Free Web NovelChapter 177: Chapter 167: No One Can Help You Except for Me (2)
"Of course."
Mason Morgan agreed readily and left with Nicole Kane.
Nicole hesitated, glancing at Georgia Thorne, but was ultimately pulled away.
Mason thoughtfully closed the door behind them, and in an instant, only the two of them remained in the spacious private room.
Alone with Elliot Sheridan, Georgia Thorne could hear her heart THUMP-THUMP-THUMPING wildly, uncontrollably.
There was no personal business for them to discuss.
Georgia twisted her wrist and forced a smile. "Mr. Sheridan, please let go of me!"
Elliot’s sharp gaze fixed on her, as if trying to see right through her.
He tightened his grip in response to her struggle and snorted coldly. "That smile is uglier than tears."
He had half-guessed the reason for Mason Morgan’s invitation to meet today.
Jared Thorne’s company was having cash flow problems and was on the brink of bankruptcy. With no other options, he had turned to Mason Morgan for help.
Mason was ambitious, but far too timid.
He knew Georgia was his woman, so he’d naturally try to arrange a meeting.
The probability of running into Georgia at this dinner was almost one hundred percent.
Elliot Sheridan never wasted his time on useless people.
But Georgia was different. She had always been his. Without his permission, who would dare touch a single hair on her head?
The first thing he saw was Georgia’s flushed little face, burned red by the sun. He didn’t need to guess; she must have run all the way here from the bus stop.
His eyes darkened. "What, after half a year in Akashima, you’ve forgotten what to call me?"
Georgia glared at him, furious. "You were the one who broke up with me, Mr. Sheridan. How come you’re the one acting like a rogue now?"
Her gaze fell to their clasped wrists, silently telling him to let go immediately.
Instead of getting angry, Elliot laughed, yanking her forward by the wrist. "It’s been half a year, and your tongue has certainly gotten sharper!"
Caught off guard, Georgia was pulled into his arms. His unique, crisp scent washed over her as her forehead slammed into his chest.
She immediately panicked, tilting her small face up from his chest. "Elliot, you..."
Before her angry words could escape, he cupped the back of her head, lowered his own, and captured her lips in a fierce, aggressive kiss.
It choked back all the words in her throat.
Georgia’s mind went blank, a BUZZING sound filling her ears. Her terrified eyes widened and began to tremble.
’What is happening!’
The man’s handsome face was inches away, his thick, curly eyelashes lowered.
Just a few seconds later, she felt his tongue forcefully invade, and a shiver wracked her body.
The memory of him mercilessly breaking up with her in Akashima flooded her mind. Scene after scene flashed before her eyes, his words echoing word for word in her ears. It was all like a sharp slap, brutally waking Georgia up.
’I almost fell into his trap again. Georgia, how can you be so stupid!’
As he kissed her with his eyes closed, she shoved him hard, pushing him away while simultaneously stumbling backward.
She scrubbed furiously at her lips with the back of her hand, her reddened eyes watching him warily. "Please have some self-respect, Mr. Sheridan!"
Elliot licked the corner of his mouth; her sweet taste seemed to linger on his thin, sexy lips. Watching her rub her lips raw and red, he swallowed hard.
"Self-respect? I thought you came here to throw yourself at me."
"I’m sorry, Mr. Sheridan, you’re mistaken. That wasn’t my intention at all." Georgia spun around and hurried out of the private room, fleeing in a pathetic panic.
Honestly, she truly hadn’t expected to meet Elliot here. She shouldn’t have.
He was so powerful, he must have heard some rumors about the Thorne Family’s situation.
She had come to find Mason Morgan just to look for a way out, a turning point. Who knew that they would actually...
Georgia ran and ran, not stopping until she was far away from the restaurant.
Covered in sweat, she stopped to rest in a shady spot.
She took out her phone and called Mason Morgan.
"President Morgan, it’s Georgia Thorne."
Mason Morgan immediately sat up straight, his tone growing tense. "Miss Thorne, why did you come out? Did things not go well with Mr. Sheridan?"
"President Morgan, I have no relationship with Mr. Sheridan. Please don’t make that mistake again."
Mason was a smart man. From the atmosphere between the two just now, he could tell there must have been some kind of misunderstanding.
He laughed and explained, "Miss Thorne, to be honest, do you remember that time a year ago when you got drunk?"
"Actually, Mr. Sheridan is quite fond of you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had me step in and ask your parents for you."
"What?"
"The time you were drugged... it was actually Mr. Sheridan who had me do it." Mason thought Georgia hadn’t understood, so he repeated himself.
It was like a blow to the head. A dull ache spread through her skull. ’He orchestrated that whole incident?’
’Who was pulling the strings behind all of this?’
That man, Elliot Sheridan, was too clever, his schemes too deep.
Georgia returned to her apartment, dejected. Now that Mason Morgan was in cahoots with Elliot Sheridan, she wanted to avoid provoking Elliot just as much as she wanted to avoid provoking Justin Sullivan.
After another sleepless night, Georgia woke up early and started turning her apartment upside down, searching for something.
In the corner of her closet, a deep red box lay quietly.
She let out a sigh of relief and took out the gemstone necklace from inside.
There were two ruby necklaces in total.
One was a gift from Elliot, the other from Zane Lennox.
She had returned Elliot’s long ago. As for this remaining one, she had wanted to return it to Zane, but never had the chance.
The sun hung high in the sky, its rays piercing through layers of white clouds to illuminate the earth below.
Georgia stood nervously at the foot of Zane’s company building, her palms clenched tight. She hesitated, debating whether to go in.
Right now, she couldn’t think of a single person to turn to other than Zane Lennox.
The thought of her mother’s grave made Georgia grit her teeth and step resolutely inside.
The receptionist asked politely, "Miss, who are you here to see?"
Georgia took the box from her pocket. "Please give this to your President. He’ll come down to see me."
Seeing Georgia’s confident demeanor, the receptionist took the box. "Please wait a moment."
The receptionist then led Georgia to a lounge to wait.
"Miss, please have some tea."
"Thank you."
Georgia waited in the lounge for ten minutes before the receptionist ran back over. "I’m sorry, our President is in an emergency meeting. I’m afraid..."
"It’s fine. I can wait." Georgia gave a resilient smile. She could wait as long as it took.
And so she waited, from morning until noon.
Her stomach growled with hunger, but she kept her back perfectly straight.
At twelve o’clock, the three-hour-long meeting finally ended.
Zane Lennox emerged from the conference room with a grim expression, having lost his temper several times during the meeting.
The people filing out behind him looked just as grim.
"What’s next on the schedule?"
Zane loosened the black tie around his neck, letting himself breathe a little easier.
"At one in the afternoon, you have the bidding conference on the west side of the city."
The two of them walked into the office as they spoke.
After reporting the afternoon’s schedule, the secretary asked, "President, should I order lunch for you?"
Zane took off his jacket, tossed it on the sofa, and grunted in affirmation.
Walking around his desk, he saw the box and found it vaguely familiar.
"Who brought this?"
Zane sat down in his executive chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"The front desk sent it up. They said someone brought it, and that you would..."
Before the secretary could finish, Zane opened the box, saw what was inside, and shot to his feet.
"Where is she?!"
"In... in the lounge!" the secretary stammered in reply.
The words had barely left the secretary’s mouth when Zane swept out of the office like a whirlwind.
The secretary’s eyes nearly popped out in astonishment. ’So the President really did what that person said he would.’
This only made the secretary more curious. What was in the box, and who was that person?
Zane asked the receptionist, "Which lounge is Georgia Thorne in?!"
The receptionist was on a clandestine call with her boyfriend and jumped, startled by the figure that had suddenly appeared before her.
Seeing it was her own big boss, she was scared out of her wits. "What?"
"The person who sent up the necklace, where is she now?!" Zane’s voice grew urgent with his impatience.
The receptionist slowly processed his words. Only one person had come looking for the President with an item today.
"In the first lounge," the receptionist said hastily.
Zane strode toward the lounge.
But when he reached the door, he stopped abruptly.
He stood at the doorway, steadying his ragged breathing.
Zane pushed the door open and saw Georgia sitting on the sofa.
"You were looking for me? What’s the matter?" He sat down opposite her, seemingly casual, as his eyes appraised her.
’It feels like she gets thinner every time I see her.’
Georgia smiled. "I want to ask you for a favor."
It wasn’t hard to guess what she wanted to ask him.
With the recent disaster at Jared Thorne’s company, Jared had been running around like a madman, looking for help everywhere.
"Georgia, your family’s situation is very tricky."
"Mm, I know," Georgia replied calmly, looking at him with clear eyes. "What if I marry you?"
Georgia had thought about it all night. If she had to use marriage as leverage, she would rather choose Zane.
Zane’s brows furrowed instantly. He seemed to be considering her words, his steady voice betraying no emotion. "Are you offering me your hand in marriage as a transaction?"
"Yes. Are you willing?" Georgia smiled gently. "I can’t let you invest a sum of money for no reason. I have nothing, just myself to offer."
"Georgia, you... Why are you throwing yourself into this? Jared Thorne and the others have never once treated you like a daughter of the Thorne Family."
Zane didn’t understand. He had been to the Thorne residence a few times and could see that Georgia was not favored in the family.
Georgia gave a bitter smile. Even an outsider like Zane could see it, yet she had still held onto a sliver of hope for Jared Thorne.
