Chapter 27: Going Down Together

When Annie was in a deep sleep, her phone suddenly vibrated non-stop.
She opened her tired eyes and picked up the phone to answer the call.
"Baby."
Carl's voice came through on the other end of the line. "I heard you had a high fever yesterday. How are you feeling now?"
Hearing his voice, Annie's exhausted spirit was forcibly brought back to life.
She felt that Carl was acting strange. He had only ever wanted to sleep with her, so why did he suddenly care about her health?
Was it because he discovered she was dying and planned to let her go?
Annie thought for a moment but remained calm on the surface as she replied indifferently, "I'm fine."
"That's good enough," Carl said perfunctorily before eagerly asking, "Did you call me just now? Is everything taken care of?"
Annie knew that Carl didn't care about her health; this was just an excuse for him to ask about something else.
Sitting up in bed and supporting her head with one hand due to a headache, she coldly replied, "I talked to Mr Ross already. He said he needs some time to consider."
The excuse she used that day when she escaped from Brandon by threatening him with an indecent video clip was all lies told specifically for Carl.
In reality, there wasn't any such video clip, nor would she have gone looking for Brandon or threatened him over any project.
She had already decided to keep using this excuse until Fiona finished getting married and then went down with Carl.
Yes, Annie had made up her mind - She would use herself as collateral in exchange for Fiona's future peace of mind after marriage.
Impatient at having been kept waiting too long by Annie's response regarding their business deal, Carl said instead of being concerned about how sick she might be, "The bidding will start on the 10th of next month. How long does he need to consider?"
Annie frowned slightly. Fiona's wedding was scheduled for the 9th of next month.
She had initially planned to wait until after Fiona got married before going down together with Carl.
But since the bidding would be held on the 10th and time was running out, Carl wouldn't allow her to delay things further.
After thinking it over, Annie gritted her teeth and said, "He promised me an answer by the 9th."
"Damn it!" Carl cursed a few times before saying threateningly, "Give me that video clip! I'll talk to him myself!"
Annie panicked inwardly but managed to keep calm outwardly as she replied firmly: "Mr MacDonald, you asked me to threaten Mr Ross into helping you get this project using that video clip which has already made him very unhappy with you. If you go there yourself with such a video clip in hand and try threatening him again, not only will he become even angrier at you but also refuse your request outright - isn't that counterproductive? Don't you think so?"
Carl thought about it momentarily and realized what Annie said made sense.
Using such underhanded tactics wasn't honourable or fair play in business dealings; if he went ahead with his plan, Brandon might turn against him completely.
He left one last warning before hanging up: "On the ninth day of next month, I want to see that contract signed by both parties; otherwise, my brothers will ruin your best friend's wedding!"
Annie's heart skipped a beat when she heard this because it meant that Carl knew exactly when Fiona's wedding was taking place - He must have been keeping tabs on them all along!
Fiona and her husband-to-be could be implicated if anything went wrong; Annie had to pull herself together quickly.
With that in mind, she put down her phone and got out of bed, walking over to her desk and opening a drawer where she took out several bottles of medicine.
She picked out the sleeping pills and placed them into an empty bottle before numbly taking some other medication for heart failure.
Annie was determined to hold on until Fiona's wedding day; Carl would have to pay a heavy price for what he had done!