Chapter 46
James shivered and hung up. He grabbed his backpack, threw it over his shoulder, and bolted for the door without Rachel needing to say a word.
Just as he was about to leave, James turned back and warned Rachel, "You took my gift, so you better show up at school on Saturday to help me! And if you tell my brother, I'll spill the beans about you hooking up with a gigolo right after your divorce!"
Rachel went silent.
James sprinted as fast as he could and made it to the south gate in just two minutes.
When he got to the roadside, he spotted Michael's fancy car. Michael was chilling in the driver's seat, smoking, with smoke swirling around his fingers.
James hopped into the passenger seat, buckled up, and started panting heavily.
Michael glanced at him with a stern look, making James lower his head, too scared to say anything.
Once they were on the road and driving smoothly, Michael finally spoke up, "Didn't I tell you to stay away from her place? Can't you get that through your head?"
James mumbled, "I didn't have any cash on me."
Michael snapped back, annoyed, "Our family owns a bunch of hotels. Everyone knows you're a Smith."
"My stomach's been acting up lately, so I went to her place for some good food," James said awkwardly. "She cooks really well, you know that, right?"
He added, "Although you guys are divorced now, it's not a big deal if I go to her place for a meal, right? Besides, she let me in and cooked for me. I didn't force her."
Michael let out a cold laugh, clearly not buying it.
"Actually, Rachel's pretty nice," James said cautiously. He was hoping Rachel would help him at school, so he wanted to say some good things about her to Michael. Besides, Rachel really was quite nice. Sometimes, you couldn't judge a person just by what others said; seeing is believing.
Seeing that Michael didn't respond, James gathered the courage to continue, "I heard her company's struggling. Maybe you could help her out or teach her some business stuff. She didn't ask for anything when you divorced, and she's having a tough time..."
James decided not to tell Michael about Rachel's pen pal. After all, everyone had a past, right?
"Does your face still hurt?" Michael cut him off.
James licked the inside of his mouth. "It hurt before, but after she put some medicine on it, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"When we get back, apologize to Mom, and no more basketball. Focus on your studies." Michael said, resting his hand on the car window, clearly annoyed. "When I was sixteen, Dad gave me a ton of responsibilities and made me join the Smith Corporation's upper management."
James's eyes dimmed, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but Michael spoke first, "Or do you want to go study abroad tomorrow?"
James didn't dare talk back to Michael and just lowered his head, staying completely silent.
Meanwhile, Rachel didn't take James's words to heart; she was swamped with meetings and a ton of tasks.
When John had time to come to Skyline Corporation, they had a meeting to discuss the acquisition of Blue Sky Ventures. They reached an agreement in the end.
If Blue Sky Ventures were properly reorganized, it could be a strong asset for Skyline Corporation, and Rachel could afford the acquisition price.
However, a lot of people were trying to negotiate with the owner of Blue Sky Ventures. The owner got so fed up that he went abroad for a vacation in December and hadn't come back. His phone was also unreachable, making it really hard to contact him.
Rachel had been busy trying to find connections to reach the owner of Blue Sky Ventures but had no luck.
She was super frustrated, and to make things worse, she got several calls in the morning, all from James, asking when she would get to the school. She just added his number to the blacklist.
Later, James called her from the school's landline, sounding almost desperate. "When my brother picked me up that night, I said good things about you to him. Can you help me just this once? Please, if you don't come, my life will be over," he pleaded.
Rachel was both annoyed and amused. A sixteen-year-old thinking his life was over just because he couldn't play basketball?
She hung up without saying a word, but when she took a break after finishing her tasks, she remembered James's humble tone and felt a bit soft-hearted.
She had known James for so long, and it was the first time she had seen him beg so humbly.
Just then, Ella knocked on the open door and walked in. "Ms. Williams, are you busy? My grandmother is not well. I'd like to take three days off to go see her."
Hearing her mention family, Rachel thought of Catherine. After her divorce from Michael, Rachel also lost contact with Catherine and didn't know how she was doing.
Rachel nodded. "Sure, if it's urgent, you can leave today. I approve. If you need to stay longer, you can submit the leave request when you return."
Ella's eyes lit up. "Ms. Williams, you're so kind!"
But after getting the leave approved, she didn't rush to leave. Instead, she said to Rachel, "Ms. Williams, I have a friend who is very poor and works three jobs every day. I want to help him, but I don't want to hurt his pride. Can you help me?"
"How old is he, and what is he good at?" Rachel asked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she considered the proposal. "If he doesn't have any skills, he can work as a security guard at Skyline Corporation. I'll pay him a higher salary."
Ella and John were schoolmates, so Rachel was willing to help Ella's friend. "I've already made arrangements. I just need your approval, Ms. Williams," Ella said with a smile, her hands clasped together in front of her as she stood by Rachel's desk. "Let him be your driver. Whenever you need a car, just call him. I'll pay his salary."
Rachel glanced at Ella, raising an eyebrow. She did need a driver occasionally. "Alright, I'll pay his salary," she said, nodding slightly. "After all, your income isn't that high."
Ella responded nonchalantly, "It's okay, I have a house. I can sell my house in the city for a good price, enough to pay his salary for a year."
Rachel was stunned and asked, "Is that your only house? Don't sell it."
"I have several houses, including a few villas," Ella said, resting her chin on her hand as she recalled. "My mom bought them, but I've forgotten the addresses. Ms. Williams, do you want to buy a house? I'll sell you a villa at a 90% discount."
Rachel rubbed her forehead in despair. She had just felt sorry for Ella's low income, only to realize that Ella was simply experiencing life, and it was actually she who was truly poor.
Rachel had to go to James's school later, so she gave the car keys to Ella and asked her to call her friend to drive her.
About fifteen minutes later, Ella called, her voice slightly hushed. "Ms. Williams, he's here, waiting for you downstairs. Be careful when you talk to him; don't let him figure anything out."
"Got it," Rachel replied, her tone measured and calm.
She quickly packed up her things, her movements efficient and precise, and left the company. As she approached her car, she walked with purpose, her heels clicking against the pavement.
Without hesitation, she opened the back door and slid into the seat, closing the door behind her with a soft thud.
"You're Ella's friend, right?" Rachel asked, glancing up from her bag to meet the driver's eyes, ready to give him directions. But as the driver turned to look at her, his eyes full of amusement, she froze.
They stared at each other for a moment. Then, with a casual wave, Joseph greeted her, "Hi, Ms. Williams."
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