Chapter 273

Without a hint of hesitation, Finn Eaton said, “Yes, I do like her.”

Thorn Noir was stunned, not expecting him to admit it so bluntly.

Finn said, “Does it matter? I haven’t done anything to mess with her life. It’s my own business–it has nothing to do with her, and even less to do with you.”

Finn spoke his mind openly and without reservation. Finn carried with him a gentle openness and a sunny sense of integrity. Thorn felt himself a vermin in muck: twisted, paranoid, drowned in shadow.

“Finn, do you think you’re some kind of saint? She’s so gorgeous, there’s no way you haven’t thought about having her. You’ll definitely fight me for her. Stop pretending. We’re both men–who doesn’t have those filthy thoughts?”

Finn’s expression shifted instantly, the warmth in his eyes replaced by cold sharpness. Seeing that, Thorn felt a twisted sense of satisfaction. “See? I knew you were just putting on an act, saying all that self-righteous crap.”

“Thorn, seriously, you need to learn how to respect others. She’s not some prize for you to fight over, and she’s definitely not someone for you to project your filthy thoughts onto. I’m not denying you like her, but maybe you should take a good look at yourself and figure out what’s wrong.”

Finn stood up and set the bowl down on the table. “I suggest you drink the medicine. The trip back is going to take days. Sienna said we’ll have to keep switching ships along the way. If you’re just going to be bedridden the whole time, then just go back home by yourself.

“Finn, I don’t believe in you. If she came to you right now and said she wanted to be with you, I wouldn’t believe you’d say no.”

Thorn didn’t get even a shred of satisfaction from Finn. Instead, he was shaking all over, grinding his teeth in frustration.

“I’ve never claimed to be some noble guy. You’re right–if she came to me right now and said she wanted to be with me, there’s no way I’d turn her down, no matter what stands between us. I’d fight with everything.”

Thorn was furious. He glared at the bowl of medicine on the table, itching to smash it, but Finn’s words were a threat hanging over his head. If they really switched ships, he’d be left here all by himself.

There was no way he was going to let Finn have his way. Thorn grabbed the bowl and gulped down the medicine. The moment it hit his mouth, his eyes nearly rolled back in his head.

Thorn cursed. “This is bitter as hell. It tastes even worse than shit. Finn, you must do this on purpose. You sneaky bastard.”

“Finn, you’re here,” Sienna Hart said, standing alone on the deck.

Ethan stood by her side. “Yeah, just gave him his medicine. Thanks for helping out this time, Sienna.”

“No problem. Don’t you think the night view is gorgeous?” Sienna said, gazing out at the ocean.

Finn’s eyes reflected her silhouette as he replied, “Yeah, so beautiful, it’s almost overwhelming.”

“We’re always in such a rush that we forget there’s scenery along the way–things we’ve missed.”

“No worries. We can always go back and find what we missed. We’ve still got plenty of time, don’t we?”

“That’s true.” Sienna gave him a smile.

Vivian Hart was parachuted in as the new vice president of Hart Corporation. Everyone doubted her from the start–she graduated from some no-name university. After that, she’d only ever done grunt work at small companies. How could she run a major corporation?

But it only took Vivian half a month to win everyone over. She proved herself with real results, showing she could be the perfect right-hand for Sienna and take a huge weight off her shoulders.

For the company banquet, Vivian needed a date, and the first person who came to mind was Nathan Winslow. He was all about making money. That made him the perfect choice–no strings attached, no unnecessary drama.

“Seriously! Miss Vivian Hart is inviting me? I’m honestly a little flattered,” Nathaniel said, unable to hide his surprise.

The moment he got the call, his heart started pounding wildly and giddy, like he was floating on cloud nine. Then he quickly regained his composure.

Vivian said, “Stop joking around. Just give me a straight answer–are you in or not?”

“Of course I’m in! Why would I turn down easy money? But just so you know, my fees aren’t cheap. Miss Vivian Hart, seeing as we’ve known each other, I’ll give you half off. What do you say?”

“Just charge me your usual rate. Since we know each other, all the more reason not to take advantage of you.”

“Miss Vivian Hart, you really know how to get straight to the point. Then it’s a flat rate of ten grand. That’s my special newbie rate. If you’re not satisfied, just treat it as tossing coins to a beggar."

“Alright, let’s meet at 8 tonight at Azure Hotel.”

“How could I let a lady wait for me? I’ll come pick you up tonight.”

“It’s up to you.”

These days, it was always Vivian representing Hart Corporation, which made Wayne Sinclair a bit suspicious. ‘Is Sienna still not fully recovered?’

“Vivian, has your sister been resting at home lately?” Liam asked.

Vivian replied, “Wayne, my sister had something to take care of outside and hasn’t come back yet.”

“Where did she go?”

Vivian shook her head. “Sorry, Ms. Sinclair, I really don’t know.”

Actually, Sienna had told her, but Vivian just didn’t want anyone else to know.

“Alright. Thanks,” Liam said.

Wayne sent a message to Sienna, but it was like tossing a stone into the sea–there wasn’t a single ripple in response. ‘Is she away on a business trip?’ she wondered.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find a single trace of Sienna.

[Nora Sinclair, do you know where Sienna went?]

Nora: [Yeah, I know. She told me a few days ago she was heading to Pyreson for a company inspection. Why, do you need something from her?]

(Just asking.)

Wayne felt a vague sense of unease, like something was lurking just beneath the surface, ready to show itself at any moment.

The next day, Amber took Claire Quinn to buy a laptop. “Hey, I want the priciest and best computer you’ve got.”

‘Ladies, could you tell me what you will use the computer for? That way, I can help you pick out the best-performing one.’

“You’re actually coming out to buy a computer? Just have your staff do it for you,” Claire said.

Amber shook her head. She hadn’t meant to break Winifred Hart’s laptop yesterday–it was just that she was so caught up thinking while Winifred was talking. So she accidentally messed it up.

Luckily, after spending all night digging around, Amber found out that Winifred needed the absolute top-of-the-line computer specs as a hacker.

In the end, Amber dropped a whopping 200 thousand dollars on a top-tier computer.

Winifred had grown pretty attached to her old laptop–it was the first thing she bought with her first paycheck. After all these years, she never thought it would finally reach its limit and give out on her. She finally decided to buy a new one.