Back in the country, Locke Group and Hart Group did not give way to each other, causing everyone in the city to live in fear. As the two large companies were in dispute, they implicated many small enterprises and caused them to close down one after another.
Even the Langston Group, who had always been watching the fight from afar, had been affected. Nevertheless, Blake didn’t dare to tell Robert about what was going on. If Robert were to find out that Langston Group had gotten into such big trouble under Blake’s management, the old man would never let him off easily.
Although Robert had informants in Langston Group, Blake hadn’t notified many people in the company regarding this issue. Thus, the informants Roberts planted in the company didn’t catch a whiff of this news.
The Langstons are on the verge of bankruptcy and Blake had been trying to solve it. However, he had forgotten that this hole in his finances would become an abyss once it got too big. That was the case now, and he could not fix it no matter how hard he tried.
With no other choice, he could only think of Caleb who had a powerful background with strong financial power. As Robert didn’t tell Blake about the grudge between the Langstons and the Moriartys, Blake only knew Caleb as a distinguished guest, and that they had a relationship with Moriarty Family. That was how Blake got the idea of getting help from Caleb, but he didn’t consider the fact how Caleb and Robert weren’t exactly on good terms.
As for the excuse to meet him, Blake thought of Everly. However, to be frank, her relationship with Caleb was complicated at this moment––which was caused by Blake.
Now that he thought of it, he felt happy about his previous arrangement. It was a good decision to ask Everly to be acquaintances with Caleb. Though the status of their relationship was unclear, they definitely had something going on between them.
Previously, Blake was even worried that Caleb might not be interested in Everly, but it seemed that he had fallen for that pretty face of hers. With that thought in mind, he decided to take immediate action. Today, Everly was at school, so he figured he would look for her there. Lucky for him, Heather was not around for the time being. Otherwise, she might sense something. He didn’t want to get into trouble with her as this matter would get to Robert if she knew.
Honestly, he wished that she would stay in Iceland longer as he wanted to repair the hole in Langston Group’s finances before got back. Aside from Caleb, there wasn’t anyone else who could help him.
Before Matthias went overseas, Blake had actually met him intending to have a collaboration. Who would’ve known that Matthias didn’t even bother to entertain him at all; he simply told Blake that he would deal directly with Robert about the collaboration. At the end of the day, Blake didn’t get any benefits from Matthias’ end.
Aside from that, Blake had also considered getting help from Tony. He tried visiting him in person, but Tony didn’t bother to give him any chance. He wouldn’t even let Blake into his villa. For now, all of his hope was on Caleb. Blake wondered if Everly was enough of an excuse to meet him. After leaving the office, that was all that was on his mind.
Not long after, he had arrived at the university that Everly studied at. Despite being an insignificant and almost transparent person in the Langston Family, she was very famous in school. Not only was she friendly, but she was also beautiful. Hence, she was known as the campus belle.
When Blake appeared in front of Everly, she was happily chit-chatting with a few other pretty girls. They seemed to be having fun with whatever they were chatting about.
Blake’s unexpected presence caught her off guard while the people around them stared at him. In front of outsiders, especially beauties, he would always show his chivalrous side. Not to mention, his good-looking face often attracted the attention of most women.
“Blake,” Everly called out to him.
Hearing that, he flashed her a smile that he thought was charismatic. If he knew that she had so many gorgeous female friends, he would’ve come to visit her more often. Even at times like these, he’d have such intentions. Whether it was out of his habit or just him being in his natural state, his sinful thoughts were piqued.
“Everly, something happened back at home. I need you to come with me,” he said what he had planned beforehand.
Upon hearing that, she felt odd. Even if something had truly happened back at home, he wouldn’t come looking for her in person. Thus, she deduced that it was a lie. Nevertheless, it was not appropriate for her to retort right in front of the other students.
That left her no choice but to cooperate with him. She then went along with the act and followed Blake. When it came to acting, she was rather skillful. She could lie without blushing or having her heart race. Moreover, she had become pretty pretentious after being by Caleb’s side for some time, having picked up a skill or two.
Under everyone’s gaze, the two of them left. Blake had even given a flirtatious look toward a girl who was quite good-looking before turning his heels to leave. As to whether she fell for that, he was not in the mood to think about it.
At this moment, Blake was leading the way as he took wide, quick strides, making Everly struggle to catch up. Since they were no longer watched by others, he didn’t bother hiding his true colors. Despite it being Blake who needed help from Everly, he wasn’t giving her much respect as usual. In fact, he was never chivalrous toward the ladies at home unless he needed something from them.
“Blake, don’t walk so fast. I can’t keep up with you,” she took the initiative to say. When they were at home, she usually wouldn’t say anything. However, she was braver to speak up in school.
At once, he slowed down his steps. He must have walked rather fast because he was worried about something. Taking a glance at her, he tried to keep the same pace as her. Meanwhile, she couldn’t stop wondering why he was here to look for her.
Just as she was contemplating whether to ask him about his ulterior motive of coming, he had come to a stop as his car was just in front. With that, he directly told Everly, who looked like she was about to say something, “Get into the car.”
To be honest, she didn’t want to get in his car, but she could not reject him in this situation. Thus, she hopped onto the back seat despite it being unpolite as she was not used to sitting with him.
“Blake, I want you to tell me what your true motives are right now!” she said after she was well-seated.
Looking at her from the rearview mirror, he tried to look for anything suspicious in her expression. She might have sensed that as she looked away so he could not see her face. Hence, he averted his gaze from the rearview mirror to the car ahead of him. Seeing how he didn’t answer her, she was beginning to panic, but she refused to ask him any further.
The car came to a stop at a crossroad. The traffic light here had a long waiting time, so he spoke up again while waiting for the next green light. “Everly, do you know where Caleb lives?” It felt like a question that he already knew the answer to; thus, she feel weirded out.
After a brief pause, she unwillingly answered, “Blake, why are you asking me this? How would I know where he stays?” Since it was an act, she wouldn’t want to be too serious about it so she played dumb.
It seemed that he had predicted an answer like this from her. Hence, he continued, “I’m sincerely asking you about Caleb because I have something important to ask of him.” Blake told her earnestly.
“But I can’t help with anything.” She was still trying to deny the relationship between herself and Caleb.
Upon hearing that, Blake told her, “You don’t have to hide your relationship with Caleb when you’re with me.” His tone was getting hostile. He had already planned to take the hard way if Everly refused to cooperate.
In his eyes, she was still a young girl who was easily intimidated. Should his initial method not work, he’d just threaten her. He believed that she would not be able to handle that.
“Blake, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Though she was fearful, she still insisted that she did not have any sort of relationship with Caleb.
“Everly, I heard about your little escapade to look for him.” As he spoke, he pulled out substantial proof to threaten her. He was confident that she would cave in soon at this rate.
That caught her off guard. Not only did Blake know that she had secretly gone to find Caleb, the guy even had someone take pictures of them. Though the initial purpose of taking these pictures was not for this, he didn’t mind using them now. That was why Blake acted so brazenly as he had the upper hand now.
Seeing how she wouldn’t answer, he continued, “Someone caught you going to a shopping mall with Caleb with his own eyes. According to him, you have a very close relationship with him.” After hearing those words, Everly became nervous.
“Impossible,” she retorted. How was it possible that she was intimate with him? They were obviously not a good match when they were together. Moreover, he had always treated her coldly.
“Don’t deny it so quickly, I still have more pictures. Would you want to see if it’s you and Caleb in them?” Since it was not progressing well, he could only resort to taking out the pictures.
However, she was not up to seeing pictures of herself and Caleb together. After all, how awkward would that be? It seemed that Blake got hold of something since he was treating her this way.
“There’s no need.” With a dark face, she spoke with a tone so cold that it resembled that of Heather’s.
“In that case, can you tell me where he is?” That was his ultimate intention, after all. Due to Caleb’s unknown location, Blake couldn’t even attempt to visit him.
“I’m not sure. He usually doesn’t just stay in one place,” she told him the truth. It was indeed difficult to meet Caleb.
“Then can you contact him? I’m sure you have his contact number,” he asked, unwilling to give up. It was imperative that he meet Caleb today.
“No. He won’t give me his phone number. Searching for him is harder than reaching the stars,” she said. While she was feeling a little displeased at Blake’s persistence, she felt even more uncomfortable because of her awkward relationship with Caleb.
