As soon as Charles started to eat, everyone else reluctantly ate as well. On the other hand, Lance looked at Charles for a moment and felt relieved by what he just said. He cast Rachel a hurried glance before Charles could notice this, and hinted her to do what she needed to do.
Rachel's eyebrows furrowed in resignation. She turned her head towards Holley and looked at her with guilt evident in her eyes.
Holley immediately read what was on her boss's mind just by looking into her eyes. Even though she was unwilling to leave, she still had to make a compromise right now for her revenge. Clenching her fists tightly once more under the table, she heaved a deep breath to control her anger. Then, she transfixed her gaze on Charles and said calmly, "Very well then. Mr. Lu had expressed his dislike of me being here, so excuse me everyone, and please, enjoy your meal."
She stood up and placed her chopsticks down slowly before she exited the private room with reluctance.
Rachel sighed as soon as Holley left, thinking that this would ease Charles' anger. Before she could accost the stone-cold CEO, however, a nonchalant and loud voice cut through the silence. "Ms. Bai, don't you think you should accompany your excellent subordinate outside?" Charles asked, slanting his defiant eyes at Rachel.
Rachel's eyebrows slightly twitched as she stared flabbergasted at Charles. She did not want to believe it, but the implication in his message was obvious. Not only did he plan to kick Holley out, but he also planned to kick herself out.
'So, this is why he invited me to this meal. This is to take revenge. He wanted to embarrass me and Holley deliberately in front of these people, ' she thought.
She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Mr. Lu, you... You..." With an awkward expression, she stammered, suddenly not knowing what to say as she was at loss for words.
'Asking me and Holley to leave means that he intends to make Tarsan Corporation an enemy.
I had made so many calls and tried to please these old men. Will my efforts be in vain because of this?' she thought.
Once again, Lance knew that if Rachel went against Charles' wishes, this dinner would not end well, so he turned to her, breaking the silence in hopes of breaking the tension as well. "Ms. Bai, didn't you hear what Mr. Lu just said? Just go and follow her," he urged. He wanted to remind the woman not to irritate Charles.
Initially, Rachel meant to argue with Charles to make herself stay here, but Lance chose to side with Charles, and no one was going to back her up here anymore. Eventually, she rose from her seat and stepped out of the room. 'I already messed up with Charles. I can't afford to cross with Lance as well, ' she reminded herself as she closed the door behind her.
Meanwhile, Holley was still outside the private room. She planned on leaving entirely, but she gave up that idea. The more she thought about what happened inside, the angrier she got. She was really upset about how Charles treated her, and she couldn't just let that go easily. Her eyes widened as the door opened and out was Rachel, who seemed to have been kicked out as well, judging by her facial expression.
Gaping at the frustrated woman, Holley asked, "What happened? Why are you here?"
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "Charles did this. I don't know what Sheryl said or did to him, but I'm sure that he humiliated us like that for her. It's so annoying! Why does he have to do this?" she whined with a disgruntled look.
In fact, she was more frustrated than how Holley felt at that moment.
Holley tried to calm herself down as she placed her hands on Rachel's arms. "Ms. Bai, I don't think we have any other choice. Now that Charles clearly despised us, we have to steal his clients. As soon as Tarsan Corporation is as strong as Shining Company, for sure, Charles will not ignore you anymore. What do you think?" Holley encouraged.
She was afraid that Rachel might not be able to survive this blow, so she tried to cheer her up.
Rachel looked back at Holley and with a resolved face, she assured determinedly, "Don't worry. I am not the kind of person who gives up easily. Now that I have made up my mind, I will not stop until I get what I want."
Holley removed her hands and smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear that, Ms. Bai. As long as you stick to your goal, I will be right beside you and help you out," she said, matching Rachel's determined voice.
Rachel looked back at the door of the room and turned to Holley. "Let's get out of this place. No need to waste time in places we are not welcome in," Rachel said. They started to walk outside of the restaurant with confidence and determination looming inside of them. For Holley, this setback shouldn't frustrate her too much at all. Even though her plan did not work, she was sure that she would resolve into another plan to handle Sheryl.
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