The way Sheffield addressed him bugged Peterson. He gave his son a hard look. "Qi Group? Bankrupt? You're pulling my leg. It's valued at more than 50 billion, ranked among the top 300 companies in the country."
ZL Group was first among those 300, of course. Theo Group used to be the second. But bad business decisions over the past two years had booted them out of the top 30.
"So if Qi Group is doing well, that means Sexton's just greedy!" Sheffield crumpled the lawyer's letter into a ball and then threw it over the desk and into the waste basket.
At this time, Tobias called. "Mr. Tang, Mr. Qi's lawyer wants to have a talk with you."
"A little busy now. Can't he talk to our legal department?" Sheffield hung up the phone after that.
Tobias was confused. Sheffield was being sued, and he had no lawyer. He refused offers of representation. So who else should the lawyer talk with?
Peterson wasn't happy about how Sheffield was handling things. He announced harshly, "I think you're making a mistake."
And he knew it all was because of Evelyn. 'Women are really trouble.'
"I don't make mistakes," Sheffield disagreed in an arrogant tone, raising his eyebrows disapprovingly.
Peterson felt helpless. Sheffield had always been a hothead. "I wouldn't blow him off. He has a lot of connections where it counts. He could make things difficult for Theo Group."
"So what?" Sheffield retorted as he scribbled something on a file. But, shortly after, something occurred to him. He looked at the man on the sofa and asked, "Are you afraid of him?"
Peterson was taken aback by his question. 'Me? Afraid of Sexton? You kidding me?' "Of course I'm not. I just think you need to take responsibility for what you did. Besides, you did break that boy's ribs."
"Now that's not fair. Sounds like you think I'm the guy in the wrong. His son has a filthy mouth. If Sexton Qi doesn't know how to parent his kid, then it's up to me. If my kid ever insulted a lovely, elegant woman like that, I'd break his ribs too. All of them."
By now, Peterson started regretting ever starting this conversation. He found himself growing more annoyed by the minute. "So should I break your ribs, too?" he asked. He began to wonder if he was being too kind. It was a wonder he hadn't beaten the tar out of Sheffield for all the stunts he pulled in the past.
"Why would you do that? I'm a great guy. I took over your company and made it profitable again. You don't need to worry about anything now. Just sit back and collect the profits. When I get married, just give a big red envelope to my wife. That should make her happy. We'll have a beautiful princess for a daughter, and you can help take care of her. Deal?"
'A little princess?' Peterson imagined the picture Sheffield had just described for him. He had two daughters. But when his daughters were young, he worked too hard. He never saw them, because he was never around. He hadn't truly felt the happiness of being a father to the girls.
Now he was getting on in years, and he realized what he was missing. After listening to what Sheffield said, he was moved. It would be nice to take care of a beautiful little granddaughter of his.
He stood up from his seat. "Fine, I'm washing my hands of it. Carlos will step in anyway."
Evelyn had Carlos wrapped around her little finger. He wouldn't turn a blind eye to how Roscoe had verbally abused his daughter. So, Peterson decided to leave it to Carlos.
Sheffield sighed and shook his head. "You're wrong. If it had been someone else who had hit Roscoe, Carlos would take care of it. But he hates me. So he won't lift a finger to help. He wants to see me suffer, so I won't get any help from him."
"What? Why? Doesn't he approve of you guys going out?" Peterson knew that Sheffield had a thing for Evelyn, but that was all he knew about his son's love life.
"No. But I don't blame him. I did something wrong. I hurt Evelyn. So, instead of asking me all these questions and bothering me about how to deal with Sexton, why don't you go to Carlos Huo and put in a good word for your son? Maybe that'll do something."
Peterson felt he would never win an argument with Sheffield. "Hmph! Maybe I should have put you in sales instead. You can be quite convincing."
"That's a waste of my talent! This office is the best place for me!"
Peterson couldn't help but refute, "You're so conceited.
"No, just confident," said Sheffield without any change of expression.
Peterson was dumbfounded. Just like his mother, Sheffield was also full of himself.
Since there was no way to convince his son, Peterson decided to leave the office.
Not long after the old man left, Joshua rushed into Sheffield's office. As soon as he saw his friend, he said, "Dude, I heard you were in big trouble."
Sheffield continued to deal with the documents without raising his head. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't you know?" Joshua was confused.
"I know I'm being sued," Sheffield admitted.
Joshua felt like cursing. "Then why are you asking me?"
Finally, Sheffield looked at him. "Are you here to help me out?" "Nope, I'm here to make you feel better."
"No need. Bro, I'm kind of busy now."
"I asked my father about Sexton. He doesn't forgive or forget. After his eldest son died, he even tried to make trouble for Carlos. Just be careful."
"I will," replied Sheffield with a nod.
"What does Evelyn think about this?"
There was a pile of documents in front of Sheffield. He needed to get to work, and was losing patience with his friend. "She wants to apologize to Roscoe and take responsibility."
"Her? Why would she do that?"
"Beats me."
"That's not like her at all," Joshua muttered. He knew Evelyn well enough for that.
Sheffield threw him another glance and said, "I think she feels guilty about Richard Qi's death. She might need a little time to sort herself out." He finally put down the pen in his hand. "Imagine this: if three women were assassinated because of you, wouldn't you blame yourself for their deaths? Wouldn't you feel bad for their families?"
"Point taken," Joshua nodded. He thought everybody would feel guilty in that case.
"Okay, my father left. You need to do the same. Don't make me kick you out." He was too busy. And he had to meet a client later.
"Oh, hey—do you remember the cutie pie, Gwyn?"
"Of course I do!" The thought of Gwyn brought a genuine smile to Sheffield's face.
Seeing his smile, Joshua whined, "I'm your best friend, and you only met Gwyn once. Why doesn't your face light up like that when you see me?"
"Are you comparing yourself to Gwyn? Don't flatter yourself!"
Joshua's heart was broken! "Sheffield Tang, we're done!"
"What about Gwyn? We're done if you don't tell me now!"
Joshua walked behind Sheffield and put his arm around his neck. "I really want to strangle you."
"Strangle yourself. Do the world a favor!"
"Hey, okay, okay, I'll tell you." Joshua let go of his neck and said, "Terilynn tells me that Gwyn's always saying 'Uncle.' So she thinks it would be a good idea if you spent more time with her. Given her PTSD, maybe it might even help her. So what do you think?"
