Chapter 36
Chapter 36
“Then, be my human pillow. Maggie, where have you been in the past five years?” Gideon’s sudden question made Margaret stiffen up more.
“Atharia. You’re very capable, Mr. Compton. I’m sure you found out about it a long time ago.” Margaret had long known that Gideon would investigate her life in the past few years. However, he did not bring it up, so she pretended she knew nothing. Some things were better left unsaid.
“What about after Atharia? Where else have you been?” he probed. The detective Gideon hired for a hefty sum was efficient and dug up most things Margaret went through these years once Gideon gave a general idea. The completed investigation report was already lying in Gideon’s drawer in the study.
However, Gideon had not opened it. Before opening it, he wanted to hear it from Margaret directly, and only if it did not work out would he utilize the report.
“Isn’t it on the information you paid someone to look up?” Margaret’s tone was unkind and sarcastic.
Gideon let go of Margaret slightly and said, “It should be in the information, but I didn’t read it.”
Margaret looked straight into Gideon’s eyes as if she wanted to ascertain the truth of his words. Gideon’s eyes were sincere, but he was also an excellent actor. Margaret admitted she was less capable than him in reading others. She was afraid of believing in her assumptions again.
Margaret lowered her head. She did not want to be tempted by Gideon’s eyes into telling the truth, but she also wanted to escape. Her reason for leaving the battlefield was not so glorious. It had always been a thorn in her heart, and she did not want to mention it again regardless of to whom.
Gideon wanted to persuade her again, but Jacob’s voice came from the door. Jacob asked loudly, “Ms. Lambert, why are you here today?”
Jacob was so obvious that even a fool knew he was reminding Gideon to finish up quickly if he was in the middle of something inexplicable in case the situation became too embarrassing later.
Margaret pushed Gideon’s shoulder with both hands in an attempt to get off his lap. They were in a compromising posture, which would induce misunderstanding.
“Stay still.” Gideon held Margaret tightly on his lap and looked at the door provocatively as if he wanted to upset Roxanne.
Margaret did not know what had happened between Gideon and Roxanne, but she knew she did not want to be used as a pawn.
“Solve your problems between yourselves. Don’t drag me into it,” Margaret said angrily and wondered, ‘What does he think I am? Sure enough, a leopard cannot change its spots. After so many years, Gideon is still a chauvinist. He never cared about my feelings and reputation
and only knew how to use me as a tool.‘
“Maggie, Roxanne and I only have a business relationship. It will end soon.” Gideon knew Margaret was sensitive about Roxanne, and if he wanted another chance with Margaret, he had to end the partnership with Roxanne first.
Gideon originally planned to lay out the traps slowly and gradually force the Lambert family to take the initiative to cancel the engagement. However, Margaret had too many suitors, and Gideon became anxious. Even if he could not do something yet, Gideon wanted Margaret to know his plan.
Gideon hoped his plan would make Margaret hesitant toward her suitors‘ pursuit.
“That’s your business. It has nothing to do with me,” she replied.
Margaret became anxious and pushed Gideon harder. Jacob was a particularly responsible assistant. He was afraid it was too short a time to cover up for Gideon, so he deliberately found some topics to delay Roxanne from going in. Jacob also raised his voice purposely so that
Gideon and Margaret could keep track of his progress with Roxanne and take precautions.
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Unfortunately, Jacob acted too deliberately. In addition, Roxanne was well–prepared in the first place, so Jacob was about to fail at keeping
her away.
As Margaret struggled harder, Gideon’s hand tightened against her. Margaret knew that he deliberately wanted Roxanne to see this scene, which wasted Jacob’s effort.
If Jacob had known Gideon’s plan, he would have let Roxanne in without stopping her.
“Maggie, can’t you help me? Help us out,” Gideon asked angrily. He could not understand why Margaret remained stubborn and refused to be with him, even though he had told her that his engagement with Roxanne would end soon.
Gideon thought he had already given in a lot, and Margaret should feel his sincerity, thus, returning to how things were between them.
“Gideon, don’t go too far!” Margaret was so anxious that she almost cried.
Gideon stared at Margaret for a while and finally compromised. Each time he met Margaret’s tearful eyes, Gideon had no choice but to surrender.
As soon as he was about to let go, Roxanne pushed the office’s door open roughly. At once, she saw Gideon and Margaret hugging each other intimately.
Under Margaret’s fury, Gideon made an innocent and helpless expression. He had just let go, but Roxanne opened the door and walked in before Margaret could leave his lap.
Margaret left Gideon’s lap in a hurry. She fixed her hair in embarrassment and then scolded herself, ‘Stupid.‘ They did not do anything, but she acted as if they had done something shameful earlier.
In addition, Gideon’s clothes were not helping. They wrinkled too much from just sitting down, so the situation looked more embarrassing.
However, Roxanne walked to the couch and sat down as if nothing had happened. She snuggled to Gideon intimately and said coquettishly, “Why didn’t you pick up my call? Don’t you know I will be worried about you?”
Margaret felt that her embarrassment was completely unnecessary. The engaged couple were both good at acting.
When Roxanne came in, she clearly was ready to tear Margaret apart. Margaret felt a shudder as she recalled Roxanne’s gaze. She decided to be careful when walking on the street in the future.
However, Roxanne collected her emotions in about 20 seconds, sat next to Gideon, and showed affection as if no one else was in the room. This scene was really disgusting.
Gideon calmly moved to the side and distanced himself from Roxanne. He asked indifferently, “What’s the matter?”
“Can’t I come see you even without any reason to? Dad was unhappy when you turned down the invitation to eat at our house. Why don’t
you accompany me to have lunch with Dad this afternoon?” Roxanne said. It was also a reminder to Gideon that he earned his current reputation through Abraham’s help, so he should not be ungrateful, and that he could fool around with women but never take them seriously, or the Lambert family could take Gideon down just as how they helped him up.
Gideon resented this kind of reminder. Roxanne might never understand. If the Lambert family had not constantly given him silent reminders to be grateful over the years, he would have really married Roxanne.
However, Gideon hated threats the most. He had always lived being cornered, and even when he returned to the Compton family, he was constantly oppressed. Therefore, he had an extraordinary pursuit of power. He liked to keep everything under his control. Meanwhile, the Lambert family sought to keep him under theirs.
13:38 Tue, 2 Jul M M.
Chapter 36.
“I have an appointment with the general manager
of another company
at noon, so I can’t go,” Gideon said casually.
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Margaret had a good memory, and she knew right away that Gideon was lying. When Jacob read out Gideon’s schedules, Gideon had no appointment during lunch break. His lunchtime was free.
Lying was not a good thing. Margaret wondered if she should give Roxanne a hint.
She would prefer if Roxanne took Gideon away instead of her having to eat lunch with him.
While Margaret was thinking about this question, she thought Gideon was not looking at her. Therefore, she did not conceal her emotions. As a result, Gideon saw through her plan..
“Just turn it down. Dad has told me several times that he wants to talk with you about something.” Roxanne believed what Gideon said, but she still hoped that he would be willing to change his plans for her. She wanted it to happen just this once. Roxanne thought she was not
asking for much. She only wanted Gideon to show that he cared for her in front of Margaret.
“The social gathering has been decided on a long time ago. Do you think they will continue to cooperate with me if we cancel the meeting at
the last minute?” Gideon’s choice of words was a little harsh.
“So what if the cooperation fell through? Just look for another company to work with. They’re all the same anyway,” Roxanne answered. She did not think there was anything wrong with it. The way she said that so casually had Jacob rolling his eyes. He really wanted to throw
Roxanne out.
Gideon and them made a lot of effort to obtain all their business partners. They had to investigate the background of each possible business partner to choose the most suitable one. Anyone who had not experienced it would not understand the amount of work poured into it. Nonetheless, even if one did not understand it, one should respect others for their work achievement.
When Jacob thought about respect, he finally figured out the answer to a question that had been bothering him for a long time. He thought, ‘Why don’t I ever like Roxanne? I even hate her. The reason is simple. Roxanne has never respected us nor treated us as human beings.‘
“Roxanne, don’t be willful,” Gideon warned Roxanne in a low voice. He gave Jacob an eye signal so he would take Margaret out for a while. Gideon had something to say to Roxanne alone.
Margaret was there, and Gideon was afraid that Roxanne would blame everything on her. After all, Roxanne had always done a good job at venting her anger on someone else.
However, Jacob was still thinking about Roxanne. He was not even looking at Gideon at all and did not get the message from Gideon. This was a negligence of duty on his part.
Meanwhile, Margaret caught Gideon’s hint and voiced out, “I need to use the bathroom.” After saying that, she left.
Only then did Jacob come back to his senses. Under Gideon’s discontented gaze, he hurriedly followed Margaret out. Jacob had to make sure that Margaret would not sneak away. Right now, Jacob was contemplating that he could also use this chance to make a favorable impression
on his future boss‘ wife.
He did not have much hope. Jacob just wished that the good impression Margaret had of him would help increase his salary during the
annual raise.
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