"Aren't Duke and Belinda back?" Kevin asked as he walked beside Lloyd. He assumed that Duke and Belinda must have had a lot of fun on their honeymoon trip. They went to a land full of mystery, which boasted historic sites and rich cultural deposits with thousands of years' worth of history. It was supposed to be refreshing for the soul, how could they not be happy there?
Not yet. They'll probably be back in a few days. The company needs them. They can't be away too long." Lloyd brought Kevin directly to the dining room, where Giselle was busy moving the dishes to the table from the kitchen. When she saw Kevin, she greeted him and said, "Good morning! Mr. Gu." Then she went back to work.
"Yeah, such big companies can't run smoothly without them." Kevin didn't know much about doing business. But he knew that for such a big company like the Leng Group, it must have many business plans waiting to be approved every day. The work was just as complicated as the training they organized at the army base.
"You're right. Let's drop the subject and eat. Want some wine?" Lloyd made Kevin sit down and proposed when he saw the wine cabinet.
No, thanks. I have to drive." Kevin immediately refused. Lee was not with him, so he couldn't drink. Otherwise no one would drive his car back if he got drunk.
"Fair enough. I get it. Safety first." He gestured at the food. "These are all Leena's favorite dishes. I don't know what you like, so I asked Giselle to prepare them. I hope you don't mind," Lloyd said while wearing a smile. His manner was very different from Duke's cold demeanor.
"It's okay, I'm not picky. Everything smells really good." Army life didn't allow a man to be finicky. Even though he was a Major General, when he went to the canteen to eat, he ate the same food as the other soldiers did. There was no special treatment. Though there were chances to enjoy the privilege of high rank, he would never allow himself to do so. Much like Daisy, he didn't like to be privileged. The military wasn't some country club. It was in the business of preparing for war.
"When Leena was fat before, she was also not very particular about food. She ate almost everything which came her way. But later, in order to lose weight, she started eating only vegetables for a while. Over time, she became very careful about the food she ate. She rarely ate high-calorie food." Lloyd sighed. Strictly speaking, Leena wasn't really fat. She was only plump. But she firmly thought that she was laughed at by others because of this. So she spent a lot of time on losing weight. Fortunately, her weight didn't rebound. On the contrary, she became thinner and thinner. It made Lloyd worry about her. He wondered how she took care of herself since she left the house.
"Was Leena really fat before?" Kevin looked at Lloyd, surprised. He couldn't imagine Leena being plump. Her figure was so perfect now.
"Not very fat actually. You know, girls, they all like to look pretty. So she went on a diet for some time, and exercised a lot. That was how she lost weight. She was very tenacious and stuck with it." Lloyd shook his head. Although Leena was capricious sometimes, compared to the daughters of other rich families, she was excellent, and finished what she started.
"In fact, I think health is the most important thing. It doesn't matter if you're fat or not." In his eyes, most of the young girls now were too thin. They had ignored health itself in order to pursue a skinny look. So he didn't agree with the idea of girls going on a diet only for the sake of losing weight.
"Ah! Leena always seems very happy and cheerful in public, but in fact, she is quite sentimental in her heart. You'll get this after you've been with her a long time." He got busy with work before and often ignored Duke and Leena. There was even a time when Leena was scared to be around him and they were estranged. And it took him a lot of effort to make her come back to him, so they could be intimate once more.
"Okay, I will keep this in mind and pay more heed to her." Kevin frowned. Like everyone else, he found Leena always being lovely and sweet around other people. But she seemed easily offended around him, just prickly like a hedgehog. She'd try her best to fight back if he said something she thought was hurtful, even if he didn't mean it that way. The way she fought back was not to cause a scene, but to give him the cold shoulder, as if she didn't care about him at all and he was completely invisible to her. This was the thing that always made him feel helpless.
"Haha! I believe you'll get along with her after you know how to handle her temper. She's a very simple girl when it comes to love. You only have to be good to her and pay a little more attention to her, and she will love you back with all her heart." Lloyd heaved a sigh. He didn't know whether it was a good thing for her to remain simple and innocent in the world of love.
"Of course I will be good to her, and with all my love, nothing else. Because she is my wife, the woman I want for the rest of my life." Listening to Lloyd, Kevin pursed his lips. Why did it sound that Lloyd was giving him tips on how to deal with his own daughter?
"You're an honest man. It seems that I was right to choose you as my son-in-law. Leena lost her mother when she was very young, I owe her in that regard. Now I'm trusting you with my daughter. I hope you can give her a happy life she wants. Take care of her, Kevin."
At the mention of his wife who died early in their marriage, Lloyd felt heartbroken. He missed her very much. For all these years, he had remained single for the sake of the love for his deceased wife. More importantly, he didn't want to find a stepmother to torture his children. You could see his emotion written in the lines on his face.
"Dad, rest assured. I promise I will give her a happy life." He said this to Lloyd, but also to himself. He was confident that he wouldn't hurt Leena. But this confidence proved to be very vulnerable. Because in the near future, he would make Leena fall into the endless abyss of agony. No one could have seen that coming.
After dinner, Kevin played a game of chess with Lloyd before he left. On his way back, he thought a lot about his marriage. He hadn't mentioned his marriage to Leena to his family yet. He assumed that his father already knew, because he submitted the report about his marriage. But he didn't know whether his father mentioned anything to his mother. Maybe the report never reached his father. But no matter what, they would be happy to see such a lovely and clever woman. It seemed that he had to bring Leena to visit his parents when she finished her thesis.
Time flies. When Duke and Belinda bid good bye to the colorful city and came back home, it meant that their honeymoon trip drew to an close perfectly. On the first day back, he went to the office, and was surprised to find that Rachel was still with the company. It suddenly came to him that he got too immersed in the happiness of their honeymoon; he had totally forgotten about Rachel.
"Good morning, Duke!" Rachel flashed a sweet smile, as if she had done nothing during his wedding ceremony.
"Rachel, why are you still here?" Duke furrowed his brow. Even if he didn't have time to ask her to quit her job and leave the company, any woman who had self-esteem would not be so shameless to continue to stay here. What would she do next?
"I am working here. What did you think I'd be doing? I'm the group leader of the sales department." Rachel wore a graceful smile the whole time they talked. She certainly knew what Duke wanted to tell her. But if she really left Leng Group, it wouldn't be easy for her to find a satisfactory job. She made trouble on his wedding day. And though only few powerful entrepreneurs showed up, her reputation was tarnished. The news spread like wildfire, and everyone knew. No one would hire her after what she pulled. That much was certain.
Rachel, are you an idiot? You still think you can work here after what you pulled? After you caused that shitstorm on my wedding day? I really should fire you right here. Give me one good reason to keep you on." Duke ground his teeth. His good mood disappeared the moment he saw this woman.
Why can't I stay with the company? What the hell makes you think you can treat me like that? Or did you forget that we signed an employment contract?" Rachel smiled cunningly. This was why she behaved so arrogantly. She had the contract with the company about her employment.
"Huh, it's only an employment contract. The company has the right to cancel it." Duke stared at her coldly and then walked quickly into the elevator. If she wanted to threaten him with the contract, she was too naive.