When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 288

“The show is over,” Charlotte reported. “The Harmon family is about to go bankrupt; it’s just a matter of a day or two. Their credit lines have been cut, and if they can’t secure more funding, they’ll have to declare bankruptcy. Jethro also deleted the video in front of her.” Henrietta nodded. “Good.” “Her face is injured again, though,” Charlotte added. “I told her to rest for two days. Just in time to witness the Harmon family’s downfall.” Henrietta smiled. “Perfect.” “You should have seen it,” Charlotte continued. “Artina is something else. She does all these terrible things, then turns it all around and insists she’s done nothing wrong. She even had the nerve to curse out Jethro, and she was so self-righteous about it. He almost lost his temper and killed her.” “Bad people never think they’re in the wrong,” Henrietta mused. “If they did, they wouldn’t do all those terrible things in the first place.” “True,” Charlotte agreed. “Anyway, it was so disgusting I almost couldn’t stand it. I had to bite my tongue to get through the whole charade. But it’s all good now. This chapter is closed. Next, we just sit and wait to spring the trap!” A smile bloomed on Henrietta’s face. “Yes. Thank you for your hard work. Come to the office for lunch.” “Okay!” Charlotte said happily. After hanging up, Henrietta exchanged a look with Winona Stetson. Winona understood and began to smile. Henrietta smiled back. Of course, the shameless Joaquin Leland had shown up again. Seeing their secretive smiles, he drawled, “What’s this? Plotting my murder?” Neither of them bothered to grace him with a response. Soon, it was lunchtime. Charlotte arrived at the office, and the three friends went out for a happy meal. There were plenty of restaurants near the company, including many high-end ones. They chose an upscale bistro on the thirtieth floor of a high-rise, with massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Sitting by the window, with the warm heating on, they could see the bright sunshine outside, free from the cold wind. The view was expansive, lifting their spirits. But Joaquin, with his complete lack of shame, had followed them. He even tried to sit at their table as if he belonged there. Henrietta’s face turned cold. “Were you invited?” she asked bluntly. “I invited myself,” Joaquin replied. “What? Is Ms. Sargent so stingy she can’t even treat me to a meal?” “That’s right, I am,” Henrietta said. “Please leave.” Joaquin was never one to be easily dismissed. “My leg hurts. I can’t walk.” Charlotte couldn’t help but chime in. “Why are you clinging to us like a leech? You’re the head of the Leland family, have you no shame?” Faced with Charlotte’s mockery, Joaquin simply said, “What good is shame? Can you eat it?” Charlotte gave up. This man was impossible. She pulled Henrietta down into a seat. “Forget it. Let’s just ignore him. The more attention we give him, the worse he gets.” Henrietta agreed. Ignoring him was the better option. Every time they engaged, Joaquin had a comeback for everything. But to Henrietta’s surprise, after she and Charlotte sat down, Winona actually sat across from them, next to Joaquin. They were now in a four-person arrangement. Henrietta slowly raised an eyebrow and nudged Charlotte under the table. Charlotte got the message and said nothing more. When the waiter arrived, Joaquin tossed his card on the table first. “Order whatever you want,” he said to Henrietta. “It’s on me.” Henrietta had no desire to be treated by him. However, Winona took the ordering tablet. Henrietta remained silent. Winona went on a tapping spree. When she passed the tablet to Charlotte, Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Whoa, Winona, are you planning on feeding the entire city? You ordered practically everything on the menu!” Henrietta was stunned for a second, then nearly burst out laughing. That was my Winona! Joaquin’s face instantly darkened. Winona nodded calmly. “Yes. Isn’t Mr. Leland treating?” She turned to look at Joaquin. Joaquin was speechless. “What’s wrong?” Winona asked. “Can’t afford it? Surely not? You are the head of the Leland family, after all.” Joaquin sneered. “Why didn’t you just order a thousand?” A hundred of each was clearly a provocation. Who knew that Winona would say, “Oh, okay.” She then turned to the waiter. “Excuse me, please make it enough for everyone in the building, then. Double everything.” The waiter was dumbfounded. Joaquin gritted his teeth. “What are you going to do with all that? Do you think this restaurant can even make that much?” “You told me to,” Winona said. “If they can’t finish today, they can finish tomorrow.” Joaquin’s head throbbed. “Can you even eat it all?” “The entire company staff, plus the entire film crew, and we can have them take some home for their families. We should be able to finish it. If not, we can send some to the company next door. We’ll find a way.” Charlotte immediately chimed in, “Winona’s right! I’ll order a thousand of everything too!” With that, she decisively started tapping away on the tablet. After she was done, she asked Henrietta, “Henrietta, what do you want to eat?” Henrietta raised a cool eyebrow. “Should we try a bit of everything? A thousand of each?” Hearing this, Winona and Charlotte couldn’t help but laugh, giving her a thumbs-up. Charlotte handed the tablet to the waiter. “Just as Ms. Sargent said. If you can’t finish it all at once, don’t worry. Take your time. Just deliver it to the company whenever it’s ready. Mr. Leland is paying, so just charge his card accordingly.” Faced with such a request, the waiter could only take the tablet and say, “Yes, sir.” Joaquin looked like he was about to laugh from sheer anger. “You three are really something.” But after he said that, not a single person paid him any attention. And he was still the one footing the bill. Charlotte and Henrietta started whispering to each other. Winona pulled out her phone and started playing a game. Joaquin was left talking to himself.