Chapter Nineteen

"God! I'm freezing! Who was the jerk that messed with the air conditioner?" Scott yelled and rushed out of the office. It seemed that he was eager to find out who did this and was going to kill him. Stephen stopped and gave Scott a cold eye. Scott was confused and wondered if he had done something that offended him.

Of course! Of course, he had offended him! Becasue that so-called 'jerk' was Stephen's son, so how could Stephen not be angry? "Stephen, you're here! Wow! And Ariel too! When did Ariel come here? Why didn't you come to see me?" Scott put on a saccharine smile. Everyone could tell that he was buttering them up. Ariel rolled his eyes, thinking why couldn't this man act like a normal person? Why did he behave so oddly every time Ariel showed up?

"Uncle Scott, do you have a problem with daddy? If not, how come you just noticed him? He was there a long time!" What he said would affect both Stephen and Scott. How dare Stephen hire that woman? How dare Scott call him a jerk? Killing two birds with one stone, that was his favorite thing to do.

"Ariel, did I offend you today? Don't start with me again!" Scott was pissed off. he couldn't figure out how he had offended both of them. Could anyone give him a reason? he was always left out. This time he wouldn't stand for it. He would know what was going on.

"You didn't offend me. But you offended Mr. Chu." Ariel wore a bright smile on his face. His smile was as beautiful as a blooming flower. Scott scratched his head. Did he really offend him? Why didn't he realize it?

"Stephen, I didn't even talk to you today, so how did I offend you? I just..." Scott almost cried! he finally knew what was going on here. Ariel was all dressed up. he should have known that only Mr. Chu and his son had the right to adjust the air conditioner however they wanted! No wonder that Mr. Chu stared him with that horrible look. he had called his son a jerk. Wouldn't that mean that Mr. Chu was a jerk too? But why did they turn the temperature down so low?

"We're going to grab a bite to eat. Do you want to go with us?" Stephen decided to ignore them. He wasn't stupid, he knew the tricks Ariel played. It was difficult to get him involved in anything unless he was willing to be. "Great. Since you guys are buying, I'd be stupid not to go." Scott still remembered the expensive bill last night. He'd make that up by eating on their dime.

"Stephen, can I go with you?" Leah asked in a whisper. Leah was unwilling to be ignored. She also wondered why there were so many handsome men in the Chu International Group! She may have a crush on Stephen, but the man next to him was just as hot!

"Since you are willing to go, then let's go!" Being a CEO of a multinational company, Stephen knew that sometimes he couldn't do things in an absolute way, leaving no space compromise, so he always remembered to show some respect to the others.

"Well, Stephen, won't you introduce me to this beautiful lady?" Scott why Ariel lowered the temperature of the air conditioner was this lady, who was standing right in front of him! Alas! Scott had not noticed her, either! Leah was having a very bad day.

"This is Leah, the daughter of the CEO of Yang Foreign Trade." Stephen introduced her with a distant voice instead of a warm one. Scott paid little attention to her as well. If Stephen didn't care, neither did he.

"Oh, so you are Leah. I am sorry, I didn't see you just now. My name is Scott Hughes, deputy CEO of the Chu International Group. Nice to meet you." he reached out his long, slender fingers to shake with her without realizing what he said made so awkward.

"Mr. Hughes, nice to meet you too." Leah thought she was really calm today. Although she was totally ignored by them, she still could talk to them peacefully. If others treated her like this, she would have already lost her temper. Ariel was unhappy. He couldn't understand why they would take that annoying woman with them!

"Let's go." Stephen carried Ariel and walked out first while Scott followed them casually. Leah bit her lip caught them up. She knew something was wrong. everyone ignored her. She resolved to change her situation.

Due to the hot weather, Stephen chose a fancy restaurant that was close to the office. He hated being hot and sweaty. As they walked in, they immediately drew people's attention. After all, it would be difficult not to pay attention to handsome men and charming girls, not to mention the cute little boy.

One of Stephen's biggest pet peeves was being stared by lots of people when he ate. He'd lose his appetite. That's why he generally chose to have his meals in a private room. Leah followed them closely and looked at Stephen in admiration now and then. Her face went red with shyness.

Just like Mr. Chu, Scott never paid attention to people that he didn't care about, so Leah's situation was a little awkward. but Ariel was glad to see this. As long as this woman didn't pester his daddy, everything was OK, because Mr. Chu could only belong to his mommy. If other women wanted to get close to his daddy, they should get his permission first.

Mr. Chu! Did you know your kid already has your future planned out? He had you wrapped around his little finger. As soon as they entered the private room, Scott checked the menu. he was going to make up for being stuck with the bill last night. Ariel rolled his eyes for the second time. 'Uncle Scott was so disrespectful!' Because Ariel was hungry, and he should order first!

"Miss yang, please have a seat! Order whatever you like." Mr. Chu! You finally noticed her this time. She was beginning to wonder if she were invisible. "Sure, Stephen you can call me Leah! You don't have to be so formal." Leah was annoyed when Mr. Chu called her Miss Yang. It felt like they were strangers and she really didn't like this feeling.

The truth was that because of Brielle, Leah and Stephen were absolute strangers. It would be awkward if Stephen didn't give her the cold shoulder. "Daddy, could I have ice cream?" Ariel interrupted this exchange deliberately. 'Daddy only belongs to mommy, and not to this woman who was obviously starting to flirt.' Saved by the boy!

"No, you need to eat dinner first. You'll get a tummy ache." Stephen was very stubborn about certain things, like now when he said no, he meant no. He would not budge. "Okay." The little boy never really wanted any ice cream. he just wanted to vent his anger and divert Stephen's attention away from Leah.

Scott, on the other hand, completely ignored what was happening around. he was too busy finding all the expensive, delicate, and light food on the menu. The bar tab had cost him plenty last night! He was going to make sure that he ate well enough to make up for that.

Stephen surely knew what Scott was thinking. But he kept quiet and just let Scott keep grinding his ax. He had more money than patience, after all. But when all the dishes were served, he was shocked. It was far too much. There was no way they could finish all of the food. He may be rich, but the waste was no good virtue.

"Uncle Scott, are you sure you can eat all of this?" Ariel looked at him excitedly. he really expected Scott to answer. He was still young and believed the world revolved around him. "No, I can't eat them all. But I want to try a little of everything." Scott said in a careless way. He just wanted to taste them all. Anyway, there was no rule that whoever ordered had to finish the dishes.

Unbelievable! 'Scott, if you can't eat that much, why did you order them? Don't you know waste a vice? I want to try them as well, but I won't order that much.' Ariel protested in his mind. "Uncle Scott, you are shameless. Wasting food is a bad thing." Ariel stared at him sarcastically as if he was some convicted criminal.

"I am not as brazen as Stephen." Who could before brazen that Stephen?! Stephen was embarrassed. he did nothing. Why did Scott get him involved? Scott was too focused on one-upmanship. He Ariel draw him in.

"Son, just ignore him. He is like a refugee now. he needs his food." Stephen's words hit the bull's eye. Leah gaped at Stephen fetching food for Ariel. he was so sweet and caring, but not to her. She grew jealous.

"Auntie, why don't you eat? Don't you like the food? Uncle Scott seems to be enjoying it very much." Ariel's words just hit two birds with one stone. On one hand, he seemed to be caring for Leah; but on the other, he derided Scott. Scott blushed, embarrassed. He grabbed some water from the table, hoping to swallow his reply along with the liquid.

"The food is great. It's just I'm not hungry yet." Leah thought she had replied tactfully, but that was not how others saw it. 'If you weren't hungry, why did you tag along?' Finally, the dinner was over amid the battle of words. They went back to the company without Leah as she said she had something else to do. In fact, she went home to find a strategy.

Her exit made Ariel the happiest, of course, as he successfully kicked Leah a safe distance away from Stephen. On the way back, Leah drove the car at full speed. She kept accelerating the car and honking the horn, trying to vent all the anger she built up from tonight's events.

Today was the most humiliating day! It wasn't even worth getting out of bed for! It was one thing if Stephen was oblivious to her beauty, but his kids! If the little brat thought she was a pushover, he would be seriously wrong. She was not! As long as she wanted something, she would spare nothing to get it. Just wait and see. No one will get in her way. 'Stephen, you are the only one for me.' Leah thought.

A dark green Hummer headed to the military base in the suburbs, leaving a cloud of dust hanging in the air behind it. "Colonel, we're here." Oliver got out of the car and opened her door, but found Brielle asleep. She slept so soundly that Oliver didn't want to wake her. but she had to report to the commander later. What should he do? Waker her up?

"Em..." We're here now, ma'am." Just as Oliver was mulling it over, Brielle opened her eyes slowly. She looked like an indolent, meek cat. Her voice sounded and soft, sweeter to his ears than ever. She murmured something sleepily.

"Yes, colonel. Do you want to go freshen up or go to the commander's place now?" Oliver grabbed a large pile of documents and waited for her directive. "I'll report to the commander now. I don't want them to wait too long for me. Staff officers had already arrived. we should make a point of being punctual." Brielle stretched her legs and go out of the car. The sunlight made her squint. She put the cap on properly, then she put the cap on properly, then took her briefcase.

"Okay, colonel. Do you need me to help arrange these files?" Oliver knew that the meeting would take a long time as there were many things to report. "No, I arranged them in the car. You can go now. I will call you when I need help." Brielle Yang was quite nice for a colonel. Just don't make a mistake around her.

"Okay, I will bring your luggage back then." Oliver was Brielle's entourage, so he needs to help manage her life as well. "Okay. You can go now. You won't be needed for the meeting." Then she turned around and walked to the office building. Her shadow elongated under the sun.

Before even entering, Brielle heard the commander's boisterous laughter. He seemed to be in good mood today. "Brielle! Finally, you're here. Come in. We're all waiting for you." The commander said happily at the sight of Brielle. He loved the fact that she was competent and no-nonsense. She was as good as a man. All her grades were excellent.

"Commander, sorry to keep you waiting," Brielle said with a smile. She and the commander were more like friends than leaders and subordinates. usually, he didn't think of her as a commander, but an intimate friend.

"That's all right. You are the only woman here after all. That's your privilege, right?" The commander laughed generously, setting the whole crowd bursting into laughter. Brielle instantly blushed. She was too coy and embarrassed to say anything. So she just lowered her head timidly, sat beside Adam, and nodded at him in greeting. The introverted, so they wouldn't mind her cold response.