"I was really hurt by Sheffield. He not only refused to acknowledge me as his stepmother, but also said that he didn't care about Gillian. Peterson, I've been trying to develop a good relationship with Sheffield since he came back. But as you can see, he doesn't appreciate it, and he treats us like we are nothing to him. And he even hurt Gillian. I don't understand. She still has feelings for him. What's wrong with that?" Tears spilled down Lea's cheeks again.
Peterson now had a clear picture of what had happened. Lea and Gillian had been embarrassed by Evelyn and Sheffield. So now, Lea was trying to snitch on them, hoping that Peterson would retaliate.
Pressing his eyebrows together, he answered, "I have told you this before. Sheffield is rebellious; he has always been. He doesn't listen to anyone. So, there's no point in being angry with him. And about Evelyn…well, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Just like her father, Carlos, she is bossy and domineering. No one in this city would dare to offend the Huo family. From now on, stay away from Sheffield and Evelyn. And tell Gillian not to interfere in their affairs. Everything will be fine if you just let them be."
Although Sheffield was rebellious, he had a quality that Peterson really admired—he was rather thick-skinned.
Peterson surmised that Evelyn must have agreed to go out with him because of his shameless persistence. Of course, it was obvious that Sheffield had a deep love for Evelyn. Otherwise, he would never have returned to take over Theo Group.
Peterson didn't care whom Sheffield liked as long as he came back and took over the company.
And since Sheffield was here now, taking care of business as the CEO, in return, Peterson was willing to help his son in all other aspects of his life.
If he crossed Sheffield, Peterson assumed that his enraged son would turn the fate of the Tang family upside down in minutes and leave Theo Group in a complete mess.
He had no other choice but to let his son have whatever he wanted so that he could live a happy life.
Lea stared at her husband in shock. She had stopped crying. She couldn't believe that he had just said that. What did he mean by that? Did he mean that it was all her and Gillian's fault? "Peterson, are you going to let Sheffield be this stubborn the whole time?"
"I know very well how stubborn he can be. In only the few weeks since he had taken over the company, the decline rate of Theo Group's market value has slowed down. Although it may not be too obvious at this point, it does not continue to fall. The share price is also improving. His ability and contribution to the quick growth are worth due credit. He knows what he is doing. He works hard every day. So you should stop trying to find faults with him." If Peterson were to be completely honest, he would have said that he didn't care whether Sheffield had insulted them both. As long as he continued to do wonders for the company, Sheffield could do whatever he wanted with his personal life.
As far as Peterson was concerned, Lea was someone who served him, accompanied him when he went for a social engagement, and satisfied his sexual desire when he came back from work. That was all he wanted from her. And this didn't necessarily have to be Lea for him. If not her, he could just get another woman who could meet his needs.
He would never turn against Sheffield for the sake of another woman.
Perhaps it was because she was aware of his thoughts and his perspective about a woman that Lea figured that she shouldn't continue to make a fuss. "You're right. Sheffield is already finding it hard to run the company. I'll ask Gillian not to bother him again."
She was thirty-two years old, still young and beautiful. Peterson was sixty-six. It was clear as to why she had given up many men of her age and married a man who was old enough to be her father. Money. His inheritance.
The Chi family was not poor, but they were nothing compared to the Tang family.
And after marrying Peterson, she never had to worry about money.
Gillian was crazy for famous brands. Her monthly expense was huge. Lea was the one who supported her financially.
Peterson nodded. "I'm glad you understand. Massage my temples now. I drank too much tonight."
"Sure."
At ZL Group
Evelyn signed the document in her hand and handed it to Nadia. "Stop whatever you're doing and come to the finance department with me. I couldn't get through to Manager Wang on the phone. I must find her immediately. It's important." She stood up from her seat and left the office, without bothering to even tidy up the documents on the desk.
At the finance department
Evelyn read the file in her hands as she walked, with Nadia following close behind her. Evelyn directed, "Leave this matter to Mr. Xu. The contract contains a five-percentage bonus. By the end of the year, there should be no less than—"
"Miss Huo, watch out!" Nadia called out and tried to drag Evelyn away, but it was too late.
Bang! The teacup in Gillian's hand fell to the floor, and the tea and its leaves were spilt all over Evelyn's suit and the floor.
Gillian seemed flustered, like she hadn't noticed Evelyn earlier. She apologized, "I'm sorry, Miss Huo. I didn't see you."
Evelyn couldn't see a trace of guilt in the woman's eyes. She tried to recall what had happened—she was walking towards the corner, and this person bumped into her all of a sudden.
At first, she wasn't sure whether Gillian had done it intentionally, but she was sure after seeing the smug look on Gillian's face.
Evelyn looked at her light blue suit, which was now stained by the tea. It was hard to remove tea stains from fabric, so her suit had to go.
The chaos drew the attention of everyone on the floor.
Nadia quickly borrowing wet tissues from the ladies nearby. Several female employees came forward and handed their tissues to Nadia. "Miss Huo, use mine."
"My wet issue contains detergent. Use this quickly."
"Let me clean it for you, Miss Huo. We better hurry up before the stain spreads."
A couple of female colleagues gathered around Evelyn to help her deal with the situation.
She looked at Gillian, who was standing not too far away from the small crowd around her. At that moment, Gillian felt complacent because of the stain on Evelyn's suit.
Evelyn said to the employees, "Thank you, girls. It's not a big deal. Get back to work now." Her suit was finished. There was no point in any damage control now.
Gillian knew that she was no match for Evelyn in terms of family background, so her only way was to use dirty tricks like this. After the girls left, she feigned an apologetic look once again.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Huo. I'll take your suit to laundry right away."
"No, thanks," Evelyn refused coldly. She had no time to deal with Gillian because she had something important to discuss with Tracy.
At this moment, two people walked towards them from behind Evelyn. Their presence quieted the whole finance department down. The employees didn't even dare to raise their heads from their work.
Evelyn didn't notice them and was about to leave.
To her surprise, what Gillian said next sounded even more outrageous than her actions. "Miss Huo, I know I was wrong. Please don't fire me."
Evelyn looked at her in confusion. 'What does this woman want now?' she wondered.
