After placing my phone back into my bag, I turned to look at Summer with a smile. “Do as you please. I will always support you. Besides, even if I actually disagree one day, your dad will always be willing to help!”
Only later did I hear from Anthony that he started sneezing randomly out of nowhere in the office with a dark expression, causing his staff to stop breathing in fear.
If the staff knew what happened, they would probably be cursing me silently for talking about him behind his back like that. It was scary enough working with Anthony, but getting a little surprise every now and then was just the cherry on top.
The three of us ladies were buying things left and right. Emery seemed determined to spend as much as possible today, especially after the little misunderstanding we had. If Summer or I looked at something for over ten seconds, Emery was already at the counter waving her card to buy it. She was obviously trying to mend her mistakes, even if we didn’t think she needed to.
After our shopping spree, we went to a nearby shopping mall to eat.
“This restaurant has great desserts. Their chefs are all from France, and their recommended desserts are amazing. Don’t forget to bring some home for Audrey!” Emery said before she ordered two things and passed the menu over to me.
I ordered something that seemed to be rather interesting and turned to ask what Summer wanted but realized she was looking somewhere else distractedly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, nudging her with my elbow.
Summer paused before looking back at me. With a puzzled expression on her face, she said, “I think I just saw Quince and Lucas.”
“Really?” I instinctively looked in the direction that Summer had been staring at but failed to see anyone who matched their looks. “You might have just mistaken someone else for them. K City is huge, so there’s no reason for you to suddenly see them here.”
“Who?” Emery asked in confusion.
“Two of your business rivals,” I said lightheartedly.
“Are you trying to mock me?” Emery said as she crossed her arms over her chest and continued confidently, “Holden is the only one who dares to go head to head with me since he’s not from around here. Apart from him, who else in K City could possibly be my rival?”
“What if those two also happen to be from outside the city?” I halfheartedly replied as I read through the menu, trying to pick some dishes that Summer would enjoy.
“Really? Damn, these foreigners are pretty nosy.” Emery knocked on the table unhappily before looking at Summer. “Summer, you’re not actually going to just work with some outsiders instead of me, are you?”
Summer smiled gently. “How about we sign the contract right after eating so that you don’t have to worry anymore?”
Emery clearly hadn’t expected that. She had just been kidding, but at the sight of Summer’s serious expression, she was taken aback. “You’re kidding, right? Are you really picking me?”
“She’s serious,” I said with a smile as I closed the menu and put it back on the table. “She was going to ask you from the start! She was just too busy to go and find you, and you were too hesitant to come and find her, which is why the whole misunderstanding happened in the first place.”
“So I really was being petty.” Emery pressed her lips together. She finally decided to come clean and apologize. “I’m sorry for what I did. I can’t believe that even as an elder, I still acted this way. I promise that no matter what happens in the future, even if Xavier takes over my company, you can ask for anything. I won’t say no.”
To me and Anthony, Emery was always ready to help, but it was a different level of sincerity when she made such a promise to our next of kin.
“Thank you, Aunt Emery,” Summer said before suddenly thinking of something. “Actually, there’s something I need help with right now.”
“Right now?” Emery raised an eyebrow before agreeing nonchalantly. “Of course! What is it?”
“I need your help looking into the background of the deputy president of Luscious Wines. I’m very sure that he was the man who left with Quince just now.”
“You mean Lexis?” Emery seemed to know who Summer was talking about. “Are you planning to buy his wine or something?”
“That was what I planned on doing,” Summer said with a nod. Then, she started looking hesitant. “Out of all the samples I received, Luscious Wines had the best quality overall.”
Emery nodded. “It’s an old brand, so they have a good reputation. However, recently, the management has become obsessed with abusing their power and being up to no good, so their reputation has been getting worse recently. Of course, their reviews have also been unsatisfactory. People who are interested in wine could taste even the slightest bit of impurities or lack of quality control, so choosing Luscious Wines is still quite a risk.”
“Thank you, Aunt Emery. Don’t worry. I don’t plan on signing any contracts so soon, so nothing’s going to happen yet.” Summer chuckled before asking another question, “Still, Luscious Wines is at the top of the industry. If something happens to them, the other smaller companies probably won’t be able to avoid it either. What do you say we weed out their little plans first so we can find out what exactly they’re up to?”
Emery looked at Summer as her eyes gleamed in surprise before smiling. She stirred her coffee as she said, “I knew you were naturally gifted at these things. I’ll do the background checks on these people as soon as possible, so all you need to do is just be the boss of your center and earn more money that we can all split and enjoy together.”
I looked at them helplessly as they playfully bantered back and forth. I jokingly knocked on the table and said, “Excuse me, you two big shots, it’s mealtime. Put the business talk aside and join me for a nice meal, yeah?”
“Haha. Look, your mom’s getting jealous,” Emery said mockingly.
“I bet Mommy’s just hungry.”
“I am! I could down a whole ten-course-meal right now.”
Lunch would have been a fun affair if it weren’t for the reappearance of someone I wish we could forget about.
We had just finished eating and were about to leave. Emery fished out a card from her purse and was about to pay when a hand suddenly blocked her way.
Lucas walked out from behind the waiter and stood next to the table with a grin on his face. “What a coincidence, Stanhope! Fate is really a fickle thing, huh? We seem to bump into each other no matter where we go.”
I did my best to squeeze out a smile. “Yes, it does seem that way. This restaurant was strongly recommended by a friend, so I came to check it out.”
Lucas smiled at me ambiguously before looking at Summer. “You see, dear? I’ve already told you how close your mother and I are. We’ll eventually end up collaborating anyway, so have you changed your mind yet?”
As usual, his tone was laced with cockiness. I had no idea where he had gotten the audacity to sound so confident from.
Summer just smiled and didn’t reply. She glanced over at me and Emery, and we all understood each other’s thoughts almost instantly. We decided to stay quiet since there were some things that were better off not said.
Lucas didn’t seem to feel awkward even at the lack of a reply. He tilted his chin and paid our bill. He had clearly learned quite a lot about Chanaea’s customs during his time here.
When There Is Nothing Left But Love
Emery didn’t react to it. “Thank you. If you ever visit The Jade in the future, do tell them that you know me. You will get a discount.” Then she nodded with grace and left with her purse in her hand.
“How much is the discount?” Emery’s words had caught Lucas’ attention, and he started to speak in his poor Chanaean. “Are you Stanhope’s friend, pretty lady?”
Emery stopped in her track. She glared at him and responded with a hint of irritation in her tone, “No, I’m her elder.”
Lucas raised his brows and teased, “But you don’t look so old.”
“Technically, I’m Letty’s aunt. Do you know what an aunt means? Did anyone ever tell you that you have to respect an elder?”
“Oh, really?” Lucas replied without batting an eye. Instead, he took a step forward and stared at Emery in a bold and suggestive manner. “I’d like to learn that from you someday…”
“Get away from her!”
All of a sudden, a figure appeared and pushed him away with great force.
Lucas, who was unaware of that man, didn’t manage to avoid it in time. The impact made him fall and hit the dining table next to him. A series of loud clanging followed as the tables and chairs knocked into each other. Fortunately, Lucas’ underlings managed to break his fall before his Herculean body could cause any further major damage.
I followed the gaze of his angry underlings and had a glimpse of the man who had pushed Lucas.
To my surprise, that man was Alexander.
However, what caught my attention first was his outfit. He was wearing a white tuxedo and a red bow tie, and it seemed that he had put on makeup as his lips were red, and his face was glowing. He looked just like a prince from a fairytale.
Most importantly, I also noticed the flower on his chest pocket that signified him as the groom.
What is this? Is he getting married now?
“Shit! Who the hell are you? How dare you push me?” Lucas’ chest was heaving with anger, and his eyes were wide with wrath.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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