The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 62

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line.

"I'm coming too," he said.

"What for?"

"To eat."

Lavinia wanted to refuse but couldn't think of a good reason. Having someone else there wouldn't hurt.

"Alright, see you tonight."

She waited for him to say "see you tonight" before hanging up.

***

Lavinia accompanied Yumi to the restaurant, and Yumi went upstairs first.

Charley arrived shortly after. He asked if she had eaten, and when Lavinia said no, he found a small diner downstairs and sat across from her.

Lavinia had no appetite, just pushing her food around with her fork.

"Eat." Charley placed some food on her plate. "If you keep playing with it, I'll have to spoon-feed you."

Lavinia shot him a look and forced down a few bites.

Two hours later, Yumi came downstairs.

Her eyes were red; she had obviously been crying. When she saw Lavinia, her voice choked up. "That Tobin is a monster! He kept trying to touch me, and he threatened that if you don't go entertain him, the Jensen Group will never buy Duncan's products again and will blacklist him across the entire industry."

Lavinia's heart sank, and she turned to look at Charley.

Yumi finally noticed him and wiped her eyes. "Is this your brother?"

"Cousin," Lavinia lied smoothly.

Yumi's eyes lit up. "The one who made you soup?"

Lavinia nodded.

Yumi quickly dried her face, smoothed her hair, and leaned in. "Hey, can I get your number?"

Charley ignored the request. He glanced at Lavinia and said, "This whole mess started because of you, Lavinia. You need to put an end to it and give Duncan a clean resolution. Otherwise, your reputation in this industry is going to suffer."

"What should I do?" Lavinia asked.

Charley thought for a moment. "I'm going to make a call."

He stood up and stepped outside the diner.

She changed the subject. "Who were you calling out there?"

"Tobin's father, Conrad Jensen." He paused. "I set up a dinner with him for tomorrow."

Lavinia stared at him.

Charley's expression remained flat. "I got you the meeting, but you have to fix the problem yourself."

"Me?" Lavinia pointed at herself. "You mean me?"

"Yes." He didn't blink.

"I've never handled something like this before."

"There's a first time for everything."

"This is so hard." Lavinia pouted.

Her "cousin" was stricter than a real one.

She sat and thought for a while, recalling the lecherous way Tobin had stared at her.

"Fine," Lavinia sighed. "Let me figure out how to use this Mr. Jensen to my advantage."