Chapter 52 Getting Beaten

When Charlie and I arrived at the Second Chemical Plant, there was a crowd of middle-aged men gathered at the entrance, engaged in an excited discussion. As Charlie's car approached, they turned their heads to look.

"What are we here for?" I had a bad feeling and stopped the car to ask Charlie.

"Negotiation." Charlie remained calm and composed, as if the angry men outside were not targeting him.

Seeing that Charlie was about to get out of the car, I quickly made my position clear. "I won't go, you can go!"

Are you kidding? If a dispute were to arise, my delicate body would likely suffer severe damage from the slightest gust of wind.

Showing no humanity, Charlie replied, "You have to go, even if you don't want to. Don't forget, you're my secretary now. Should I go and tell my mother about your work attitude?"

I sighed in resignation. Is Charlie really resorting to using his mother to threaten me?

And I had no choice but to compromise. It was due to the pressure from my mother-in-law that I joined the Bennett Group as a personal secretary. If she found out about my poor work attitude, her impression of me would certainly worsen.

I gritted my teeth. "Fine, I'll go!"

After getting out of the car, I followed behind Charlie and approached the furious crowd.

"Are you Mr. Bennett from the Bennett Group?" The man in charge, Isaac, who was about fifty years old and slightly overweight with a large belly, didn't have the best appearance.

“Yes, I am,” Charlie said calmly.

Love's magic transformed the arrogant prince into someone polite and humble toward his future father-in-law. Isaac clearly didn't expect Charlie to be so polite. He was momentarily stunned and glanced back.

The others nodded after a while and said, "Alright."

I knew that after this negotiation, Charlie would come up with a result that satisfies Isaac. And all of this is probably because of Lauren. It's very likely that Lauren has already talked to Charlie about this matter.

Charlie is a savvy businessman. He will definitely tell Lauren that there are others responsible for the demolition of this area, and he is not fully aware of the situation. Then he will personally come forward to resolve the issue, giving Lauren the impression that he is making a concession for her sake.

How could Charlie not understand the importance of compensation for demolition? Only innocent girls like Lauren would believe it.

I followed Charlie and Isaac back to the car. As soon as I got in, I found an excuse to get out again. I didn't want to hear their conversation or see Charlie compromising for the sake of love.

In the previous life's final moments, I begged Charlie to spare the Harrison family, but he rejected me. It was a truly miserable defeat in comparison.

I silently waited for over half an hour. Suddenly, Isaac got out of the car, but he didn't look too good. He glanced at me and left, while Charlie remained in the car.

What's going on? Shouldn't they be elated? I was puzzled.

Isaac returned to the crowd, said a few words, and the people there became excited again. I shook my head, turned around, and wanted to go back to the car.

The next moment, I saw Charlie quickly getting out of the car, his face tense as he screamed, “Rosalie!”

Before I could react, I felt a strong blow to the back of my head. I touched my head, and the sticky warm blood smeared onto my hand.

"Blood..." I looked at the blood in my palm and mumbled to Charlie, then blacked out and fell to the ground.

I don't know what happened afterward. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. My mom was by my bedside, her brows furrowed tightly. She relaxed her brows and quickly asked me when she saw me awake, "Rose, how are you? Is your head still hurting?"

"Mom?" The scene in front of my eyes went from blurry to clear, and my voice was weak. "Why are you here?"

"This is the hospital. You got injured. Why did Charlie bring you to such a dangerous place? Someone hit the back of your head with a stick. It's a moderate concussion, and you were bleeding. Luckily, there was no intracranial bleeding, or else it would've been terrible!" My mom blamed Charlie in her words.

I touched my head, wrapped in thick bandages, and suddenly felt startled. "Mom, did they shave my hair?!"

My mom was taken aback, then scolded me with a tap. "You child! In this situation, you're still worried about your appearance?"

"But mom, how can I face people if my hair is shaved off?" I answered with a wry face.

"Don't worry, they only shaved a small portion where you were injured. It'll be covered by hair later." My mom felt relieved when she saw that I still cared about my appearance and that there were no signs of memory loss or intellectual decline.

I finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What about Charlie?"

This matter cannot really be blamed on Charlie. When he was negotiating with Isaac, he didn't force me to get off the car. It was my own decision. If I had stayed in the car, I wouldn't have been hit by that stick no matter what.

Moreover, when I was attacked, Charlie came running down from the car with a worried and anxious expression. It surprised me.

"He is handling the hospital admission procedures for you," my mom said, taking an apple and peeling it for me.

Just as she finished speaking, Charlie returned. Seeing that I was awake, he seemed relieved. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Not bad. I still remember who you are," I replied.

"Hmm, rest well. I'll go to the company first. If you feel uncomfortable, find a doctor," Charlie said, placing the fruit he had in his hands on my bedside table. Then, he greeted my mom before leaving. My mom reluctantly responded, clearly in a bad mood.

I knew Charlie wouldn't explain much to my mom, so I told her all the details of what happened. I also added, "It's not his fault for this incident, so don't blame him!"

"Are you defending Charlie again? You said you've moved on, but it seems like you haven't." My mom misunderstood.

"Mom, we need to be fair in life. Just because I've moved on from my feelings toward him doesn't mean I should falsely accuse him, right?" I laughed and cried, feeling helpless. "That would be really unfair."

My mom snorted and handed me the peeled apple. As I ate it, I continued to ask, "What about my dad? You haven't told him about my injury, right?"

"Your dad is on a business trip. I haven't informed him about this yet. If he finds out, he'll definitely go after Charlie!" my mom replied. "But it was quite unexpected for Charlie to agree to let you work at the Bennett Group. Rose, work with him and learn as much as you can. It will be useful for our family's company in the future!"

My mom's words amused me. "Hahaha, mom, you make it sound like I'm a corporate spy!"

My mom laughed too. "No matter what kind of spy you are, our family only has you, and we definitely hope you can take over the company in the future. If you really don't want to, then we can only rely on a trust."