the hotel. The first thing she did was knock on Carson’s door. The door opened immediately and he looked her over.

“You’ve come back unscathed. I thought he would kidnap you,” he joked.

“I feared the same for a couple of minutes, too,” Sarah admitted. “I just wanted to ask if the P.A found something worthwhile.”

Carson raised his brow. “Did William say something that you need confirming?”

Sarah nodded. “He said there is a will that my father left. Phillip Stone apparently left all his assets and shares in the company to my mother.”

Carson gasped. “But he didn’t know that Aunt was dead. Which means…”

“I would have inherited everything in her place because I am her direct descendant,” Sarah finished for him. “And Vera knew this. She had it hidden somewhere. If not destroyed.”

“It would be too farfetched to think she would keep it lying around, right?” Carson suggested.

“But I wouldn’t put it past Marcus Mendez.” The idea was simple. Mendez was the middleman. But he had been in the business for so long that he probably had a backup plan for every client he took. Just so that he had something on them if they stabbed him in the back.

“He would keep it as insurance,” Carson added. He picked up his phone and quickly dialed his father and the detective they had hired. Once he was done, he slumped on the sofa and stared at Sarah.

“William handed you all this information and you told him to fuck off?” he asked.

Sarah shrugged. “I told him I hadn’t decided, yet. He is thinking of his own benefits and I am not sure I want to be around him,” she admitted.

Carson kept staring at her. “Do you still think he wants to use you to forward his career? I can’t see a single thing that could come from helping you…” he said in confusion. “After his father had that massive heart attack, he took over as the Chairman and has been doing good work ever since. From what I know, continuing the cooperation with Stone and Brothers is not as profitable as he is making it out to be.”

Sarah knew this as well. “Maybe he wants to use Blue Jay and our new company, too.”

Carson scoffed. “Sarah… we might be successful, but we are not as successful as William Colton.”

Sarah hadn’t wanted to take a share of the Cavanaugh money, even though her mother’s properties were legally all hers after her death. She felt upset just thinking they were hers and her mother had struggled to bring her up. Instead, she had started her own business. Maybe it was luck… perhaps it was all the research and experience at Colton Group, but she succeeded. All the while, she also worked for Blue Jay to expand to various other countries.

Yes, she was busy. She felt the need to repay her mother’s family for their affection. One conversation overheard had left her wrecked and thinking she was only worth something if she was related by blood with someone influential… that she needed to give everything she had to deserve any attention from anyone.

The silence in the room was tense.

Until Carson broke it. “Are you scared you will fall in love with him if you spend more time with him?”