Sarah Grandy finally returned to the bedroom contentedly, while James Brown continued to sleep soundly, having promised Sarah Grandy a grand future, James believed that Sarah would settle down for a while now.
That night, Sarah truly didn’t come out again, and the next morning, James still had to enter the bedroom and call her before she finally got up, rubbing her eyes.
After having a bit of breakfast outside, James dropped Sarah off at school. Upon getting out of the car, Sarah stepped out to the envy of countless onlookers, for there were not many in YODC City who could be driven to school in a Porsche.
Such a sense of vanity in a young girl, in truth, isn’t that annoying, and James deeply understood it. Therefore, even after Sarah got out of the car and exaggeratedly told him to pick her up in the evening, he didn’t refuse and then went straight to the company.
Today was a busy day at work. Besides the affairs of the HR department itself, Gina Lopez had gathered the company’s mid-to-senior-level leaders for a half-day meeting about many issues, mainly focused on discussing the matter of setting up a factory in the village.
They were all young people, each with agile minds, who brought up many constructive suggestions, which pleased Gina greatly.
Although James was usually rather laid-back, seeing everyone else so full of energy also drove him a bit, making work seem like something that could enrich one’s life.
After the meeting ended, Gina called James and Sunny Nguyen into her office.
This made some people in the company somewhat puzzled. Sunny was the Chief Financial Officer, holding significant financial power in the company, effectively the second-in-command after Gina. James, the HR Manager, should be similar to any other manager, especially since the company had already recruited enough staff, making his position seem less important. Yet, he often received Gina’s attention along with Sunny, which felt a bit strange.
But with the company currently overwhelmed with tasks, and most not very familiar, no small cliques had formed, and no one dared to gossip, so no rumors spread.
"Gina, do you have any latest news from your old classmate?" Gina squinted at James, her words seemingly implying something else.
James shook his head and said, "After I dropped her off that day, we haven’t been in touch. She’s very serious about her work. For such a significant collaboration, she wouldn’t casually reveal anything to me."
Gina’s mouth curled into a faint smile and said, "Really? Others might not, but I see that she has a not so simple relationship with you. Perhaps if you used some sort of beauty trick, she might make quite a few concessions."
Sunny found it very amusing and said, "Could it be that this classmate of yours, the Mayor, is actually a woman?"
Gina immediately chimed in, "Yes, not only a woman, but also a real beauty."
Sunny gave James a sidelong glance and said, "You lucky guy, your peach blossom luck is really strong." Her voice had a hint of sourness. James stayed over at her place again the other day, which made Sunny increasingly dependent on James. She couldn’t help but harbor more thoughts about him, and involuntarily, a touch of it leaked out in her tone and demeanor.
James quickly said, "You’ve got it wrong; she’s just a classmate of mine now."
Gina jumped in, "See, now she’s your classmate, which means you two had a relationship before. No wonder that day, as soon as your name came up, she seemed to be somewhat confrontational with me."
Listening to this made Sunny even more uncomfortable. She said, "I say, President Brown, you’re really something."
James shrugged his shoulders and said, "That’s all in the past. Both of you, tomorrow we’re supposed to talk to her about setting up the factory. Should we focus on business?" Although he wanted to say that his matters with Melody Yoody were none of their business, seeing Gina and Sunny’s expressions, he knew that if he really said that, he would definitely be in trouble with them, so it was wiser not to provoke either of them.
Gina and Sunny both gave James an annoyed look but didn’t say much more, for both were very serious about their work. It was just the mention of Melody Yoody that had made them a bit unhappy.
It was already time to leave work, but Gina and Sunny were still in a lively discussion, showing no signs of leaving. However, James’s phone started ringing, and seeing that it was Sarah’s call, James remembered that it was time for school to let out, and she had asked him to pick her up.
Picking up the call in front of Gina and Sunny clearly wasn’t wise. Just as he thought of stepping out to answer, Gina immediately said, "You can answer it here."
James quickly said, "I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll go out to answer it."
Gina crossed her arms and said, "No need, we can wait for you to finish your call. Otherwise, I’m afraid you might run off."
James rolled his eyes and said, "You don’t have to watch over me . I work here; you didn’t buy me."
Gina leisurely retorted, "I’m talking to you right now not because of work, but for personal reasons. Doesn’t that count?"
"That counts even less. You’re not my girlfriend, and even if you were, you still couldn’t interfere with my freedom, could you?" After saying that, James walked out of the office without looking back.
"This jerk!" Gina Lopez smacked the table in frustration.
Sunny Nguyen consoled her with a smile, "Gina, you’re being too anxious. He hasn’t accepted you yet, and if you’re too strict with him now, you might scare him off without anything even happening."
Gina was still miffed, "Look at him, that was obviously a call from some girl."
"Let it be. If you want to truly capture James’s heart, you need to showcase your own charm, not prevent him from appreciating the charm of other women. Men are like that, they always like pretty girls—it’s in their nature, a trait bestowed by Mother Nature that no one can stop. What you need to do is make him truly fall for you, and then he’ll follow your every command."
Gina breathed out and said, "I get it."
Sunny winked at Gina, saying playfully, "Hehe, I feel like you’re getting more devoted by the second."
Gina wasn’t embarrassed, but rather, she declared proudly, "I just can’t stand this. I’ve already made my move, and he still won’t give me a chance. Gina Lopez never admits defeat. No matter what, I’ll let him know that a man liked by Gina Lopez can’t escape even if he tries."
Sunny giggled but didn’t say much more, of course hoping that Gina could get together with James Brown, that way... she might actually keep her relationship with James Brown too.
James Brown walked in just then. Gina gave him a disdainful look and asked, "Finished?"
With a wide grin, James replied, "All done, let’s continue." Knowing that Gina wouldn’t let him off, he decided to let Charlotte Grandy go home first.
"Then turn off your phone. I don’t want personal matters to interfere with our work."
James promptly took out his phone, switched it off, and placed it on the table. He wasn’t afraid of Gina, but after all, they were discussing work, and it would be inappropriate to keep causing distractions.
The three of them discussed matters for another two hours before wrapping up. Then they went out to grab a quick bite before heading home separately.
Exiting the elevator, James saw Charlotte sitting at his doorstep, looking at him with her little pout exaggeratedly upturned.
Immediately, James realized Charlotte didn’t have a key, so it was natural that she couldn’t get into the apartment. The neighbors next door, Lucy Campbell and Olivia Jenkins, were evidently not at home either; otherwise, they would have taken Charlotte home.
"I’m sorry, the boss said no phone use. I forgot you didn’t have a key," James said apologetically, helping Charlotte to her feet.
"Stupid Uncle, smelly Uncle!" Charlotte flung herself into James’s arms, hitting his chest twice before hugging his waist and beginning to sob.
This time, James didn’t push Charlotte away but gently patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Alright, alright. Uncle is at fault. I’ll cook for you now."
"Mhm!" Charlotte obediently agreed, clinging to James like a koala as they entered the apartment.
Charlotte didn’t complain as James had anticipated; once inside, she quickly cheered up, which made James feel pretty good. It seemed Charlotte was quite likable in this respect, as most girls would have been angered by being stood up .
While James was cooking noodles for Charlotte, she was chattering about school, especially how envious her classmates were to see her riding in a Porsche. James interrupted her, "Charlotte, saying it like that, aren’t you tempting your classmates to look for Uncle?"
Charlotte chuckled, "I’m not that silly. I told them you’re my relative. I only tell a few close friends, otherwise, if the school found out I’m with an Uncle, they’d expel me."
"It’s best not to tell even close friends. What’s most important is that me taking you in doesn’t mean I am some sort of evil uncle."
Charlotte playfully stuck out her tongue, "I know, I’ll keep quiet from now on. I won’t force you if you don’t want to be my uncle."
"Huh, really?" James looked at Charlotte, surprised.
"Hehe, when I grow up a bit more, I won’t need to call you uncle, and then you won’t be the evil uncle anymore."
James was struck with a sense of defeat, realizing this girl’s thoughts hadn’t changed one bit.