"It's personal. I don't think I owe you an explanation, Miss Ye. You understand, of course." Edward smiled disapprovingly. She was just the daughter of the commander, after all. He didn't have to take orders from her. Edward was a civilian. He didn't give a damn who she was.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. If you don't feel like talking about it, that's okay." Louisa had concocted her own little story about the relationship. She figured that Leena was Edward's half-sister. Maybe they shared the same father. It happened a lot in rich families. Rich men always cheated on their wives. It was like a biological imperative or something.
"Now give Miss Ye the laptop, please. I need to get back to work. Busy day and all that." Daisy wanted to hide the unpleasant matter from the commander. So she had pretended she needed to borrow Louisa for a few minutes so that Louisa could leave the commander's office and he wouldn't suspect a thing. The truth would humiliate him. He'd see how his daughter behaved and would probably punish her. This way, he never had to know.
"Oh, the computer is for Miss Ye. I didn't know that." Edward hesitated to hand over the laptop. He worried that someone might start a rumor saying that Daisy bribed the commander's daughter. She'd already been the target of rumors and suffered for it. She didn't need any more trouble. That kind of thing had happened before. This time, he had to think everything over to stop it from happening again.
"It's a replacement, not a gift." Daisy didn't want to talk about it in front of Louisa. As an intelligent man, Edward could tell Daisy's thoughts from the expression on her face. He didn't ask any more questions about it. He just bent down, grabbed the box the computer was in, and handed it to Louisa. He didn't know why Daisy had to replace Louisa's computer, but since Daisy didn't want to discuss anything, he didn't have to know right now.
That didn't stop Louisa from being embarrassed. However, it had gone so far that a new computer was her only choice. Her face turned crimson.
"Miss Ye, now that you have the computer, we're even. If there's a problem with it, it's under warranty. The company should help you. Their number's in the manual." Daisy looked at Louisa, feeling bad for her superior. The commander had a daughter who was such a snob. A thing like that could threaten his career.
"Wait a minute, honey. I thought the computer was for you. I asked Luke to bring it to me directly, and he never paid. But now that I know who it's for..." He paused, giving Daisy a meaningful glance. "I'll have them send the receipt." Edward looked at Daisy apologetically. She should have told him whom the laptop was for so that he could have taken care of everything.
"That's okay. Forget it. Since it is brand-new, I don't think there will be a problem," Louisa said to Edward in a fawning tone. But she was barking up the wrong tree. If she sucked up to Daisy, then things might go better for her. Daisy might go out of her way to make Louisa happy, and Edward would do anything for Daisy.
"No, that's not okay. I'll give you the invoice later," Daisy said to Louisa. Then she turned to Edward and said, "Honey, thanks so much for bringing this over. I know you need to get back. See you tonight." Daisy rarely called Edward honey, but she called him that when she figured out Louisa would try something. She really had no shame!
"Okay, see you tonight, my love." Edward never gave a hoot about manners. He did whatever he wanted. So he treated Louisa like she were invisible. After kissing Daisy's lips gently, he got in the car.
"Senior Colonel Ouyang, why didn't you tell me Mr. Mu was your husband?" Louisa asked as soon as Edward left, filled with jealousy.
"Why would I? Miss Ye, I have a lot of work to do. Goodbye." Daisy didn't want to waste any more time talking to a mean woman like Louisa, so she just turned around and walked away. And, as she kept saying, she was busy.
"Humph! Don't be so cocky! I wouldn't even give a damn about you if you weren't Mr. Mu's wife," Louisa muttered as Daisy headed back to her office. She shouldn't have been such a snob and offended Daisy. Now Daisy hated her too.
Kevin just stepped out of his office and was about to go see the commander. He saw Daisy and walked over to her.
"Everything good?" Kevin knew Edward was the man. Edward could buy the whole base a computer if he needed. But Kevin felt bad -- the whole thing started because of him.
"Yeah. I think so. That's one of the advantages of being married to a rich man. By the way, the Bald Eagle Program? Are you sure about this? You don't have to." Daisy was a little worried. If Kevin joined the program, he wouldn't get much time with Leena. That wasn't good for their relationship.
"If I don't go, you'll have to do it. It's pretty rigorous, from what I understand. Besides it's mostly men. It doesn't suit you at all." Kevin would rather go himself than let Daisy train with a bunch of men.
What are you saying? That a man's tougher than a woman?" Daisy glared at Kevin, head tilted and eyes squinted. He'd better watch what he said next.
"Um, that's not what I meant. You might feel weird around all those guys. You know I respect you a lot. And women can do anything they want. You're living proof of that." Before meeting Daisy, Kevin did think men were better than women in every way. Since he started to get to know Daisy, he realized how wrong he was. Daisy was as strong and capable as any man in the army, maybe better than most of them.
"Humph! That's better. Did you tell Leena you'd be gone for awhile?" Daisy gripped the handrail and looked out at the training field. Suddenly she realized that there were times when a soldier would choose his responsibility over his family. Kevin just did that.
"Not yet. I'm waiting for the right moment. I think Hank's changed a lot. Bald Eagle Program could be good for him. Why not give him a chance? He might even get promoted, if he does well." Kevin regarded Daisy while he talked about this. He knew there was bad blood between Hank and her, and was worried that she'd be against this.
"Makes sense. We all make mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance. Hank deserves one too. You think he learned his lesson? At least he isn't all evil." Daisy smiled. She hated Hank for what he did to her. He used to be an asshole, but he had paid for it. He'd been nothing but respectful since then. She didn't want to kill his career just because she hated him. It would take a lot to earn his old rank back. She felt sorry for him.
How about this? I'll recommend Hank. That's all I can do. After that, it's up to the commander. Okay?" Kevin wasn't going against orders. He was doing what he thought was right. He and Daisy were the best in the commander's eyes. He thought other officers should have a shot too. Two people weren't the whole army.
"Good. We could use the time to relax, and let other officers show what they can do. That way they won't think we're getting any special treatment. They don't understand -- we didn't just get the credit, we earned it." Daisy started thinking. They never stopped being suspicious of Kevin and Daisy. It had been going on for a long time, but the commander and other higher-ups just ignored it. They always gave the best men the best opportunities. Everyone else who was working hard to become one of the best was passed over time and again.