“Excuse me, sir, this is the executive office area. May I ask whom you’re looking for?”
Antony halted, withdrew his gaze from Leo’s back, and looked at the receptionist. He furrowed his brows. “Hello, I’m here to see Miss Wilde.”
Despite his underlying dissatisfaction, Antony maintained his composure and politeness.
“Sir, do you have an appointment with Miss Wilde?” the receptionist inquired further.
Antony shook his head. “No.”
He had come impulsively today to deliver flowers and invite Coral for dinner. Naturally, he hadn’t made any prior arrangements.
Moreover, with Antony’s status, there was usually no need for appointments when meeting the heads of major enterprises like Langstel.
While Antony looked decent and had good manners, the receptionist adhered strictly to company policies. “I’m sorry, sir, but if you don’t have a prior appointment, you can’t see Miss Wilde.”
Antony’s face darkened, and he pointed towards the direction Leo had entered. “Did that guy have an appointment?”
“Mr. Bloomer didn’t have an appointment either,” the receptionist replied.
This made Antony even more frustrated. “He didn’t have an appointment, so why could he go in? Why can’t I? Wait a minute! What did you call him just now!?”
“Sir, he’s our company’s chief gemstone consultant, so he doesn’t need an appointment,” the receptionist patiently explained.
Antony was momentarily speechless. He hadn’t realized that the guy was Wilde Jewelry Company’s gemstone consultant.
Antony gave up on further argument and turned to enter the building.
“Hey, sir, you can’t go in!” the receptionist urgently called out.
“I’m Antony William, the General Manager of Starry Gem Jewelry!” Antony declared without looking back.
The receptionist hurriedly picked up the phone and called Coral’s secretary.
Not long after, Antony saw Leo and a woman approaching, engaged in conversation and laughter.
The woman was Coral’s secretary. She approached Antony with a smile. “Mr. William, hello.”
“I want to see Miss Wilde,” Antony stated directly.
“Mr. William, Miss Wilde isn’t in her office right now. She’ll be here shortly. Please wait at the front desk.” The secretary was aware of Antony’s status and his pursuit of Coral. She glanced at the bouquet of roses he held and politely responded.
As they gathered at the front desk, Leo gestured towards the bouquet of roses in Antony’s hands and joked, “Mr. William, these roses are for Miss Wilde, right? Do you need me to give them to her?”
Antony was taken aback and, before he could react, the roses ended up in Leo’s hands.
“You-” Maintaining his gentlemanly demeanor, Antony refrained from snatching them back in public.
At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Coral walked out. Leo approached her, offering the bouquet, “Miss Wilde, flowers for a beautiful lady.”
Coral chuckled, “I’m not beautiful.”
“You’re a fairy being descended from the heavens.”
“Leo, I never realized your language could become so sweet,” Coral teased as she accepted the roses.
Their conversation naturally reached Antony’s ears, causing his lips to twitch in response.
Coral seemed to notice Antony then and handed the bouquet to her secretary before turning towards him. “Mr. William, what can I do for you?”
“It’s not a big deal, just…”
“If there’s nothing urgent, please excuse me. I have a lot of things to take care of, and I can’t entertain you right now,” Coral said as she headed straight to her office.
Leo gave Antony a half-smile, then followed her inside.
Antony wanted to follow, but he was stopped by the secretary: “Mr. William, I’m sorry, Miss Wilde and Mr. Bloomer have important matters to discuss. You can’t go in right now.”
Though extremely displeased, Antony knew this wasn’t his territory. Suppressing his frustration, he gave a cold snort and left.
In the CEO’s office.
The two sat facing each other on the couch. Coral spoke directly, “Leo, there’s something I’d like to ask for your help with.”
“What is it?”
“Well, my grandfather has an old colleague when they fought together in a war whose health has been deteriorating. I was wondering if you could go and take a look at him. Would that be possible?” Coral finished, her beautiful eyes filled with a pleading look aimed at Leo.
“That’s not a problem.” Leo readily agreed.
“That’s fantastic, thank you.” Coral knew of Leo’s medical skills and that’s why she was imploring him to lend a hand. After all, this matter didn’t concern the company, and it would be understandable if Leo declined.
“No need to be so polite, Miss Wilde. You’re my boss. If there’s anything you need, just let me know,” Leo said with a smile.
To Coral’s surprise, a displeased expression crossed her face upon hearing his words. “Aren’t we friends?”
“Of course we’re friends. There’s no doubt about that.”
“That’s good to hear. I won’t let you help for free though. I’ll cover the consultation fee.”
“No need for the consultation fee. Where does your grandfather’s friend live, and when should we go?”
Coral was a woman of action. She stood up and said, “Let’s leave right now.”
After Antony left the building and remained downstairs, he didn’t actually leave. Instead, he sat on a sofa in the lobby, flipping through a magazine out of boredom.
He had inquired with the staff inside, learning that Leo, despite his position as a gemstone consultant, hardly ever showed up for work. Since Coral was having a discussion with him today, Antony decided to wait until Leo left before approaching Coral.
He had been waiting for over ten minutes downstairs, closely watching the elevator’s direction.
Ding. The elevator doors opened, and indeed, Leo emerged. What surprised Antony was that Coral was beside him.
Antony stood up from the sofa, struggling to contain his anger. He put on his signature smile and walked over to Coral.
“Coral, where are you heading?” Antony inquired.
Coral hadn’t expected Antony to still be here and furrowed her brows. “Mr. William, do you have something to discuss?”
“It’s about tonight. There’s a global tribute concert for Richard at the Carodia Art Hall. I’d like to invite you to join me.”
“Just for that?” Coral’s expression showed that she wasn’t interested.
“And there’s one more thing. After the piano performance, I’d like to discuss potential collaboration between Wilde Jewelry Company and Starry Gem Jewelry. Combining Starry Gem Jewelry’s distribution network with Wilde Jewelry Company’s marketing could be a powerful partnership.”
Antony spoke calmly and eloquently.
However, Coral seemed entirely disinterested. “Mr. William, I’m sorry, but I have important matters to attend to today. I don’t have time for a piano concert. As for our companies collaborating or how to collaborate, you can discuss that with our Vice President of Marketing.”