I guessed I couldn’t pretend anymore. I looked up at him, raised my hand, rubbed my eyes, and said awkwardly, “Did you start AI with the intention of acquiring the Gibson Group and continuing development?”
He raised his eyebrows, pulled the blanket from my lap back over me, and nodded, “That’s part of it, but not all of it.”
After a pause, he said, “How did you know it’s AI?”
I shrugged, “She came in just now, and I saw the papers in her arms.”
He crossed his lips and moved a little closer to me, then said quietly, “So, you also asked Toby what her name was?”
I didn’t shy away from it, because it was not something to shy away from, so I just nodded and said, “Any woman should be wary of such a beautiful girl. Besides, she is a beautiful and talented woman.”
He smiled and put his arm around me, “If I’m making you so insecure, why don’t you pay more attention?”
I raised my eyebrows, “Attention?”
He looked at his desk, his eyes fell on the broccoli, then he smiled and said, “Are broccoli the only thing I deserve?”
I…
“Do you believe me when I say I just picked it up?” I thought Toby would take it home, but he actually brought it to Dennis. He really didn’t understand girls.
Dennis smiled a little more, “Just pick it up?”
Well!
I didn’t think we could continue this conversation, so I paused and said, “I’ll give you a fresh bouquet later. By the way, are you finished? It’s getting late. We should go to the supermarket. If it’s too late, Clarie would be upset again.
He raised his hand and scraped my nose in a tone of resignation, “Perfunctory.”
Dennis and I were out of the office when we ran into Sheila Torres, who was discussing her work with Toby.
A beautiful woman could attract people anywhere. Seeing Dennis and me, Toby nodded and continued to read the materials in his hand.
Sheila Torres, on the other hand, looked at Dennis and slightly looked back at me with a polite smile.
I smiled back and got into the elevator with Dennis.
Driving Dennis’s car to the supermarket was too ostentatious, so we took mine.
I looked down for my keys, then unconsciously looked at my wrist. It was empty and there was nothing on it.
I wondered, as a girl, should I be wearing accessories like Sheila Torres?
“What are you thinking about?” Dennis said, taking the keys from me naturally.
We got in and started the car.
I sat in the passenger seat and said, “We have to get the car serviced in a couple of days.”
He nodded and pulled the car out of the underground garage, “Let’s change the car. There’s a couple of cars in the garage that haven’t been driven yet, so you can try them all out.”
I nodded.
We walked around the supermarket for a long time, choosing a lot of things we should and shouldn’t buy. Samuel Lewis said they were coming tomorrow, and I wondered if they’ll be able to use the stuff I bought.
When we got back to the villa, Clariana was asleep and Finn had cooked the meal. She said she needed a day off because of family business.
By the time we had cleaned up everything, it was midnight. I came out of the bathroom and saw Dennis was holding a calendar and drawing something.
I wondered what he was doing.
“When will you have a vacation?” I asked as I sat down at my dressing table.
“Soon. In about ten days. The holiday began when the annual meeting ended.” As he spoke, he closed his calendar, got out of bed, and walked over to me.
He took the hair dryer and help to day my hair, and said in a low voice, “Mario called and asked if he could take Clariana to H Town for a few days over winter vacation?”
I scowled and instinctively tried to say no, but then I remembered I said that if Mario wanted to spend some time with Clariana, I was okay with it.
After a pause, I asked, “How long will they be gone?”
“About ten days.”
I frowned. The total winter vacation was less than a month, and Mario wanted to take her away for most of the month, which made me a little unhappy.
When I didn’t talk, Dennis stopped the hair dryer and smoothed out my hair and said, “I have a lot of time this holiday. I was hoping to take you to Russia, but I haven’t had time, so now we can go together.”
I looked back at him, “So, you said yes to Mario?”
He shook his head and smiled, “I didn’t say anything.”
After thinking about it, I nodded, “Okay, well, it’s not appropriate for us to take Clarie somewhere that cold.”
Sensing something on my wrist, I lowered my eyes and saw that he had put a jade bracelet on my wrist.
I looked up at him and asked, “Why are you putting this on me all of a sudden?”
There were a lot of jewelries in my home, but I didn’t wear them at ordinary times, so I usually looked a little shabby when I went out.
He chuckled, “Jade is good for you.”
I nodded and said nothing more. I just looked down at the bracelet and couldn’t help asking, “Those jade bracelets that Link gave me are so precious that I dare not wear them after wearing them once. Where did you get that bracelet?”
He pressed his lips together and combed my long hair, “Toby bought it on his last business trip to Myanmar. It’s not expensive.”
I didn’t know much about jade, but I knew it couldn’t be as simple as he said. The color and texture are were pleasing to the eye that they could not have been bought on the way.
…
The next day.
The sun was shining in City P, and I could vaguely hear the doorbell ringing downstairs. It took me a long time to realize that Yara and the Lewis family would be here today for New Year’s Eve.
I suddenly sat up in bed and saw Dennis already up.
After a quick wash, I went downstairs and found Dennis and Samuel Lewis were having tea in the living room.
Clariana sat next to Samuel Lewis with Snowbell and a pile of new toys.
In the kitchen, Luna and Yara seemed to be chatting as they cook.
Almost instantly, I thought of these words, the happiness of ordinary life.
Dennis saw me first and smiled, “Morning!”
I blushed, nodded, and went downstairs.
Yara said as she emerged from the kitchen with a shrimp congee, “We’ve all had breakfast. Why don’t you have something to eat first? We’ll have lunch a little later than usual today.”
I nodded and unconsciously took it. Then she went back to the kitchen.
I looked at Dennis, still a little distracted, and he waved at me, “Come here!”
I sat down next to him, and then I looked at Samuel Lewis and said, “Have you been here long?”
Samuel smiled and shook his head, “No. We just got here.”
Then he looked at me seriously and said, “You’ve lost weight again. You need to eat more.”
I pulled out a smile, not knowing what to say for a moment.
I took a few bites and saw Yara coming out of the kitchen and looking at Dennis, “Dennis, I want you to help us with the dumplings.”
Dennis nodded and got up to go to the kitchen.
I was left with Samuel, though he was my father, but we seemed to have nothing to say.
He paused slightly, as if noticing the bracelet on my wrist, then he said, “The bracelet is made of good material.”
I paused and said, “Well, one of Dennis’s underlings picked it up on a business trip.”