Chapter 449 Shane Patronising Avery
“How about this? Cole, just come over here and chat with us. Have some snacks and relax a little. Let’s call it a day.” Rick suggested, having decided to stop thinking about the dilemma with Shane.
There was no point in probing further after all. Just as Kendall said, if he accidentally dug up anything that Shane wouldn’t be able to explain, it would bring nothing but trouble. Furthermore, it was just a matter of inviting someone out for a meal. Keeping a closer eye on Christopher instead of worrying about such a small matter was more important.
After all, no one was able to discern Shane’s thoughts, but they at least had some inkling of Christopher’s.
Cole sat down and said, “I’ve asked Mr. Fuller at what point should I prevent you guys from investigating. However, he told me to let you guys have free rein, no matter the circumstances.”
“That just means that he’s certain we’re not going to find anything out of place if we did investigate him further. He’s already prepared for everything, I’m really…” Rick shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know what else to say. I’ve always felt that we were on the same boat, you know? That we should be on par with each other, but he always seems to have the upper hand every time! I think he just likes toying with me.”
“I think you might be right.” Kendall continued, “I’ve always felt that Shane’s thoughts were unique, but he never shares these thoughts with us. It’s really difficult to tell what he’s thinking about most of the time. He’s very unlike Braden. Most of the time, I can guess what Braden’s thinking. He’s not like Charlotte as well. Her thoughts are always blatantly obvious, it shows on her face. Shane’s really good at hiding whatever it is he’s thinking.”
Kendall expressed her thoughts. As he listened to her, Rick suddenly had an epiphany.
Kendall could understand Braden most times, but Braden could understand her much better. Furthermore, she could see through Charlotte because she knew and understood her. Therefore, Rick couldn’t see through Shane not because he was unfamiliar with him. It was just because Shane had never taken the initiative to tell anyone his thoughts.
Although she didn’t know how Charlotte found out that Shane was going to do something to Christopher, Rick knew that Shane must not have told her everything willingly.
In other words…
Rick began to feel uneasy, but he held himself back from saying anything. Once Cole left, he remained in the room with Kendall and said to her, “Kendall, do you think it’s possible that Shane might have joined forces with Christopher?”
“What? Why would he?” Kendall cast him an innocent look. “Even if they did cooperate, it must be for something beneficial, right? Perhaps Christopher has something Shane wants.”
“You might be right. But the thing is, we don’t know what Shane wants.”
Kendall scratched her head. “If we don’t know what it is, do you think Christopher does? Aren’t they arch enemies or something like that?”
Rick felt that something was off about the whole situation, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. He thought everything seemed too simplistic on the surface, especially the way Shane was acting. Rick had done all that he could to search for his address before, but had come up empty-handed. The information he had gathered this time seemed a little too easy to get a hold of. It was suspicious.
Countless people have tried to find any information they could about Shane, but none have succeeded. It was too easy this time.
“It’s too simple. There must be something wrong with it,” Rick muttered to himself.
“Why are you still thinking about Shane at this time? Are you secretly in love with him or something?” Kendall pouted her lips in discontent.
“What are you talking about?” Rick asked helplessly.
“It’s the middle of the night, and you’re still yapping on about Shane. Don’t you want to spend some time with me?”
She was right.
With Kendall by his side, what was he still thinking about Shane?
Rick held Kendall in his arms and pinched her nose with his long fingers. “Alright, I’ll leave that alone for now. Come on, let’s do something together. What do you want to do?”
“Let’s play a game!”
She took out her gaming pad proudly, as if she was presenting a treasure.
Rick laughed fondly. He knew that he had to share Kendall’s love of gaming.
…
The next day.
The photo of Charlotte, Shane, and Cassius having a meal together became a hot topic of discussion.
Only then did everyone begin to theorise that Charlotte had been out with Cassius the day before to negotiate terms on a future project. The project was said to be proposed by Shane and Avery, and Shane had arrived later than the other three because he had a personal matter to attend to.
“That’s so funny! Now let’s see if anyone will still say that Cassius is Charlotte’s favourite.”
“I’ve looked it up! Isn’t it true that Shane transferred his money to Charlotte? That means he really loves her, right? They must still be together!”NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.
“You fools really think that just because Charlotte would dare cheat on Shane after he did that? Are you dumb?”
The dilemma was settled just like that.
Cassius sighed at Shane’s great talents. But at the same time, he felt upset.
Shane hadn’t done anything but post a picture up on social media. He had completely overturned the public’s opinion of Charlotte by doing such a simple thing. Cassius himself had done the same thing as well, but why did it not work for him? Why was there such a huge difference?
Cassius could not understand, but he could not help but feel a little undignified.
Was it because he didn’t have any money?
“I guess that settles it then.” Avery poured a glass of wine and said to Shane, “My dear friend, when will you be going back?”
“Tonight.”
“That’s good.” Avery nodded, “We’ll get back as soon as possible after we finish up here.”
“Will you be keeping an eye on me, or Christopher once I get back?”
Avery did not expect Shane to confront him so directly. He coughed. “Cassius is still here. It’s not appropriate to discuss things like that with him here.”
“I don’t think it’s inappropriate.”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Cassius immediately raised his glass and made a toast. “I really don’t mind. Mr. Fuller, you have always been someone I’ve looked up to. If you guys need to discuss anything in private, I can go first. I was planning to take a walk in the park nearby anyway.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Shane refused. “I have something to discuss with you.”
Cassius sat down awkwardly. He didn’t even know where to put his hands.
He really didn’t know what Shane wanted to talk to him about.
“Do you know Zayn?”
Cassius nodded.
“He’s keeping himself hidden because of what happened with you before. Now that he’s back in the public eye, you’ll have to figure out a way to kick him out of the entertainment circle as soon as possible.”
“But can’t you just get him to do that with a word?”
“I’m not familiar enough with the entertainment industry to do that. I can provide you with the resources you need to do it though,” Shane said.
It was only then that Cassius understood that Shane was negotiating with him, and the purpose of it was to kick Zayn out of the industry. He bit his lip and thought for a while. He needed money to build his reputation, and he also needed it to help Westin out. Even though Charlotte and Avery told him that they would help him out with that, he knew that he would still need more money to help Westin out with his surgery aftercare.
Westin didn’t have much money, and he was still actively doing charity work. He had to help him out in his time of need.
As such, it was necessary to have more money in hand.
At that thought, Cassius made up his mind.
Cassius nodded immediately. “Okay, I can do it.”
It was not difficult to kick a person out of the entertainment circle just like that. Although Cassius was innocent, he understood that. He knew that something more insidious had to be done to make it happen.
Shane nodded and said, “Get in touch with me if you need anything.”
He handed him his business card.
On the business card, Shane had hand-written his name and phone number on it. He had used a pen with gold ink on the black card, making his name glint in the light. It gave off a sense of arrogance and aggression that made Shane seem infinitely superior.
This business card gave people the same feeling Shane did. It was overbearing, full of self-confidence and inspired awe, just like the man himself.
Cassius put the card away in his pocket.
“I thought that you were looking for Cassius for something else. Why didn’t you just let me handle that for you? It’s such a small matter. Why did you have to come all the way here for that?” Avery picked up the glass in front of him and gazed at it dully. “I guess you really don’t think I’m capable enough to handle this by myself, am I right? I thought after all this time, I would’ve at least won some of your trust, Mr. Fuller.”
“If you couldn’t even dispel the rumours about Charlotte on the Internet yesterday, how could I trust you with this?
Avery’s face froze. He put down the glass and glared at Shane. “Are you patronising me?”