Since Daisy had already moved back, Henson decided to bring Wendy back to his place.
Living in Big City meant that she had to cook everyday for him, and he didn’t want that for her.
The finals for the basketball game finally came on Thursday afternoon.
As if out of sheer eagerness, Howell performed exceptionally well on the court that day
and managed to land his team the first place trophy for this year’s basketball championship.
As she gazed at Howell’s face, which was brimming with joy as he lifted up his trophy in one hand, a warm, motherly smile slowly crept up on her face.
While on the ride back from campus, he suddenly turned to her who was sitting beside him with a smug look on his face. “How was that, Wendy? I made you proud, didn’t I?” he boasted.
She rolled her eyes at him and said, “Stay where you are, not an inch closer,”
“Ugh, what’s up with you now, Sister Wendy? Are you telling me you don’t plan to fulfill your end of the bargain?” he sulked.
“What bargain?” she asked.
“I figured you’d probably forgotten by now. Didn’t you promise me that if I got first place in the MVP basketball match, you’d do anything I wanted? Are you telling me that you don’t plan to hold up your end of the promise just because the trophy hasn’t been put on display on campus yet?” he whined.
“Oi,” she snapped and giggled afterwards. “Of course I still remember. Let’s talk about it later at home though. You should probably keep your distance from me since there are so many people here right now,” she advised.
He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Did you catch wind of the rumours, Wendy?” he asked.
She turned to look at him and asked back, “You heard them too?”
“Yeah,”
“You must have balls of steel considering you’re sitting beside me now then,” she said.
“But if we keep our distance from one another, it’d just mean that the rumours are true. Frankly, I don’t give a d*mn about the rumours since my identity as the fourth young master of the Charles family has already been exposed, so it just feels like a hassle in the end. I still can’t believe my brother chose you over me that day though,” he sulked.
She burst out giggling at that. However, what he’d said wasn’t too far off either. Why should she fear what people say about her? It wasn’t like she was actually going out with him.
“Oh quit complaining already, I’ll give in, alright. Anyways, what do you need my help with?” she asked.
“I want to run my own bar,” he said, his eyes sparkling with determination.
“A bar?” she gasped, speechless. “Are you telling me this because you know that your older brother won’t agree to the notion?”
“That’s correct. He really doesn’t agree with my dreams, because the bar of my dreams isn’t profit-driven, but just for fun,” he said.
“Don’t you have a lot of money lying around yourself? You can just open one yourself, no? Why ask for his permission?” she asked, puzzled.
“My brother will definitely scoff at me if he found out that I used money I didn’t work for to make this bar. There isn’t a single coward in the Charles family, after all,”
“Why do you insist on opening a bar then?” she asked, confused.
“I have my own reasons,” he replied.
“Are you serious?” she said incredulously.
“The most serious thing I’ve ever done.” he replied firmly.
She nodded after mulling it over a while. “Sure, I’ll let Henson know, but whether he agrees to it or not isn’t something I can decide,”
“I’m sure you can persuade Henson for me. If even you can’t, then I suppose no one else can,” he sulked.
She was at a loss for words. Henson was clearly very easy to talk to, so why was his little brother making him out to be such an unreasonable person? Honestly…
When the campus bus brought all of them back, the headmaster of the university came in person to welcome the team.
At night, the university organised a dinner for the team to celebrate their victory.
Since she was one of the coaches for their team, she couldn’t afford to be a no-show.
Henson, on the other hand, was upset as she couldn’t come home for dinner with him at night.
But soon after, he’d also received a call from President Burke, who’d invited him over to have dinner at the same restaurant the students were in.
Henson smirked at this. “Might as well attend,” he thought.
Wendy couldn’t hold her liquor, after all. So, just in case someone got her drunk…
he could use that to his advantage.
This was the first time Wendy noticed how much these students could drink.
Only fifteen minutes in after six and they’ve already finished two dozen beers.
This made her, their coach, look so out of place in the middle of their party.
The head of the team suddenly piped up to her. “Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to just sit there and watch us while we drink, Miss Evans? Come drink with us,” he said.
“I really can’t, guys. I’m afraid I can’t hold my liquor well,” she declined and gestured with her hands.
“What’s so bad about having a low alcohol tolerance? With so many people here and as our favourite coach, we can look out for you if you get drunk. Someone pour Miss Evans a drink right now,” he reasoned.
When he thought about what Henson had said in the evening, Howell, who was standing to a side chirped up as well. “Miss Evans really can’t hold her liquor well. You guys should just drink by yourselves,” he said.
“Oh wow, look guys! Miss Evans’ Black Knight has arrived,” one of them jeered from a corner.
The rest of them burst out in a fit of laughter at that, which rendered her speechless. “Enough, guys. Either you guys drink up, or I take all the alcohol away this very instant,” she threatened.
“Aww, Miss Evans is embarrassed now. Hey, quick question Howell, when did you make Miss Evans a part of your household? Don’t you know that she’s a goddess in all of our hearts? I don’t suppose you’re aware of how much we envy you right now,” one of them said.
“That’s right, but really though, Howell and Miss Evans would actually make a cute couple. From what I can see, it does seem like this is a match made in heaven,” another gushed.
“True true, a perfect match, indeed,” one agreed.
“Bottoms up, everyone. A toast to the lovely couple!” another hollered.
With the crowd all riled up, no one noticed that Henson had already stepped into the room.
After hearing so many people ship his brother with his lover, his expression turned frigid in an instant.
The President’s assistant had invited him into a private room. Apart from Burke, Nancy was there as well.
Upon seeing him step into the room, Nancy immediately stood up from her seat to greet him. “Long time no see, Senior,” she said politely.
With his expression still stoic, Henson sat down and turned to Burke. “So, you’re the type of president who’d bring their own daughter to a private dinner,” he sneered.
Noticing that he wasn’t in the best of moods, Burke hurriedly explained the situation to him, “My Nancy has always looked up to you, and when she found out that I was going to have dinner with you, she insisted on coming along, stating that she’d be elated even if it meant watching you from afar,”
“I don’t suppose Miss Billy isn’t of age yet,” Henson replied.
“I’m 22 this year, Senior,” she answered immediately.
“She’s definitely of age then. I thought most people would be more sophisticated at this age, but apparently she’s still somewhat… immature, by the looks of it,” he scoffed.
“I’m not normally like this, Senior. I just really missed seeing you, so that was why I had my father bring me here,” she quickly explained.
“Did you really missed seeing me or did you just want me?” he asked bluntly.
Her face flushed pink at that, while her father who was sitting beside her, didn’t know how to respond to that.
It wasn’t like he could gauge what the man was feeling at the moment.
After noticing that she fell silent, Henson went in for the kill. “If it’s the former, then I feel that you should really grow out of that mindset at your age, Miss Billy, as your actions might inconvenience others, you know. I am not a public figure, so if you really ‘missed’ me, wouldn’t you have to get my approval first? However, if it’s the latter, then I have to be honest with you and tell you that you’re not my type. Also, I already have someone in my heart at the moment,” he snapped.