Chapter 672 Forced to Drink
Darian slid into the car, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Larkin, who was behind the wheel, glanced over. "Mr. Fitzgerald, do you need to pick up Mrs. Fitzgerald this afternoon?"
Darian shook his head. "Nah, she's tied up. Let's just head back."
"Got it."
Later that afternoon, Darian sent the details of the reserved hotel private room to Cecily's phone. Cecily then had Bronte inform the company's executives.
After tidying up a bit, Cecily left the office.
As she reached the ground floor, Giselle caught up with her. "Cecily!"
Cecily turned at the familiar voice and gave a polite smile. "Hey, what's up?"
"I heard you're hosting a dinner tonight. Mind if I tag along?" Giselle asked, catching up to her.
Cecily raised an eyebrow, eyeing Giselle without saying anything right away.
She was just inviting the executives for a meal, and now they had Giselle tailing her, worried she might sway them?
Cecily had no such plans.
She was hosting the dinner because it was their first formal meeting, and she wanted to show some proper etiquette. Plus, she genuinely felt bad for them today.
She knew it was Hunter and Keaen's scheme and felt guilty for dragging the executives into it. She sincerely wanted to apologize by treating them to dinner.
But no matter what she said, they wouldn't believe her.
If she turned Giselle down now, Giselle would go back and they'd start badmouthing her again, saying she was ambitious and trying to win over the executives, which was why she didn't let Giselle come.
How could she prove she had no ambition to fight for the company, so they wouldn't keep an eye on her all the time?
With a helpless sigh, Cecily said, "Sure, if you want to."
Giselle smiled. "I didn't drive, so I'll ride with you."
Cecily nodded just as the driver pulled up. The driver got out and opened the door for Cecily. Cecily and Giselle got into the car one after the other. Giselle discreetly glanced around the car but didn't see anyone else.
"Isn't Darian picking you up today?" Giselle asked, trying to sound casual.
Cecily was replying to Darian's message and looked up to answer Giselle's question. "He's busy. I didn't want him to make an extra trip."
Giselle smiled slightly, and the car fell into silence.
Cecily focused on her phone.
Rowan and Griffin missed her and kept asking when she would return. Given the current situation, Cecily had to stay here for a while longer, at least until she found Vivienne and cleared up her doubts.
Cecily typed back: [Babies, Mommy has to stay at Vivienne's for a while longer].
The reply came quickly: [Alright, Mommy, don't worry about us. We just miss you.]
Cecily smiled softly, easily imagining their expressions even through the screen.
Thinking of Aurelie, Cecily felt a pang of sadness. Nathaniel had been missing since the car accident.
Aurelie had been waiting for him.
Cecily had experienced the agony of waiting and knew how torturous it was.
She thought for a moment and then sent a message to Rowan and Griffin, asking them to spend more time with Aurelie.
The car pulled up to the hotel, and Cecily and Giselle made their way to the private room together.
A bunch of executives were already there. When they saw Cecily and Giselle, they stood up, greeted them, and exchanged pleasantries.
Cecily was a pro at this kind of thing and handled it all smoothly.
As more people trickled in, everyone found their seats. Giselle sat next to Cecily, keeping a close eye on her.
She was just waiting to see how Cecily might try to win over the executives.
Halfway through dinner, Cecily stood up with a glass of red wine to apologize for the earlier meeting room fiasco.
The issue was already water under the bridge, and no one was holding a grudge. After Cecily finished speaking, she took a sip of her wine and was about to sit down when Giselle stood up, poured more wine for Cecily, and said with a smile, "Since it's an apology, just a sip won't cut it. To show your sincerity, why don't you toast a few more glasses to everyone?"
Cecily glanced at the wine Giselle had poured for her, then at Giselle.
At the start of the dinner, Cecily had mentioned she wasn't much of a drinker, so no one really cared how much she drank.
After all, Cecily was the eldest daughter of the Bennett family, and that commanded a certain level of respect.
Plus, Cecily had already given them enough face today, and no one wanted to push her to drink and risk offending her.
Now, Giselle had poured Cecily a large glass of wine, using the apology as an excuse to make her drink, clearly trying to embarrass her.
Everyone there was smart enough to see that Giselle and Cecily didn't get along during the meeting.
They exchanged glances but didn't step in to help, not wanting to get on anyone's bad side.
After all, no one knew for sure who the company's future heir would be.
Cecily stayed silent, not reaching for the wine but instead looking at Giselle.
Giselle smiled sweetly, looking all innocent. "What's wrong? You wouldn't refuse such a small amount of wine, right? Only this way can you show your sincerity."
Giselle personally handed the glass of wine to Cecily. "Cecily, come on, everyone is waiting."
Cecily could see right through Giselle's intentions, but Giselle still had to play the innocent card.
Her gaze fell on the glass of wine. After a moment of silence, Cecily reached out, took the glass, and downed the large glass of wine in front of everyone.
After drinking, Cecily gently placed the glass back on the table. The onlookers, who had expected a showdown, were a bit let down.
They hadn't expected Cecily, who seemed tough in the meeting room, to drink without a word despite Giselle's obvious provocation.
Everyone was a bit surprised, and some even thought Giselle had some skill.
Giselle hadn't expected it to be so easy. She secretly curled her lips and led the applause. "Cecily, you really can hold your liquor. You were just being modest earlier to say you couldn't drink."
With that, Giselle was about to sit down but was stopped by Cecily, who grabbed her arm, preventing her from sitting.
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