Stuck in you

Chapter 343 Traded His Son's Love For Benefits

With a charming smile on his face, Jack asked, "Why are you even focused on dealing with other people's problems? Shouldn't we talk about our relationship first?"

Rachel straightened her posture and swirled her spoon in the coffee. "Hasn't it always been this way between us? Do you really have anything else you want to say?"

"What do you think?"

Jack grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

He thought that he could wait for her until she said that she was willing to come back to him, but after seeing that Bill was also pursuing her, he couldn't help but feel worried.

"Haven't you seen how I behave recently?" he protested, waving his arms up in the air. "Now that Celine has left, there's nothing stopping us from being together."

"It's not that!" Rachel just didn't know how to express herself.

Although Celine was the reason why they had broken up in the first place, the woman still left a mark in their relationship. Every time she wanted to start over, the joy she felt would be replaced by anxiety and fear again.

She was afraid that it would happen all over again.

Rachel pursed her lips. "Can't you just give me some time? Let's talk about it later." Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Maybe, in the near future, the uneasiness would dissipate.

Sitting on the sofa, Bill watched as Howard paced back and forth in the living room. The older man folded his hands behind his back as he stopped and glanced at them from time to time.

It'd been twenty minutes since he had arrived.

"Why did you come here?" Bill asked.

Howard stopped walking. Finally, he turned to look at him. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he shook his head and sighed. He didn't know what to say.

Although Bill was patient, Andy couldn't take the silence anymore. He shuffled anxiously and snapped, "If you don't have anything to say, then you can go back and think it over. Do you know how busy Bill is?"

"What is he busy with then? Busy chasing another man's woman?"

However, he regretted those words as soon as they left his lips. Staring into Andy's widened eyes and the frown that slithered its way into Bill's lips, he quickly explained, "That was wrong of me. Bill, have you gone out with Rachel a lot recently?"

"Yes," he answered. "How did you know?"

Howard decided to sit on the sofa and pick up a teacup. After gulping down the tea in one sip, he handed it to Andy. "Do you mind getting me another cup?"

"Just say what you want to say first." Andy crossed his arms, agitated to know what he was about to say. As soon as he heard Rachel's name, he couldn't help but take two steps forward.

"Get me some tea."

"Go, Andy,"

Bill said and waved his hand. He knew that Howard didn't want Andy to overhear the conversation. Besides, Bill had a feeling that he knew what Howard was going to say.

"I was afraid that he'd be too anxious," Howard explained. "It would be bad for his health."

"I understand. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

The young man leaned back.

Howard had been so used to his son's smiling face that he couldn't help but nervous when the young man became serious. He clenched his fists and cleared his throat. With that, he began to tell him the events that had unfolded while he was in Jack's office.

When Howard saw the project proposal that the MK Group had just acquired, he couldn't help but be a little bit excited. "Mr. Fu, don't worry. Our company has completed many resorts. We're already very experienced when it comes to this field."

Seeing the expectation and glee in the man's eyes, Jack sneered and pretended to have just seen the name of the project. He shook his head sheepishly. "Oh, it seems that I've made a mistake."

He stood up and walked to his desk. He took another file and handed it to him. It was totally different from the previous project. This was just a park reconstruction, and the asking price was three million. Compared to the one billion project, this was nothing.

Noticing the disappointment flashing in his eyes, Jack smiled. "I was hoping that you could help me take over this project." "Mr. Fu, this project can be finished by some other company. We don't want to deal with this." Howard was about to turn and leave. His face was already blubbering with anger from the insult Jack had shot at him. Jack crossed his legs and lit a cigarette. "Mr. Wu, it seems that you still don't know where you stand yet. As far as I know, your company hasn't taken any project in for nearly a month, right? Do you plan on eating air?" Howard's face turned bright red. "Jack, did you ask me here to come and insult me with such a small project? I'm your father's friend, and this is how you treat me?" "All I want is to make a deal with you." Jack flicked his cigarette onto the crystal ashtray and smiled. "If you agree, your company's guarantee in the bank plus the resort cooperation case will be given to you

without a problem." The bait was far too tempting for Howard to refuse. Swallowing his pride, he returned to the sofa. "What do you want?"

Speaking of this, Howard exhaled shakily. He glanced at his son from time to time, and his cheeks reddened from the embarrassment.

"And what happened?"

Although Bill's face was still indifferent, his two hands were clenched into fists.

Howard sighed and shook his head, changing the topic. "My friend's daughter just came back from abroad. How about I'll arrange a date for you?" he offered. "I've seen the girl before. She's tall, good- looking, and nice. I think you'll fit well."

"What are you trying to say? Just spit it out," Bill quickly interrupted.

He lit up a cigarette. "Just tell me about the deal. It must've something to do with me. Otherwise, you wouldn't even be here in the first place."

Although Bill always had a cigarette with him, he rarely smoked. He only did it whenever he was extremely upset.

Even Howard didn't know that he could smoke. He frowned. "When did you learn how to smoke?"

Bill stared at the old man coldly.

Coughing to cover his embarrassment, Howard protested, "Cigarettes aren't good for your health. You shouldn't use them."

Bill snorted. "Well, you're not a good father, yet I'm stuck with you either way."

Howard jolted up his seat. His eyes glazed over with anger, but in an instant, they dimmed down. "Fine, I may not have been a good father, maybe even not a dutiful father, but consider my words carefully.

There are plenty of good girls in the city. No matter how amazing Rachel is, she's a divorced woman. With your background, you can have anyone you want. Why would you settle for her?"

Finally, Bill was able to piece the puzzle together. He stubbed out his cigarette. "Don't tell me that the condition you had with that asshole was for me to back off," he snarled.

As soon as he finished his words, a clattering sound echoed across the hall. Andy let the teacup crash heavily onto the floor as he trembled with anger. "How dare you!" he yelled, pointing at Howard. "Are you even his father? Why are you trying to do this?"

"I'm doing this for his sake!" Howard protested, but he didn't seem convinced by his own words.

Andy snorted. His face was flushed in anger, and his veins were pulsing. "For Bill's sake, we shouldn't ask him to give up on Rachel. They're both single. What's so wrong with them being together? Why would you do this to your son for such a small profit? Are you even his father?"

Howard's nostrils grew as he slammed his fists onto the table.

He wanted to refute him, but Andy was still his elder. At last, he could only wave his hands around helplessly. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Well, it seems that you have to talk to me. You don't even care for Bill back then. Now, you want to waltz right in and interfere with his relationship?" Andy motioned to the door. "You might as well get out!"

Howard sighed, pinching his nose. "You don't understand!"

He glanced at Bill. "Jack has never given up on her. Don't you understand? With your condition, do you really think you can compete with him? I won't interfere if she was someone else's, but she's with Jack!"

"So what? Why couldn't Bill compare with him? Whose side are you on?" Andy crossed his arms, refusing to listen to another word that came out of the man's mouth.

"Could you think for a second, Andy? Whether it comes to family background, ability, even physical conditions, Jack is still much better than Bill. Do you want him to fail? Do you want him be depressed?"

Andy was rendered speechless. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "But, we can't ask him to give up if he doesn't try!"

Even then, he still wasn't convinced.

Listening to the conversation between them, Bill finally had enough of their agreement. He slammed his fists against the tea table. "Enough!" he roared. "This is my business. I get to say what's going to happen. I'll be heading back to my room."

He stood by the window and smoked one cigarette after another. The more he coughed, the more he smoked.

No matter how much he hated his father, what he said was right.

He couldn't compete with Jack, but that didn't mean he couldn't try.

When the taxi arrived at the gate of the community, Rachel took out her wallet and was about to pay the driver when her phone rang.

Once she paid the fare, she answered, "Hello?"

"Are you home?" Jack said with a smile.

Upon hearing his voice, she couldn't help but grin. "I just arrived at the community. I'm heading to the elevator."

In the cafe, Jack agreed to not ask her any more. Just as he was about to return to the apartment as well, he was pulled back to handle another company emergency.

After hanging up the phone, Rachel happened to pass by Joan Liu, an old woman, who was also waiting for the elevator.