The CEO Gets What He Wants novel Chapter 361

When Nicole walked into the VIP lounge, she saw Cayden examining the back of Avery's neck with a look of distress.

The outline of Cayden's handsome face was even more distinctive under the hazy illumination of the lights. His tanned skin glowed and looked tantalizing.

The scene in front of Nicole brought out the green-eyed monster in her. It seemed that Cayden had showered all of his tenderness and attention onto an ordinary woman named Avery. He could not even be bothered to cast a glance at her when she walked in.

Nicole felt as though her heart was pierced by thousands of needles.

Her gaze then fell on Avery's face.

The latter's face was still as fair as before with the exception of the bandage around her neck. In that instant, Nicole was filled with disappointment.

Deep down, she began to curse that useless cat. Even after being injected with the drug, it was still unable to scratch Avery's face.

Nicole's intention was to disfigure Avery's face and not just hurt her neck.

Somehow, Avery could sense the jealousy and hatred zeroing in on her, and she looked up in time to witness Nicole's expression.

Just as Avery became annoyed, Nicole suddenly put on a gracious, smiling face.

Xander was seated at the head of the table with his legs crossed. The smoke from his cigarette made his gorgeous face appear even more seductive.

His magnetic brown eyes were bewitching. Outwardly, he was wearing an enchanting smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. One look at him would make chills run down anybody's spine.

There were a few senior managers and supervisors dressed in suits standing behind Xander.

The rest of the burly security personnel were also standing in line.

An impressive setting like that would make anyone frightened.

Nicole was a woman who had experienced such a scene many times in the past, and it did not freak her out, for her mentality had been trained to adapt to such situations. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for her assistant.

Although Nicole's assistant had gone to several grand events with Nicole in the past, she only had to deal with entertainment reporters most of the time. At that moment, the auras of both men who were sitting in the main seats were so overwhelming and stifling that it made the poor assistant's legs wobble as she walked.

Despite the tense atmosphere, Jacob and an attractive girl, who was dressed in a light blue uniform, were playing with the twins.

That girl was none other than Stephanie.

Nicole's swept a glance across Stephanie's exquisite face as she tried to remain calm.

It had been years since Stephanie last saw her. Nicole was no longer the same inferior, cowardly, sensitive, and scrawny girl from the orphanage. After having work done on her face, Nicole had already evolved from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.

There's no way Stephanie can recognize me now!

When Xander saw Nicole walk in, he flicked the ashes on the tip of his cigarette before getting up from his seat and walking toward her. “My apologies for disrupting your mealtime, Ms. Lambert. Unfortunately, there has been an incident at my club. One deranged cat has hurt my customer. This customer happens to be the woman of my friend, Cayden. We found out that the cat has been injected with a type of bacteria that caused the animal to become deranged and hurt others as a result. Ms. Lambert, did the cat hurt you?”

Nicole sat down graciously and smiled at Xander. “Mr. Gibson, thank you for your concern. I'm all right. When I arrived here today with my assistant, I met Ms. Rumpley by chance and even chatted with her for a while. She was still fine then. I didn't expect such a thing to happen...”

With that, Nicole looked at Avery with care and concern. “Ms. Rumpley, are you all right? It's no joke to be scratched by a cat. You will have to be vaccinated! If I haven't left earlier, perhaps, this wouldn't have happened to you.”

Nicole appeared so genuinely concerned about Avery. Anybody who was not in the know would think that the two women were as close as sisters.

However, Avery, who knew Nicole's true character really well, found her act amusing.

The two women were obviously love rivals, and Nicole hated her to the core. Yet, in front of Cayden, Nicole was able to put on a kind and gentle pretense without batting an eyelid. She was indeed an actress.

Avery responded with an impassive look, “Thank you for your concern, Ms. Lambert. I'm fine.”

“That's good to know, Ms. Rumpley. Looks are very important for women. If your face is ruined, then it will be disastrous,” said Nicole softly.

“Ms. Lambert, my intention of inviting you here today is to help with the investigation of this matter,” said Xander chivalrously.

Nicole rested her hand on a cushion on the couch and quivered ever so slightly when she heard that.

That sweet smile of hers was still plastered on her face, albeit a little stiff. “Mr. Gibson, what can you possibly mean? Are you insinuating that I was the one who injected the cat with the bacteria?”

“Please don't say that, Ms. Lambert. That's not what I meant. But, the surveillance cameras here indicate otherwise. It was your assistant who lured the cat into the restroom.”

Xander put out his cigarette with his slender fingers, and his eyes gleamed menacingly.

“My assistant? She has something to do with this incident?” Nicole put on a shocked expression and turned to look at her assistant. “What's going on?”

“Ms. Lambert, t-this has nothing to do with me. You know that I was by your side all the while...” Nicole's assistant was scared to death and quickly waved her hands to indicate her innocence.

One of the security guards played the video. In the surveillance footage, someone whose figure resembled that of Nicole's assistant could be seen luring the cat into the restroom. Even the way they dressed was almost similar.

The tips of Nicole's fingers turned cold. At that instant, she was thankful that she had disguised herself before she lured the cat.

Although she had not been in the entertainment industry for very long and her acting skill was a bit stiff, Nicole was still quite talented in the art of makeup.

She had witnessed makeup artists and stylists perform their skills on actors and actresses all the time. They could turn a beautiful woman into an ugly one, a man into a woman, or a skinny person into a chubby person.

After much observation, she knew a thing or two.

Back then, it did not warrant much effort from her to turn her figure into a slightly plump one that resembled her assistant. All she did was put on thicker clothes and wrap a scarf around her face.

After spending so much time with her assistant, Nicole was also very familiar with the way she moved.

Thus, she disguised herself as her assistant when luring the cat.

Therefore, even when the deed was exposed, she could let her assistant take the rap.

Nicole's assistant was dumbfounded.

The face of the woman in the video might be unclear, but judging from her figure, the way she dressed, and her gait, the culprit looked exactly like her. If Nicole's assistant wasn't wholly aware that she didn't do it, she might even believe that the woman in the video was herself!