Chapter 317 The Stranger I Used to Know Well 4
Toby looked at the two strong men standing beside me, and said, “Be smart, will you? Apologize and go home.”
The two men weren’t stupid. Seeing Dennis’s elegance, they knew that he was not an ordinary person.
The two men were stunned. But immediately they looked at me, bowed, and apologized, “Ms. Kennedy, sorry we offended you just now. Please forgive us.”
“Beat it!” Toby said. He looked at the two men and waved at them, signaling them to leave quickly.
Seeing the situation, the two men didn’t say much. They looked at Antonia and said, “Nia, sweetie. Don’t make a fool of yourself. Go home now!”
After that, the two left.
Seeing so, Antonia’s face became worse. She looked at me and said, “Clara Kennedy, you are just a slut! Perhaps you…”
I wasn’t in the mood at all to keep on arguing with her. So I just ignored Antonia and went straight into the hotel. But somehow she freaked out and held on to me saying, “What are you running for? Show me what you can do now. Call help and investigate my dad! I am waiting!”
I frowned and looked up at her with a light expression, “Ms. Antonia, at first I was really confused at why the daughter of the county magistrate would come to be a hotel front desk, but now I do understand – Because your dad is way smarter than you are, and he sees that your stupidity won’t do you any good. Working in the hotel is just easiest work for you, so you won’t do anything that would risk pulling him down from his powerful position.”
“You…”
I pushed her away, entered the hotel, and went directly to the office.
…
At noon!Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
Antonia stopped messing with me. Probably she was in a bad mood, so she went straight home.
I had no idea Toby had shown up in the office until I was taken aback by the screams of other female colleagues.
“Ms. Clara, can we talk in private?” Toby said, with a serious look of distance on his face.
Noticing the gossiping gazes around us, I pursed my lips and nodded, “Yes.”
I walked out of the office with Toby. When there was no one around, I stopped to speak, “What would you like to talk with me about, Mr. Rollins?”
He pursed his lips, “Mr. George would like to see you.”
I subconsciously wanted to turn him down, but after a pause, I nodded, “Where is he?”
“In the parking lot of the Hotel Garage!”
I nodded, “Okay, I see.”
Seeing that I was about to turn back to the office, Toby continued, “Ms. Clara, Mr. George is waiting for you downstairs.”
I…
Looking back at him, I said after a brief silence, “I know. Let me get my purse.”
Toby was stunned for a brief moment, but there seemed to be no embarrassment. He nodded and said solemnly, “Then I’ll wait for you here.”
“Up to you!”
Sure enough, after working for Dennis for a long time, Toby had grown habits and behaviors slowly similar to his – Now the way they spoke and acted seemed rather alike.
I came out of the office with my purse and noticed that Toby let out a light relief after seeing me. He acted as if he had been in fear that my taking the purse was just a pale excuse so I could leave directly.
In the parking lot.
The door of the black Mercedes-Benz S-Class had been opened, and Toby made an excuse to leave when he was halfway there.
I got in the car. Inside the car, the man lowered his head and looked at the documents seriously. His movements were elegant and noble, and his eyes were calm.
I said, “I have to go back to work at two in the afternoon!”
Dennis paused, closed the document in his hand, and raised his eyes. His eyes fell on me, and his voice was gentle, “I’ll take you back here after lunch.”
HL Area was small, and there were not many famous and high-end restaurants. But Dennis found one, it was a Chinese restaurant.
He had made a reservation in advance. As soon as Dennis and I arrived, the dishes began to be served.
I looked at the scenery outside the window lightly – It was already July. The days passed by so fast, and this summer was almost gone within a blink of an eye.
Dennis didn’t make a sound. He served me the food attentively, and he didn’t stop until there was no empty space in my bowl.
Dennis then looked at me, “Have a try, these are all your favorites!”
I lowered my eyes and looked at the dining table. Indeed, as he said, these were all that I had used to like.
But after leaving Newton Town for years, I had changed. I didn’t start eating, instead, I looked up at him and said lightly, “I have been trying to eat lightly for years. These are too spicy for me.”
Clarie Bear couldn’t eat spicy food, so over time, I had grown to not eat peppers. And now I didn’t even add garlic or ginger in my cooking anymore because they might be spicy.
Dennis’s Adam’s apple trembled lightly, it seemed that his suppressed emotions were floating. After a while, he nodded and said with a warm voice, “Let’s swap these. Hold on!”
Saying so, he raised his hand to signal the waiter to come over and changed all the dishes to light-flavored ones.
I opened my mouth and wanted to stop him, but then I realized it was not necessary, so I just looked at him and sighed lightly.
The waiter re-arranged the dishes and changed the bowls. Dennis continued to serve me dishes with gentle movements, “You should eat more, you seem to have lost weight.”
I pursed my lips and looked at my bowl that had been piled up with food. My feelings were beyond description, and I had long lost my appetite.
Four years had passed, and I had become more silent. If it was before, I would have taken the initiative to ask him why he had asked me to come here with him.
But now it seemed that I got more and more silent, and I didn’t want to say anything, just looking at the bowl in front of me, and eating in silence.
Dennis put a glass of water in front of me and said in a warm voice, “Eat slowly, be mindful about choking.”
I lowered my eyes, silent.
During the whole meal, he didn’t touch the food at all, just watching me eat.
Seeing me put down my chopsticks, Dennis said, “Are you full?”
I nodded and wiped my mouth slightly.
I looked at the time – It was one-thirty in the afternoon. Looking at him, I said, “Thank you for your hospitality. It’s getting late, I will have to go back to work now.”
I got up and went out of the restaurant.
I was not being aloof, nor was I pushing him away deliberately. It was just that things had changed, and we went our separate ways already.
Dennis followed, “I will give you a ride.”
I nodded – I didn’t refuse him. It wasn’t easy to grab a cab in HL Area, and it was time-consuming to head back to the hotel.
In the car, I remained silent all the way.
Seeing that I didn’t say anything, Dennis spoke, “I will take care of what’s been going on with Antonia Gilbert. You can go back to work with a peaceful mind.”
I frowned, “It’s not necessary.” Since I had called Uncle Link, I didn’t want Dennis involved in these trivial matters.
Besides, Link Kennedy had been investigating corruption in various places for several years, and my call to him was just a simple push.
Dennis sank his eyes and said nothing.
Back at the hotel, I said lightly, “Thank you!”
He nodded, remaining gentle and elegant.
Uncle Link arrived fast. When he arrived at the hotel, it was only five in the afternoon. Perhaps because of his sudden arrival, an hour after he entered the hotel, the county magistrate and the leaders of several nearby urban areas came one after another.
Some local rich people also showed up. Uncle Link didn’t plan to hide his purpose anyway.
After catching up with the people within simple chitchats, Uncle Link arranged for some of his staff to investigate the matter of the county magistrate, and then sent everyone else away.
Looking at me, Link sighed slightly, “Kiddo, you have lost weight.”
I smiled lightly, seeing that it was getting late, I spoke, “Are you hungry? Would we have the pleasure to have you over at our house for dinner? Clarie Bear would be thrilled to see you!”
He couldn’t help smiling, “Of course! I was worried that you would leave me hanging here at the hotel and never ask! I would love to see Clarie Bear!”