Araceli POV
Kenneth Easton?
I froze for a moment before responding.
I lifted my eyes and looked at Raphael.
Raphael picked up the phone and didn't purposely avoid me, but casually chatted with Kenneth.
"When did you get to New York? Kenneth, come on, can you be sincere? I'm busy. I don't have time. Fine, I'll call you back later."
Raphael hung up the phone.
I pursed my lips.
I listened to Raphael's tone and thought Raphael and Kenneth should know each other well. They were friends, at least.
Would Raphael agree to help me?
I sighed slightly in my heart.
Now, there was nothing else I could do.
I walked over and asked in a slow voice, "Mr. Lancaster, is that the well-known lawyer, Mr. Kenneth Easton, you just spoke to on the phone?"
Raphael nodded his head. "That's him. Do you know him?"
"No. I don't know him. I've just heard about him." I pursed my lips. "Mr. Lancaster, actually, I'd like to hire Mr. Easton as my firm's legal counsel. Could you please introduce me to Mr. Easton?"
Raphael raised his eyebrows. "Since you've heard of him, you should know that he doesn't take cases casually and doesn't work as legal advisor for any company."
I was silent for a moment and said, "Mr. Lancaster, the truth is, I'm trying to get custody of Krish and Valeria. The man hired Lexie Bowyer as a litigator. I've looked all over New York, and no lawyer will take the case. I'm sorry. I'm really at my wit's end."
Raphael narrowed his eyes.
He bowed his head slightly and looked at me in the eyes.
After a moment, he said slowly, "Who is he? I mean, what's his name?"
I glanced at Krish in the distance, making sure Krish couldn't hear me, and whispered, "He's the president of the Fleming Group, Ramon Fleming."
Raphael frowned slightly.
I was a little upset because I was hoping that Raphael would help introduce me to Kenneth.
I could definitely get custody of my two children if Kenneth helped me.
I looked at Raphael, my eyes firm.
"Mr. Lancaster?"
When he didn't say anything, I called him out.
I signed inwardly and said slowly, "Forget it, Mr. Lancaster. I'll find another way."
"That's not what I meant," Raphael said. He raised his eyes and looked at Essel.
Essel was talking to Krish, with a serious face.
Krish said something. Essel frowned and thought for a long time.
Raphael pursed his lips and said, "Essel really likes the food you make."
My eyes lit up.
"Mr. Lancaster, do you mean that you would be willing to introduce me to Mr. Easton if I could cook Essel's meals?"
Looking at me in the eye, Raphael froze for a moment.
He coughed twice, looked away, and said, "Come over to my house every night and make Essel a dinner."
I frowned. "But..."
"Bring Krish and Valeria to my house with you." Raphael said in a light voice, "You can bring them back after dinner at my house."
I pondered for a few seconds.
Bringing Krish and Valeria to his house for dinner didn't seem like a big deal to me.
Then I thought about Melany...
I said, "Why don't you send Essel over to my house every day for dinner. I'm used to using my kitchen."
Raphael stared at me and said, "Ms. Chancey, are you worried about something?"
I knew Raphael was smart and couldn't hide anything from him.
I didn't want to hide anything from him, so I said bluntly, "Melany almost hurt Valeria last time, and I didn't dare to take any more risks."
Raphael bowed his head slightly and said slowly, "I told you I wouldn't let that happen again. Don't worry, Melany won't come to my house again."
I was a little surprised.
Melany had slapped Essel, and would Raphael tolerate someone hurting his daughter? Of course not.
If it were me, I would have beaten Melany up.
I was slightly relieved to think of this.
"Okay, I'll come to your house every night to make dinner."
Raphael nodded his head. "Good, then tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon, I'll take you to see Kenneth."
I smiled politely and said thank you.
Essel ran over. "Daddy, you can talk to Ms. Chancey a little longer. I'll go upstairs and play with Valeria for a while..."
"We're going home now," Raphael said coldly.
Essel pouted. "Ms. Chancey, I don't want to leave..."
I picked her up and smiled, "I'll come to your house tomorrow night. Do you feel better?"
Essel's eyes widened. "Really, Ms. Chancey, you'll really come to my house tomorrow night? Don't you lie to me..."
"I made a deal with your daddy to go to your house every night from now on to cook dinner for you."
"Wow, great! That's great!" Essel cheered up and raised her hands in excitement.
"Go back to bed early. See you tomorrow."
I hugged her, walked over, and placed her in Raphael's arms.
Raphael took her by the collar and laid her on the ground.
The night was deep and dark.
Essel took Raphael's hand and walked outside. She kept looking back at me and waving at me.
Krish came over to me. "Mommy, why are you going to Essel's house to make her dinner later?"
I had already thought of something to say, bent over, and said gently, "Essel is a picky eater. I'm a business partner with Mr. Lancaster. After he told me about it, I agreed to go over and cook dinner for Essel."
Krish lowered his eyes and said nothing more.
...
At 2:00 p.m., I drove up to the entrance of Kenneth's office building.
The entrance to the building was very quite today, with only two security guards guarding the door.
I had just pulled up when a black car pulled up next to my car.
Raphael got out of the car.
I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car as well.
He and I walked towards the office building, and no one stopped us. The security guards bowed slightly in respect and whispered, "Mr. Lancaster."
I sighed inwardly.
Raphael led me to the elevator and to an office door. He raised his hand and knocked. Before he could wait for a reply from inside, he pushed the office door open straight away.
"You actually came to see me in person. I thought you were playing a trick on me!"
The man sitting on the office chair stood up. Before he could get the next words out, he saw me behind Raphael and said with some surprise, "When did you find such a gorgeous female secretary?"
Raphael said coldly, "She's not my secretary."
I smiled and stepped forward. "Mr. Easton, how do you do? I'm Araceli Chancey, and I'm a business partner with Mr. Lancaster."
Kenneth pushed up his glasses, those sharp eyes glancing over me, then falling back on Raphael. "Are you guys just business partners?"
Raphael gave him a cold look. "I'd like to ask you a favor."
Kenneth narrowed his eyes slightly, a little skeptical, but there was excitement in his eyes that he couldn't hide.
"What kind of favor?"
Raphael gestured for me to come forward.