C279 That What Friends Are For

A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock on Laura's office door. "Come in," Laura said without looking up from the design sketches spread across her desk. The door opened, and Portia walked in carrying her work laptop. The excitement on her face was impossible to hide. Laura immediately noticed it and smiled. "What happened?" "Why are you so excited?" Portia almost laughed. "Chief... you need to see this."

She carefully placed the laptop on Laura's desk before turning the screen toward her. "It's a payment notification from Lucia Goods." Laura frowned slightly before reading the notification. Payment Received: +$20,000 Account: 132*** ** Sender: Lucia Goods Reference: Friendship accepted... but not with such an expensive gift. For a brief moment, Laura simply stared at the screen. Then a bright smile slowly spread across her face. "They accepted..." She whispered softly. "They accepted our friendship."

Unable to contain herself, she stood up from her chair excitedly. "They really accepted!" Portia blinked in confusion. "Chief..." "I was celebrating because I thought such a large company had finally recognized Nova Blaze Jewelry." She scratched her head awkwardly. "But now it feels like I celebrated the wrong thing." Laura looked at her with amusement. "What do you mean?" Portia pointed at the screen. "You just said they accepted."

She looked at the payment notification again. "And this message..." "It doesn't feel like it's meant for the company." "It feels like it's directed to you personally." Laura couldn't help laughing. "Very observant." She nodded proudly. "You're right." "The message is for me." Portia's curiosity immediately grew. "So..." "The twenty thousand dollars..." Laura smiled. "It's payment for the watches I asked this morning." Portia froze. She looked at Laura before looking back at the screen. "Chief..." "I'm confused."

Laura raised an eyebrow. "About what?" Portia opened another file on the laptop. "The custom-made couple watches cost eight thousand dollars per pair." She pointed at the notification. "But Lucia Goods transferred twenty thousand dollars." "That's twelve thousand more than necessary." Laura became thoughtful. She looked at the payment once again before suddenly asking, "Wait..." "Weren't those watches uploaded to our official website?" Portia nodded. "They were." "But..." She quickly opened Nova Blaze Jewelry's website. After navigating through several pages, she finally found the watches. "There they are."

Laura leaned forward. The displayed price made both of them pause. Limited Edition Couple Watch Collection $15,000 Laura blinked. "Fifteen thousand?" Portia nodded. "Chief, that's only the estimated retail price." She quickly explained. "The watches were uploaded before production was completed." "The price shown online was simply the estimated maximum selling price during the design phase." She continued scrolling through the production records. "The actual manufacturing cost wasn't finalized until last week." "And after your approval..." "...the official company price would have changed to eight thousand dollars per pair."

Laura finally understood. "So Alicia must have checked the website before sending the money." Portia nodded. "Most likely." Laura laughed softly. "She is amazing." After thinking for a moment, she smiled "Never mind." She smiled again. "Inform the higher management that the Limited Edition watches have officially been sold." "And record the selling price as twenty thousand dollars." Portia nodded respectfully. "Understood, Chief." She closed the laptop before leaving the office. Once the door closed, Laura looked toward the window. A warm smile slowly appeared on her face. "So..." "We're friends now."

Meanwhile... At the Wood Residence... Ben had just received a message containing Jack's location. He looked at the address for several seconds before standing up. Walking downstairs, he found Kelvin and Tracy preparing to leave. "Dad." "Mom." "I'm going out." Kelvin looked up from putting on his coat. "We're heading to the bank soon." "Don't worry." "We'll deposit the remaining money." Ben nodded. "Alright." "I'll be back later." Without saying another word, he picked up his car keys and drove away.

Nearly forty minutes later... His car slowly came to a stop outside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The place looked deserted. Broken windows. Rusted metal doors. Weeds growing through cracked concrete. Ben remained inside the car for a moment. A strange feeling settled in his chest. "Why would he choose a place like this?" He took a deep breath before stepping out. Inside the warehouse... Jack was already waiting.

The moment he saw Ben walking toward him, a bright smile appeared on his face. "Ben!" Without hesitation, Jack walked over and gave him a friendly hug. "It's good to see you again." Ben looked surprised. "You..." "You really consider me your friend?" Jack smiled naturally. "Of course." "I told you before." Ben smiled faintly. "Friends..." He chuckled. "Then why did you send me such a threatening message?" Jack scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't mean it that way." "I'm not very good with words." "I wasn't sure how to ask you to meet me." Ben laughed. "I can tell."

For the first time since Natalie betrayed him, he actually felt slightly relaxed. Jack looked at him carefully. "I saw you trending online a few days ago." Ben nodded. "With your new girlfriend." The words pierced Ben's heart. His smile disappeared. Jack immediately noticed the change. "...Did I say something wrong?" Ben lowered his head. After several silent seconds, he finally spoke. "She wasn't just my girlfriend." "I trusted her." Jack quietly listened.

Ben continued. "I told her everything." "My plans." "My dreams." "My future." "I wanted to build my own bar." "We even opened a joint bank account together." His fists slowly tightened. "I thought we were building our future together." "But..." "She emptied the account..." "...and disappeared." Silence filled the warehouse. Finally Ben smiled bitterly. "I know." "I was stupid." "So please..." "Don't give me another lecture." "I've heard enough already."

Jack suddenly laughed. Instead of mocking him, he simply shrugged. "Then why don't we find her?" Ben looked up. There was genuine hope in Jack's eyes. "You'd help me?" Jack nodded without hesitation. "Of course." Ben looked puzzled. "But..." "I haven't even repaid the favor you already did for me." "Also I know those two men are your subordinates." Jack smiled. "I know." "I never hid the fact that those men worked for me." "But I stopped them from treating you like prey."

He smiled again. "That's what friends do." "They help each other." Ben slowly nodded. A sincere smile finally appeared. "Thank you..." "My friend." Jack waved his hand dismissively. "No need." After a brief silence, Ben looked around the abandoned warehouse. "I've been wondering..." "Why meet here?" Jack laughed. "Simple." "I don't like being seen." Ben nodded. "Fair enough." Jack leaned against one of the old pillars. "So..." "What happened to your bar?" "Is that dream over?"

Ben immediately shook his head. "No." "The bar is still happening." "I still have enough savings to begin." "I'll solve the rest later." Jack smiled approvingly. "Good." "So where is it going to be?" Ben answered honestly. "I found an old warehouse." "The owner wants two hundred and fifty thousand dollars." Jack almost burst into laughter. "Two hundred and fifty thousand?" "He must be joking." Ben shrugged helplessly. "That's the price he gave me."

Jack thought quietly for a few moments. Finally he smiled confidently. "Prepare one hundred thousand." Ben blinked. "What?" "Don't worry." "I'll talk to him." "I know people." Ben looked at him in disbelief. "You can really convince him?" Jack nodded calmly. "I said we're friends." "Leave it to me." He checked the time on his watch. "Within a day..." "...wait for the owner to contact you." "I think you'll like his new offer."

Ben couldn't hide his excitement. "If this really works..." "You'll have helped me twice." Jack simply smiled. "Then next time..." "You can buy me a drink at your new bar." Both men laughed. A moment later, they shook hands firmly before walking toward their respective cars. Soon, each of them drove off in different directions.