Chapter 41
At noon, Sienna invited Celeste and Myles for lunch. However, Kendric’s call
spoiled their lunch plan.
Celeste made sure she walked out of Myles‘ earshot and answered the call.
Kendric’s voice over the phone remained condescending as usual, “let’s
grab lunch together at noon.”
Celeste blurted out, “no.”
There was a brief silence on the other end, but then he brushed aside her
rejection, “12 o’clock, downstairs at my company. I’ll wait you there.”
Celeste didn’t even get a chance to argue back before he hung up. She almost blurted out curses at Kendric, but she caught her father standing quietly
nearby, observing her.
She held back her rage and turned to Sienna, “are you joining us for
lunch?”
Sienna immediately shook her head. The fear for Kendric still lingered on
her heart.
At noon, the traffic was a bit congested. Celeste arrived at a little past 12,
and Kendric had been waiting for a while..
As her car came to a halt, Kendric’s assistant, Luke, approached and
knocked on the window. He bent over slightly, offering a standard greeting,
“Miss Alinsky, Mr. Melville invite you and your father to ride in his car.”
Ride in his car? Was he worried she’d make a run for it?
Not far away, there was a Maybach GLS 600 parked. As Celeste got in, she
Redeemed From Caged Love
Chapter 41
headed straight for the rear seat.
Kendric abruptly grabbed her wrist. He stared at her with a hint of
displeasure in his eyes.
Celeste pretended not to grasp his hint.
He patted the seat next to him. “Take a seat beside me.”
“No,” Celeste instinctively resisted, “I wanna sit with my dad.”
She pulled her hand away, but Kendric didn’t let go, and his grip on her
wrist tightened.
Celeste squared off with him.
Even sitting in rear seat, Myles sensed the tension and quickly tried to
mediate, “Cely, why don’t you sit with Ken? I like to sit alone and have my
space.”
Celeste reluctantly plopped down beside Kendric. She attempted to pull her hand from his grasp. However, he not only didn’t let go but also shifted from holding her wrist to holding her hand even tighter.
Celeste struggled for a moment, but it seemingly annoyed him. He gave her a warning look, “don’t move.”
Since there were others in the car, Celeste restrained herself and only shot him a glare.
Kendric, unperturbed, flipped through the documents in his hand. The car moved slowly, and an uneasy silence hung in the air.
After a while, Kendric put down his laptop and broke the silence, “where
Redeemed From Caged Love
did you
head to this morning?”
Celeste stared out of the window and replied curtly, “studio.”
Kendric squinted, trying to recall which studio she had mentioned. Finally, it clicked, “the small studio you and Sienna Vader started is still running?”
Celeste’s temper flared. She couldn’t stand his fucking condescending tone.
“Yep, still running! Surprised, huh?”
in.
“Honestly, I thought it went belly up a long time ago,” he shrugged.
Celeste turned her head away to ignore him.
Inside the car, the atmosphere grew tense, and an awkward silence settled
Myles tried to break the ice, “Cely’s studio is doing well, and her colleagues
and boss are really supportive.Sienna even praised her as a rising star in the
company.”
Kendric let out a chuckle, his voice low but cutting.
He now had a bit of a grudge against Vader family, even though Sienna was Celeste’s best friend, he still couldn’t quite warm up to her.
Kendric was never really the sociable type. He never had true friends, but only loyal subordinates.
Celeste was getting fed up with him. She pinched his hand hard, trying to shake him off. But his hand didn’t budge.
Myles glanced at his daughter, and then at Kendric. He fell into silence.
The car sped away and soon arrived at the chosen restaurant. The driver
Chapter 41
came over to open the door.
Kendric got out of the car, and then he reached out towards Celeste.
She didn’t offer her hand, planning to get out of the car herself, but Kendric
blocked her at the car door.
Fury blazed in her eyes as she stared at the stubborn, unreasonable man in
front of her.
“Kendric, don’t push it.”
Kendric tilted his head slightly, and his eyes seemed to write, ‘there’s
nothing you can do about me.‘
Celeste peeked at her father, who was waiting not far ahead. She sighed.
and angrily slammed her hand into his palm.
Kendric looked quite satisfied. Myles looked back at them with a worried
expression.
Inside the upscale and serene restaurant, the waiter politely escorted them
to their reserved table.
At the table, Myles looked over the menu, where every dish priced at three–digit price at least. He hesitate, “Cely, how about we choose a different restaurant? Or we can eat at home.”
Celeste knew her father was frugal, and she was also aware of Kendric’s extravagant tendencies.
“Dad, I’m a member of this restaurant. I can get a discount here.”
Kendric chimed in, “I got some meal vouchers from my client. It won’t cost
Redeemed Cross Du
Chapte
us much.”
That finally convinced Myles. As he flipped through the fancy pictures of
haute cuisine, he couldn’t hide his amazement.
The entire meal passed in silence.
Celeste’s mind was elsewhere, and she couldn’t ignore Kendric’s
increasingly audacious behavior. She had originally planned to confront him
sooner rather than later, but her father’s unexpected appearance threw her off
track.
It was clear that Kendric had anticipated this and brought Myles along as a
bargaining chip. He now had an additional card to play.
Celeste planned to have a clear conversation with Kendric after she sent
her father back to
hometown. Even though she would end up with nothing after
leaving Melville family, she didn’t want to spend another minute with Kendric.
Podered From Caged Love
