The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes-Chapter 32- cared

Charles clearly knew the consequences of leaking the bid price for Phase Two to August. The shareholder of the "TZ" group, which Giles had investigated earlier, was Manfred. And Charles had long suspected the relationship between Manfred and August.

Instead of letting August waste effort trying to steal the final bid price, he might as well tell him directly.

But Charles was no ordinary man. It wasn’t generosity that made him hand the case over to Manfred—it was a calculated move: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

When he saw that the SK Group was also competing for the bid, Charles felt even more confident.

After Giles left, Charles took off his suit jacket, wearing only a black silk shirt, unbuttoned at the collar to reveal a delicate collarbone. He took out his private phone and skillfully dialed a number.

"Brian, here’s some insider info for you: two days from now, increase your bid for Phase Two of Golden Harbor by three points above your original offer."

This final move was a strike at the heart of the matter. Manfred would never suspect that Brian—the boss of SK Group—and Charles were sworn brothers. Charles certainly wouldn’t let his enemy gain the upper hand. Even if Charles had spent a lot of effort securing this project, giving it to his close brother Brian was more than justified.

The reason for the three-point increase was because Charles knew what Manfred was considering and figured he would anticipate it. Adding just one more point on top of their original bids would ensure total security.

"Your coffee!" Janet brought the freshly brewed coffee to Charles. Dressed in black, he was lazily leaning back in his executive chair, his back turned to her. Hearing her voice, Charles smoothly spun the chair 180 degrees. His obsidian-like eyes sparkled brightly, as if something happy had happened. His entire face looked different from the usual stern and cold expression.

"I think I’m getting more and more dependent on you!" Charles held the coffee cup, took a light sip, and the unique sweetness of the coffee—mixed with her special scent—seemed to make him love it even more.

Janet’s gaze naturally drifted to his handsome face. She noticed that when he said this, his expression was calm. She wouldn’t foolishly read any deeper meaning into his words. Placing a stack of documents signed by August in front of him, Janet turned and left the room.

Charles casually flipped through the files signed by August. His eyes showed no reaction until he reached the last page—the recently finalized cosmetics advertising contract. Seeing that the final brand ambassador had changed from IVANKA, whom he had originally favored, to Zoey, Charles’s gaze darkened with malice.

Zoey—the woman really was a persistent ghost.

So, August knew about their relationship, and this was deliberate?

Charles sneered. Then he closed the documents and pressed the speakerphone button on his desk.

"Novia, let Zoey be the brand ambassador for Yilu’s cosmetics. Have her come over to sign the contract."

They want to play games? Then, of course, he’d play along!

Janet was stunned as she stared at another large bouquet of fiery red roses on her desk—nine hundred ninety-nine blossoms in total. When the delivery courier brought such a lavish bouquet all the way to the 88th floor, the whole company had already heard the news. Janet had overheard some rumors when she came up earlier but never expected Manfred to be so hooked.

Just as she was about to throw the flowers away again, her phone on the desk rang. Seeing an unfamiliar number, a chill ran down her spine.

"Janet, you don’t like blue roses or red ones. How about I send you irises tomorrow?" Manfred’s rich voice sounded lazy, and Janet could easily imagine him saying this with the gentle, silky demeanor of a Persian cat—yet with claws ready to strike beneath.

"Manfred, what exactly do you want?" Janet glared angrily at the dewy roses. She had thought the flowers he sent yesterday were just a whim, but now it was clear he was serious!

"Want nothing but for you to accept them!" Manfred whistled cheerfully through the phone, and Janet found the sound aggravating. Was he burning money like paper? Such precious flowers must have cost a fortune!

And how did he even know she threw away his flowers?

"Let me say this again—I’m a married woman. Find some other woman to play these silly games with!" Janet couldn’t stand his arrogant attitude anymore. She angrily hung up the phone and without a second thought tossed the huge bouquet of fiery red roses into the trash.

As she turned to head to the tea room, she suddenly noticed Charles standing behind her. His eyes followed her gaze. Startled, she stepped back quickly, and the scalding hot water splashed onto the back of her hand, causing her to yelp in pain.

"How can you be so careless!" Charles, with a composed and handsome face, came to her side, placed her pink-doll porcelain cup on a nearby table, then gently took her burned index finger between his slender fingers and into his mouth.

Janet stared at his actions, wide-eyed with surprise. The burning finger rolled lightly between his lips and teeth, like a spiraling rotor in midair, sending ripples across the lake of her heart.

"Don’t do that!" Janet, feeling weak all over, quickly pulled her hand back. The redness and swelling seemed to ease, but a rosy flush had appeared on her cheeks, and she dared not meet his gaze.

She had promised herself to stay away from him, but every time she felt his tenderness, she couldn’t help but fall deeper.

"Saliva disinfects!" Charles smiled lightly at her adorable expression. Janet, confused, looked up and met his amused eyes.

"Huh?"

"You really are hopeless!" Charles playfully tapped her head, then slipped out of the tea room. Janet touched the spot he had tapped, a warm feeling flowing through her chest. Apart from Terrence, he was the first man to make her feel genuinely cared for.

Charles...

She was increasingly unsure about the complicated feelings she had for him.