Sheffield looked at the hands on his arm for a second and then put on a smile. "I was a little tired after the operation yesterday. I slept in."
After finishing the phone call, Sidell gave his daughter a feigned disgruntled look and said, "Dollie, as soon as you see Sheffield, you forget everything else around you. Get rid of that habit."
Dollie said with a snort, "Dad, I haven't met him in so many days. Right, Sheffield?"
Sheffield gently touched her head, withdrew his arm out of her hands and pulled out the chair for her. "Sit down. Don't tire yourself out."
Understanding his concern, Dollie sat down in the chair shyly. She said, "Sit here, Sheffield."
He sat down beside her.
Sidell seemed satisfied. "Sheffield, there are no issues regarding your transfer to the nephrology department. But the renal transplant department is short of hands."
Leaning against the back of the chair casually, Sheffield replied, "If you don't mind, please let them call me whenever they need a helping hand."
"I'm relieved to hear that," the president said.
Sheffield smiled and said nothing more.
Sidell looked at his daughter and checked the time on his watch. He cleared his throat. "I still have a meeting to attend. Sheffield, if you have nothing else to do later, will you have lunch with Dollie?"
"Sure," Sheffield replied with a polite smile.
Hearing that, Dollie waved happily at her father and said, "Bye, Dad! Leave us alone now!"
Sidell laughed. He picked up a file from the desk and walked to the door. As he passed Sheffield, he patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Sheffield, I'll leave her to you."
There was a fleeting look in Sheffield's eyes. He understood what the president meant, but he chose to ignore it. "I assure you that I will take good care of her, Mr. Xiang."
"Then, I can rest easy." Sidell left.
The two of them were left alone in the office. Dollie moved closer to Sheffield. She said gently, "Where are we going for lunch?"
"What do you want to eat?" Sheffield stood up and walked away from her.
"You like French cuisine. Let's have that."
Sheffield paused for a moment and then said, "I don't like it anymore."
"You don't like it anymore? Why not?" She remembered clearly that he loved it. He had said so only a few days ago.
"I don't like cheese," he replied casually, with his hands in his pockets.
And most of the food in French restaurants had cheese in them.
"You don't like cheese either? Steamed goose with cheese and bacon was your favorite, wasn't it?" Dollie asked in confusion.
Sheffield was already in a bad mood because he hadn't found Evelina yet. Impatience crept into his whole system as he tried to deal with Dollie. Looking back at the girl, he replied calmly, "People's likes change. Isn't that normal?"
She nodded slightly. "What should we have then?" she asked.
"I heard that there is a new course called Stewed Trotter with Plum on the fifth floor of the Alioth Building. I want to try that."
'Stewed trotter… with plum?' Dollie was totally confused now.
Sheffield turned around to look at her and asked, "What's wrong? You don't like it?"
She shook her head. "No, no. I just haven't heard of it before. Let's go."
A contented smile appeared on his face.
His smile was a relief to her.
Two months later
At the Y City airport
"Flight UW7720 has landed. The passengers will be arriving at the gate in a few minutes…"
Soon, a woman walked out, in a grey and white long overcoat and sunglasses. She was followed closely by a tall man. He was pushing a luggage cart which had several new suitcases.
When she walked into the lobby, a man stopped her. "Evelyn!"
The man was in his early thirties; he was tall, dark skinned and wore a dark-colored tailored suit and brown leather shoes. He had attractive features.
Evelyn looked towards the man. "Hello, Mr. Ji."
When he heard the way she addressed him, Calvert clenched his fists and said, "I'm here to pick you up."
"Thank you, but my car is just outside." She had known that he would be here.
"Evelyn, I've been waiting for you for half a year." Calvert wanted to talk to her.
A smirk appeared on her face. She turned to Tayson and said, "Put the luggage in the trunk."
"Yes, Miss Huo." Tayson walked towards their car.
Calvert reached out to grab Evelyn's hand. She struggled, but he held her firmly. Evelyn was pissed off. "If you want to talk, then fine. But let go of my hand."
He quickly let go. They walked out of the airport together and got into the same car.
They soon reached Shining International Plaza. Calvert took her to the restaurant on the fifth floor.
They had their dinner together, but exchanged only a handful of words. Calvert handed her a tissue. Evelyn took it and said, "Thank you."
She wiped her mouth elegantly and drank the tea quietly.
"Evelyn, we've been separated for half a year. It's time for you to come back to me," Calvert said.
She put the cup down and looked him in the eye. "Mr. Ji, I have been very happy without you. We don't need to get back together again."
Blue veins stood out on his arms. "Is it because of that man?"
'What man?' Evelyn was confused for a moment. Then, she realized that he was referring to Sheffield. Shaking her head, she said, "No. We're just not right for each other. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
"I think we're a perfect match. Evelyn, now that Rowena has moved out of our house, I've kept her at an arm's length. You don't have to be jealous of her anymore."
'Jealous?' Evelyn smirked. "I've never been jealous of her."
Calvert's eyes darkened. Evelyn knew that he wasn't happy to hear that. So what? She didn't care. It had nothing to do with her. It was not her job to make him happy.
"I promise to spend more time with you in the future." He took out a brocade box from his pocket and placed it in front of her. "When I found it in Sri Lanka, I thought of you immediately. I personally made this ring for you with the sapphire stone. I was going to use it to propose to you…"
Calvert opened the box. Inside it was a sapphire ring, which shone brightly under the lights.
Anyone could easily identify it as an invaluable top-grade gem.
Evelyn wasn't moved. She looked away from the ring and said nonchalantly, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Ji, but I don't need this. Please don't bother proposing to me. Like I said, we're not right for each other."
