Hayden shook hands with Kevin and asked him to take a seat again.The secretary went to the desk and brought over the unfinished cup of coffee and gently put it in front of Hayden. He said respectfully, “Mr. Queen, I’ll go out to do some work first.”Hayden nodded.After the secretary left, Hayden looked at Kevin. The two of them looked at each other probingly.“Mr. York, did you buy a house already?”Hayden took the initiative to start the conversation. She asked in concern, but her attitude was still distant and indifferent.She did not know why Kevin suddenly came to her office to look for her. The two of them did not have a friendship. Strictly speaking, they were even business rivals.Hayden could not figure out Kevin’s reason for coming over, but she did not ask him bluntly. Instead, she talked about his house. Otherwise, it would be very awkward for them to just stare at each other.“Yup.”Kevin retracted his gaze and stopped looking at Hayden.He picked up the glass o
Kevin’s black eyes flickered. He asked with a smile, “If you went there a few times, it means Fortress Hotel is not bad.”Hayden admitted it and said, “Before you took over Fortress Hotel, it was inferior to my hotel in all aspects. After you took over your family’s catering business, Fortress Hotel only took three months to become as famous as my Jensburg Hotel. Now, we’re tied.“I am the CEO of Queen Enterprise. Although I’m not in charge of the catering business, as the CEO, I will also pay attention to how the various businesses under my group are doing. A hotel that wasn’t as good as Jensburg Hotel suddenly caught up to us, so I ought to go there and check it out.”Only by knowing oneself and the enemy could one win the battle.They knew everything about Fortress Hotel, but they could not defeat it.The general manager in charge of the catering business at Queen Enterprise was also under a lot of pressure. The Jensburg Hotel was an old brand in the city that was established d
“I got it for ten grand cheaper than the price that you bought it at.”Hayden was speechless and thought, ‘Well, I guess ten thousand is also money.’“Mr. Queen, there’s something else I would like to ask for your help.”Kevin stared at Hayden’s handsome face and thought, ‘If I were a woman, I would fall in love with Hayden too. She is really charming. I wonder how beautiful she will be when she has long hair and puts on women’s clothes and makeup…’“Mr. York, please tell me. If I can be of help, I will definitely lend you a hand,” Hayden said politely.However, she thought Kevin was a bit troublesome.Although this was Jensburg, which was not the York family’s territory, York Corporation also had a lot of businesses here. Kevin had also worked in Jensburg for several years and had plenty of connections. Hayden did not believe that Kevin could not find anyone else to help him.“Since I bought the house, it needs to be renovated. So, I need a design company to help with the inter
Hayden immediately took out her phone and wanted to call Kevin. However, after some thought, she gave up and put her phone on the table.She had not gone out for a long time to relax, and it would be nice if someone accompanied her to go horse riding.After sitting quietly for a while, Hayden picked up the phone again and called her twin brother. When Hugh answered the phone, Hayden said, “Hugh, help me find out the real purpose of Kevin York’s visit to Jensburg this time.”Hugh instinctively said, “What other purpose could he have to come to Jensburg? His family also has businesses in Jensburg. Isn’t it normal for him to come here?”“It seems normal, but I have a feeling that it’s not.”Hayden felt that Kevin was deliberately approaching her.“How is it not? Hayden, is he plotting against us?” Hugh was still convinced by his sister’s words. They were twins, and his sister was ten minutes older than him. However, Hayden seemed to be ten years older than him because she was much m
“However, you’re so good-looking and even more imposing when dressed up as a man. Those young ladies in Jensburg who have seen you in person will be mesmerized and look at you in admiration. Who knows, maybe Kevin is a homosexual that has a crush on you, thinking that you’re a handsome guy.”Hayden bore an irritated expression.“Can you help me find out Kevin’s intentions right away? Oh, and can you inquire about his personal affairs to see if he is a homo, Hugh?” “Okay, I’ll go and find out now. Don’t think too much about it. Maybe Kevin just wants to establish a good relationship with our family. You are the head of the Queen family, and all problems can be solved if he forms a good relationship with you.”After a moment of silence, Hayden said, “There are not too many conflicts between our companies. It’s normal for conflicts to occur between rivaling businesses. Kevin won’t try to please me or get close to me because of it.”“Anyway, Kevin won’t suspect your gender, so just r
“Where’s Duncan now?” Zachary asked with concern. “I’ll go see him.”“Mr. Duncan is alone in the backyard, and he doesn’t allow anyone to go there. He said he wants to be alone for a while and doesn’t want to be disturbed.”Zachary hesitated for a moment but still followed the housekeeper into the house. After greeting Duncan’s parents, he stood up and said to them, “Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, I'll go find Duncan."Derek nodded. “Go ahead. You’re his best friend. He might be willing to see you.”“Zack, please talk some sense into Duncan, and tell him to calm down. As soon as he was discharged from the hospital, he wanted to stand up and walk by himself. He couldn’t do rehabilitation yet, but he was anxiously eager to start.”Distressed, Corey felt worried and added, “I’m afraid that if he’s so impatient, it might backfire on him.”Zachary agreed. “I’ll talk to Duncan.“I'm going to look for Duncan in the backyard.”Zachary walked out of the main house toward the direction of the backy
Zachary had no choice but to push Duncan to a cool place and told him, “You can’t be here alone, Duncan. It’s getting hotter, you’ll get heatstroke in this scorching sun.”Duncan wiped the sweat off his face and replied, “It was still shady when I got here.”However, as time passed, the sun gradually moved toward a spot that exposed Duncan to direct sunlight.“I have water and napkins in a bag attached to my wheelchair,” said Duncan.Zachary quickly unhooked the bag behind the wheelchair and took out a bottle of water, along with some napkins, and handed them over to Duncan. Zachary nagged, “You have to pick a better time to practice your walking. Preferably at dusk or dawn, when the sun is not scorching. It’ll be cooler and more suitable for your practice.”The trees in the backyard made a pleasant shade, which made it a cool and refreshing place to hang around.“Also, you shouldn’t come out alone. No one will know if something happens.”After Duncan wiped off his sweat and dra
Duncan questioned, “...is it Grandma May?”If this were someone else, with Zachary’s possessiveness, to whoever dared abduct his wife, he would have already wreaked havoc long ago and would not have the mood to see him.Zachary said with a wry smile, “Who else could it be? Only my nana dares treat me like this.”Even his parents would not treat him in this way.Duncan laughed. “You must have stepped on your nana’s toes for her to treat you like this. Grandma May knows how and where to hit to hurt us the most.”Like Zachary, his weak spot was the woman they loved, and for him was Liberty.Grandma May told him that if he really let go of Liberty, she would immediately help Liberty find a good man and make him regret his decision.Duncan did not dare to say anything after hearing Grandma May. It was because he knew it was not that he did not love Liberty anymore, it was just that he was disabled now. He was worried he could not give Liberty happiness, so he treated her harshly.
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s