Alice Bennett gave a slight smile and said, “That’s fine, anyway, since Director Bolton lives in the East City, I’ll pass by your house when I take him home.”

William Bolton secretly gave Alice Bennett a thumbs up in his heart. This woman is truly clever—she can lie so easily. East City? I think I live in the West City! But in this situation, he couldn’t expose her.

Chapter 0012: Sharpening the Spear at the Last Minute

After getting in the car, William Bolton continued to pretend to be drunk and doze off. Richard Walker, using the car’s interior light, carefully examined William Bolton, confirming that he really had never seen this person before. He couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated. “Damn it, who is this kid pretending to be a director? Is there a director in Yongping’s officialdom that I don’t know?”

At that thought, he immediately realized that Alice Bennett was just using this as an excuse to get rid of his pestering. His jealousy flared up even more: “This damn woman, a widow still acting all pure and lofty with me, really thinks she’s some chaste martyr. Just wait until that old fox Philip Scott falls, then I’ll show you.”

“Town Head Walker, we’ve arrived at your place.” With a screech, Alice Bennett stopped the car and said with a smile.

Richard Walker was taken aback, gave Alice Bennett a deep look, then glared at William Bolton, who was slumped against the car door like a dead fish. He snorted coldly, pulled open the car door, and got out with a disgruntled look.

“Leader Bolton, have you sobered up? If you were really this drunk, would Secretary Foster and the others feel comfortable letting you go alone?” After restarting the car, Alice Bennett chuckled.

William Bolton looked a bit embarrassed, having had his little trick seen through. He felt a bit awkward and could only say, “I’m feeling better now. Wuliangye really packs a punch.”

“You don’t know Town Head Walker?” Alice Bennett asked, clearly surprised. After all, Richard Walker was a rising star in Yongping’s officialdom, and he was also the son of Deputy County Chief Brian Walker. There wasn’t a corner of Yongping’s bureaucracy where Richard Walker wasn’t known, yet Richard Walker didn’t recognize William Bolton.

Of course, Alice Bennett never imagined that William Bolton was just a minor figure from Liziping Township, because judging by his demeanor, he didn’t seem like it at all.

“Is it a must to know Richard Walker in Yongping’s officialdom?” William Bolton said with a smile, then rolled down the car window, letting the cold wind rush in.

Alice Bennett was taken aback, glanced back at William Bolton, and for a moment didn’t know what to say. She felt a faint sense of guilt—today, William Bolton had probably offended Richard Walker because of her.

She knew well the influence of the Richard Walker father and son in Yongping. Although William Bolton seemed impressive, he was still very young—at most a deputy township chief. With that kind of status, getting involved with the Wu family would definitely not end well.

“I regret what happened today. Richard Walker is a petty man. I suggest you find a chance to explain things to him another day! After all, it was just a misunderstanding!” Alice Bennett said apologetically.

William Bolton smiled. He was about to enter the county committee office and would soon be on the opposite side of Brian Walker. Explaining things now would just be a joke, wouldn’t it?

But this woman was truly formidable. She caused such a big mess, and just one word of regret was supposed to fix it? If this had happened to someone else, their entire political career could have been ruined. Femme fatale—the ancients weren’t wrong!

“What’s wrong? Do you think I went too far, that I shouldn’t have used you as cover to get rid of him?” Alice Bennett said.

William Bolton snorted inwardly, thinking, “Since you know you went too far, why did you still do it? What’s the point of saying this now?”

Seeing that William Bolton still didn’t respond, Alice Bennett quickly turned her head, softened her tone, and said, “It was my fault! I formally apologize to you! But… as a woman, there are many things I have no choice about…” By the end, her eyes were brimming with tears.

William Bolton knew that Alice Bennett might be acting, but his heart still softened. He smiled gently and said, “You’re overthinking it. I was just looking at the road. I realized we’re on the wrong path.”

“Huh? Why?” Alice Bennett was clearly surprised by William Bolton’s answer.

“Because I live in the West City!”

Alice Bennett was stunned, then with a screech stopped the car, turned around, and the two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.

After turning the car around, the atmosphere in the car became much livelier. The topics of conversation also shifted away from the heavy subjects, though it was mostly Alice Bennett asking and William Bolton answering.

What puzzled Alice Bennett was that William Bolton didn’t seem to care at all about having offended Richard Walker. No matter what they talked about, he was always polite, with just the right touch of humor and wit. Since when did Yongping’s officialdom have someone like this?

“Turn left!” William Bolton suddenly said.

Alice Bennett, lost in thought, was startled by the sudden command and hurriedly turned into the left fork.

“All right, I’m home. Thank you so much for giving me a ride!” William Bolton said with a smile.

Alice Bennett quickly stopped the car. William Bolton opened the car door, nodded to her, then waved and slowly turned to leave.