Chapter 1414:
“But…”
“I’ve already compromised, Ms. Brooks, yet you keep dodging,” Winslow interrupted, his tone sharpening as he referenced her earlier tardiness, hinting she owed him the courtesy of drinking.
The other executives, sensing a spectacle, egged her on.
Trapped, Linsey relented through clenched teeth. “Fine.”
As she reached cautiously for the glass, Winslow’s rough hand suddenly clasped hers.
The chair scraped harshly against the floor as Linsey leapt up, her composure shattering. “Mr. Cooper, please treat me with respect!” she snapped.
Meanwhile, that evening, Collin found a rare moment of leisure and joined Dustin for dinner. Over clinking glasses, their conversation flowed easily, laced with the warmth of shared drinks.
Dustin, curiosity glinting in his eyes, leaned in. “So, you really cut Kylee off?”
Collin’s face remained impassive. “Yeah.”
Raising an eyebrow, Dustin pressed, “Word is, she’s devastated. She hurt herself in that bathroom incident, and after they pulled her out, she took a nasty fall, hit her head, and bled all over. She’s in the hospital now. Don’t you feel even a twinge of pity? Enough to check on her?”
Collin’s gaze sharpened, flicking toward Dustin. “Did Kylee’s manager put you up to this?”
Caught, Dustin showed no embarrassment, only offering a wry chuckle. “Nothing gets by you, does it?”
Collin returned to the matter at hand, his voice turning frigid. “I made my choice to end it. Whether she lives or dies is no longer my concern.”
Dustin, undeterred, ventured further. “Is this about Linsey?”
That very evening, Dustin had learned the startling truth: Collin, drugged, had shared a one-night stand with a woman. That woman was Linsey.
When the news first hit, Dustin was so floored he could barely process it, half convinced Collin was pulling his leg.
Faced with Dustin’s probing, Collin took a measured sip of his drink and admitted, “Partly, but not entirely.”
The full story was too tangled, and Collin had no patience to unravel it, so he let the topic slide.
On one side was Kylee, his companion of over twenty years; on the other, Linsey, a woman he had known for scarcely two weeks.
Collin’s ruthless resolve over Linsey seemed excessive to some, but Dustin understood. Since childhood, Collin had grappled with psychological scars, including paranoia.
Having slept with Linsey and vowed to marry her, he left no room for anyone else.
As Dustin mulled this over, another question sparked. “But she doesn’t know you were the man from that day. When are you planning to tell her?”
