Marie felt the air of the city touch her skin; she had not been here for years, and she had sworn to herself that she was never going to come back here, but one word from Charles and she was here again. She took a deep breath; her goal was clear: help Chatles out and be out of the city before anyone catches a whiff of her. Charles knew very well not to ask her back, but it must be that it was a situation he could not avoid.
She looked around the departure hall, hoping that he had sent someone to her. Her eyes caught the signpost with her name, Marie Frost, on it. “Marie Frost?” she murmured to herself as she walked at a slow pace towards it. “I haven’t used that name in years; who can he still think of referring to me as that?” she asked as she walked towards the man.
“Mrs. Frost?” the man asked when she stopped in front of him.
“Just call me Marie,” she said, clutching her small suitcase she had been rolling after herself.
“I cannot do that, ma’am,” he said before his eyes caught the bag she was gripping as if her life depended on it. “I will take that,” he said, pointing to the suitcase and taking it from her before she could release the handle.
“Oh yeah, I guess you should,” she said, nodding. He looked up at her and pointed in the direction of the exit before he turned and began to walk in that direction.
“You have not aged a day,” Charles said as Marie walked to him.
“With all of the wrinkles across my face? I am sure that I have aged as many days as I have been away,” she said, throwing herself onto one of the couches.
Charles let out a hearty laugh and began to pour her a cup of tea. “Have this?” he said once he was done.
“I am almost a hundred percent sure that you did not call me into the city to ask me to drink tea,” she said, taking up the cup and rubbing one finger against the handle.
“So you aren’t one hundred percent sure?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Knowing you, I would say that you called me to drink tea, but there was some sort of urgency, so I would not say so,” she replied before taking a sip from the cup and allowing the aroma to fill her nostrils. She swallowed and then took a deep breath. “This is nice; you have to give me some when I am going,” she added.
“I need your help.”
“And I am here to help,” she said. Shifting on the sofa, she dropped the cup to the table. “But,” she began in a strong tone. “I have to say this; no one can know I am here and once I do this for you, I owe you nothing again.”
“Owe me? I thought you were helping me out because we were friends,” he said with a smirk on his face.
“Of course I owe you; you saved me, and then years later you saved my daughter,” she said with a smile.
“I saved you?” he asked, and she nodded her mind, going back to when she left Carter’s house and how the only person who wanted to even look at her was Charles. He helped her get a place to live after being accused of infidelity and then helped her get on her feet by transferring shares to her name. She did not have any evidence to vindicate herself, but she did not want to appear before her daughter as a cheat, so she left without turning back.
“Thank you,” she said, suddenly realizing that she had never told him thank you for what he did for her so many years ago.
“Whatever for?” Charles asked, shocked that she was finally being grateful to him.
“For everything, I told you I was worried about what Carter would do to Ophelia and you gave her a better home.”
“I just thought that I was being selfish by having your daughter as my granddaughter-in-law, but it turned out that they were a perfect match,” he said.
She did not want to begin talking about her daughter, or else she might be tempted to want to see her, so she shook her head with her lips pressed together. “So what am I here for?”
“I know you do not want anyone to know that you are here but it would not work for our plans.”
“And you could not tell me that over the phone? Did I have to come here first?”
“I knew that if I had told you, you would not have helped me and I need all the help I can get.”
She felt a bit of a betrayal sting inside of her, but she did not get angry at the situation; she would have had her name plastered across the media as a woman who cheats if not for home, so this was a small price she was willing to pay to repay him. “Since you have lured me out here, I guess there is nothing left to do but just accept.”
“What am I doing?” she asked.
“So Abigail wants to take over the company but she is using her son Cael as a disguise; as soon as she can make me and Cade lose rights, I am sure that her motive is to take over.”
“Gow, sure, are you?”
“A hundred per cent”
“Well, if you are this sure, then that means we can not sit on our hands and do nothing about it; we must make sure to clip off her wings in such a way that she would never be able to fly again.”
“I see you have a plan.” Charles was a bit excited because he knew she was a brilliant woman.
“And so do you.”
“Let us hear yours first,” Charles said, ready to get into her plan if it sounded better.
“Using just a board meeting to kick her out does not mean she cannot and would not climb back up; it just means she gains more experience and has to start from the bottom again.” Marie stood up and traced her hand against the belt on the wall. “We have to make sure that she goes beyond rock bottom,” she said with a smile on her face.
“I don’t know your plan yet, but I am sure that I would like it,” Charles nodded with excitement.
“Let us do yours.”