Ranita’s heart was in turmoil.
She continued, “It’s been three years of suffering for you. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I said we wouldn’t get a divorce before. The person I liked had someone else in their heart, and it made me so sad that I just wanted someone by my side and a home, which is why I said those immature things to you.”
“As for Miss Murphy, I never intended to harm her. After living together for three years, you should know me well enough to know that I’m not that kind of person.”
Ranita finished speaking and continued eating her noodles.
The fried egg was overcooked and difficult to swallow down her throat.
“Ranita… about that day…” Brendon tried to apologize but his words got stuck in his throat. He had never lowered his head for anyone before except Ranita whom he wanted desperately to keep by his side but she didn’t give him any chance.
Brendon didn’t say anything more as he left with a cold face.
Ranita stopped eating halfway through the noodles and didn’t take another bite.
The next day, Chris came personally to pick her up and brought breakfast with him too. Ranita took a sip of the soy milk and exclaimed happily, “This place has such delicious soy milk!”
“My chef made it; if you like it then next time I’ll bring some more,” Chris apologized saying, “I’m sorry for making you come out so early.”
“You came all the way here just to pick me up; aren’t you earlier than me? Have you eaten breakfast yet?” Ranita asked while eating, “Your chef’s cooking is really good; these pan-fried dumplings are delicious too!”
Chris felt good seeing how much she enjoyed the food, “As long as you like it.”
After finishing breakfast, Ranita started feeling drowsy again as she leaned against the car seat swaying back-and-forth until she fell asleep again without realizing it.
In her drowsiness though, she seemed able to smell citrus scent but she was too tired; she kept sleeping without opening her eyes further.
When they arrived at their destination though, Ranita woke up suddenly only then realizing that she had been leaning on Chris’ shoulder this whole time!
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…” Her voice sounded hoarse yet soft, an unusual display of vulnerability from this independent woman.
Chris looked at her curiously.
“It’s okay! It’s my fault for making you wake up so early again,” he replied apologetically.
“Don’t say that… since taking on this job means doing my best,” after pausing briefly, Ranita said with a smile, “Speaking of which, I have got to thank my bosses for trusting me and giving me this opportunity. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to earn money to eat.”
Her little joke lightened the mood considerably.
Ranita fixed her makeup and followed Chris into the hotel’s conference center, standing tall with a straight back. They were meeting with an energy company that they had previously made initial contact with.
Chris had proposed reasonable contract terms, but the other party was pushing back every step of the way, resulting in a stalemate.
Ranita gathered her focus.
The meeting dragged on for three hours, and still the other side refused to budge.
Everyone was exhausted and decided to take a twenty-minute break.
Chris handed Ranita a bottle of water. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I didn’t realize it would take this long. Roman Macdonald is really something.”
“Is there any other way? Dragging it out like this might not yield results.”
Understanding your opponent is crucial in negotiations, but Roman had suddenly been appointed as their leader and was said to be the owner’s nephew; if he didn’t agree, they probably wouldn’t be able to reach an agreement on this contract.
Chris pondered for a moment before frowning and saying, “I just asked my assistant to look him up online; we don’t have much information yet, but from his personal social media account, we can see that he seems to be friends with Rashid Bassett from Nemotube.”
Hmm? Ranita raised an eyebrow.
“Mr. Bassett?” Ranita laughed like a little fox as she pulled out her phone, “Maybe I have an idea!”