Take Me Away novel Chapter 54

As soon as Charles walked in the canteen, the barrage of questions came in.

"What is boss doing here?"

"I don't know. Is he here because of me?"

"Don't think too highly of yourself!"

Celine was having lunch with several women from the design department. When she saw Charles walk into the canteen, she raised her eyebrows.

"Celine, I heard that you've known Mr. Wen for a long time," said Linda. "Is he here because of you?"

"Oh my God! Mr. Wen is a golden bachelor. You're so lucky, Celine!" another woman teased.

Celine was proud of herself but she didn't show it on her face. "Mr. Wen and I are just friends and besides, I like someone else," she explained.

"Who do you like? Is it someone even better than Mr. Wen?"

"Yeah, tell us! I can't believe you're so lucky to have such a blooming love life and career!"

"Mr. Wen is walking towards us! Stop talking!"

"He's coming! He is here!"

Just then, Charles stood in front of them. When he saw Celine and the rest eating, he stopped and greeted them. "How's lunch? Oh, Celine, didn't you just get back from abroad? How are you?"

"Not bad." Celine merely nodded slightly. "What could you be doing in the staff canteen? Would you like to eat? Unfortunately, we don't have any seats left here."

The corners of Charles' mouth lifted. He looked at the direction where Fiona was sitting and then quickly shifted his gaze. "I'm also a member of the company. Can't I come here? There are other seats available elsewhere. You ladies enjoy your meal. I'm leaving now."

After saying this, he nodded slightly and left in ease, leaving Celine in shock.

"Mr. Wen is so handsome!"

"I thought Mr. Wen was looking for Celine. But it seems I was wrong. Who's he looking for then?"

All the staff fixed their eyes on Charles. They then saw him heading towards where Sophia and Fiona were.

With her back to Charles, Sophia frowned as she held up her chopsticks. "Fiona, I feel something bad coming."

"Well..." Fiona raised her head and looked directly into Charles' eyes. Before she could say anything, he had already walked up to them.

"Sophia," Charles called out with a smile. "Why did you call my father instead of me? Have you forgotten me already?"

"No, no, no!" Hearing this, Sophia stood up at once. The frown on her face immediately disappeared. She drew closer to Charles and in a sweet voice, she said, "How's that possible? I was worried that you were the one who'd forgotten me."

Charles chuckled and looked at Fiona. "I haven't eaten either. Do you mind me sitting next to you?"

"Of course not!" Sophia immediately answered. "Come on, Charles. Have a seat. I'll go get you some food."

"Thank you, Sophia." Charles then sat down.

Sophia went off to get some food for Charles. Meanwhile, Fiona was so anxious that she called out, "Sophia..."

"She'll be back. What are you afraid of?" Charles interrupted her with a smile on his face.

Fiona turned around and nodded to him. Despite the curious stares they were getting, she said, "Umm. Hello, Mr. Wen."

Charles grinned, showing his white teeth. He said, "I think you're naive and that's lovely."

From a distance, Celine was still looking at Charles who was now seemingly joking with Fiona.

"Who's that girl anyway? I've never seen her before," Linda asked. "She's so beautiful that even Mr. Wen takes the initiative to talk to her. Could they be having an affair?"

"The other girl went to get food for Mr. Wen. Nowadays, girls are so..."

"They're just interns. Humph!" one of them sneered. "One of them is working under you, right? How is she?"

"She's bad," Celine answered as she stood up, a cold look on her face. "I'm full. I have to go now."

"Really? What's wrong with you, Celine?"

Not knowing what being "naive" meant, Fiona kept silent.

Charles didn't seem embarrassed at all and as he said calmly, "I heard that you and Ryan have been going through some issues."

Hearing his words, Fiona was a little nervous. Averting her gaze, she said dismissively, "If that's the reason why you're here, then you should leave right now. Ryan and I are just good friends. That's it. Just friends."

"Have you always been so mature despite your young age?" A faint smile spread across his face. "Or did I say it wrong? You're not naive. After all, a man of great wisdom often appears slow-witted. It's easy to talk to a clever person like you."

"You're the smart one, Mr. Wen. It's really tiring to talk to you." Without raising her head, Fiona continued eating. Sophia arrived with a plate full of food. Charles stood up to take the plate from her. Glancing at all the food Sophia had brought, he commented, "Wow, these are all my favorites."

"Yes!" With a smile, Sophia immediately took her seat.

"Sophia, you should learn a few tips from your friend." Charles spoke while eating. "Despite her young age, she has a good personality. She's mature and steady. I bet she's very popular."

"I'm very popular too!" Sophia mumbled, pursing her lips.

"Recently, Ryan has been in low spirits." Charles changed the topic to Ryan. "I heard he drank too much and caused trouble in a bar.

It's unavoidable for young people to be impulsive. But Ryan's definitely not an impulsive man. But that girl named Leona... I think there must be some misunderstanding."

"Charles!" Sophia grew excited. "Do you think it was a misunderstanding too? I was thinking that Ryan couldn't have possibly done something like that!"

"Yeah, I have a strange feeling towards the whole thing." As Charles spoke, it seemed as if he was addressing Fiona. "Ryan rarely gets attracted to girls. When he confessed to Fiona, that was his first time doing that. I don't want any misunderstandings between them. I think you should check the surveillance video at the bar. Maybe do an investigation?"

That entire afternoon, Fiona couldn't get her mind off what Charles had said. From the look on his face and his tone, it seemed as if he knew something. Could it be possible that nothing really happened between Leona and Ryan?

"What's on your mind, Fiona? Go and clean the room!" Celine demanded harshly as soon as she entered the office. "Go and clean up the wasted designs!"

"Okay." Regaining her composure, Fiona walked out of the office.

The minute Celine saw Fiona, she immediately grew angry. Why was it that Fiona's sudden appearance always put her in a bad mood? The winter jewelry exhibition was in two months and she still had no ideas about the design. Damn it!

That night, when it was time to get off the work, only the lights in Celine's office were on. The entire design department was already empty while she stayed behind to work overtime.

She sat at her desk surrounded by her countless drafts. Her table was scattered with them as well as the floor. None of her ideas were working.

"Phew!" Taking a deep breath, Celine threw her pen aside and grabbed her phone, deciding to relax for a while. An idea came to her—she pulled up Spencer's name and typed up a message.

"How's everything going at the base, Spencer? When are you coming back? I'm working now. Oh, by the way, I met Fiona in the company. She seems to be close to our boss, but I assure you that I won't let her get into any trouble. Missing you."

When she had finished sending the message, the door flew open.

Charles remained standing by the door for a while before casually walking inside. "Celine, it's so late already. You work too hard. Should I give you a raise?"

"Are you familiar with Fiona?" Celine blurted out. "You seemed to be having a good time with her earlier."

"So what? Are you jealous?" Standing in front of the desk, Charles leaned forward and smiled knowingly at Celine.

Turning her head away, she sprang to her feet in an attempt to dodge him.

With a mocking smile, Charles said, "You've been ignoring me since you came back from abroad. How do you think I feel about that?"

"Charles! What do you mean?" Eyes widened, Celine glared at Charles.

He suddenly reached out his arm and pulled her close to him. Then he whispered in her ear, "Is your memory that short? Who was pestering me for the past few years? Who wanted to get into bed with me? Have you already forgotten those wonderful nights we spent together?"

After a long while, Celine stammered, "But I... We agreed to forget about it once we came back from abroad."

"Yes, we did." Charles casually nodded his head. "I know you want to get back together with Spencer. Do as you like. Do you really think I care about you? He can have the woman I dumped. I look forward to seeing how that turns out for him." With that, he pushed Celine away from him and casually fixed his sleeves. "You better not come running to me for help."

Suddenly, Celine felt as if her legs had turned to jelly, her face deathly pale. Leaning against the back of her chair, she said in a trembling voice, "I won't... Spencer and I will be together. But you can't tell anyone what happened between us! Don't tell anyone!"

"Who do you think you are? You don't deserve to be linked to me." Charles raised his eyes, turned around, and headed to the door. "Even if you want to get into my bed in the future, you will have no chance. I hope Spencer can satisfy you."

Bang!

The door was slammed shut. Celine slumped into her chair, unable to regain her composure.