Chapter 117

At that moment, a silver, priceless sports car was cruising smoothly down the road.
Inside, Shanley was slouched casually against his seat, his intense eyes fixed on his phone screen. The enclosed space of the car felt several degrees below freezing, chilled by the cold aura radiating from him.
Felton and Flint sat in silence, not daring to make a sound. Their boss had sent several messages to Ms. Payne, and she hadn’t replied to a single one. Unable to direct his frustration at her, he was stewing in his own anger. They were starting to wonder if Ms. Payne now thought he was… impotent, and was ghosting him as a result.
“Ring… Ring… Ring
Just as the two felt they were about to suffocate, a sharp ringtone broke the long silence.
Jimmie? Seeing the name, Shanley’s tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly as he answered the call.
“I found my sister,” Jimmie announced from his sofa, fiddling with the pile of pistachio shells Juniper had left behind. A broad smile stretched across his handsome face.
“Congratulations,” Shanley said sincerely, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He had been in the middle of sorting through clues about his sister the day before when Hannah had suddenly called him home for something urgent. He figured they would find her eventually, so he hadn’t pressed for details. He was surprised it had happened so quickly.
“She’s a sweet young girl,” Jimmie continued, his voice full of laughter. “Beautiful, well-behaved, incredibly smart, and talented.”
“In the entire entertainment industry, no one can compare to my sister in terms of looks or talent.”
“And of course, she’s definitely prettier than your little girl!”
He clearly remembered how Shanley had defended his own girl while ‘belittling’ his sister last time.
“Is that so?” Shanley chuckled, an image of Juniper’s defiant face involuntarily popping into his mind, which only widened his smile.
In an industry filled with beauties, that was high praise coming from Mr. Tate. Of course, the source was highly biased. The guy was clearly smitten with his sister and could see no one else.
“You should bring her out to meet everyone sometime,” Shanley said with a lazy, roguish grin. He really hadn’t met many girls more beautiful or unique than Juniper.
“Maybe in a while,” Jimmie said, his brow knitting slightly. “We’ve just reconnected, and the kid is still a bit cold toward me. Besides, with that fierce look of yours, you might scare her.”
“Hah.” A low, magnetic laugh rumbled from Shanley’s throat.
“However Jimmie paused as if remembering something. “You might have see—” Before he could finish the word ‘seen’, Shanley interrupted.
“In a while, bring your sister over. I’ll personally host a welcome party for her, as her honorary big brother.”
“Deal,” Jimmie agreed with a slight smile. “I’ll let you be her honorary brother.”
Having one more person to dote on her couldn’t hurt. Especially when that ‘brother’ was Shanley, the overwhelmingly powerful king of Borealia. With his protection, no one would ever dare bully his little princess again.
Shanley hadn’t expected Juniper to call him herself. He hastily ended the call with Jimmie to answer hers.
“Juniper,” Shanley purred, his voice soft and enchanting. The gloom that had clouded his face all day instantly vanished.
Felton and Flint let out a collective sigh of relief. Finally. A little attention from Ms. Payne, and their boss was back to normal.
“I was busy,” Juniper said, sitting in the back of a car with headphones on, idly twirling the cord around her finger.
“I know,” Shanley replied patiently, listening to her explanation. The smile in his eyes deepened. “And I wasn’t mad at you, little one.”