President Burke seemed a little suspicious after hearing that and he turned to look at Wendy, then back at Henson.
The way he said it… Something was amiss.
Wendy’s heart dropped as she looked at Henson. “How dare he go back on his word?!” she screamed in her heart.
Upon seeing her shocked face, Henson snickered in his heart. “She is my brother’s private tutor, so that’s how I know how casually she used to dress before this,” he explained with a chuckle.
A wave of relief washed over her immediately.
President Burke guffawed again. “So it appears that Miss Evans is a casual person, even in the face of people like you, sir,” he said.
She had no choice but to laugh along as well.
A casual person? Only President Burke could come up with phrases like that.
She had no choice but to dress like that because she was poor.
When the waiter brought them the menu, President Burke handed it over to Henson for him to order for them.
Henson handed the menu over to her out of habit instead. “Why don’t you order for us?” He requested.
A tinge of nervousness arose in her heart as she turned her gaze to him.
“Ladies first,” he said with a smirk.
She frowned. He was definitely doing this on purpose.
“Mr. Charles, I’ll have you know I was raised in a poor household, so I didn’t have the luxury to visit such swanky places, neither do I know what’s good here. So I don’t think it’d be a good idea to let me order,” she replied with a straight face.
Seeing how squarely she was gazing into his eyes, it looked like she was on the verge of choking him to death.
When he saw this, President Burke tensed up and stood up from his seat to grab the menu out of her hands. “How about this, sir? I came here a few times before, so is it alright if I order a few dishes on Wendy’s behalf?” He asked nervously.
She could see that he was being extremely careful in front of Henson.
Henson motioned with his hands to let him do so.
President Burke then began ordering for them while scanning the menu.
Underneath the table, however, Henson had poked her feet a few times with the tip of his shoe.
She cleared her throat in an awkward manner and drew back her foot.
An evil grin appeared on his face. “She definitely feels guilty about something,” he thought.
After he finished ordering for them, President Burke managed to catch Henson with a faint grin on his face while he was sipping tea.
“You seem to be in a good mood today, Master Henson,” President Burke commented.
“What do you mean? I’m always in a good mood,” he snapped as he turned around to face him, his voice slightly harsher than before.
“You’re absolutely correct, sir. I just mean that… you seem particularly happy today, is all,” President Burke replied anxiously.
“I don’t feel comfortable sharing my private affairs with you, Burke,” Henson scoffed.
“It appears that I’ve said too much,” President Burke muttered and flashed him an apologetic smile.
She felt puzzled while hearing the two of them talk. It seemed like President Burke was trying his best to get into Henson’s good graces and the way Henson was acting now was totally different from the way he acted in front of her in private.
and the way Henson was acting now was totally different from the way he acted in front of her in private.
“Cut to the chase. Why am I here with you tonight, Burke?” Henson snapped again while his gaze was fixed on him.
“Uh actually, I wanted to use this opportunity to thank you, Master Henson. It was you who backed me up and helped me get into this position after all, so treating you to a meal was the least I could do,” President Burke said sheepishly.
“Oh, really? Then you’re too kind,” Henson replied courteously.
“Another thing… since the affairs of San Diego University are now mine to bear, I seemed to have encountered quite a few problems, so I thought of asking you for your input, Master Henson,”
“Speak.”
“During Mrs. Taylor’s tenure in the past few years, she paved the way and spurred on many scientific research programmes. However, due to lack of funding, these programmes had to be put on hold. Moreover, the matter of constructing a new student dormitory had long been stuck on the agenda, but after I had the Accounting Department run some numbers, we found that the Finance Department was unable to come up with such a large sum of money.
“I could’ve just pretended these problems don’t exist since these are problems left over by the previous president during her tenure in office, but since I have a strong belief in serving students, I feel it’s best if I continue to do things that will benefit them. But in terms of funding…”
Henson smirked after hearing that. He lifted his glass of tea, took a sip and asked, “So, the reason why you brought the most gorgeous female professor in the entire university over here tonight with you was to try to persuade me?”
Wendy’s face flushed crimson. “This guy’s got no filter, that’s for sure,” she thought.
Burke felt second-hand embarrassment as well. “No no, that’s not what I meant, Master Henson. I know you’re a wise man, so I wanted to hear your thoughts on the matter. Since there are many students enrolled in the university, I thought it’d be a good idea to conduct more scientific research programmes. I feel this will be very beneficial to their future development, and will ultimately benefit them in the long run,” he explained hurriedly.
“Our Wendy here also just graduated from being a student to assistant teacher, so surely she must understand how beneficial it is for the university to conduct scientific research programmes. Would you like to share your thoughts, Wendy?” He said and passed the baton to her.
She hesitated. It was so obvious that Burke was begging Henson for money, so
if she piped up now, that would be tantamount to her being an accomplice in his schemes.
“That’s true, I’m sure I’d be more easily persuaded by a beautiful woman. So, why don’t you share your thoughts with us, Miss Evans?” Henson asked.
She fell silent for a while before starting, “With all due respect Principal Burke, I’m just an ordinary assistant teacher so I don’t really know the ins-and-outs of running a university. I agree with your ideas though. I, too, believe that if more scientific research programmes are carried out, and if it proved to be fruitful, it could not only benefit the university, but also the student body as a whole.
“But in truth, most of the money goes to the university deans who use it to reimburse their various expenses, and only a small portion goes into funding research, which is why our students find it hard to continue with their projects. This has always been the case, even during my time doing research with my supervisor here,” she ranted.
Her words had turned the president’s face as pale as a sheet.
“I’d just started work at the university too, so I don’t know the specifics, but I feel that this problem you raised definitely warrants some looking into,” Burke said.
Spectating at the side was a Henson whose gaze was sharp, but the man merely lowered his head and drank his tea quietly.
“If he didn’t know the first thing about this, then what was his true motivation for raising funds for research immediately after taking office?” He wondered.
Wendy, on the other hand, didn’t think too deeply into it and continued, “I feel that since there are companies out there who are willing to raise research funds for universities, then we should let them be the ones to do so. At least these companies would know where their funds are being spent.”
Principal Burke exchanged glances with Henson then said in a hushed voice, “I agree with you. Wendy, would you be a lamb and pour Master Henson a glass of wine? Let’s have a drink together while we continue our discussion,”
She frowned. Why did she had to be the one to pour wine? She wasn’t a waitress there.
Upon seeing her reaction, Principal Burke asked anxiously, “Dear child, could it be that you’re scared of pouring wine for such a powerful figure such as Mr. Charles?”
After hearing him say that, she swiftly got up and poured Henson some wine before returning to her seat.
Henson then raised his glass and smirked. “Surely, I can’t be the only one drinking?” He implied.
President Burke hurriedly poured some for Wendy and himself. “Of course not, Master Henson! Wendy and I will drink with you today, and we hope that you can lend us a hand in these matters,” he said jovially.
He then raised his glass and clinked it with Henson’s. Seeing as Wendy didn’t raise hers, he shot her a look. “Well, what are you waiting for, Wendy?” He asked.
“I’m not much of a drinker, sir,” she admitted.
“Just drink with us. I can drive you home if you really get drunk in the end. You shouldn’t worry too, as Master Henson can be my witness. I refuse to let you miss out on such an opportunity. It’s an honor to be able to drink with him, you know. Or are you telling me that you look down on Master Henson?” He implied.
She lifted her gaze to Henson.
He was coincidentally staring at her with a calm expression on his face, and with an eyebrow raised.
Originally, she was the one who told him to keep his distance from her in front of the president, so she couldn’t possibly go back on her words now, lest she make a fool of herself.
ahe couldn’t possibly go back on her words now, lest she make a fool of herself.
After a sharp inhale, she picked up her glass, stood up and clinked glasses with the two of them.
“I don’t care anymore, let me just throw caution to the wind for once,” she thought as she downed the drink.