Leonardo narrowed his eyes for a while, and his expression changed subtly in response to what she said.
They looked at each other, and no one spoke.
After a long time, Leonardo broke the silence.
“What if I sign Emerson Group over to you?”
Summer froze, and disbelief was apparent in her eyes. She never expected him to say such a thing on his own accord. In fact, that was what she had wanted to discuss.
Leonardo seemed to lack nothing; he was flawless.
She had no doubt about his abilities, but until now, his fame mostly came as a result of Emerson Group.
Summer really wanted to test Leonardo, and the only way was to ask for something ridiculous.
She changed her mind earlier and asked Tim to send her to Emerson Group just so that she could pose Leonardo the same question.
Little did she expect that Leonardo would bring it up first.
Perhaps he had read her mind. He always concealed his feelings, so no one could figure out what he was thinking.
Summer looked him in the eye, but they gave her no inkling.
In spite of that, she would have to square up to Leonardo since he had brought it up.
She straightened her back and tried to sound nonchalant. “Why are you being so generous?”
“What’s wrong with giving you Emerson Group? Even I belong to you.” Leonardo held her hand and kissed her on the lips.
The sweet words that came out of his mouth sounded more like a vow than empty flattery.
It was solemn.
The scary thing about Leonardo was not only his unpredictable nature but also his apparent ability to read people’s minds. He was too smart. As much as he knew how to torment a person, he also understood how to persuade someone. His main problem was his overly possessive behavior, which even bordered on paranoid sometimes.
Summer was so shocked that she forgot to pull her hand back.
He pulled her closer and leaned forward to kiss her again. “Come and see me in the office at this hour again tomorrow.”
…
Summer still felt lightheaded after she left Emerson Group.
Leonardo had asked her to drop by Emerson Group at the same time tomorrow. Was he really giving Emerson Group to her?
She did not mean what she said. She did not really want Emerson Group.
Summer was a little anxious. She might have gone a little too far, she thought.
Her mobile phone vibrated; it was a WeChat notification. She opened it up and found that Jessica had sent her a voice message.
“I’m done with work. Do you have time to eat lunch with me?”
“Sure,” she replied and was about to wave down a taxi to meet up with Jessica.
Just then, a car stopped right in front of her. Tim got out of the car and opened the rear passenger door. “Allow me to send you, Mrs. Emerson. Where are you going?”
“Is this Leonardo’s idea again?” She did not get into the car.
“The young master knows that you are not driving. So he’s asked me to give you a ride.”
“Leonardo has his schedule packed until next year. As his special assistant, you should be very busy. I will just take the cab.”
“Please, Mrs. Emerson.” Tim bowed. He had no intention of listening to her, so Summer had no choice but to get inside the car.
She was deep in thought about what happened earlier and was in need of telling someone about it.
However, only Tim and her were seated in the car right then. Tim was Leonardo’s man, and there was no way she would talk about it with him.
She had only gotten impulsive and gone to Emerson Group to talk to Leonardo after she listened to Tim.
Noticing Summer’s less-than-friendly expression in the rearview mirror, Tim shrank back and looked away.
As they arrived, Summer got out of the car and entered the restaurant where she and Jessica had agreed to meet.
Jessica had booked a private dining room, and when Summer stepped in, Jessica was looking at the menu.
“Come and take a look, Summer. This restaurant has created a few new dishes.” Jessica spent money like water, splashing her wealth on cosmetics, handbags, and clothes.
Summer went over and sat down beside her.
“Snow Stick? What dish is that?” Summer had no idea what it was.
“Sounds interesting, right? Let’s give it a try.”
Summer took a glimpse of the dish’s nearly four-figure price tag and shook her head. “You’re spending too much money.”
“It’s my money, anyway.” Jessica flipped the page. “You should order something too. My manager’s been restricting my diet recently, saying that I’ve gained weight.”
Summer studied Jessica for a while. “I think you have.” She did not mince her words.
“You must be asking for a beating!” Jessica raised the menu in her hand, pretending as though she was about to whack her.
“That’s all right. Just enjoy your meal now. Your manager is going to ask you to go on a diet, anyway,” Summer said with a smile.
“Can you say something nice?” Jessica smacked her gently with a chopstick.
Summer put her handbag aside. “Hurry up and order. I have something to tell you.”
Jessica’s eyes brightened up. She loved it when it came time to gossip. She motioned a waitstaff over to take her order.
“What is it about?” Jessica looked at Summer expectantly.
“Leonardo proposed.” She first told Jessica the less explosive news.
“Oh.” Jessica nodded unenthusiastically.
Her reaction told Summer that it was really not something to be excited about.
Jessica held Summer’s hands up and looked at them with her head tilted. She then clutched Summer’s finger. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
“The ring, of course!” Jessica blinked. “Didn’t you say that he proposed to you?” she said in an incredulous manner.
“He proposed to you without a ring? How can the President of Emerson Group propose to you without a ring? You shouldn’t marry him, then!”
However, that was not Summer’s concern. She pressed her lips together and told Jessica the next thing.
“I went to see Leonardo before I came here.”
Jessica rolled her eyes at her. “You agreed to his proposal even though he didn’t give you a ring? And you even went to see him?”
“No, I went there to negotiate with him.”
“Negotiate?” The last bit of enthusiasm had disappeared from Jessica’s voice. She did not look forward to hearing what the negotiation was all about.
“It was about Emerson Group. But he brought it up before I could open my mouth.”
Jessica hissed. “At least you’re smart to ask for shares in the company. What did he say?”
“No. I—”
Due to the absence of the ring, Jessica already had a critical opinion of Leonardo’s attitude. Without waiting for Summer to finish, she chimed in, “He didn’t even give you the shares? Forget about the proposal, then!”