Sonny believed Zachary, but the little one still asked, “Where’s the insect?”Zachary opened his palm and showed him. There were no insects. “It flew away. I didn’t manage to kill it because I was slow.”Sonny fell for it again. Serenity found it hilarious. A child could never win against an adult. “Uncle Zak has to work, Sonny. We’ll be heading home first. Say goodbye to him.”Sonny immediately waved his hand and said, “Bye, Uncle Zak.”“Rest early and listen to Aunt Ser. Don’t bring her trouble, and be a good boy. Winter break is coming soon. We’ll take you to meet Laurence at FC Manor.”Sonny quickly promised, “I won’t trouble Aunt Ser and I’ll be a good boy.”“Go to work, babe. We’ll leave now.”Serenity told Zachary to go back to the office and asked the driver to start the car. Zachary stood and watched as Serenity’s car left before heading to his car. He did not follow up on Dylan and Imogen at all. Imogen was drunk, and Dylan would just escort her back to
Dylan was the reason Imogen came to Wiltspoon by herself. Her safety was his responsibility. Regardless of whether he would marry her or not, Grandma May chose her to be his wife. If something happened to her, the Doyle family and his nana would beat him up. Dylan called Zachary. When Zachary answered, Dylan said, “Can I stay the night at your suite?”“You can take any room aside from the master bedroom.”Zachary approved Dylan’s request with that condition as the master bedroom was his usual chamber during his stay at the suite. “Okay. Thanks, Zack.”“How’s Ms. Doyle?”“She’s drunk. She vomited and said she was thirsty. I can’t leave, so I decided to stay the night at the hotel. I’ll take her back to her room in the morning and leave. I don’t want her to find out that we spent the night in the same room and cling to me afterward.”After a moment of silence, Zachary said, “If you’ve decided not to marry her, you better keep to your word. Don’t ruin her reputation.”Dyla
In Satbury, Austin was sitting in the kitchen and reading the news on his phone after serving all his dishes.He was waiting for the outcome. He had been busy for the entire evening. To be precise, he had been preparing for dinner since early morning. Isabella was finally back when evening rolled around. After a moment’s wait, the food Austin made was served one after another. He did not need to head out. Isabella would only call for him if she was satisfied with all the dishes and wanted to meet him. In the meantime, Austin was to wait in the kitchen and only leave after all the members of the O’Connor family retired for the day. He was confident in his cooking, but Isabella did not ask to meet him even after the sky had turned dark. Although he was still reading the news calmly, he was also feeling a little nervous. Austin did not want to do the interview three times as Mr. Abbot did. Mr. Abbot was unable to achieve a satisfactory result even after so many years.
Louis’s face broke into a wide grin. “Do you think the food tonight was tasty, Louis?” Isabella asked. “Yes. It’s very delicious.”Philip agreed. “It was really good. Can I come to your house to eat every day, Isa?”Isabella smiled. “You can come over whenever you want, but you and Louis must focus on eating instead of playing.”The two rascals were like chaotic monkeys whenever they were together. As they were the only two boys of their generation, they were the apples of everyone’s eye. They could be real troublemakers when their sisters were not at home. The adults had no way of controlling them. If the boys wanted to climb onto the roof, the adults might even hold a ladder for them. “Okay. Louis and I will be good.”“That’s great. You two can go out to play now. Wear a jacket because it’s cold outside.”The two boys ran off happily, hand in hand. Once they were gone, Isabella told Dominic, “I want to meet Austin York.”Dominic replied respectfully, “I’ll call hi
Dominic smiled. “Based on my experience, you’ve definitely passed.“Go and meet Ms. O’Connor. Don’t be nervous. Although she’s stern, she’s a nice person.”“Thanks, Dominic. I’ll go to her now.”Austin was not afraid of stern people. No matter how scary Isabella was, she could never top Zachary. Austin was immune to stern people after having seen Zachary’s face all the time. He followed Dominic out of the kitchen. Based on Dominic’s observation, Austin did not look around and was not shocked by the extravagance of the house after stepping out of the kitchen. He was unlike other candidates, who were always surprised by the lavishness of the house and could not help gawking. Dominic thought, ‘Austin must be a sophisticated person.’Otherwise, he must be good at maintaining his composure.Anyway, Dominic had a good impression of Austin. They would most likely become colleagues tomorrow. Dominic brought Austin to a spot a few yards away from Isabella’s chair and stoppe
Instead of expanding his business or enjoying life, he chose to be a chef in a city far away from home. Isabella wanted to know the reason. Austin answered honestly, “Because it’s challenging. I’ve liked to cook since I was young and even learned from professionals. I’ve been studying various cuisines and have gained lots of knowledge and skills. Despite the success of my business, I believe there are always better chefs out there.“I want to polish myself continuously. To achieve that, I have to rely on my customers’ mouths.”As a chef, his customers’ feedback would reflect his cooking skills. If he made some changes according to their opinions, he could definitely improve. Getting comments from a customer as picky as Isabella would motivate him even more. Isabella knew that Austin must have applied to be the O’Connor family’s chef because of its challenging nature. After a moment, she said, “Being an employer and an employee is very different. Have you thought this thro
Austin said, “I’ll let my performance speak for itself.”Tati raised an eyebrow and laughed. “You’re brimming with confidence.”Isabella gave Tati a look and asked Austin, “When can you start?”“I came precisely for this position. I can start anytime.”Isabella smiled. “You can officially start tomorrow, then. Dominic must have already arranged your accommodations. Your salary will be counted starting tomorrow and you’ll be on probation for a month, during which your salary will be prorated. We won’t make you work for free.”Every employee got the same treatment.“Dominic had arranged my lodging yesterday. I’m fine with the salary. I came for the challenge, after all, not the pay.” He was short of a wife, not money.“Alright. You can head back and rest now. Dominic will let you know what time we have our meals. Apart from breakfast, they are the same every day.”Everyone woke up at different hours, so breakfast time was flexible.Austin replied, “Sure, I’ll ask Dominic.”He n
Isabella said, “If you really like him, he’s successful enough that your parents would have no objections. The only thing is that he’s a Wiltspoonian. They might not be able to bear letting you move so far away from us.”“Isa!” Tati said exasperatedly. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t like him like that? In fact, I think he’s a good match for you. You’re the oldest of the seven of us so you have to get married first, anyway. I can’t cut in line.”Unsure if it was just an illusion, she felt Austin look at Isabella with a different sparkle in his eyes. He had definitely come for Isabella.Or rather he had come for Isabella’s picky mouth, to be exact. His customers would definitely be satisfied if he could satisfy Isabella. Tati did not think there were many people out there as picky as Isabella was.Isabella lightly pinched Tati’s cheek as she could not help but laugh. “We’re not far apart in age and we’re just cousins. It doesn’t matter if you get married before