As soon as Sheffield plugged his phone in the car and it turned on, calls after calls came in. Most of the calls were from unknown numbers, so he didn't bother to call them back.
Whistling a tune as he started the car, he left the Tang family's house in a good mood.
While he was stopped by a red light on the road, his phone rang again. He happened to notice the caller ID and found out that it was Evelyn. In an instant, he put on his Bluetooth headset and answered the phone. "Hello, Miss Huo."
"You're the one who did it," Evelyn stated calmly; the certainty in her voice was so apparent.
'Wow! My woman is so smart!' he thought with a smile. But he didn't want to give in that easily so he played dumb. "What did I do?"
"About the news. You did that on purpose." Obviously, the kiss that morning was intentional.
Sheffield curled his lips into a smile and said, "Yes. But you know what? I just earned five million for selling that piece of news. I'll come to you after work. We can share the earnings equally." On one hand, now that their relationship was out in the public, he could openly announce to the world that Evelyn was his girlfriend. On the other hand, he could get a large sum of money from selling bits of information to the media. What a perfect plan! He got the best of both worlds.
Rubbing her aching temples, she complained, "You betrayed me just for five million?"
"How could you say that I betrayed you? From now on, people will always put our names together. You are my woman and I'm your man. We're happy together. And above it all, we can get some money out of this relationship. It's a win-win situation, don't you think?"
Evelyn could only sigh while she listened to him. She was honestly getting pissed off by this cunning man.
"Are you mad at me? Evelyn, may I just remind you that you lied to me? It was also you who abandoned me two years ago. But now, all I did was tell the whole world that we're together. What are you so afraid of? Or do you still want to hide our relationship?" The wide smile on his face faded away as his tone gradually became dejected and upset.
"No, it's not like that…" Truth of the matter was, it didn't matter to Evelyn. She just felt a little caught off guard. Their relationship was still not stable yet and they didn't even have a chance to discuss it. But suddenly, their relationship was revealed to the public in a way that she didn't expect or would have liked.
"Because of this, it would now be impossible for Mr. Huo to find another man to replace me. I told the reporter to take pictures using high definition lenses so my face is shown clearly. From any angle, anyone would be able to tell that it was me."
Evelyn rubbed her aching temples again. She could imagine the smug expression on Sheffield's face on the other end of the line. "Anyways, what did Sexton do to Theo Group?"
"I haven't arrived at the company yet so I don't know the details. But please don't worry about Sexton or the news concerning our relationship. I'll take care of everything. If the reporters come to interview you about us, there are two choices for you. One is to just give implications and the other is to acknowledge it blatantly."
'Is there any difference between the two choices? No matter what I choose, I'll just admit that we're dating, ' Evelyn thought silently to herself. When she realized her options, she just sighed helplessly. She knew there was nothing more she could say so she just said, "Drive safe!"
She decided to let him be, as long as he was happy.
No sooner had Evelyn hung up than Carlos called. "Dad," she greeted.
"Why is your relationship with him revealed at such a time?" Carlos asked, going straight to the point.
"We were accidentally photographed by reporters." Evelyn didn't dare to tell her father that it was Sheffield who disclosed it to the media. She was afraid that her father would punch Sheffield again.
"Do you need me to take down every single piece of news about this?"
"No, Dad. There's no need for that." Evelyn tried to calm down her father. Besides, what would be the point? She wasn't planning on being with any other man other than Sheffield in this lifetime. It would be fine to reveal their relationship to the public. Just like what Sheffield had said, people would place their names together from now on. If she were to be branded as Sheffield's woman, it went the other way as well. No other woman would try to approach him now.
"Okay then. By the way, Sexton has made a move on Theo Group. He had been conspiring with Langston and some others. Did you know this?"
"Yes, I do. I heard about it when Peterson called Sheffield this morning," she openly responded.
"What is Sheffield going to do about him?"
Evelyn shook her head even if her father couldn't see her. "I don't know. He told me not to worry about it. He said he's going to handle it."
In her voice, there was both helplessness and affections. She didn't know or didn't even care if her father could sense the latter.
"Well, then you just focus on your work. I'll keep an eye over what's happening on Sheffield's side."
"Okay, Dad. Thank you. You take care." She bid him goodbye with a smile.
Immediately after Sheffield arrived at the company, his car was surrounded by a group of reporters before he could even completely press on the brakes.
Slowly, the car drove forward while the reporters continued to follow him. "I saw Mr. Sheffield Tang driving this car last time. He must be in it!" a reporter exclaimed.
"Just now, I saw his face clearly. It's definitely Sheffield Tang inside the car!"
"Mr. Tang, please get out of the car and answer some questions."
"Mr. Tang, please!"
A dozen security guards came to maintain order and tried to pull the reporters away from the car.
Even so, Sheffield was still unable to maneuver the car into the parking lot. Left with no other choice, he just killed the engine, grabbed his phone and coat, and got out of the car.
Giving the car keys to one of the security guards, he faced dozens of media journalists who were like hungry wolves. As he struggled his way towards the entrance, he greeted everyone politely, "Good morning!"
"Mr. Tang, was the news this morning true or false?"
"Mr. Tang, are you really dating Miss Evelyn Huo?"
"Did Miss Huo really sleep over at your place last night?"
"Was the advertisement playing on the outdoors LED screen of Theo Group your confession of love for the eldest daughter of the Huo family?"
The reporters bombarded Sheffield with questions after questions while pushing their cameras and microphones towards his face.
He adjusted the coat on his arm, placed one hand in his pocket and calmly responded, "Thank you for your interest. I was planning to tell you about our relationship after we get engaged in the near future. I didn't expect it to be revealed in advance. But it's true. I've been in a steady relationship with Evelyn. And yes, that was for her. The confession of love on the LED screen of my company's building was for none other than Evelyn Huo."
After thinking about it for a few moments, he added, "Evelyn is actually very reserved and she doesn't like any attention from the public. One of the things that I like about her is she likes it discreet. She gives me peace and I would like to give that back to her. So if you have any questions to ask her, just come to me. Please don't disturb her. Thank you."
While Sheffield was talking about Evelyn, he wore a tender smile with eyes full of affection for her. It made everyone very envious.
"Mr. Tang is so romantic!"
"As far as I know, the eldest daughter has inherited her father's personality. She is very domineering and bossy. So Mr. Tang, do you feel any pressure to be with such a powerful female CEO?"
Sheffield was just about to go but the question stopped him in his tracks. With a calm expression on his face and a smirk, he responded, "Of course not, why would I? She is indeed very strong and domineering in front of others. But when it's just the two of us, she's sweet and loving. I couldn't ask for anything more."
"Wow, I'm so jealous of you! When you're with Miss Huo, do you just listen to her or does she listen to you?"
With one of his eyebrows raised, he answered, "That depends on where we are."
As adults, almost all of the reporters immediately understood what Sheffield meant. They didn't expect to hear an answer with a sexual overtone from him.
Gasping for air, a female reporter squeezed in front of the group and asked, "Some reporters have previously photographed you with a lot of young models in different public places. Why didn't you keep a distance from other women if you really love her? Mr. Tang, are you really serious about Miss Huo?"
"To be honest, I've loved her for a long time. To me, she is the one true love of my life! The whole thing is too complicated to explain. Only me and Evelyn could understand it. But one thing that I can tell you guys is that I've been loyal to Evelyn and I've never loved another woman except for her. Now that I don't have to throw away suspicion from our relationship, I will not be seen with another woman except her. You can all be the direct overseer for this."
One of the reporters asked, "Mr. Tang, is the so-called future father-in-law you mentioned in your previous interview Carlos Huo?"
