Chapter 48: Don’t Push Me Away
“But you’ve been overworking yourself. That could be a cause for your stomach ache, too. Why are you making yourself so tired? You could pass on some of your work duties to others.”
“No. There’s something within our company that needs fixing. The investment company doesn’t feel satisfied with our strategy model. We haven’t received the final assessment report. Without the investment, we don’t have the resources to continue the business.”
“Is the investment company SSGB?”
“Yes. We could just find another company to invest in us, but SSGB is the most experienced in IPOs. The leading company in this country. We need their cooperation.”
“Is everything going well with your project?” She asked again.
“Yes, of course. We are confident that we will get the investment. But we are still quite new and inexperienced. We still need to iron some things out to impress them,”
“Just promise me that you’ll take care of yourself.”
When Selene exited the building, she felt perplexed. To some degree, Clint worked like a machine, rational and emotionless. And being in a relationship didn’t change that.
But Austin came across as obsessed.
She thought for a while by the roadside and finally decided to call Clint. She stared at Clint’s phone number and eventually hit the dial.
“Hello. Clint Denovan is speaking.” The cold voice came.
“Hey.”
“Selene? Did anything happen?”
“I want to ask you a question.” She said without hesitation.
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Did you delay the investment for Austin’s company on purpose?”
Clint kept silent for a while before eventually replying. “Yes, I did.”
“Why are you doing this to him?”
“Take a guess.” His cold voice rang.
Selene felt very angry, and she went silent for several seconds. When she finally snapped out of it, she continued, “If you have a problem with me, then take it out on me. But leave Austin out of this!”
“No. I’d rather do this to him.”
Selene suppressed her anger and calmed herself down. “Are you free? We could meet and talk about this face-to-face. I don’t want to delay this issue,”
“I’ve asked you to talk with me about our relationship, but you refused. Now, it’s my turn to refuse. It’s quite fascinating that my ex-wife exerted an effort for his new lover,” Then Clint hung up without any hesitation.
Selene’s blood boiled, and she called him again.
But Clint rejected the call straight away.
Selene did not relent. She decided that she must meet him and talk to him about it.
She had never gone to Clint’s company building, but she knew where it was.
She took a taxi and arrived there soon after.
The girl at the reception was beautiful and polite. “Hello, Miss. Are you here to see someone?”
“Yes. I’m here to see Mr. Clint Denovan.”
“Do you have an appointment with him?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay, what is your name? I will inform Mr. Denovan’s secretary.”
“Selene Morris.”
“Okay, please wait here for a moment.”
Selene was then informed that Clint’s secretary was in a meeting, so she was taken to a waiting room.
Half an hour passed.
One hour passed…
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Selene’s stomach growled. She was hungry. It was 40 minutes past 11, and the sun was up. She had been waiting for over 2 hours.
She thought that maybe Clint had forgotten about the meeting, or he was just doing this to her intentionally.
“Miss Morris. Please come in.”
When Selene finally arrived at Clint’s office, she entered and saw Clint looking at her with a half-smile.
“Mr. Denovan is really hard-working and busy.” Selene sneered.
“Yes, I’m busy reminding myself about your refusal to meet me before. But now you’re the one asking to meet me. I find that really interesting.”
“You probably know why I came here,” Selene said as calmly as she could manage.
“Yes, I know. You’re here to talk about the investment for Austin’s company. What’s your stand on it? You’re not part of the staff at his company nor a shareholder.”
“We’re friends.”
“Just friends?”
“Yes. And if you have a problem with me, don’t take it out on Austin. He struggled hard to start his business and worked himself to death every day to make it succeed.”
“Selene, are you here to beg for him? What makes you think it will work?”
“Yes, I’m here to beg you to let him prove his worth.”
“Go on then. Do it.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s lunchtime now, so why not ask me for lunch so we can talk about it over some food?”
Selene frowned and didn’t reply.
“What? Don’t you want to have lunch with me?”
“Yes, I do. But I’m not familiar with the area. So how about you choose a place to eat.”
They then went out, and Clint chose one of the best restaurants in the area. In addition, he ordered the most expensive dishes they had. Selene felt that it was a waste but didn’t say anything about it.
When the dishes were brought out to their table, Clint started eating with no hesitation, but Selene didn’t feel like eating.
“Please tell me, what on Earth do you want?” She asked with an irritated tone.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Let’s eat first before we talk.” Clint answered her calmly.
Finally, they finished their lunch, and Clint wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“I’m not deliberately throwing a spanner in the works. The program Austin made was perfect from a technique standpoint.”
“Yes. He’s been great at programming since he was in college. He received lots of awards for it.” Selene replied proudly.
“But the profit model in his business is very confusing. My staff could offer them advice on revising their financial model, but I don’t want to do it.”
“So the reason you’re refusing to do that is because of me?”
Clint sniffed and glanced at Selene. “Don’t be so self-centered. My actions don’t all revolve around you.”
Selene snorted and said nothing.
“I take everything into consideration when I make important decisions. I’m not like you, a person who doesn’t think things through before committing to them, such as when getting married or divorced. Austin and his partners are not good at operating businesses. But they are newly established, so I give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them the chance to improve.”