The Sweet Pursuit by Golden Autumn

As soon as George and Suzy left the River household, the news of them getting their hands on the bracelet reached Bennett's ears.

Bennett, who was lying in bed recovering from his injuries, immediately sat up from the bed with a look of disbelief on his face. "How's that possible?"

Yesterday, despite the injury to his head, he went to visit the River household with Winona. However, they did not even get to see Josiah.

Bennett had even mentioned his grandfather's good reputation, but the old butler merely poured him a cup of tea and politely said that Josiah was unwell. Mr. Welson even said that it would be rude of Josiah to welcome guests at the moment for fear of infecting them.

Bennett had asked the old butler to pass a message across. As long as Josiah was willing to sell the bracelet to them, he was willing to pay for it at any price. Even so, they failed to obtain the bracelet.

He was asking around his friends in Cloud City, trying to pull some strings to get to the old man, but now he had gotten news that George had managed to buy the bracelet.

The question was that how did George even know the bracelet was in the River household?

Winona found out about it through a friend of hers at the Cultural Relics Bureau, so where did they find out about it?

Bennett's trusty assistant speculated, "Perhaps Ms. Moore had told Ms. Shirley about it? They seem to have a good friendship." Bennett thought for a while and shook his head. "Winona's not that dumb. She's been with me for so many years and knows the rules."

It was clear that he was now a step behind and could no longer rely on the bracelet. He had to find another way as soon as possible!

His assistant was somewhat worried and said, "Since George Laine knows about the bracelet, he must know that you've gone looking for it behind his back, Mr. Townsend. Will he start being suspicious of you?"

"Now that we've reached this stage, who cares about that?" Bennett sneered coldly. There was a flash in his eyes as he whispered, "Ask the servants to prepare a banquet and invite Mr. Cruise over. Just tell him that I'm inviting him over for a meal."

His assistant replied, "Are you bypassing Mr. Hilde, Mr. Townsend? If you entertain Mr. Cruise on your own, won't Mr. Hilde misunderstand?"

"He won't!" Bennett said firmly. "Initially, Mr. Cruise was somewhat responsible for some of the matters in the collaboration project as well, so it's reasonable for us to contact each other."

His assistant was more relieved now and did not say anything else. He merely did what Bennett told him.

Around noon, Mr Cruise came over to Bennett's villa tor lunch. The two were accompanied by Winona

Since Bennett himself could not have a drink, he asked Winona to drink in his stead.

The three chit-chatted and joked around. They were not talking about business but about the folk customs of the places where they lived. Winona noticed that Bennett was giving her a look, so she picked up the bottle and poured some wine for Mr. Cruise. "You can come and visit us in Capital City when you have time, Mr. Cruise. It's a completely different place from Cloud City. I can guarantee that you'll like it just the same."

From Mr. Cruise's blue eyes, one could see that he was half-drunk now. He raised his hand to hold Winona's wrist and looked at her in infatuation. "Are you from Capital City, Ms. Moore?"

His English was not as good as Hilde's as his pronunciation was not accurate, but it was still somewhat tolerable.

Winona smiled as usual and said, "No. I'm from Jimsburgh, and Jimsburgh is a good place to be as well."

"Then I truly would like to go visit Jimsburgh. What kind of great place could it possibly be to produce such a beautiful woman like you, Ms. Moore." Mr. Cruise was still holding Winona's hand and stroking it upward.

Winona was discreetly avoiding him by pouring more wine. "As long as you have the time, Mr. Cruise, I'll personally be your tour guide." Mr. Cruise's gaze faintly swept across her chest. He was smiling lightly and meaningfully. Soon enough, after drinking another half bottle of wine, Mr. Cruise's speech was obviously becoming slurred. His eyes were fixed on Winona.

Bennett said to Winona, "Go upstairs and clean up the guest room. Let Mr. Cruise stay and rest for a while before going back." Winona's eyes froze slightly. She looked at Bennett as if she merely half-understood what he meant.