Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Will Sebastian Hawthorne Hire Her?
When they were leaving the hospital, Sebastian Hawthorne specifically asked the hospital staff to get a wheelchair.
"I can walk on my own."
Cecilia Croft watched the medical staff wheel the chair over and gave an awkward smile. It made her feel like she was disabled.
’This is too much, really,’ she thought.
Sebastian Hawthorne’s expression was impassive. "There’s a step at the entrance. Are you sure you can manage it when you can’t look down?"
Cecilia was silent.
Sebastian Hawthorne leaned in and whispered.
"You’re not planning to use this as another excuse to throw yourself into my arms, are you?"
Even though he had lowered his voice, the medical staff standing beside them still overheard.
Knowing, suggestive smiles touched everyone’s faces.
Cecilia lightly bit her tongue and, seeing no other choice, sat down in the wheelchair.
Sebastian Hawthorne took hold of the handles and pushed her out of the hospital.
When they reached the car, Cecilia quickly tried to get up from the wheelchair, but the abrupt movement sent a sharp, unbearable pain through her neck.
Sebastian Hawthorne opened the passenger-side door for her.
Cradling her neck, Cecilia’s movements were slow and clumsy as she got into the car.
Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t rush her, waiting with immense patience. Once she was settled, he didn’t immediately shut the door. Instead, he leaned into the car.
Cecilia’s heart leaped in surprise, and she instinctively shrank back against the seat.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
A hint of an unreadable smile touched Sebastian Hawthorne’s long, handsome eyes. With his thin lips curved slightly, he leaned closer to her.
"What do you think?"
Cecilia tensed up completely.
"Mr. Hawthorne... please don’t joke around."
Sebastian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow and leaned in a fraction more. Cecilia stared back, her eyes wide, her expression wary and guarded, yet showing no trace of fear.
Then came a CLICK—the sound of the seatbelt locking into place.
She froze for a second, then saw Sebastian Hawthorne looking down at her with a smirk.
"Miss Croft, what was going through that mind of yours just now?"
Cecilia shook her head. "Nothing."
’I was just wondering, if Sebastian Hawthorne had dared to try anything, what would be the best angle to cave his head in,’ she thought.
Sebastian Hawthorne’s gaze drifted down to her hand, which was gripping the portable charger in the side door’s storage compartment, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
"Is that so?"
Feeling a pang of guilt, Cecilia let go of the object.
"Yes."
Sebastian Hawthorne gave a cold snort and looked away, not pressing the matter.
Cecilia maintained her placating smile.
She admitted to herself that she might have been a bit quick to assume the worst.
Sebastian Hawthorne returned to the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove off.
They hadn’t been on the road for long when Cecilia’s stomach let out an embarrassing growl.
In the small, quiet space, the RUMBLE was particularly loud.
Cecilia laughed in embarrassment.
Sebastian Hawthorne continued to drive in silence.
She had no choice but to break the awkward silence.
"Mr. Hawthorne, did you get a chance to look at the preliminary proposal I sent you?"
Sebastian Hawthorne: "No."
Cecilia: "But you clearly did. I saw the ’read’ receipt."
Sebastian Hawthorne’s expression didn’t flicker. "If you knew I saw it, why ask?"
Cecilia: "..."
’Well, as long as he’s seen it, we can talk,’ she thought.
"So, Mr. Hawthorne, what did you think of the proposal?"
Sebastian Hawthorne was silent for a few moments before nodding.
"It’s not bad. So?"
The smile that was about to bloom on Cecilia’s face froze at his question.
She gave an awkward laugh and looked at Sebastian Hawthorne, confused.
’So? What does he mean, ’so’?’
She pressed her lips together and, mustering her courage, spoke.
"So... when can I start?"
Sebastian Hawthorne sneered. "You really know how to run with an opportunity, don’t you?"
Cecilia replied with a straight face, "Archimedes once said, ’Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.’ Mr. Hawthorne, you don’t even need to give me a lever. Just give me a rope, and I’ll climb my way to your side."
The man beside her chuckled, apparently amused by Cecilia’s words.
Cecilia seized the moment. "So, Mr. Hawthorne, when can I start at the Hawthorne Group?"
Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t answer. He simply turned the car into an underground parking garage.
"Let’s eat first."
Cecilia blinked, looking at him with anticipation.
"So if I have dinner with you, Mr. Hawthorne, will you give me a chance to join the company?"
Sebastian Hawthorne smiled, leaning in to look at Cecilia.
"One meal with me, and you think you can erase the Croft family’s debt of hundreds of billions? You’re quite valuable, Miss Croft."
Cecilia replied instantly.
"No, it’s *you* who’s valuable, Mr. Hawthorne. Unspeakably so. The fact that a crisis that has plagued my sister for years can be resolved just by me having a single meal with you... sometimes the gap between people is enough to make you grind your teeth in frustration."
Sebastian Hawthorne chuckled softly, his expression noncommittal.
He parked the car and got out.
Cecilia couldn’t figure him out, but this was still far better than how he had ignored her and left her hanging at the office earlier.
Cecilia unbuckled her seatbelt and carefully got out of the car.
Before her feet had even touched the ground, Sebastian Hawthorne was there to steady her.
Still not ready to give up, Cecilia pressed for a clear answer.
"Mr. Hawthorne, my joining the Hawthorne Group would be a win-win for both the Croft Group and the Hawthorne Group."
Sebastian Hawthorne raised an eyebrow, no trace of anger in his expression.
"So that once you join the Hawthorne Group, your sister can run around using our name to swindle people? How is that a good thing for me?"
Cecilia was taken aback by his accusation but quickly retorted.
"How can you call it swindling? My sister received money, and they received land. Both are tangible assets. As for the land’s future value and potential profit, that’s something the buyer is responsible for assessing."
Sebastian Hawthorne glanced at her but said nothing.
Cecilia took a breath and pressed on.
"It’s just like the properties you develop, Mr. Hawthorne. If you sell a house for five million and its value later increases to eight million, would you ask the buyer to pay you the extra three million? Of course not."
"By the same token, if the price drops to two million, you’re not going to compensate the buyers for their loss."
"Choosing to buy land is, by its very nature, a gamble. No one can predict the outcome—whether you win or lose, whether it turns out good or bad."
There was a philosophical sigh in her voice.
Sebastian Hawthorne glanced at her, and for a moment, an unreadable emotion flickered in his deep, dark eyes.
His gaze made Cecilia uncomfortable, but she met it head-on anyway.
"Am I wrong, Mr. Hawthorne?"
Sebastian Hawthorne didn’t answer. He simply waited until she was steady on her feet before gentlemanly withdrawing his hand.
Cecilia looked up and saw the restaurant’s sign.
"The Crimson Dynasty."
She froze for a second. Having been away from Karthus for so long, she saw that The Crimson Dynasty had been renovated. It was so different she almost didn’t recognize it.
Sebastian Hawthorne strode into the restaurant, and Cecilia followed.
’I’ve said all I can,’ she thought. ’Whether Sebastian Hawthorne decides to hire me is out of my hands now.’
