Chapter 540 Two Conditions
In the restaurant, Cecilia and Gideon just sat there, staring each other down. Neither of them took the initiative to speak again. Neither wanted to be the first to speak, like it was some kind of silent showdown.
Cecilia had laid it all out.
If Gideon still wasn't on board, there wasn't much else she could do.
Time dragged on as Gideon finally sat back down, with Cecilia keeping a close eye on him.
She watched as he picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
He had this noble, elegant vibe going on.
At that moment, it was hard to tell what was running through his mind.
Maybe he was just thinking things over.
The more important someone was, the cooler they seemed to be.
Cecilia tried to stay calm.
After what felt like forever, Gideon put down his glass and finally spoke, "I have two conditions."
Cecilia's heart raced.
So, he was in.
She had figured on the way here that he had no real reason to say no.
Plus, if he wanted to turn her down, he wouldn't have given her the chance to make her case.
It seemed like the Hotchner family was just giving themselves a reason to say yes.
Cecilia even felt like they had been waiting for her to show up.
"Go ahead," Cecilia said.
"First," Gideon said, looking right at her. "In this lawsuit, I can dig deep, but I'm only going after Dominic."
Cecilia got what he meant.
The Hotchner family couldn't go after the Monroe family right now.
In other words, even if the Monroe family was involved, he wouldn't push it.
Cecilia agreed right away. "Okay."
Now wasn't the time to take on the Monroe family.
She knew she couldn't really shake them; she always felt like that was Alaric's job.
"Dominic is now the Monroe family's son-in-law. Before I go after him, you need to make sure I don't end up pissing off the Monroe family," Gideon continued.
Cecilia frowned.
Gideon didn't spell it out. "You know what I mean."
Cecilia bit her lip.
He meant that before he judged Dominic, the ties between Dominic and the Monroe family had to be cut.
That was a tough one for her.
But she wasn't in a position to negotiate with Gideon now.
"Second," Gideon went on without waiting for her response. "I'll help Alaric get out of prison safely. After he's out, Alaric has to be loyal to me. To put it bluntly, I like Alaric's skills. I'll let him go back to the State Office, but he has to join the Hotchner family, not the Monroe family."
Cecilia stared at Gideon, never having expected that he would make such a request.
"Okay," Cecilia nodded. "If you can help Alaric, it is only right to repay the favor."
Gideon's stern face showed a slight smile.
It wasn't a warm smile; just a facial expression.
The so-called repayment was really just about balancing interests.
Gideon had been watching Alaric for a while and saw his potential.
Gideon said, "Meet these two conditions, then come find me. This is my private contact number. You don't need to go through all this trouble to meet me again."
He handed her a business card.
Cecilia took it with both hands.
She looked at the number on the card, then back at Gideon.
Gideon gracefully stood up, then gave Cecilia a courteous bow before leaving.
After he left, Cassius rushed in, looking at Cecilia sitting at the dining table, and asked urgently, "How did it go? Did you succeed?"
She had succeeded, but she felt like she was now under Gideon's thumb.
"He made two conditions," she said.
Cassius frowned as Cecilia recounted her conversation with Gideon.
Cassius sneered. "Just as I expected, they're all no good!"
Cecilia said, "Let's not dwell on it now. The most important thing is to meet Gideon's two conditions. The second one is easier; when we talked to Alaric before, we told him to join the Hotchner family. I believe he won't refuse."
Cassius pursed his lips, holding back what he wanted to say.
"But the first one, how do we break the relationship between Dominic and the Monroe family? Only if they break up will Gideon deal with Dominic without hesitation, and the Monroe family will stand by and watch," Cecilia murmured.
Cassius was also frustrated. "Gideon did it on purpose, didn't he? Knowing that Dominic just married Lyra, now he wants us to destroy their marriage."
Cecilia was stunned.
Cassius noticed her reaction. "What's wrong with you?"
"What did you just say?" Cecilia was a bit excited.
Cassius pursed his lips. "What did I just say?"
Cecilia said, "Did you say we should destroy Lyra and Dominic's marriage?"
Cassius was confused. "Is there a problem?"
"No problem," Cecilia said firmly, "Then let's go ruin their marriage!"
Cecilia had been thinking about how to make the Monroe family disappointed in Dominic again, just like before when they had given up on him several times.
Cassius's words made her realize that to completely sever the relationship between Dominic and the Monroe family, she had to completely sever the relationship between Dominic and Lyra!
Cecilia smiled coldly.
She thought, 'Lyra and Dominic should have been doomed long ago!'
Cassius and Cecilia left the restaurant.
Having achieved their goal, they didn't delay and left for Serenovia City early the next morning.
After returning to Serenovia City, Cecilia suddenly became very calm. She even started going to work, as if she had put the matter with Alaric behind her.
This puzzled many people, even the employees of the Lockhart Group were surprised.
They all thought that with Alaric in trouble, Cecilia would find a way to get him out.
Even Rose was extremely surprised to see Cecilia.
She never thought that with Alaric's case still so unclear, Cecilia would sit calmly in the office, working as usual, unaffected by the case.
"Give me a copy of the company's sales report for this period," Cecilia said while drinking coffee and handling work.
"Okay," Rose replied.
"Who has been mainly responsible for the company's affairs during this period?" Cecilia asked.
"Mr. Lockhart has been handling the major issues personally. For matters that don't require his approval, most have been handled by Mr. Philips," Rose reported.
Cecilia said, "Have Pierce come over and report the work situation for this period."
"Okay." Rose turned to leave but couldn't help asking, "Ms. Lockhart, about Mr. Whitaker's matter..."
"Work hours are for work only, no other discussions," Cecilia said clearly, not wanting to elaborate further.
Rose quickly shut her mouth. She was curious, but she knew better than to pry into Cecilia's affairs.
After a while, Pierce walked into Cecilia's office with work-related documents and seriously reported the work situation.
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