Chapter 517 Johnny, You'd Better not Push Me!
Johnny and Lola stared each other down under the dim light, neither willing to back off.
Lola's eyes started to ache, and she finally broke the silence with a raspy voice. "This is pointless! Johnny, we've both moved on. It's been eight years. Do you really think we know each other well? We just hooked up twice out of pure passion. What else is there? If you call it love, that was ages ago."
Lola waved her hand dismissively. "Go home! I've been swamped with a case and I'm exhausted. I need to stay sharp for Gavin too! I don't have the energy for this love drama."
Johnny didn't budge. His eyes were deep and unreadable, like a thick fog.
Lola looked down and gave a bitter smile. "You have no idea what it's like to wait for someone. Johnny, the higher the hope, the deeper the disappointment. I never want to feel that again."
Johnny's heart ached. He felt like he was being slowly eaten away, fully aware of the sharp pain. His defeat was clear: Lola wouldn't accept him, and he couldn't make her happy anymore. In Lola's world, Johnny had vanished. His body was there, but their past was long buried.
After speaking, Lola walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. She said firmly, "Don't bother me anymore, or I can't promise what I'll do. Don't push me!"
"I still affect you, don't I?" His voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.
Lola just stood straight, staring at the night view outside. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye where Johnny couldn't see.
Johnny left, the door opening and closing softly behind him.
The room was quiet, leaving only Lola. She stood there, savoring her solitude.
The night was deep.
She realized she could still find it in her heart to accept him. When she held him, she still felt something. But because she had loved him so much before, she had given all the purest parts of her life to Johnny, and he had turned away without a second thought. If she accepted him, she would feel like she was betraying herself.
Lola slightly raised her head, her slender neck stretched straight.
A week later, Lola was sitting in her office at the firm, talking on the phone with Gavin.
The Devereux Family and the Hughes Family were in a fierce battle. Andrew's stance was that he wouldn't intervene nor let Frederick take action, leaving Gavin to face the entire Hughes Family alone.
Whether he nailed it or not, it was a big test for Gavin!
Lola knew Andrew seemed indifferent about his son's fate, but really, he was sending a message to everyone in Copenhagen. The Devereux Group's stock was all over the place, but Andrew wasn't sweating it. Even if he went broke, he had Chloe to back him up. Andrew wasn't about to meddle in the younger generation's business.
Lola and Gavin had the tightest bond. They might not be the closest by blood, but they looked the most alike. So, even though Gavin was a powerhouse out there, he always listened to Lola!
They talked for a long time. After hanging up, Lola called in the firm's CFO, who also doubled as her personal financial advisor.
When he showed up, Lola leaned back in her chair, gently rocking. "How much liquid cash do we have? And what about my personal account?"
The CFO checked. "Ms. Hawkins, you've got about $30 billion in your personal account. As for the firm, since it needs to run, there's much less, only about $1 billion, with the rest tied up in various investments."
"That's it?" Lola tapped the table with her pen. "Alright, transfer all the accessible funds from my personal account to Gavin. Also, check my deposits at Vienner Bank. I want to activate some funds soon."
The CFO hesitated. "Do you want to keep a little?"
Lola smiled. "The Hughes Family has been entrenched in Seattle for decades. Gavin may seem like a business elite, but his foundation is far weaker in comparison. Am I supposed to watch him lose? If he loses, Gavin will be embarrassed in front of Molly!"
The financial advisor chuckled. "You really care about Gavin!"
Lola laughed and sighed lightly. "I've always wanted to buy him a cup of milk tea!"
She remembered, back when she and the driver went to find her mom, they ran into Chloe and Gavin.
That was the first time she saw Gavin.
He looked a lot like Lola, and she almost immediately knew this was her brother.
But Gavin lived in such a small house.
He and Chloe were standing in line under the sun to buy milk tea, and once they got it, they were reluctant to drink it.
Even though Gavin was now the future heir of the Devereux Family, to Lola, he was just a poor kid!
The financial advisor quickly went to handle it.
In the afternoon, Lola got a message from Gavin on Facebook: [Lola, thanks!]
Lola looked at it and just smiled.
At that moment, her assistant softly said at the door, "Mr. Flores is here to discuss the legal team with you."
"Johnny?" Lola didn't expect him to show up again. Was he really clinging to her?
Lola looked up and saw him standing there.
The assistant, sensing the tension, quickly found an excuse to leave.
Lola gestured for Johnny to close the door. She personally got him a glass of water and said seriously, "You know, you could've sent someone else for this."
"I wanted to see you," Johnny said bluntly, having been abroad for a long time.
Lola, with her thick skin, smiled nonchalantly. "Too bad I don't really want to see you! Alright, let's get down to business."
The sooner they wrapped things up, the less reason he would have to come find her.
When they talked business, the banter faded. They were both pros, each trying to push the terms in their favor. In the end, it was Lola who made a concession.
Johnny signed the documents and then looked at her, asking softly, "Are you short on money?"
He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't have made the final concession if she didn't need the funds.
Lola tidied up the desk and snorted lightly. "That's none of your business!"
Johnny didn't get angry. He took out a white cigarette but didn't light it.
He rarely smoked in front of Lola. Even though she sometimes lit one up, he subconsciously didn't want her to inhale secondhand smoke. In his mind, Lola was still that pretty little girl in a puffy dress. Now, she was quite hateful!
He asked, "Is it for Gavin? I can help you!"
Lola laughed. "Weren't you and Gavin close back then? Didn't you study abroad together? Why do you need to negotiate with me to help him now? Johnny, no matter how bad he is, he would never sell me out for wealth! Give it up!"
Johnny stared at her. "Lola, you really know me well."
He didn't tell her. Back then, he had sent her a letter. They had broken up, and later he got a girlfriend. Gavin had a fierce fight with him.
After that, they didn't interact much. Among the younger generation, Gavin actually hated him the most. Yet Gavin didn't show it, still being polite on the surface. Since Lola cared for Gavin, Johnny naturally avoided mentioning it.
Lola had no interest in chatting with him. She stood up. "We've finished our business, you can leave now."
Johnny's gaze deepened. He whispered, "Can I take you to dinner? It's almost time to get off work, and you have to eat, right?"
Lola refused. "Sorry, I have plans!"
Johnny didn't insist.
Lola called her assistant to see him out. After he left, Lola picked up the check and called in the financial advisor to deposit it, then sent it to Gavin.
She wasn't just doing it for Gavin, but also for Chloe. Chloe had gone through so much back then, not just because of Andrew's identity, but also due to some messy in-law relationships.
Lola liked Chloe.
After finishing her tasks, she felt exhausted.
Probably from running around too much lately, she decided to go have a drink alone that night.
At the bar, despite wearing professional attire, Lola's striking appearance and demeanor ensured she wouldn't lack people trying to hit on her.
But she didn't pay much attention to them; she just sat there quietly, savoring her drink.
Johnny, a few feet away, silently watched her. She would rather come out to drink than have a meal with him.
Lola saw him too. They locked eyes but didn't speak.
At that moment, a well-dressed man walked over and invited Lola for a drink.
Lola was a bit distracted; she hadn't noticed when the man boldly wrapped his arm around her slender waist and whispered something in her ear.
Just as she frowned and was about to refuse, Johnny stepped forward and grabbed the man's collar. He punched him hard. "Don't touch her!"
Screams erupted in the bar as the man was thrown backward, knocking over a table and shattering glass. Johnny, still not satisfied, stepped forward, grabbed the man, and punched him again, beating him badly.
Johnny gave the man a thorough beating, kicking him a few times until he lay on the ground groaning. Johnny then wrote a check for $14,000, threw it on him, and pulled Lola away.
All along, Lola had been very calm.
Now, a man fighting for her didn't stir any emotion in her, especially considering Johnny's motives. Others might not know, but Lola was very clear. Johnny couldn't stand losing or the fact that they had been apart for 8 years because of him. He exploded!
Outside, Lola said coldly, "Are you sober now? If you are, I'll take you to the hospital!"
Johnny's hand was injured. But he didn't care. He squinted at her, and the next second, she was pressed against the sports car.
Johnny at night was different from during the day, no longer exuding that elite aura! His face buried in Lola's neck, his voice hoarse and pained. "Lola, tell me what to do? How can we go back to the past?"
Lola smiled faintly. "The past is like age, it can't go back!"
Maybe he was too fragile, so she was a bit kinder to him. "I'll take you to the hospital!"
He refused and said softly, "The hospital has Darren, aren't you afraid he'll get angry if he sees us?"
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