3-United couple

Joe didn't care about his father's tone and was thrilled when he proactively spoke to him. In his small world, his tall father was an inaccessible deity.

Without even bothering to swallow the yolk in his mouth, Joe hastily mumbled back, "I usually leave at eight o'clock, but Mrs. Wang hasn't come yet today!"

...

Twenty minutes later.

William walked straight out of the foyer and headed to the garage across the way.

As the garage door slowly rose, a small pair of hands tugged at the corner of his coat, and he looked down to see a little person gazing up at him with upturned face and lowered black eyes.

"Daddy, can I really ride in your car to kindergarten today? Can I really?" Joe's eyes shone with disbelief and anticipation.

William furrowed his brow imperceptibly and answered softly, "Uh-huh."

With the assurance he needed, Joe let out a sigh of relief and his mouth curved into a wide smile. Every inch of his face was beaming, but he didn't want to be too exuberant, so he savored his joy carefully and cautiously.

William was always reticent with children, so he didn't say much more. He simply unlocked the car with the keys and caught a glimpse of that tender and innocent face out of the corner of his eye...

Somehow, he felt a bit choked up.

"Sorry, Mr. Russell. My daughter came down with a high fever this morning, and her father is out of town. I really couldn't make it in on time... I was so busy taking care of my daughter that I forgot to call!"

When he called the nanny to inquire, she apologized and sounded concerned about her sick daughter. That's why he said, "It's okay, I can take him to kindergarten on the way."

The black Porsche Cayenne was weaving through the streets. When they stopped at a traffic light, William couldn't help but glance to the side.

In the front passenger seat, a child dressed in a camouflaged suit and carrying a camouflaged backpack was sitting up straight without moving a muscle. William's gaze shifted downward and lingered a few seconds longer on the small leather boots with laces.

As he was leaving, he had just grabbed his own shoes from the shoe cabinet, but suddenly he remembered something and turned back, frowning with some annoyance. The child had already put on his backpack and was crouching down to tie his shoes.

His short fingers were fumbling with the complicated laces, but he quickly tied them and then looked up at him.

William had to admit that he wasn't a qualified father, he didn't know how to take care of a child. But Joe was only five years old and could already do everything himself.

He remembered a dinner party last week when a client brought his eight-year-old daughter with him. The little girl, who was playing around at the table, ran up to her father and lifted up her small foot, coquettishly saying, "Daddy, my shoelace is undone, please tie it for me!"

At this moment, Joe's shiny black eyes were scanning the car interior, and with each sweep, there was excitement in his gaze.

Actually, the interior structures of SUVs are quite similar, and although Joe often rides in his mom's car, he couldn't resist carefully examining every detail of his dad's car.

There was even a voice in his mind that excitedly called out: "This is Dad's car, Dad's car!"

Since it wasn't rush hour, the road was very clear, and in fifteen minutes, he had already parked the car at the kindergarten entrance.

The little guy looked towards the sky-blue building of the kindergarten, pursed his lips, then began to unbuckle his seatbelt, open the car door, and get out, his movements noticeably slow.

William could of course tell that the child was reluctant to leave, so he exercised a bit more patience than usual, until that soft voice came through. "Thank you for taking me!"

He didn't say anything, just nodded faintly in response to the child.

William started the car again and drove off, but his peripheral vision couldn't help but glance at the rearview mirror, where the little figure showed his ID to the guard, then walked inside.

After driving for a while, the man turned the steering wheel to the right, and the black Cayenne parked neatly on the side of the road. He slowly lowered the car window, took out a cigarette from the box, and lit it, and soon the smell of tobacco spread.

After smoking the whole cigarette, the barrier in William's heart seemed to barely dissipate.

...

It was windy, and it was still cold in open areas. After driving half an hour on Airport Road outside the city, there was a newly developed piece of land near the airport, and the construction site was full of busy figures, with elevators transporting materials and the frame of the building already erected.

William parked the car and walked steadily towards the construction site. From afar, he could see a woman wearing a yellow hard hat and a coat standing there.

The length of the coat covered her entire body, revealing only two ankles, but even so, it couldn't conceal the charm radiating from the woman herself, and her face under the safety helmet was stunning.

He didn't need to recognize her; he could tell it was her at a glance.

In this noisy and messy environment, she didn't even frown, holding the construction plans in her hand and directing everything with a commanding presence. From the respectful looks of the workers, it was clear that she had the people's hearts.

This place should be suitable for men, but starting from the turn to real estate, she is responsible for on-site construction and later sales, while he is in charge of design and bidding. This combination is somewhat strange, but surprisingly harmonious.

"Mr. Russell!"

Before he even approached, a worker saw him and flattered him. Theresa heard the sound and turned her head to look straight at him.

William spoke directly to the purpose of his visit and handed her the drawing in his hand. "This is my newly revised drawing. The width of the load-bearing wall in the corridor needs to be changed, and I am afraid there will be hidden dangers if the scaffolding is too high. Also, the distance between the hallways of each room..."

Theresa listened attentively and only frowned slightly after he finished speaking. "But most of this area is already completed. If we redo it now, it will probably be a bit troublesome."

After a moment of contemplation, she pointed out the place on the drawing and said slowly, "But it doesn't matter. This is a hidden danger. Fortunately, it was discovered early. I'll go talk to the chief engineer later and give the workers some incentives to boost morale and help them catch up on the progress."

"Uh-huh." William knew this was just a small matter for her.

"I heard that you have changed all the materials? The price difference is now 7 times. Brown said that whether it's imported or domestically made doesn't matter as long as there is greater profit."

"Yeah, I changed everything. After returning the goods, I reordered everything. In construction, at least a sense of responsibility is required."

Upon hearing this, William nodded silently.

Her thinking was surprisingly in line with his. For people who work in construction, they must have the designer's pride. From a businessman's perspective, you can never build a good house. If he didn't have his own biases, he really wanted to sigh, this woman really fits his taste!

"Don't worry. If Brown jumps up and down, I'll handle him. At most, we can help him create some buzz for free during the later sales." Theresa rolled up the drawing, turned her head to look at him, and the smile on her face was confident and mature.

Maybe it was because the sun was too bright, but William felt she was a bit dazzling.

"I gave the workers an extra meal today. Would you like to stay and have it together? This is also an opportunity to build relationships with employees." Theresa extended an invitation to him.

"Leave it to you." The man was indifferent.

"Are you leaving now? My car had a flat tire when it arrived. Can you give me a ride along the way?" Seeing him turn and leave without much hesitation, Theresa still shouted after him, calm and composed.

Upon hearing this, William even smiled politely. "Sorry, I still have to go on a 'business trip' out of town."

Following his gaze, Theresa also looked over to the black Cayenne parked 100 meters away from the construction site, with a new rising movie star sitting in the passenger seat.

"Ms. Norman, isn't it lunchtime?" The foreman finally ran over, prompted by the workers' gazes.

Theresa turned around and threw the blueprint in her hand at the foreman's face. "Didn't you see the blueprint that just came in? So many things need to be demolished and rebuilt. The deadline is so tight and urgent, and you only know how to eat. Get to work!"

The foreman, who had been yelled at, almost cried. He had seen her smiling just a moment ago, but now she erupted like a volcano. Although everyone in the company knew about Ms. Norman's capricious temperament, his fragile heart still couldn't take it!

Ignoring the escaping foreman, she turned around and looked in the direction of the departing car again. The car was not going fast and had not yet left her line of sight. Theresa's eyebrows and eyes were hidden under her yellow hard hat, with a cold smile on her lips.

...

It was a rare leisurely Sunday.

Theresa had stayed late on the construction site the night before and had slept in bed for a long time in the morning. If it weren't for the little one rolling around on her, she really wanted to sleep all day.

Joe was taken by Mrs. Wang to play outside, and the house was empty. Theresa was bored and planned to make some mushroom soup, which would be perfect for dinner.

At this moment, there was a noise at the door, followed by a familiar footstep. She couldn't help but peek outside the kitchen.

The man holding the phone was walking steadily from the foyer to the upstairs. His fitted windbreaker, with its heavy and sharp color, made his entire body look well-groomed.

After a few seconds of silence, Theresa took off her apron and walked out of the kitchen, slowly heading towards the stairs.

After going back to the bedroom and then to the next room, she stood at the door and knocked twice. There was no response from inside, so she pushed the door open without hesitation.

William seemed to have just changed his clothes and was fastening his shirt cuffs. He didn't even look up at her.

The man had a pair of cold and distant eyes, especially when he didn't speak, he was not easy to approach. But it was okay for Theresa, who had been used to it for so many years.

"What's up?" William finally spoke under her calm gaze.

Theresa walked up and dumped the things she was holding in her arms onto the table. There were several stacks of newspapers and photos, as well as USBs and CDs. The headline news was about him, together with a female actress, entering a hotel and having sex all night, with every detail captured by the paparazzi.