Chapter 216

"Thanks for your concern, but there's nothing left to say between us."

With that, Christina didn't bother with pleasantries and walked straight out the door.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Though they weren't as powerful as William, they didn't expect to be dismissed so blatantly.

Each of them thought, no matter who Christina was, they'd make things difficult for her later.

William seemed to read their minds.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, a faint smile playing on his lips, but his words were icy.

"I gave you this opportunity, but it's best not to mess with Christina."

That single sentence made his stance clear.

Carl quickly chimed in, eager to please.

"Oh, Mr. Cavendish, you misunderstand. I think Ms. Windsor is very talented. I was just looking to invest and wanted to hear more opinions."

"Exactly, Carl's right. Ms. Windsor's presence just now was impressive."

With William's position made clear, no one dared to think otherwise.

"Alright, since you all feel that way, I'll give you some face. Send the proposal to my assistant. I'll review it and get back to you."

With that, William stood up, grabbed his coat, and left.

Carl was quick to follow, "Mr. Cavendish, wait, let me see you out."

But by the time he got outside, William was already gone.

Christina sat in her car downstairs, not starting the engine.

Why did she keep running into him?

William had come down as quickly as he could, but he still didn't see her familiar figure.

He sighed, feeling a bit down, but then he turned and locked eyes with Christina, who was staring straight ahead in her car.

After a moment's hesitation, he walked over and knocked on her window.

"Can we talk?"

Christina hesitated for a long time before rolling down the window.

William took the liberty of getting into the passenger seat.

"What do you want?"

Since regaining memories of her past life, Christina had been particularly cold towards William.

Gone was the aloofness he had upstairs. He now looked at her with a hint of pleading. "Do you need help with your company?"

Though phrased as a question, his eyes were eager, as if ready to support her studio to success, even to the point of going public, if she just nodded.

"If you have time to worry about me, why not worry about someone else?"

"And if I had known you were going to be there today, I wouldn't have gone."

These were Christina's true feelings.

William felt a pang of disappointment.

"I know I wronged you, but if you're determined to make a name for yourself, why not use the resources available to you?"

Christina turned to him, her expression shifting from cold to mocking.

"Yeah, why not use those resources? But what good would it do? It would only remind me of painful memories. I never expected this industry to be so small."

Christina had chosen this path precisely because William's company wasn't involved in it.

She thought she'd never run into him.

But fate had other plans, and here they were, sitting at the same table despite being in different fields.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't know you'd be there today. But I genuinely want to help you, as a way to make amends."

William wasn't sure what else to say.

Christina laughed coldly at the word "amends."

"Forget it. Are you trying to make amends, or is it just that you can't stand not having what you want? You know as well as I do that some things, once lost, can never be regained."

"Alright, Mr. Cavendish, please get out. I need to go."

Christina didn't want to argue with William any longer. He sighed and got out of the car.

"By the way."

Just as he was about to leave, Christina's voice stopped him. He turned back, hopeful she might say something to ease the tension.

But her next words crushed that hope.

"I know you have a lot of power, but I hope you won't bother me in the future. I have my own life."

"Sorry, I understand."

As soon as William closed the door, Christina turned the car around and sped off.

Carl and the others, who had come down from the building, noticed the scene.

Though gossip was natural, none of them dared to gossip about William.

So they stood in the hotel lobby, trying to be inconspicuous.

They were just waiting for William to leave, knowing it wouldn't be good to run into him.

But William was lost in thought and didn't notice them.

It wasn't until Christina's car was out of sight that he called his assistant. Within minutes, his car was brought to the entrance.

Once William drove off, the others finally emerged.

"I think there's something between Mr. Cavendish and Christina. Carl, you should seize this opportunity."

Carl scoffed, "You think I don't know that?"

They all went their separate ways.

Christina returned to her studio, feeling heavy-hearted.

Seeing her mood, everyone kept their heads down, not wanting to draw her attention.

"Prepare for a meeting in ten minutes."

Christina pushed aside her heavy feelings, planning to root out the mole and redesign their strategy.

Since this path was blocked, she'd have to find another way.

After all, she'd burned her bridges at that dinner.

Given their tendencies, it would be lucky if they didn't blacklist her from the industry.

Christina didn't know why she was acting this way.

Maybe it was the memories of her past life that made it impossible to pretend in front of William.

"What's wrong, boss?"

Her assistant was curious about the outcome of the meeting.

"Nothing much, just need to explore a new direction."

Once everyone was gathered in the meeting room, she asked about their recent activities.

"Fiona, Nina, how have I treated you two?"

The two women she addressed stood up, looking nervous.

"You've been very good to us, boss. The pay is the highest in the industry."

"Then why did you do this?" Christina threw the proposal in front of them. "Is this the design you came up with? Staying late every day just to give me this half-hearted work?"

"Do you remember how you got into this company? I gave you a chance when you were about to be exploited as free labor right out of college. Is this how you repay me?"

Fiona and Nina were terrified by Christina's words.

"Boss, we don't understand. We've been working late, but we just haven't had any inspiration..."