After Divorcing the Tycoon, I Married into a Wealthy Family Again
Chapter 35: Not Lacking Women

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Not Lacking Women

"Grandpa went through the people again for you, Mom is looking at them now, you should go downstairs and take a look at the photos too." After saying that, he strode towards the room.

Eleanor Sussex looked at his mercilessly departing back and was about to cry again.

Florence Fuller finished tidying up in the bathroom and stepped out to see Luke Gardiner standing by the window on the phone. She turned to the dressing room, grabbed a quilt, tossed it on the bed, then placed a pillow crosswise in the middle of the bed. After doing all this, she realized Luke had hung up the phone and was silently watching her.

Florence turned off the light on her side: "If you still need to work, please go to the study or keep it down."

Then she lay down and covered herself with the quilt.

Luke Gardiner smiled enigmatically, turned, and headed to the bathroom.

When he came out of the bathroom, he didn’t know if Florence had fallen asleep. He threw the pillow in the middle aside with a bit too much force and lay down.

There was still enough space between them for another person to lie down. Florence had her back to him, and behind him, he felt her long hair.

The faint fragrance lingered in the air, and Luke felt an urge to snugly embrace her. But thinking of the consequences, he figured that if he did, she might turn around and slap him.

Better sleep.

By morning, daylight had flooded in, and Florence Fuller was already gone.

He tidied up and went downstairs, but didn’t see Florence at the dining table.

"Where’s Florence?"

Uncle Andre explained, "It seems something urgent came up at the company, she didn’t even have time to eat breakfast before leaving."

Luke Gardiner found the meal tasteless.

Edward Johnson came to pick him up for the company. While in the backseat, Luke said to Edward upon arrival, "Help me reserve the best table at Star restaurant for tonight."

Edward nodded, "And the companion? Should I contact her for you in advance? Arrange a car pick-up?"

Luke walked into the company, a smile playing on his lips, "I’ll call her myself."

Edward nodded.

Luke made a call in the elevator but didn’t get an answer. He thought she might be busy.

He called a few more times by noon, but still no answer.

He frowned, wondering what in the world this woman was up to.

He dialed Edward’s extension, "Contact Florence Fuller’s secretary for me, I need her time tonight."

Edward understood, "Okay."

Soon, Edward came in through the door, "President Gardiner, the reply from Mrs. Gardiner’s secretary is a refusal."

Luke frowned, "What excuse, still busy?"

"Seems pretty busy," Edward chatted a bit with Lily Hart while on the phone, "NQ has a big issue."

"What?"

Edward handed over the phone; the top trending story was the bold word ’Plagiarism.’

"NQ’s plagiarism trending topic just got bumped down, the dress they released is nearly identical to Moli’s. Moli was faster and seems to be planning a lawsuit."

Luke sighed, realizing the dinner tonight was not going to happen.

NQ Group.

Amidst the plagiarism scandal, meetings with Florence and Chloe Quinn were one after another.

The board was already alarmed; with NQ’s new product launch imminent, this plagiarism issue threatened future sales and needed a swift resolution.

The company issued a clarifying statement, allowing some relief by afternoon, but Chloe was still studying the implicated sketches.

Florence had just taken a bite of her meal when the door suddenly swung open; Chloe rushed in excitedly, "I’ve found it, I’ve found it."

"What?"

"This manuscript’s appearance indicates I can uncover the person who took my money back then."

Chloe was responsible for designs, while Florence handled main operations.

"I’ve already got people searching," Florence said. From the moment the plagiarized manuscript started gaining traction online, she’d been thinking. The friend they founded with, during the design phase, the sketches were shared openly. Chloe’s design had actually won a contest organized by the school.

Her intuition told her it was the person who took Chloe’s money and ran, and now it was imperative to find that person.

"Should we touch base with Moli?" Florence looked at the design sketch image, "Could the person who took your money be at Moli?"

"They might have even sold it," Chloe patted her, "You liaise with Moli, I’ll go find evidence of the manuscript."

Florence nodded.

At six in the evening, Luke Gardiner visited NQ again.

The receptionist, having seen him come with Florence the day before, let him pass without question, so while Florence was busy with call after call, Luke leisurely wandered into her office.

Florence frowned, "What are you here for?"

"Waiting for you," Luke raised an eyebrow.

"I’m not returning to the old house tonight." Florence had barely finished speaking when her phone rang again.

She walked out while taking the call, overwhelmed with busyness, with no time to attend to Luke, and when she returned from the meeting it was almost eight in the evening.

Luke was still there.

"Do you need something?" In her hectic state, she had no mind to deal with his affairs, "You take it back first, I’ll call you when I’m free."

Luke pointed to the meal in front of him, "I’ve ordered food, let’s eat together."

Having been busy and only eating a few mouthfuls at lunch, she indeed felt hungry at this hour, so she sat on the couch and picked up her chopsticks.

After she had eaten for a while, Luke’s face showed a hint of amusement, "How’s your matter? Need help?"

"Almost done, just have a video meeting with Moli to conduct later."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to wait and go back with you?"

"No need." Florence immediately refused, "If you want to go back, you can leave right away."

Luke looked at her, "To TJ Bay to wait for you?"

Florence glanced at him, "We have both moved out, what would I do going back there?"

Luke gazed deeply at her, his meaning plain.

He wanted to close the gap between them, but Florence mercilessly refused him, "You can go back, I’m not going back."

Luke rubbed his fingers, nodding without irritation, "Alright, then where are you staying?"

Florence quietly continued eating.

Once her stomach was full, she needed to prepare for the meeting, she looked at Luke, "I think you can leave now, waiting here is just a waste of time."

Luke nodded, stood up, "Alright, I’ll go in a bit."

The olive branch he extended was not accepted by Florence, he felt no need to waste his time here.

Then he left.

He was never short of women around him.

One week later.

The NQ and Moli plagiarism scandal was resolved with the appearance of an award-winning photo.

The photo showed the plagiarized manuscript along with the completed dress, dated over three years prior.

Someone compared the two sketches, pointing the blame at Moli, which led Moli to not only remove that dress from sale but also issue an apology and announce the firing of the plagiarizing designer.

Logically, NQ could proceed with legal action and extract compensation from Moli, but the two parties made a private trade and planned to launch a joint brand in the next quarter.

This news, following the release of the apology, surprised many at the time.