Chapter 36 Before the Storm

(Rafael's POV)
Landon sent me the latest information, and after I carefully reviewed it, I identified the target this time.
The Hill Group has those people's eyes up and down, it is not convenient for me to act, but once I master a large project, I will gain some initiative to temporarily alleviate such a situation.
Most of the people who attended this party came with their agenda, and without me even having to do anything about it, people came forward.
"Hello, is this Mr. Hill?"
I turned to look over, and very subtly, the person I was talking to was the very person I was planning to meet.
I nodded to him, "Hello, Mr. Anderson, I'm Rafael Hill."
Anderson gave me a smile: "I've heard about Mr. Hill's reputation for a long time, and I've always hoped to meet you, and today I finally got the chance."
"It's my pleasure."
Anderson faces the same dilemma as I do, and this news is a good thing for me that our alliance is a foregone conclusion.
The negotiation process went very smoothly, and soon we had the basic proposal finalized.
Anderson had other things on his mind and I had been away from Lena for a long time, so we finally agreed on a time to arrange our collaboration in detail and then said our goodbyes.
Such a party, I do not have much time to attend. But this time, on the one hand, I hope Lena can relax a bit, on the other hand, I can use this opportunity to push the current situation a bit.
Originally, I was in a relaxed enough mood. However, as I was going back, I saw Rachel and Lena standing together.
Their proximity brought something unpleasant to my mind.
I walked over and reached out and wrapped my arms around Lena's waist, taking her gently into my arms. I looked over at Rachel, warning her with a dangerous glare, and she gave me a look before finally retracting her gaze.
"Good evening."
"Good evening, Miss Brown."
I felt Lena pull on my hand, and I knew that she wanted to tell me that she wasn't hurt. But, I couldn't help but remember what had happened. Rachel was a dangerous woman, and there was nothing wrong with that statement.
"I was just talking to Lena, Rafael, you don't have to be so nervous. Besides, it wasn't me who wanted to talk to her, it was this gentleman who wanted to cover what happened between you." Rachel stretched her hands, she looked very innocent and didn't seem to feel that she was wrong in doing so.
I glanced at the man, but, he never looked up at me. I had to turn my attention to Rachel.
"Rachel, you should understand that Lena is my person, even if she wants to be interviewed, she must go through my permission, if you come to embarrass Lena again, your party with this gentleman will probably end early, understand?"
My warning was already very obvious. Rachel's face didn't look very good either, she looked around in some panic and no one noticed us, then she turned her head to look at me and gave a very dismissive laugh, "Okay then."
I watched them leave and didn't release Lena until they were both far enough away.
I looked down at Lena, whose eyes in turn kept following their backs.
So I coughed softly and Lena looked up at me and smiled at me, "Don't worry Raphael, they didn't do anything to me, how's your job going?"
"Not bad, as long as this deal can be negotiated, I don't have to worry too much about those in the company threatening me with money, but it's destined to be a protracted battle, we're just temporarily easing the situation."
Lena reached out her hand, she gently held my shoulder, and I smiled at her.
After that, there was nothing more, but Lena, after seeing Rachel, her state was very worrying to me.
Only, Lena kept telling me that nothing was going on with her.
I then did not pursue the matter further.
If I had asked a few more times, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
(Rachel's POV)
I looked to Rafael, knowing that this might be my last chance. However, even if I continued to explain, I probably wouldn't get the result I wanted.
At this time, I slipped a business card in her hand.
"Lester, it's true that I'm not a nice person, or at least, I don't expect you to be happy, but if you want, at any time after that, you can contact this man on the card and he will tell you everything you want to know about Raphael, or you can choose to never know, it's up to you."
Lena gave me one last look and she did put the card away. My mission was accomplished.
Rafael is a good enough person, but even the best people must have made mistakes. If there is no way to accept his past, I think that no matter what kind of person, he will not continue with her.
Of course, I am not at all sure if it will all go in the direction I hope it will or not.
After the evening, I gave William a call, "It's done, but are you sure Lester will call?"
The environment on William's side was very noisy, which made me even more upset.
"I'm not sure, but, odds are, Lena will make that call."
I sneered, and I had nothing but doubts about his confidence. If William was reliable in his work, then he would not have been driven to France by Raphael now, would not even have access to his assets, and would need my help.
Of course, I just gave him a chance, if he hadn't contacted me afterward, there were other ways to keep the two of them apart, whether William would have survived in France or not, I don't care about such things at all.
"William, what if, when the time comes, Lester doesn't do what we want him to do? If you want to cooperate with me, you should at least show a little sincerity, right?"
I heard the woman's laughter on the other side of the phone and couldn't help but roll my eyes. Then, as the surroundings did quiet down a bit under William's chortling, I heard him say in an icy tone, "I have other ideas, Rachel, it's all in the works, it's just a matter of time."
After a period of silence, William asked me curiously what was wrong.
I don't want to care about Raphael's current situation anymore, but I am the one who can't let go the most easily.
I cleared my throat and then said, "William, what's going on within the Hill Group, does it concern you?"
William was silent for a while and suddenly laughed out. I was angered by his laughter and was just about to hang up when William opened his mouth, "Rachel, you think too much of me, the internal affairs of the Hill Group are not something I can easily get involved in, but your suspicions are not unreasonable."
After hearing what William said, I couldn't help but clench my hand.
I heard the conversation between my brother and father earlier. They said that the Hill Group's operations had recently experienced problems and that Rafael was likely to be replaced. Initially, I didn't believe it, but soon, some actions of Hill Group proved the matter.
I took a breath and was just about to end this conversation when William spoke again to himself, "Rachel, aren't you curious, if it's not me, then who else could be causing trouble for Raphael?"
"What happens to Raphael has nothing to do with me, William, I don't care about that, I just want you to be able to make things right for yourself and make sure they end up divorced, got it?"
"Rachel, I don't have any power, but there are many people in the Hill Group who are my eyes, and I see everything that Rafael is doing now very clearly.
William continued to ignore what I said, and I hung up the phone without any hesitation after William said these words.
Now the night, the temperature has been getting colder, a night wind blowing, I can not help but shiver.
I looked up at the sky. There was no moon today, but there were plenty of stars, and they twinkled and glowed faintly.
William's words still got into my heart.
He didn't have any abilities, and even if he hadn't been thrown out by Rafael, he didn't work for the Hill Group. This would have been a very strange thing to do, except that I only noticed it now.
However, even if William's status is bad, it is not possible to be treated in this way.
I was so shocked by my thoughts that I couldn't help but start shivering again in the evening breeze.
Because of who we are, perhaps, until death, we can't choose what we want. Raphael couldn't choose, and I couldn't choose, because we have more than ourselves behind us.
This kind of thing is just awful.
Probably, the one who least wants Raphael and Lester to be together is neither me nor William.
Rather, it was Raphael's father.
If - I couldn't help but bubble up with the thought that if I wasn't the young lady of the Brown Group, probably, all my efforts would have been meaningless and Raphael's father wouldn't have been so forgiving to me.
But now, I don't have any more room to back off.
My head bowed, and then, I quickly gathered up my forlorn expression and turned into a strong look once again.
All the more reason for me to feel grateful.
If the Brown and Hill families are destined to be joined together, fortunately, I still love Raphael.
If I didn't love Raphael, I'm afraid I would have to suffer even more than I do now, I think.
I do not need to pity others, I most want to get only Raphael, the interests of the family or what in the people seem very important things, in my eyes simply do not have any value.
I hope this time William can not have to let me down.
I pulled open my car door and drove off into the night.