Chapter 178 How Did I Lose Charles in the First Place
Just as Charles was about to bounce with Alice, his phone buzzed.
It was Billy. "Yo, Mr. Smoke, you here yet?"
"Yeah, I'm at Cultural Confluence Promenade. Where you at?"
"We're in the office building right next to the subway, the Gold Trade Building. You here? I'll come down and get you!"
Normally, if it was just some regular Joe coming to check out the building, Billy wouldn't bother. He'd just send one of his minions.
But Mr. Smoke was a big deal. Even if his dad, Lloyd Nguyen, came out to greet him, it wouldn't be overkill!
"Alright, I see it. Be there in five!" Charles hung up and grabbed Alice's hand, heading towards the Gold Trade Building.
He didn't bother explaining or asking Alice what she thought.
"Charles, where are we even going?" Alice frowned.
"Business stuff. Just roll with me!" Charles's tone was bossy, totally ignoring Alice's feelings.
It was like an order, no room for debate.
Super assertive!
Alice felt more and more bummed out.
Her annoyance was all over her face, but Charles didn't comfort her or ask what was wrong!
She started feeling like she wasn't important to him and couldn't help but think, 'Is it 'cause I didn't let you have your way that night, and now you're fed up with me? Or is it 'cause I got you into trouble in high school, didn't thank you, and ignored you, so now you're getting back at me? If you don't really like me, if you don't care, just don't hurt me!'
Charles's cold and bossy vibe made Alice super uncomfortable!
What was a small thing got blown up in her mind because of his crappy attitude.
It even made her question if he loved her or not.
To others, Alice was this beautiful, independent academic star, cool and untouchable.
But when Alice really liked someone, she'd act like a little girl throwing a fit!
A lot of girls were like this. When they didn't know you well, they'd act like a diva, but once they got close, they'd act like a kid!
And they often saw themselves as the tragic heroine in a drama, creating problems for themselves!
This was how they proved their worth and significance!
Many high-achieving girls actually had very childish personalities!
As long as you remembered she was childish, you'd be golden in winning her over!
But Charles didn't comfort Alice.
Five minutes later, they rolled up to the Gold Trade Building.
This building was 42 stories high, with each floor being 125 inches tall, making it a total of 430 feet high.
Of course, for an office building, it wasn't super tall!
Plus, Cultural Confluence Promenade had blown up into a bustling commercial district in less than ten years.
It had only gotten busy in the last five or six years, and this building was still pretty new!
When Charles got to the Gold Trade Building, he saw over fifty staff members standing in two neat rows in front of the building, looking like they were waiting to welcome some big shot.
This caught a lot of eyes from passersby, especially the employees at the Gold Trade Building.
Except for the newbies, the old-timers and tenants in the Gold Trade Building were totally floored.
"Isn't that Mr. Nguyen from the Gold Trade Building? Who's so important that even Mr. Nguyen would come down to greet them? This is nuts!"
"Boss, who's Mr. Nguyen? Is he really that big of a deal?" Lisa, who just started a new gig and was planning to work part-time for a couple of months, asked curiously.
"Ms. Evans, you think my company in the Gold Trade Building with over thirty employees and a million-dollar annual revenue is impressive? That's peanuts compared to Mr. Nguyen. Do you know who he is? He owns the entire Gold Trade Building!"
"Oh my God, he owns the whole building?" Lisa's jaw dropped.
She quickly did the math on how much the building was worth.
In a prime spot like Cultural Confluence Promenade, property prices were already sky-high.
Plus, the Gold Trade Building was smack in the middle of the commercial district, less than a five-minute walk from the subway. With 42 floors, it had to be worth at least $300 million.
And it had room to grow, 'cause property prices in such prime spots were bound to go up!
"Don't be so shocked. Mr. Nguyen's net worth is way more than that. Most of his assets have already moved to Nuw Yark for development. He might be worth $2 billion. And that chubby guy over there, that's Mr. Nguyen's son, Billy. All these staff members are employees of the Gold Trade Building's property management. Our company pays tens of thousands of dollars in rent every month, adding up to hundreds of thousands a year to the Gold Trade Building's property management!" This young boss in his thirties was showing off his knowledge while also subtly flaunting his wealth.
'Cause the newly hired Lisa was indeed quite a catch!
If he could win her over, that would be fantastic!
Just as this young boss was trying to impress her, Lisa suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
Charles, dressed to the nines, walked in slowly with a stunning girl who looked like a celebrity!
The girl beside him had looks and charisma that were on par with Jessica, if not better!
But that wasn't the main point.
The main point was that after Charles arrived, the legendary Mr. Nguyen, worth billions, and his son Billy, both went up to greet him!
"Mr. Smoke, hello. This is my father!" Billy introduced his dad to Charles, then introduced Charles to his dad, "Dad, this is Mr. Smoke, the one I told you about last night!"
"Ah, Mr. Smoke, very pleased to meet you. I'm Lloyd Nguyen. My son has mentioned you before!"
"Mr. Nguyen, you're too kind!"
"Please, come inside!" Lloyd Nguyen said politely.
Lisa was stunned, and she felt her whole worldview was shattered.
Even though she already knew Charles was wealthy and impressive, she never imagined he was that impressive!
Mr. Nguyen, who owned the entire Gold Trade Building, had gone to such lengths to welcome Charles?
Oh my God!
Why was this happening?
She had just thought her boss was quite impressive; in his early thirties, he had started a company with $800,000 in annual revenue, clearly marking him as one of today's promising young men.
But compared to Charles, he seemed so insignificant!
Every time she saw Charles, she regretted it deeply.
How did she let Charles slip away?
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