Chapter 164 Drawing the Line
Francis suddenly clenched the pen in his hand as his eyes turned cold. "You can try."
The pressure in his gaze was so intense that Ryan felt a bit unnerved. He had witnessed Francis' cold-blooded nature before. In this life, only his grandfather and mother had his protection, and now there was another woman. However, Ryan was not on the list of people Francis wanted to protect.
The more Ryan thought about it, the colder his heart grew. He had been outmaneuvered by Francis before and pushed abroad. Now, no matter what, he had to fight for a share of his other son.
"Francis, as long as you don't push me, we won't have to go that far."
Francis lifted his eyes as his expression went indifferent. "If you're done, get out."
"You."
Ryan was so angry he almost couldn't breathe. Remembering his purpose, he held back. "You try to be with Lily first. I'm not forcing you to marry her. If the energy project goes through, the company will benefit."
What Ryan meant was clear, to string her along. And once the cooperation was achieved. It would be acceptable to break up by citing personality differences or incompatible values.
Francis said nothing, pressed the number 1 key, and instructed, "Victor, see him out."
Victor escorted Ryan out of the office. Ryan was fuming, but when he saw Lily, he said, "Lily, Francis has a cold personality. He needs a passionate girl like you to warm him up. You are full of charm."
Lily nodded happily. "I understand."
Seeing Lily's eyes light up, Ryan was very satisfied.
"Let me tell you, I only recognize you as my daughter-in-law. Don't disappoint me, okay?"
Lily nodded, and her heart was filled with hope.
After Ryan left, she went straight to Francis' office, but Victor stopped her at the door.
He said politely, "I'm sorry, Ms. Sullivan, Mr. Getty is in a video conference."
Lily said, "Then I'll wait here for him."
Victor felt a bit awkward because Lily insisted on waiting outside the office.
The Sullivan family had recently become very popular due to the energy project so that Victor couldn't be too harsh. He let Lily wait in the office and prepared some refreshments for her.
Meanwhile, Harper had just completed a transaction with the new homeowner. After deducting the loan, she saved $100,000, but it was still not enough.
She had no choice but to borrow $300,000 from Molly, making a total of $400,000. She would rather owe Molly than Francis.
After combining the money into one card, she went to the company to find Francis to exchange it for the IOUs. She had informed Victor in advance, so she smoothly reached the CEO's office.
As she approached the door, she was still mentally preparing herself for what to say to Francis. After all, she had humiliated him harshly that day, and he might not want to see her now.
Just as she turned a corner, she saw a girl standing by the blinds and staring unblinkingly into the office. Harper immediately recognized her as the girl who had been with Francis at the café that day.
She hesitated and recalled she was probably Francis's date. As she was unsure whether to approach her, she heard Victor call her.
"Mrs. Sackler, you're here."
Lily also heard the voice and turned to see Harper standing there and was stunned momentarily.
The next second, she remembered seeing Harper at the café that day. Immediately, Lily walked up to Harper and questioned her, "Who are you? Why are you here to see Francis?"
The atmosphere became tense in an instant.
It wasn't surprising that Lily was wary. Harper's striking appearance made her jealous.
Sensing trouble, Victor quickly intervened, "Ms. Sullivan, would you like some juice? "
"Okay." Lily was indeed a bit thirsty.
"But why are you here?" she asked Harper again.
Victor was speechless. He hadn't expected Lily to persist, but before he could speak, Harper said, "I'm here to see Mr. Whitney."
"Really?" Lily was skeptical.
Harper nodded, handed the card to Victor, and asked, "Do you have the IOUs?"
Victor nodded.
Harper said, "Here is $400,000. Verify it, and then give me the IOUs."
Victor hesitated, "How about we wait for..."
"There's no need, Mr. Whitney. Please give me now," Harper interrupted, for she didn’t want to be misunderstood by Francis's new girlfriend.
With Lily still watching them, Victor didn't want to cause any trouble, so he took Harper to handle the IOUs.
After dealing with the IOUs, Harper went home. Francis remained busy in his office until dusk.
When he finally emerged, he found Lily asleep on the sofa.
Frowning, he asked, "Why is she still here?"
Victor replied helplessly, "Ms. Sullivan refused to leave."
Francis frowned, but he couldn't fault Victor's handling of the situation. The Sullivan family was currently in the spotlight, and if Lily were thrown out, people might think the Getty family was at odds with the Sullivan family, which could affect the stock market.
Victor then asked, "Shall I wake Ms. Sullivan?"
"No, just leave someone to open the door for her," Francis said, preparing to leave.
"Mr. Getty," Victor called out. He then explained that Harper had come by to repay the debt earlier that afternoon. He handed the card to Francis and said, "What should we do with this card?"
In fact, Francis had originally said that Harper could take the IOUs without repaying the money. He had explained this to Harper, but she had insisted on giving him the card.
Now, with Francis glaring at him, Victor felt the card burning in his hand.
Francis stared at the green card for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "Throw it away."
With that, he walked away.
Francis, filled with anger, got into his car, his stomach churning with rage. He picked up another phone and dialed a familiar number.
When the call connected, Harper's gentle voice came through, "Who is this?"
It was a simple greeting, but it dissipated much of Francis' anger.
He deliberately softened his tone and said calmly, "It's me."
Harper paused and then said, "Sorry, you have the wrong number."
The call was immediately disconnected. When Francis called again, he was met with a busy signal.
Francis knew he was blocked.
Instantly, his anger flared up again, and he slammed his fist on the steering wheel.
So, she had a boyfriend and wanted to draw a clear line with him. That money must have come from another man.
“Fine!” muttered Francis in anger.
On her way home, Harper's stomach felt funny. She had a feeling her period was coming. She had always suffered from menstrual cramps, and this time, perhaps due to the miscarriage, the pain was even worse.
Lying on her bed for a while, she received a call from an unknown number. Hearing it was Francis, she knew he wouldn't have anything good to say. Her stomach hurt too much to deal with him, so she hung up and blocked the number.
The doorbell rang.
Harper thought it must be the painkillers she had ordered, so she got up to answer the door.
When she opened the door and saw Francis' chiseled face, she almost thought the pain had made her hallucinate.
How could it be Francis?
She froze for a few seconds and then quickly tried to close the door.
But before she could, his long leg stepped in, and his eyes, cold as ice, stared at her.
"Francis, what do you want?" Harper asked, feeling uneasy under his gaze.
"This is trespassing. I can—"
Before she could finish, Francis stepped forward, cupped her face, and kissed her.
His kiss was fierce, and when Harper didn't cooperate, he bit her tongue.
Harper winced in pain, her brows furrowing tightly, and let out a soft whimper.
Francis seemed oblivious and continued to hold her head firmly as his lips were pressing and sucking on her delicate ones.
It was only when Harper felt she couldn't breathe that he finally let her go.
"Francis, are you crazy?" Harper's chest heaved with anger. "It is harassment, you know that?"
Francis began unbuttoning his shirt, and a cold smile showed on his face. "Fine, educate me on the law after I'm done."
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