Cody was taken away by Enzo’s car early in the morning. Enzo said he had something to discuss with the boy. Franco and Cristelle didn’t want Cody to leave, but after spending a couple of days with his Uncle, Enzo’s words just automatically became the highest order for the boy.
Cody thus insisted on going.
When the family was enjoying breakfast, however, Alfred just walked in, “Mr. Bradley.”
“Yes?” Linford put down his fork.
“We’ve still got a lot of problems to deal with in the company. Are you planning to go back to work today?”
He had just come back yesterday, and Alfred was already demanding Linford return to work today. He must still be tired. Cristelle frowned after hearing Alfred’s words.
“Get the car ready then,” Linford stood up from his chair.
Cristelle pulled at his sleeve, “Wait! You haven’t even finished your breakfast. Can’t they wait for a bit?”
Linford smiled and left a kiss on her cheek, “It’s okay, hon. I’ll grab something to eat in the company.”
Cristelle let out a sigh and blushed furiously.
“It’s okay, hon,” Candace mimicked her dad, sniggering afterward.
“This little one is getting more and more naughty like her brother,” Linford ruffled the girl’s hair before leaving the table.
Franco was smiling fondly as he watched the loving parents and daughter.
Cristelle spent all day in the mansion without Linford and Cody, feeling a bit lonely. Even though Candace was always by her side, she still wished she could spend at least a day or two with Linford and Cody.
Lily noticed that look on her face. The old lady went to the kitchen. When she came out, she was holding a basket of freshly-made desserts.
“Here, Cristelle, my love. These are Linford’s favorite desserts. He lost so much weight recently. Why don’t you send these desserts to his company? He would be so happy if you did it.” Lily smiled and urged her.
“Huh?” Cristelle’s mouth dropped open as she took the basket of desserts confusingly.
****
The stock price of the company rose after Linford came back. But the Barnett House still hadn’t given up their ambitions. Those people were still trying to take over the Bradley House market.
“Those designers and department leaders still don’t know their actions, but I noticed their lack. Should we fire them?” Alfred asked as Linford skimmed through the files.
Linford hummed, “It’s okay. Just let them do whatever they want.”
“But… If it goes on like this, those bastards will steal our concept sooner or later,” Alfred seemed pretty anxious.
“You know what? Go, get Sean here,” Linford motioned his hand, “I’ll discuss it with him.”
Alfred was confused about what to do except to follow his boss’s instructions.
Sean came to Linford’s office soon.
“Mr. Bradley, what can I do for you?”
“Sean, you’ve followed me for quite a long time. How come you can’t even figure out the men who work for you?” Linford reclined in his chair, asking coldly.
Sean’s face fell, “What happened?”
Linford threw the folder at him, “Take a look yourself.”
After skimming through the files, Sean was furious, “I’m gonna beat the shit out of those bastards!”
“Stop,” Linford’s voice thundered before Sean could walk out of the door, “You need to calm down.”
“This is all my fault. I should have known that they were nothing but a bunch of rats!” Sean was furious. Meanwhile, however, he was also scared. How sharp was Linford to notice small details like this?
How long had he been watching his department?
Linford knew what Sean was thinking, but he wouldn’t expose him so directly. So he sat up in his chair, “A man’s mind is unpredictable. This is not your fault. Just keep these people in their original positions. I still have good use of them.”
“But what if they just sell us to the Barnett House? They have our business secrets. Anytime soon, they can share it with our rival.” Sean was worried.
Linford smiled coldly, “It doesn’t matter. I want to let them sell our secrets right now, actually.”
“Do you already have another plan, sir?”
Linford nodded lazily, “Yep. Now, go. Don’t bring this up to anyone.”
Sean let out a long sigh before leaving the room.
It seemed like the Barnett House was doomed this time.
When Sean walked out of Linford’s office defeatedly, Cristelle happened to walk in, holding the basket of desserts.
Linford smelt the sweetness of the desserts the moment Cristelle came in. A big smile appeared on his face as he walked toward her, holding her hand and leading her to the couch, “Why are you here? It’s getting late. I’m gonna drive back in minutes.”
Cristelle placed the basket on the desk, “Lily made desserts for you. She said these are your favorite. So I came to send them to you. Have you eaten anything?”
Lily was doing her job, indeed. Linford was praising her silently.
Linford smiled as he loosed his tie a bit, taking a deep sniff from the basket, “Smells delicious.”
Cristelle opened the basket and took out pieces of dessert before putting them on a small plate. Linford smiled as she did that for him. The way he stared at Cristelle made her blush.
“Why are you staring at…hmm!”
Linford suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.
Cristelle wanted to pull away, but she didn’t even have any strength as she felt his warm hand on her back. The next thing she noticed was her back colliding against the soft couch.
Linford’s hand was cupping her cheek as he kissed her slowly, as if he was tasting the most delicious dessert.
Through the dizziness of the kiss, Cristelle could only hear their violent heartbeats ringing in her ears. His kiss deepened, and she gasped for air like a fish gradually taken out of the aquarium.
****
Cody was sitting nervously in Enzo’s office right now. Before him, there was a row of uniformed military officers sitting behind a long desk.
The boy sat straighter, not showing any fear.
The officers only thought he was cute.
Cody looked at Enzo. Enzo nodded at him encouragingly. The boy thus turned to those officers again with a serious look on his face, “You guys want to question me, right? What do you want to ask?”