Chapter 41 Let's See What She's Really Capable of
Raymond was a man of valor, truly not an average Joe.
The only reason he'd let his wife meddle with lock-picking was because she was Paige!
Regardless of whose side she was sent from, she was now married to Raymond.
Peeking through the rearview mirror, Charles hesitated before asking, "Raymond, doesn't it bother you?"
Though Raymond remained silent, his expression said it all!
Raymond was feeling conflicted, leaving Charles at a loss for words.
When Raymond arrived at the Chairman's office of the Hawke Corporation, he found Louis already there ahead of him, waiting by the office door.
"Raymond, may I have ten minutes of your time?"
Louis seemed pretty amiable.
Raymond gestured with his eyes for him to enter, and Louis took the wheelchair from Charles's hands and wheeled him into the office.
After closing the office door behind him, Louis approached Raymond.
Cutting to the chase, Louis began, "You seem to be interested in my marriage plans."
"You need a business marriage to solidify your position," Raymond said flatly, "The Sacklers happen to have a couple of hot projects in their pipeline. They're your best bet."
Louis cast a puzzled look at Raymond. Wasn't this the very reason why Raymond should've stepped in to prevent Louis's marriage to the Sackler family? If Louis secured his position, how could Raymond stand a chance afterward?
"Raymond, may I know if my marriage with a Sackler is a good thing or bad thing for you?" Louis inquired.
Raymond understood what Louis was driving at. Propelling his wheelchair forward, he positioned himself in front of the Chairman's desk and settled in before responding.
"Your mother must've told you about the advantages of this marriage in reshaping and strengthening your position."
Louis couldn't help but laugh, "So, Raymond, you want me to secure my position in the company?"
There was a faint smile on Raymond's lips. "Believe it or not, I do want that for you. If possible, I'd even like you to be smarter and avoid making some of those incredibly foolish mistakes."
Upon hearing this, Louis was immediately reminded of the scheme he had hatched at Windrain Tower. Changing tack, he said, "With all the concern you have for my marital affairs, why don't you worry about yours?"
The mention of marriage made Raymond naturally think of that deceitful woman. She should be at the villa by now, probably about to pick his lock again.
With his mood soured, Raymond's impatience crept into his voice, "You needn't fret over my marital issues. Last time, in Bradley's study, you mentioned the person you were engaged to five years ago was Xena Sackler's sister. Is she the reason you refuse to marry Xena?"
Louis hadn't anticipated that Raymond would have access to the surveillance footage from Bradley's study. Nevertheless, he didn't seem overly surprise. After all, it was common knowledge that Bradley doted on Raymond, his youngest son.
"As you wish, Raymond. I'll marry the Sackler family heir to secure my standing. You can count on it."
Louis preferred not to discuss Paige with Raymond. After her release from prison, he hadn't had many opportunities to see her, and even now, he had yet to find a way to contact her.
He knew she was in the city, yet she seemed to have vanished without a trace. Louis was at a loss; he couldn't find any leads on her whereabouts.
Ten minutes had ticked by. Louis gave Raymond a nod, then turned and walked out without another word.
Raymond had known from the previous time that Louis had his heart set on Paige; unfortunately, he was a step too late.
He wondered how Louis pulled off that stunt. Inexplicably, the very woman Louis had secretly coveted ended up in Raymond's bed.
A barely discernible smirk played on Raymond's lips.
By the time Charles entered, Raymond had already pulled up the surveillance footage from the villa on his computer. Paige was off to work.
Her skills in floral design weren't extraordinary but she did have an artistic touch.
Raymond's scrutiny lingered on Paige through the pixels on his monitor until Charles walked in, arms laden with project files, pulling Raymond's attention back to work.
"Raymond, there's news. Y Laboratory has suddenly withdrawn from Country M, and now they're off the radar. Our guys have been on their tail for days and came up empty," Charles reported.
Mid-signature, Raymond's pen paused. He looked up sharply. "What? We were just getting close to Y Laboratory, and they pulled out?"
Charles nodded gravely, "The reason is unclear. Raymond, what's the plan? The market's run dry of Y Lab's products. Our project schedule is going to take a hit."
Raymond shot to his feet, startling Charles. Luckily, they were in the Chairman's office, a place with top-tier security.
"Increase manpower, keep searching. The black market is always late on the uptake; someone's bound to have a stash of Y's compounds. Spare no expense to acquire them," Raymond commanded.
"Understood," Charles agreed.
After barking his orders, Raymond sat back down in his chair. This was a long-stalled project of Hawke Corporation, hindered by a persistent technological bottleneck.
That is until Y Laboratory emerged, offering a compound that perfectly met the project's needs, and Raymond finally got a lead on this enigmatic lab. Only then did he dare to restart the initiative.
He had hoped the supply of the compound would be steady and that a partnership with Y Laboratory could be secured. However, Y Laboratory disappeared just as his project was about to get back underway, and the supply could run out at any time.
The stockpile he had was woefully insufficient.
Things weren't going according to plan. Raymond furrowed his brows as the computer screen flashed with Paige's sneaky figure.
She was back at his door.
With a vase set on the ground, she looked around furtively while skillfully producing a set of tools from her pocket...
Professional lock-picking tools, not the simple black hairpin from the day before.
Raymond’s frown deepened.
When had that deceitful woman prepared professional gear?
The delicate, golden tools peeked out from between Paige's agile fingers as she worked on the lock.
With a scoff, Raymond mused that she was determined to crack this lock today!
On the footage, Paige was warily manipulating the door latch.
Meanwhile, Sean was ascending the stairs.
A smirk emerged onto Raymond's lips; from behind the screen, he had the full picture under control.
He was, in fact, quite curious about just how capable Paige really was.
At that moment, Charles burst in, perhaps not realizing that Raymond had already been watching the scene on the computer.
With a tablet in his arms, he approached, "Raymond, the madam... she’s at it again..."
Raymond had seen it already and now he gracefully lifted his phone and dialed a number he knew by heart!
