On the phone, Matthias did not feel a sense of displeasure from Heather, and both of them tacitly remained silent about what happened yesterday. It was a brand new day and a new beginning; yesterday had already passed. He had improved a lot in dealing with relationships.
“What is your decision about the date, Miss Langston?” Since she did not reject him at once, she would very likely agree to his offer. Therefore, he certainly should take advantage of this situation to persuade until she nodded.
“Well, I’m afraid that Director Locke is doing this for his private reasons under the disguise of business matters,” replied Heather in a teasing manner. This was not the first time he had done such a thing and it used to happen very often. Therefore, in her eyes, he was like a person with previous convictions.
Upon hearing her words, he smiled while looking resigned, as he was unable to continue with what she said. By using the name of official business matters for his private interests, he had indeed done such a thing countless times. Right at this moment, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed while he looked back on his actions.
“We’ll only be talking about business and not about the other things.” He then pledged in all honesty and sincerity, but even he himself could not believe in these words.
“Alright, then. I wonder what matter Director Locke wants to talk with me about?” She was having the thoughts of teasing Matthias. As she recalled his embarrassed look, she smiled broadly.
Meanwhile, he flipped through the documents that he was holding. These were all the information regarding the cooperation between the Locke Group and the Langston Group, and it would possibly take half a day to read through these thick bundles of documents without missing a word.
“It’s about the cooperation between the Locke Group and Langston Group.” As he spoke, he pushed the documents aside. He would need to bring it along later for the date, and it could be said that he indeed spent a great effort just to meet Heather.
Upon hearing his reply, Heather frowned. She did not want to take care of this matter and since it was about the company’s cooperation, Blake was far more qualified than her to further discuss it with Matthias.
“Can I not accept it?” She hesitated a little, as she thought of the words that Robert had told her back then, which were hinting at her implicitly yet obvious.
She used to think of fighting for it in the past, but she completely gave up on this thought later on. However, Robert brought up this matter again all of a sudden, and it caused a total mess in her mind. On top of that, she was surprised that Matthias dared to brazenly ask her out by using this reason, which meant that Robert was indeed backing him up. As she thought about this, she did not know whether she should comply with his wish.
“The cooperation will be happening soon but a lot of things are yet to be finalized. Miss Heather, are you really not feeling worried about it?” Speaking in a businesslike tone, Matthias was trying his very best to ask Heather out to meet him.
He insisted on using this reason as he had set his mind to talk about this matter with her, so he certainly would not go to Blake Langston for this. If she refused again, he could only compromise in the end. Moreover, she had envisioned various possibilities that might happen in her mind.
“I’m not working at the Langston Group anymore, so I’m afraid that I’m not eligible to have a hand in this matter.” Still, she refused. The only thought she had right now was to develop her own company well and she did not want to compete with Blake any further.
“But that’s not what Old Master Langston said to me. He told me that you’ll always be a member of the Langston Group’s board of directors. Other than Blake Langston, you’re the director with the most company holdings among the Langston Family.” Matthias’ words were so high-sounding but it left her feeling startled.
“Where did you hear this rumor? I don’t even have the slightest share of the company in my hands.” Heather said inexplicably. Was it really what Robert told him, though? She thought.
At the same time, Matthias was surprised too. Robert did not tell him that she was not aware about this matter back then, and it seemed like he wanted to inform Heather about it through his mouth.
“It was your grandfather. He gave you the shares.” Looking at this situation, he was certain to conclude that it was definitely Robert who transferred the shares to Heather.
“But I’ve never signed any share transfer agreement.” She did not have the memory of signing such an agreement, but she indeed signed a lot of contracts and documents before.
“I’m not clear about this either. You can ask Old Master Langston about it.” This time, he had been used by Old Master Langston. As soon as he thought about this, he held his forehead in distress.
……
In the meantime, a scene had popped up in Heather’s mind while she recalled. There was a time when Robert called her over to the study alone, asking her to sign for a document. At that time, he only asked her to sign, but he did not show her the contents of it. Could it be…
It was simply unknown whether it would be good news or bad news. She was feeling both helpless and amused about this, as she couldn’t believe that Robert would do such a thing behind her back.
“Alright. Where did you plan to meet?” Not wanting to stress herself about this matter anymore, she changed the topic in a split second and agreed to meet with Matthias.
For him, he had achieved his aim. Therefore, he no longer cared about the messy things of the Langston Family too.
“Wherever you like—you can decide.” He was afraid that Heather might not like the place that he chose, so he might as well let her choose on her own.
After thinking about it for a moment, she decided to go to the tea house. The place was rather quiet and they could also book a VIP room for themselves, so they would not be disturbed by anyone.
Matthias agreed with her suggestion and he then hung up the call before picking up the documents instantly which were placed near to him. At the moment, all he wanted was to hurriedly arrive at the teahouse they agreed upon.
The place that Heather picked this time was not in the city center. It was located in a remote alley at the outskirts of the city, as good wine needs no bush. She once came here by chance, and she liked the charming, attractive lady boss here. On top of that, she also admired her proficient tea ceremony.
It was a kind of artistic enjoyment when you watched her brewing the tea, and what Heather liked the most was the boss’ smile—her smile was extraordinarily enchanting, as though it could hit the deepest part of one’s heart.
Besides, she would also discuss the tea ceremony with the guests, as she felt that the tea ceremony was similar to the humane way of life. If one had been to this tea house for once, one would definitely think about coming here for the second time. During this period of time, Heather was swamped by various kinds of tasks. Fortunately, the weather today was great, so this simple and unsophisticated tea house came to her mind, and it was also just in time to fulfill her promise which she made to the lady boss.
Back then, she had promised the lady boss that she would come over again next time. When such words were coming out of Heather’s mouth, it certainly was meant to be a promise, not just a casual remark.
This was the first time for Matthias to come to this place and he navigated it on the map for a pretty long while. The roaring machinery sound could be heard coming from the side, as this place was a development area. He did not expect that there would be an antique tea house in such a place.
Heather, on the other hand, had arrived ahead of him. The tea house only had one VIP room and since it would be served by the boss personally, the cost of the room would be a lot more expensive. Therefore, the people who would purposely book the VIP room were few and far between.
After all, sitting in the cubicles would not be distrurbed either; it would already be good as long as the guests tried their best to speak with a soft and lower voice. Sometimes, the lady boss would even jokingly say that nobody had ordered her for a very long time.
As soon as Matthias arrived, the waitress noticed him with the first glance and she then greeted him and asked, “Are you Mr. Locke?”
When Heather arrived, she had told the waitress some of Matthias’ characteristics for her to keep an eye on. And so, once she saw him, she could then lead him to the VIP room immediately.
“Yes,” Matthias replied decisively.
The waitress then put on a gentle smile and added, “Miss Langston is already waiting for you in the VIP room. Please come with me.”
The etiquette of the waiters and waitresses of this tea house was very good. Besides, when he saw this building from the outside, he thought that he had travelled back to the ancient times, as it was builded with retro architectural designs.
After entering the tea house, the shop assistants were all wearing traditional costumes, and they were mainly young and comely girls with a few beautiful little boys.
It seemed like the shop owner had a pretty good eye, as all of the service would be done by these good-looking boys and girls. As Matthias smiled politely, he followed after the waitress.
Meanwhile in the VIP room, Heather and the boss were chatting eloquently about some life principles, and the former would put on a soft smile from time to time. Compared with the boss, who looked past her prime but was still attractive, Heather had an appearance that was extremely cold but glamorous.
Matthias’ arrival had interrupted their conversation, so the boss looked at him and smiled politely. However, his gaze was fixed at Heather and he only spared the boss a glance.
“Come here,” said Heather while she pointed to the seat beside her.
In the past, he had always been sitting at the seat opposite her but this time, he could finally sit next to her. As this thought came to his mind, he couldn’t help but smile softly as he sat by her side.
The boss looked at them curiously and she then said to Heather, “Since Miss Langston’s honored guest has arrived, then I’ll be leaving first.”
Heather nodded slightly. “I’d like you to pour a cup of tea for him,” she then added while pointing at Matthias.
Upon hearing her words, the boss adeptly lifted the exquisite ceramic teapot to pour a cup of tea for Matthias. She raised the teapot very high and a slender stream of water slowly flowed into the teacup. Surprisingly, not a single drop of water was spilled.
After she was done, she said to him, “Enjoy.”
“Thank you.” He replied in a polite manner.
The lady boss merely smiled. As she was about to leave, she glanced at Matthias and said, “The both of you are truly a match made in heaven.”
As soon as she was done speaking, she left in a hurry before both of them had the time to respond to her words. Heather blushed in an instant, as this was the first time someone said that Matthias and her were a heavenly pair. This felt a little abstruse.
On the other hand, Matthias was elated and he thought that was the best phrase he had ever heard. He then said to Heather, “This boss even knows some metaphysics?”
“Well, she’s a rare sober person in this mortal world,” Heather replied, which was a pretty high compliment toward the boss.
“This is really such a great place.” As he spoke, he scanned around the designs of the surroundings. The screen beside him was definitely embroidered by hand, stitch by stitch.
“But it’s a pity that it would be razed to the ground very soon,” said Heather while she sounded a little regretful.
“Oh—that’s indeed a pity.” Matthias let out a sigh along with her, as it was really a pity for every inch of the wholehearted designs in this tea house.
Upon hearing his words, she sneered while looking at him. “Did Director Locke forget that this place is a development area under the Locke Group?”
If she hadn’t reminded him, he would have really forgotten about this matter; no wonder he felt that the surroundings were so familiar while he was on his way here. Recently, he had only been thinking about the ways to surmount the Hart Group, so he did not put his focus on the development projects. Therefore, he had become a little forgetful due to his overwhelming thoughts.
“I wonder what Miss Langston wants me to be alert of with this matter?” After a moment of contemplation, he finally figured out that there was another intention behind her decision to meet at this place.
“Nothing. It’s just a coincidence.” She skipped over the topic, but he had already understood it.
The bold and drastic moves of Locke Group lately were indeed extremely impactful to many places, and it also harmed the interests of some of the people.
“Have you brought the documents?” Heather went straight to the point.
Matthias took the documents out from his briefcase and handed them to her, and she then took the thick bundle of documents. The words on it were so densely packed and perhaps even when the pot of tea had become cold, she still couldn’t finish reading it.
However, it was fortunate for her that she had a whole day to spare, so that she could take a good look at these documents. After all, deep down she was still concerned about the cooperation between the Locke Group and the Langston Group, and until now she still disagreed with this matter, as they were still unable to judge on which side the Locke Group was taking their stand on.
The enemy’s friend was still an enemy, but the enemy’s enemy would be a friend. In fact, Heather was still hoping in vain that the Langston Group could achieve the aim of cooperating with the Hart Group.
“This tea house also has local specialties. You can just order anything if you’re feeling a little hungry.” She said to Matthias before she immersed in the documents. Meanwhile, he was staying so quietly by her side, fearing that he would disturbed her.
