Chapter 1018

Chapter 1018 Shivering Cold

In the future, if Sonia faced any difficulties, she would no longer escape, and would go to Toby for help instead. However, she would remember every single time she received his assistance, so that she could return the favor in her own way. Only by maintaining this mutually beneficial relationship would she not feel any kind of burden.

At Sonia’s words, Charles was able to completely relax as well.

After that, Sonia lifted her glass of wine and looked at Brian. “Mr. Smith, please approve my application for a loan. I really need the funds to be in place today, as Paradigm Co. urgently needs the money. Your help would be much appreciated.”

Saying that, she lifted her glass of wine at Brian.

Smiling, Brian followed suit and clinked his glass with Sonia’s. “Don’t worry, I’ll instruct the bank later, and I’ll make sure that the funds will be in place before nine o’clock tonight by the latest.”

“That’s great. Thank you, Mr. Smith.” Sonia felt extremely excited and grateful. Then, as if recalling something, she bent over and lifted a gift box from the ground before handing it to Brian with both hands. “Mr. Smith, this is a small gift to thank you for your help. Please accept it.”

Before she arrived, she had found out that Brian’s biggest hobby was collecting antiques. Hence, she specially brought an antique vase from her house as a gift for him. After all, she had a favor to ask of him, so she couldn’t just show up empty-handed. That would just be rude.

Besides, preparing a gift that would satisfy the other party was also a trump card. What if they were unwilling to pass her application for a loan at first, but they changed their mind after seeing her gift? Even if they refused after seeing the present, they might still give her some other useful suggestions.

In short, a gift was a must no matter what, and nothing would go wrong with it. Besides, it would make the other party feel better about themselves. Even if they couldn’t work together this time, they might be willing to give her another chance because she had prepared a gift for them in the past. In any case, a gift was no longer only needed to achieve a certain purpose, but it was also a necessary step in the negotiating process.

Brian was not too surprised when he saw the gift from Sonia. After all, he had watched her walk in with a gift, and he knew very well that it was prepared for him. Hence, when he was faced with Sonia’s present, he did not refuse, but reached out to accept it with a smile.

If he didn’t agree to her loan, he would not accept this gift. However, now that he had agreed, then he would naturally have no qualms about taking the gift. Besides, this gift was a part of the negotiations, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to refuse. Now that he had accepted it, it was also a way to reassure Sonia that he wouldn’t go back on his word.

Sure enough, upon seeing that Brian took the gift, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief.

Brian placed the gift on the table and opened it to take a look. When he saw the antique vase inside, his eyes lit up. “Miss Reed, this is from the medieval era, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Sonia nodded with a smile.

Brian’s face instantly lit up when he confirmed the vase’s origins. He couldn’t help but lift the vase to get a closer look. As he observed it, he gasped in awe, “The craftsmanship is really good. I never expected you to have a treasure like this, Miss Reed.”

Sonia calmly sipped on her wine while she replied with a smile, “Let me tell you something, Mr. Smith. My grandfather is an archaeologist, and this vase was awarded to him by the country, and he gave it to me as a birthday gift later on.

Now, I’m giving it to you. Because I knew that you like things like these, I brought it over as a present. Since this vase was just an ordinary vase in the medieval era, it may not be worth much, but there aren’t many of these that have been preserved, so it’s still a rare item. I hope you won’t mind.”

The vase was only worth around 100 thousand, which was nothing compared to other antiques. However, due to the fact that there weren’t many of its kind that had been preserved perfectly, it was still worth collecting.

“No, no, of course I don’t.” Brian hurriedly waved his hand and replied, “I have many antiques in my collection, but I don’t have this vase yet. Now that you’ve gifted me one, I don’t have to worry anymore. I have no reason to dislike this. Instead, I’m feeling overjoyed. Still, Miss Reed, this was a birthday gift from your grandfather. Is it all right for you to give it to me?”

Charles looked at Sonia as well. To be honest, when they were in the car, he had asked what she was planning to give to Brian, but she didn’t answer, making him itching to know the answer for the rest of the day. It was only then that he found out she had prepared a vase.

Sonia still smiled calmly after Brian’s question. “Don’t worry, Mr. Smith. There will be no problem with my grandfather. The reason why I can inherit Paradigm Co. is because my grandfather has put in a lot of effort. I’m giving the vase to you for Paradigm Co.’s sake, so I believe my grandfather would support my decision.”

“In that case, I’ll gladly accept this vase. Thank you, Miss Reed,” Brian said as he lovingly caressed the vase.

Sonia nodded. “You’re welcome, Mr. Smith.”

For the rest of their meeting, Brian happily admired the vase, while Sonia and Charles discussed ways to perfectly solve the consequences of the missing parts after getting the loan. After all, they couldn’t just throw money into this case after acquiring it, and they had to plan how to use the money in the best way. If they used up the money without thinking, they might end up wasting it all.

The meeting lasted at least three hours before it ended. By the time Sonia and Charles bade Brian goodbye and walked out of the room, it was already five in the afternoon.

After Sonia paid the bill, she immediately waited at the hotel entrance with Charles for the hotel’s jockey to drive their car out of the parking lot. They had no choice as both she and Charles had drunk alcohol that night, so they could only ask the hotel to arrange a driver to take them home.

“Achoo!” Suddenly, a cold breeze blew over, causing Sonia to sneeze. Her body was trembling slightly as well.

When Charles turned to look at her and saw that she had turned pale from the cold, he hurriedly unbuttoned his coat and put it on her. At the same time, Sonia was rubbing her hands with her head down, trying to warm her cold hands a little.

She had just started rubbing her hands together when she felt a warmth on her back as something was placed on her body. When she turned, she saw a gaudy suit jacket, and Charles’ hands that he was just about to retract from her body. She realized that he had taken off his coat and put it on her because he saw that she was cold.

“What are you doing?” She lifted her head to look at the man beside her.

Charles clasped his hands together and brought them to his face to blow on them. “Aren’t you cold? I gave you my jacket so that you wouldn’t feel cold anymore.”

Seeing that he was trembling from the cold, Sonia felt amused and quickly took off his coat before tossing it back into his arms. “I don’t need it. You’re wearing even less clothes than me.

I’m cold, but not to the point where I would be shivering. Look at you, after you take off your coat, you only have a shirt left. I feel cold just from looking at you. You’d better put your coat back on quickly. Don’t give it to me. What if you get a cold later?”

“No, I’m a man. I wouldn’t… Achoo!”

Before he could finish, he immediately sneezed. All at once, he turned speechless.