"Ugh…" A long, heavy sigh escaped him and Neil rubbed at his temple. His expression turned uglier as guilt surrounded him. "Sorry." Neil lifted his head to look at Edith. "I forgot to inform you that I won't return for dinner."
After the meeting with Assistant Will's wife, Neil had spent a few hours to visit his brother at the cemetery. His mind was in disorder upon reading the files that Sarah Lin had gave him.
Though it was incomplete, Neil was able to figure out what was the document about.
He had thought that he knew the company well as the President of MH Group, but it seemed that a few shady things were going on behind his back.
Assistant Will has been working with the Accounting Department for years and soon found a lot of suspicious things on the company's account. He realized that his direct supervisor, the Chief of the Accounting Department was suspicious and found that he could not trust that man.
That was when he sought his brother with the information. His brother then began to investigate things behind his back.
Adam, who always had a bright smile on his face had chosen not to share this matter with him. There were a few directors and shareholders who were involved in this crime. If this matter was exposed to the public, it will only bring the company down. Moreover, there are a few influential people who were somewhat involved in the embezzlement. They are people that they could not afford to offend. Therefore, without enough evidence, Adam had chosen to keep things away from him.
Knowing what Adam had tried to do made him angry that his brother had chosen not to share those important matters with him.
In the end, Neil drove over to a place he had not visited for a long time and had a few drinks at The Rooftop.
"It's alright," Edith smiled. "Assistant Shawn mentioned that you have an important meeting."
Neil covered his face with both hands as the feeling of disappointment towards himself surged. He had given his words to Hazel that he would accompany the little girl for dinner every day. He had promised that she will be the first to know if he was unable to come home, but it looked like he had failed to keep his promises.
"How is Hazel?" Neil asked with his voice slightly hoarse.
"She is not mad at you," Edith said.
Neil lifted his gaze to look at the kindergarten teacher and his heart was at ease, knowing that she was telling him the truth.
"These days, you have been accompanying Hazel and spend time with her." A smile curved on her lips. "That child understood that after making time to spend with her, there were going to be days when you would have to work overtime."
A helpless sigh escaped her when she was reminded of Hazel's words. The little girl had said that she was happy that her uncle had made time to come over to the Parents and Child Activity Day and played games with her. She would not throw a tantrum if her uncle missed dinner with her.
After all, her uncle still had to work hard and make a lot of money to raise her.
This is what Hazel's mother would tell her when her late father had missed her birthday last year. In the end, her father had compensated her for spending a whole week with her as they went on vacation.
Hazel was an understanding kid and looking after her was not difficult. The child was too mature for her age. As the thought of how she had behaved when she had to live with her grandfather after her mother's death, Edith was embarrassed.
Back then, she used to throw her tantrum and cause nothing but trouble for her grandfather.
A slight smile appeared on Neil's face as he thought of his niece.
Neil stared into the glass in his hand and emptied its content. He lifted his head to look at the woman beside him and a thought came to his mind. "Teacher Qian, is there something to eat?"
Edith's gaze brightened up at his question. "There is some leftover from dinner. If you don't mind, I can reheat them."
Neil nodded. "Thank you."
Edith turned towards the kitchen and her expression swiftly turned aghast. "Edith Qian, you're such an embarrassment," she scolded herself in a hushed voice once she entered the kitchen. "How can you be that happy just because that Iceblock asked for something to eat? What about cutting the bud before it bloomed? Edith Qian, stop acting like a love-struck teenage girl. How can you fall for his look? Are you an idiot? Wake up before you get yourself disappointed!"
As she stared at the reheated food that was served on the kitchen counter, Edith took a few deep breaths to calm down. She checked at the dishes one more time and turned to call Neil to eat.
"President Mo."
Her steps halted once she entered the living area. She looked at the man on the sofa and stepped towards him carefully. Her expression softened upon finding that the man had fallen asleep in his work attire with his breathing was slow and steady.
Edith stretched her hand to wake him up but decided against it when she looked at his tired face.
In the end, Edith spent her time observing the sleeping man for a while before she stepped forward to grab his coat. Slowly, she used it to cover his body lest Neil would wake up with a cold.
As she draped the coat on his body, Edith shifted her gaze to look at his face and paused when she saw the frown on his face.
Her hand moved subconsciously to touch the crease on the space between his brow. "The smell of alcohol is strong around you. You have been drinking too much tonight. You... What has been troubling you?" Her finger moved down slowly until it reached the tip of his nose.
Edith sucked in some air once she realized that she was sneakingly touching him. She retracted her hand quickly and prayed that he would not wake up. A breath of relief escaped her as she studied his breathing.
Fortunately, he was still sleeping and had not realized what she had done. If Neil Mo woke up at this time, she would be embarrassed to death and had no chance to explain herself.
Edith squatted on the floor and continued to stare at the sleeping man. "Iceblock Mo," she whispered and waited for his reaction. When he did not move, Edith found her courage grew. "You're not much of an iceblock when you sleep soundly like this."
A few seconds later, Edith buried her face between her knees.
What should she do, ah? She could not understand what did she like about this man, but every time she looked at him, her heart would beat crazily and she found herself liking him even more.
"Edith Qian, you stupid girl," she whispered to herself. "Don't tell me that you are already at a point of no return?"
But what was this? Was it only just a crush, or something more?
"What are you going to do? Cut it? Or pursue?"