Chapter 160
[ 539 words ]
Ronald’s chuckle grew louder as he placed a piece into Stella’s plate.
Stella, with an exaggerated gesture, stuffed the food into her mouth, chewing with a vengeance! Her gritted teeth and fierce determination made it clear she wasn’t so satisfied with this dinner choice. However, as the flavors melded on her tongue, her look of utter betrayal swiftly melted away. “This is actually delicious.”
Especially the sauce – it was definitely something special.
Ronald asked, “Delicious?”
Stella nodded, “Yeah, really good.”
Her disappointment vanished, discovering for the first time that the non-spicy version could indeed be scrumptious.
The atmosphere around the dining table lightened instantly.
…
Meanwhile, at the office of the Patel Group, Jeremy felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine as he stepped from the conference room into his office.
He called out to Harper, “Crank up the heat, will you? This weather’s turning bone-chillingly cold.”
Harper looked puzzled, “It’s cold?”
She didn’t feel it.
Jeremy glanced at Harper’s light office attire, “You’re not cold?”
Harper replied, “Not at all. Maybe you’ve caught a cold or something, Mr. Patel?”
It really wasn’t cold, with the office heating set to a constant, comfortable temperature.
Jeremy dismissed the idea, “I never get sick.”
Harper nodded without addressing further, thinking since the boss said he didn’t, she’d just drop it, and turned to sort through the stack of documents that had just been delivered.
As Jeremy settled into his office, his phone buzzed insistently. He picked it up to find a message from Caius.
“Did you manage to secure that ring?”
“It’s done. I’ll have it delivered to you tomorrow,” Jeremy replied, patting his suit pocket where he had stored the ring, only to find it empty.
His expression froze. A second search turned up nothing but a small box in the other pocket, momentarily easing his panic.
However, upon opening the box, his relief turned to shock – it contained a bracelet, not the ring. How did the ring get replaced with a bracelet?
On the other end of the line, Caius remained oblivious to Jeremy’s sudden tension and continued, “Thanks then.”
“I owe you one. Kellan’s been on my case about it, acting like it’s a competition! If he got his hands on it, I’d never hear the end of it.” Jeremy was now grappling with a headache, “Are those two still at it?”
Caius and Kellan were both close friends of Jeremy, but their wives, once best friends, had fallen out over who knew what two years ago.
Ever since, they had been locked in a petty rivalry, each eager to outdo the other.
Caius had resorted to leveraging Jeremy’s influence to outmaneuver Kellan this time – knowing well that Kellan’s wife wouldn’t dare cause a scene with Jeremy involved, potentially giving both men a reprieve. “Who knows? They were chatting over coffee just last week, and then two hours later, they were at each other’s throats again.”
Caius felt infuriated at the mention of it.
Gazing at the bracelet in the box, Jeremy was disinterested in their marital dramas, and hurriedly ended the call.
After a futile search through his drawers for the ring box, Harper knocked and entered, “Mr. Patel, these documents need your signature urgently.”
Jeremy asked, “Have you seen that ring I brought back the other day while cleaning up?”
“A ring? Didn’t you give that to Ms. Quinn?”
Jeremy was stunned into silence.
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