Chapter 84 A Date With Christine
What Byron had not told anybody was that he had received a direct message from Christine. It came from a phone number he didn't recognize, probably so no one could trace it back to her. It said:
This was just part one of Pollock's offensive against you. Part two is coming, and sadly we might have to destroy your girlfriend's company along with yours. Of course, if you cooperate with me, part two won't be necessary... Your choice.
C
For a few days, Byron was completely and utterly furious and didn't respond. His company was on more solid ground now, and he wasn't sure whether Christine really had the power to ruin him again. But he knew he couldn't afford to take another financial beating, especially now that Emily's company was involved.
It was time to formulate a plan of his own. It was what Emily had suggested to him before, but he had always thought it was too risky.
A few days later, everything was ready. Byron arranged a meeting with Christine. It was only on the day of the meeting that he texted Emily to say he was going through with the plan. He didn't want to risk her getting involved.
Christine was more than happy to meet with him, and hearing her eager tone, he suspected she really was in love. What attracted her to him was no doubt his wealth and power. It didn’t seem like she was interested in knowing his real personality.
Just as he suspected, being picked up by limo flattered Christine immensely. Dressed in a bright red dress dotted with crystals, she got in eagerly, looking forward to dining with him at a fine restaurant.
“Where are we going?” Christine asked. “The Garden? The Pinnacle?”
“I’ll keep it a surprise for now,” Byron said, smiling mysteriously.
“But it’s definitely over between you and Emily?”
“Yeah, definitely. I grew bored of her girlish giggling. I need a real woman who can keep up with me intellectually.”
He gave her a meaningful glance, and he could tell her defenses were melting away.
“I’m so glad we’re together,” she said. “If you’re serious about me, I’ll break up with Pierre Pollock. He was just a means to an end.”
“And I’m not?” Byron asked, gazing at her shrewdly.
“Of course not,” Christine said, tracing the lines of his face with a slender finger. Maybe this plan was not ideal if it involved a lot of close contact with her. Byron had been interested in her in the past, but now he knew just how evil she could be, her touch reviled him.
“I knew you’d find your way back to me eventually,” Christine purred, “It took some tough measures to get you back, but it was for your own good. I didn’t think you would hold it against me. You know what the business world is like.”
“Oh yes,” he said.
“But let’s put that business talk aside for now...” Christine leaned towards him, going for a kiss.
“One thing...” Byron put a finger gently on her lips to stop her. “You weren’t really going to bankrupt my company, were you?”
“Of course not,” Christine said, impatient to get closer to him. “I bought a lot of the shares once Pierre started driving the prices down. I knew of his plan to destroy the credibility of your stock. I did it to save you.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Byron said. “I think you knew the prices were going down, and you wanted to drive them down even further in order to ruin me.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she cooed, “not unless you gave me a reason to. And now that we’ve come to an understanding, I will help you regain your financial empire.”
“It seems we’ve arrived,” Byron said, dodging her attempt at kissing him again.
The limo rolled to a halt. Christine looked disappointed that she didn’t get to kiss him, but he already stepped outside.
“I’d like to introduce you to my limo driver,” Byron said, beckoning for Christine to come out. She looked a little bored as if meeting a mere driver was beneath her. Her demeanor changed once she realized they had not stopped outside of a restaurant but a police station.
“My usual driver was unavailable today, so Mr. Hocking of financial fraud division was kind enough to drive us,” Byron said casually.
The man in the chauffeur’s uniform approached her with a solemn look. He showed her a police identification badge.
“What are you up to?” Christine said, backing away. “You can’t do this...”
“Ms. Tourneau, I’m going to have to ask you to come to the station with me,” said Mr. Hocking, “You have just incriminated yourself with information about insider trading.”
Christine turned to Byron, her gaze burning with indignation. “You planned this? You traitor! How could you do this to me? I loved you...”
Byron only smiled bitterly. “You loved the very worst parts of me, Christine. And I’m no longer that person, the ruthless businessman who only cares about profit.”
Perhaps it had still been a ruthless move, trapping her into incriminating herself... but such actions were no longer customary to him unless absolutely necessary. “Goodbye, Christine,” he said softly as she was led away.
When he got home and Emily rushed into his arms, Byron was really glad he ended up with a warm, caring woman very much unlike Christine, but at the same time, a woman smart enough to outwit the devious journalist.
“Your plan worked,” he said hugging her tightly.
“I’m so glad we’re safe from that witch,” Emily said.
“She really did love me,” Byron remarked. “I could hardly believe it. I feel kind of bad for using it against her.”
“You had to,” Emily said, “You were Christine’s only weakness. It was your only way to save the company.”
Later they learned that Christine got a sentence of one year in prison. This would hopefully teach her a lesson about trying to mess with his company. She didn’t hesitate to betray her former ally Pollock, and he and his cronies were also going to serve some time.
