Chapter 214 You Cared About Him So Much
Daphne's eyes flickered.
'they’re just friends?' she thought.
Mark could hardly maintain his smile as he read her expression. "You don't believe me?"
"If you are just friends, why did you mention his emotional setback when you called me that day?" Daphne began to doubt her own judgment for the first time. "You also asked me to give him less work and brought up the salary adjustment."
Most importantly, when she asked if he was responsible, Mark fell silent.
"Because..." Mark glanced at Charles.
If he said Jesse liked Daphne, it would embarrass Charles. Besides, Jesse had said it was a lie to get information, but Mark still felt something was off. Jesse wasn’t someone who easily showed his true feelings, and even if he did, he wouldn’t use emotions as bait.
Daphne followed his gaze and frowned. "Why are you looking at him?"
"I promised Jesse to keep it a secret," Mark said quickly. "I can't tell you."
Although Jesse had told him it was a lie to get information, Mark still felt there was more to it.
Daphne looked at him with curiosity.
Mark reaffirmed his innocence, "You just need to know that Jesse and I are pure brothers, nothing more."
Daphne nodded.
Charles, seeing their conversation end, turned his deep gaze to Daphne, the face that often appeared in his dreams. "What happened tonight?"
"Why were you there?" Daphne countered.
Based on Charles's usual style, there shouldn’t have been such a slip-up. To trap her, to prevent her from calling for help, he should have booked the entire 23rd floor.
Charles's lips tightened into a thin line.
He couldn’t say he was investigating Jesse and found out Jesse was plotting against her. If he did, Daphne would ask why he was investigating Jesse, and any answer would make her feel he was intruding into her life, making her dislike him even more.
"Yeah, Boss, why were you there?" Mark's curiosity had been growing. "And how did you know Jesse was in 2309?"
Mark's words made Daphne immediately suspicious.
Charles wished he could throw Mark to Africa for being so talkative.
Mark sensed Charles's displeasure but pretended to stay calm.
After all, Daphne was his idol and part-time boss. If he ever lost his job, he could always come back to work for her.
"Were you following me?" Daphne asked.
Charles quickly denied, "No."
"Then how did you know?" Daphne scrutinized him, noting every expression. "Besides Jesse and me, only the person who booked the room knew 2309."
Charles felt a pang of disappointment and asked incredulously, "You think I staged this?"
"I have a brain," Daphne retorted. "I don't jump to conclusions based on assumptions."
A simple statement reminded Charles of the past.
He had once jumped to conclusions based on assumptions and blamed Daphne for Kayla's car accident and the subsequent trending news.
If Daphne had been with Evan or if he had trusted Rex less, he might have doubted her during Kayla’s miscarriage incident too.
Reflecting on the past, Charles was filled with guilt and said hoarsely, "I'm sorry."
Daphne and Mark both looked confused.
Mark boldly asked, "Boss, did something trigger you?"
Daphne seemed to be discussing serious matters with him.
"Do you think you’re overpaid?" Charles felt Mark needed some discipline.
Mark immediately shut up, maintaining a smile without speaking further.
Daphne waited for Charles's answer.
"I was investigating past events and happened to follow clues to today’s incident," Charles lied smoothly. "So I came up."
Daphne continued to look at him.
"You don't believe me?" Charles asked.
"No," Daphne replied bluntly.
Her straightforward answer made Charles uncomfortable. He realized if lying made him feel this bad, how must Daphne have felt when he treated her poorly in the past.
No wonder she disliked him so much.
If it were him, he would never want to see the person again.
"I'm telling the truth," Charles insisted, not wanting Daphne to know he was investigating Jesse. He changed the subject. "I'll take you home first. We can talk more at my place."
"If you had really followed clues, you wouldn’t have said those things to Jesse or asked Mark to call the police." Daphne wasn’t fooled. "Are you investigating Jesse?"
Following clues, Charles would have taken Jesse for questioning about the mastermind. But Charles had been openly hostile from the start.
His actions and reactions didn’t add up.
"Why are you investigating Jesse?" Mark asked, looking puzzled.
Daphne noted his reaction.
Mark doesn’t know?
"I'm not investigating him," Charles denied. "If you don't believe me, you can check. With your skills, it shouldn't be hard."
"Normally, it wouldn't be," Daphne replied, not believing him. "But if you use your resources, I might not find out."
Charles's immense power was well known to her. Some things couldn’t be checked through normal means.
Charles’s gaze deepened. "Am I so untrustworthy to you?"
"How can a liar talk about trust?" Daphne countered.
Though he was indeed lying, seeing Daphne's clear distrust and detachment still made him feel miserable.
His chest felt like it was being pricked by countless needles.
"I don't care why you're investigating Jesse, but I hope you stay out of my business with him," Daphne said, not wanting another plan ruined or more entanglement with Charles.
She wasn’t afraid Charles would harm Jesse.
If conflict erupted, the entire Murphy & Sis International Group would back Jesse.
Charles grew angrier, realizing that impulsiveness was indeed dangerous. Hearing Daphne defend an outsider so fervently made him emotional. "Do you care about him that much?"
"Yes."
"Do you like him?" Charles didn’t know how he managed to ask this.
Daphne found his question ridiculous. "It's none of your business."
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