As for Diana, she was at that moment, in the middle of a lovely dream. She was still dealing with jet lag, and this sleep had been very welcome. Hence, she was very annoyed to be woken up by a phone call.
“Who is it?” Diana asked roughly.
“Hello, Miss Anderson, it’s Brian. Our company is holding an activity today. I wonder if you would do me the honor of joining us?” Brian said gently.
“No, I won’t. Go yourself,” Diana grunted.
Brian was shocked. What a way to respond to a kind invitation!
“Mr. William, is there anything else? If not, I would like to go back to sleep,” Diana said coolly.
“Miss Anderson, hold on. Not so fast.”
“What do you want to say?”
“The activity is really important for the company. If you come, I’ll give you a few extra percent of the profits for the period before we cancel the contract.”
Brian was tempting her out. He was sure that if Diana came with him, he could change her mind.
This gave Diana a real pause for thought. A few extra percentage points could mean several million more in profits!
Finally, Diana promised that she would go.
“Great. I will pick you up later,” Brian chirped.
The assistant, who stood beside Brian, was not happy about his attitude towards Diana.
“Mr. William, why do you want to renew the contract with the Anderson Group so badly? There are so many companies that want to cooperate with us. And the Anderson’s don’t have a positive attitude,” the assistant said indignantly.
“Fool,” Brian scolded. “Don’t look at things so superficially. The Anderson Group is a time-honored brand that people trust. It is in our interest to keep working with them.”
The assistant was convinced by Brian’s argument. But she was still annoyed by his treatment of Diana.
“But Mr. William…”
“Prepare the car. I’m going to pick up Miss Anderson.”
Brian drove to his meeting place with Diana. He saw her arriving and marveled at her classy appearance. Wearing a white blouse and light blue jeans, she looked great.
Brian stopped the car beside her and wound down his window.
“Get in, please.”
Diana didn’t hesitate and jumped in immediately.
Together, they set off to the countryside location where the activity was to be held. The farther away from the city they got, the fresher the air was. Diana felt more and more comfortable as the environment transformed around them.
Her enjoyment rubbed off on Brian, and they were both in a good mood.
“I’m sorry, but how old are you, Miss Anderson?” Brian asked.
Diana thought he was trying to be funny with the question, but still, she replied, “Twenty-eight.”
Brian nodded. Her age was about right for him.
“Miss Anderson, do you have a boyfriend?”
Diana was surprised by his question but replied honestly.
“No, not at the moment.”
“Since you don’t have a boyfriend, how would you feel about going out with me?”
“What?” His question shocked Diana. She even doubted whether she’d heard correctly.
Brian smiled with satisfaction as he saw Diana’s astonished expression. From the moment he met her, he had not stopped thinking about her. He had never loved a person before, so he could not let her go. Even if Diana refused, he would chase her anyway.
“No, you can’t.” Without a second thought, Diana refused him.
“Why?”
“There is no reason,” Diana said coldly. In truth, Diana just couldn’t face being hurt again.
As she looked so determined, Brian didn’t ask anymore. It seemed like it was going to be a tough task.
When they arrived, Diana found they were at the location where Brian used to plant some of the medicinal material for their company. The village had picturesque scenery and was a good place for the medicinal material to grow.
“Would you mind if I show you around?”
“Let’s go,” Diana said, deliberately still showing him her annoyance.
Suddenly, a boy rushed over to them with flowers in his hand.
“Sir, buy a bouquet of flowers for this beautiful lady.”
As Diana looked so affectionately at the young boy, Brian bought the bouquet of flowers to make her happy.
“Thank you and best wishes to your love,” the boy said happily as he skipped away.
Unfortunately, the boy’s mention of love reminded Diana of the past, and she swiftly handed the flowers back to Brian and then walked on ahead of him.
Brian smiled, held onto the flowers, and ran over to catch her up.
As they walked side by side, Diana was going out of her mind. It had been two years since the last time they were together like this.
When they inspected the planting area, Diana found the plants were all growing well thanks to the workers’ hard graft.
It was Brian who had found this place and asked the people there to take care of the project. The plants grew on the mountainside, and it was the villagers’ job to get rid of an intestinal parasite using carefully selected pesticides.
The project has been incredibly useful in solving the problem of unemployment for young villagers. What’s more, they didn’t have to go far for work and had more time to spend with their families.
“Let’s have a good look at the plants.”