Austin said, โIโll let my performance speak for itself.โTati raised an eyebrow and laughed. โYouโre brimming with confidence.โIsabella gave Tati a look and asked Austin, โWhen can you start?โโI came precisely for this position. I can start anytime.โIsabella smiled. โYou can officially start tomorrow, then. Dominic must have already arranged your accommodations. Your salary will be counted starting tomorrow and youโll be on probation for a month, during which your salary will be prorated. We wonโt make you work for free.โEvery employee got the same treatment.โDominic had arranged my lodging yesterday. Iโm fine with the salary. I came for the challenge, after all, not the pay.โ He was short of a wife, not money.โAlright. 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.โEveryone woke up at different hours, so breakfast time was flexible.Austin replied, โSure, Iโll ask Dominic.โHe n
Isabella said, โIf you really like him, heโs successful enough that your parents would have no objections. The only thing is that heโs a Wiltspoonian. They might not be able to bear letting you move so far away from us.โโIsa!โ Tati said exasperatedly. โHow many times do I have to tell you that I donโt like him like that? In fact, I think heโs a good match for you. Youโre the oldest of the seven of us so you have to get married first, anyway. I canโt cut in line.โUnsure 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 Isabellaโs 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 Tatiโs cheek as she could not help but laugh. โWeโre not far apart in age and weโre just cousins. It doesnโt matter if you get married before
Isabella laughed when she saw Tatiโs speechless expression. โAlright, you might not like him now, but you canโt say for sure in the future.โYou can come over and eat at my place every day. Spend some time with him and get to know him. If heโs really a sincere, nice guy, itโs fine if heโs from a bit further away. Iโm sure Uncle Harold and Aunt Margaret will approve, albeit reluctantly. Or we can get him to settle here.โTati was well and truly speechless now. Since Isabella put it like that, she did not dare to freeload meals off her anymore, lest she was misunderstood for fancying Austin.All the little misunderstandings between his future wife and sister-in-law were unbeknownst to Austin as he followed Dominic back to his quarters.Dominic congratulated him with a smile. โWeโll be colleagues from now on, Austin. I hope we can work together for a long time.โAll the OโConnors lived on the same estate but in different buildings with their own families.The turnover rate for chefs
โIโll adjust my cooking to Ms. Isabellaโs preferences. That way, I can improve. Once sheโs satisfied with every dish I make, Iโll be ready to graduate.โDominic laughed. โMs. Isabella probably canโt do without you at that point.โAustin wanted to say he would be happy to cook for Isabella for the rest of his life, but he held back because it would easily give the wrong impression. Even if his secondary objective was to woo Isabella, he could not reveal any such inclination.Isabella was managing her family company and was obviously a sharp and capable woman. An iron lady like her was not easy to woo.It was evident from Kevin taking such a long time to finally win Hayden over despite taking a shortcut with Serenityโs help.Dominic belatedly realized his statement could easily give someone the wrong impression and hurriedly changed the subject.โAustin, you were busy the whole afternoon, so you should turn in early today. Tomorrow, you have to wake up early to prepare breakfast fo
Dylan, who was at the hotel taking care of Imogen, replied privately to Austin.He sent Austin a voice note asking, โYou traveled so far just to become a chef?โAustin sat on the sofa as he replied, โAm I not allowed to? Itโs a very challenging role to be the OโConnorsโ private chef. I just wanted to see if I could pass the test. Luckily, I beat all my competitors. Iโve pretty much achieved the impossible.โDylan was speechless for a moment before he replied, โIt feels more like you ran for president than a chef. How long do you plan on staying there? Christmas is around the corner. Arenโt you coming home?โโI might not this year. Iโll go back when my boss gives me the boot.โโWith your ability, I donโt think your boss can fire you. You firing her is more like it. I just donโt understand why you had to go that far. You have your restaurant and can cook anywhere, but you just had to go miles away. Itโs cold there, no? Can you stand it?โAustin retorted, โItโs not like weโve never
Dylan hurriedly supported her. An ache pounding in his head, he asked, โWhatโs up with you now?โโIโฆ need to goโฆโ Imogen slurred with her eyes closed.โYou need to go to the bathroom?โ Dylan was in a bad mood now.Imogen could not walk steadily and if she went to the bathroom alone, he was afraid she would fall. He could not help her into the bathroom though. He was a man!Imogen nodded and started walking again.Dylan asked as he supported her, โCan you go by yourself?โImogen did not reply. She was so drunk she did not even know who was with her.Seeing the state she was in, Dylan could only help her to the bathroom, muttering under his breath all the while. Once he got her inside, he hurriedly retreated to let her handle her business.However, Imogen did not appear even after ten minutes. Dylan knocked on the door only to be answered with silence.Opening the door to just a crack, he peeked in but did not see Imogen. Where was she? He opened the door wider in confusion and
โThis is the hotel, but of course, this isnโt the room you were staying in. I brought you back to your room after you got drunk, but not long after you lay down, you puked everywhere and even got it on the bed, so I had to move you.โ Dylan sat back down and commented, โYouโre really hard to handle when youโre drunk. I think you better refrain from drinking so much in the future.โImogen was silent for a moment. โI donโt have any recollection of that at all. All I remember is I drank quite a lot with you and it was really delicious. When I return to Huntington, give me a case of the same whiskey. I want to have some on my own at home when Iโm in a bad mood.โโYou still need more?โ Dylan did not believe she needed more. She definitely had lots of good alcohol at home too.โI donโt need more whiskey, but I donโt have whiskey from you.โAfter a pause, Dylan conceded again. โFine. When you leave Wiltspoon, Iโll give you a case of the same whiskey we had last night and some of Wiltspoonโ
The two had breakfast together before leaving the suite.The hotel butler would tidy the place and put things back in their original places for Zacharyโs next visit.Imogen went back to her room to catch up on sleep.Meanwhile, Dylan called Grandma May. When she picked up, he asked, โWhere are you, Nana?โโIโm at Wildridge Manor. Whatโs up? Do you miss me? If you do, come back and have lunch with me,โ she said. โMy fish is done grilling! It smells so good.โDylan was speechless for a moment. โItโs early in the morning and youโre grilling fish to eat?โโIโm not talking to you, Iโm talking to my friends. And whatโs wrong with eating grilled fish in the morning? Itโs not that early anywayโitโs past nine. Canโt you see the sun is so high up in the sky?โItโs warmer out today, too, so I went fishing with a few old friends and we are grilling our catches. It feels like weโre having a picnic and itโs pretty nice.โDylan could imagine the scene. There was a stream at the foot of the hi
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. Isabellaโs 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 Austinโs 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 Louisโs place with his bag. โAustin.โLouis suddenly asked, โDid 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 Austinโs 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 fiancรฉes. 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 fiancรฉe. 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, โMs. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.โIโm polite to other women when I need to be. If theyโre unimportant, Iโll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I wonโt cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.โGet some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. Iโll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.โAfter 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 fiancรฉe, 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. โMs. Isabella.โIsabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, โThis may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?โIsabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?โSomeone like Austin,โ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, โI like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isnโt as financially well-off as mine, I donโt mind so long as heโs honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.โOf course, itโll be great if we have the same social status. That way, weโll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, weโll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.โโAlthough you can accept someone who isnโt from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, โItโs okay. I know I was forcing it.โThere 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 fiancรฉe was. He was already so protective of his fiancรฉe 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. โYou werenโt forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. Itโs only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.โAustin said gently, โItโs not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancรฉes for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.โTo be honest, we didnโt even know Nana had been choosing fiancรฉes for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
โYou can drink it now. Itโll turn cold if left aside for longer.โIsabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. โIโm drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what Iโm doing and saying.โIโve had enough ginger ale.โShe did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. โWhich family is your fiancรฉe from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?โIsabella 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 fiancรฉe that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austinโs fiancรฉe, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austinโs fiancรฉe had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabellaโs 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. โYouโre the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.โAustin added gently, โYou give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but youโre always a nice person in my eyes.โIsabella 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. โEven my parents are scared and avoid me when Iโm in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, โDonโt worry, Ms. Edith. Iโll take good care of Ms. Isabella.โEdith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousinโs 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 Austinโs 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, โMs. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?โIsabella rubbed her temples and said, โYes, please. I donโt want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.โAustin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austinโs