Chapter 59
Chapter 59
“It’s the Morton Family’s honor to have you as our guest, Miss Pearson!” John smiled and extended his hand toward Olivia.
In the meantime, Olivia was flattered to hear John’s response, having heard of his name a long time ago. In response to the cordiality of the man with a legendary reputation, she immediately stepped up and shook John’s hand. “I’m so sorry for the sudden visit.” Although the Pearson Family and the Morton Family hardly ever associated with each other, they often found themselves at odds with each other on many commercial occasions. Therefore, the two families had always avoided further conflicts by minding each other’s business.
John then ordered his maid to show the Turner Family members the door and pointed at Thomas with a smile. “Don’t worry about that, Miss Pearson. You’re always welcome to visit the Morton Residence, but what really surprises me is that you know this brat, Thomas!”
“This brat?” Olivia was stunned when she heard John’s reply, suspecting that he was close with Thomas due to the way he referred to him. As she showed up in such a hurry just now, she didn’t pay close attention to her surroundings. Now that she took a closer look, she realized there were wine and cake, which indicated that it was someone’s birthday in the Morton Family.
At that moment, a deep voice was heard. “Happy birthday, Old Mr. Morton!” When everyone looked in the direction of the voice, they saw Norman in a decent suit walking closer to John.
“Haha!” John laughed happily and walked up to Norman. “I can’t believe you came, Director Pearson. Come! Let’s have a drink!”
It was then that Olivia realized it was John’s birthday. Despite her initial intention to leave, she didn’t think it was appropriate for her to make a move now because doing so would make her seem rude. Therefore, she decided to stay by her father’s side and join the feast.
“Come, Thomas! Join us and drink together!” John waved at Thomas.
“Sure!” Thomas was unhappy, but since the conflict had already been resolved, he reckoned he should just put it behind him, not to mention the fact that Molly only suffered from a minor injury. Thus, he sat at the table with Molly.
As the few of them began to drink, John and Samuel kept toasting Thomas like they were old friends. For that, it was obvious to the others that they had known each other for a long time. At the same time, Olivia exchanged gazes with her father, tacitly agreeing with him that it was wise for them to gain Thomas’ favor. There is more about Thomas than meets the eye, for sure.
“Molly, did you come here with Thomas?” Olivia asked curiously.
“Yeah…” Molly’s face blushed when she heard that question. She then went on to explain why she ended up there, starting from the fact that Thomas needed a dance partner for the birthday feast. “He couldn’t find anyone else, so I agreed to come with him.” Upon hearing the explanation, Olivia glimpsed Thomas in an ambiguous manner.
“Mr. Pearson, how is your father?” John raised his glass and toasted Norman, asking him about his father.
Although the Morton Family was a force to be reckoned with, John was still smart enough to seize the opportunity to pull his family closer to Norman’s since there were only a handful of occasions in which both families had ever worked together. After all, he was hoping that the collaboration would serve the Morton Family’s interest better and help it prosper. While age had made John wise enough to understand that, Samuel also caught on to that, which was why the two older men were unusually cordial to Norman and Olivia. Because of that, the two old patriarchs believed that collaborating with the Pearson Group would be a win-win situation for every party involved, not to mention Thomas, who brought everyone together in the middle. At the same time, the two gentlemen still couldn’t believe that
Olivia, the prettiest corporate president in Irieson, would come for Thomas. Furthermore, they had nothing but respect for Thomas on the inside, having heard the conversation between Olivia and Thomas.
Soon, Norman responded with a brittle smile. “He is fine. He spends his days walking his dog and having fun with his pet bird. Other than that, he would occasionally spend his leisure time playing chess with his old friends, yet I’m swamped with work day in and day out.”
“Haha! Oh, come on. The Pearson Group has been performing excellently for the past two years. With you and your competent daughter around, it’s no wonder your father enjoys his retirement life so soon.”
Samuel quickly replied, “I didn’t know that your grandpa was a big fan of chess too. You know what? We should really make time for a friendly match one day!”
Olivia smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll tell Grandpa later when I get back. He is unbeatable in his social circle and will not stop boasting about how talented he is at playing chess. For that, I hope the two of you could give him a run for his money!” Olivia and Norman decided to seize the opportunity to pull the Pearson Family closer to the Mortons and Peraltas. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
The birthday feast went on until midnight before it came to an end. As someone who got tipsy easily, Norman eventually succumbed to the influence of alcohol, thanks to John and Samuel. However, John ordered his driver to give Norman a ride home. In the meantime, Thomas drove the BMW Z4 and took Molly home before he came back for Olivia.
“Um… I heard from my dad that you were the one who carried me back home when I fell asleep in the car earlier today. Right?” Olivia’s face blushed. Oh my god! This is so embarrassing! There are only two men who have ever carried me before—my father and grandpa, but today… Thomas has become the third man on the list… Oh, dear! I’m Irieson’s prettiest corporate president, so if the word about this gets out, how am I going to face the public?
“Yeah.” Thomas didn’t hide the truth, deciding he should just answer the lady’s question honestly.
In fact, Olivia only asked Thomas about that because that happened to spring to her mind. Although she was initially expecting a denial from Thomas, she was surprised that he admitted it with grace instead. For that, she instantly lost her courage to look the man in the eye and only set her eyes somewhere outside the window. When Olivia arrived at the entrance of her apartment, she responded once again. “Thank you so much, Thomas.”
“Thank me?” Thomas was puzzled but smart enough to see through Olivia’s bashfulness. Did she just change her mind and decide to thank me for carrying her back home? Wait a second! Isn’t that change a little too… fast?
“Hey! Don’t read too much into it!” Olivia immediately saw through Thomas’ mind, replying in a skittish manner.
Thomas was confused when he heard Olivia expressing her gratitude. After all, he didn’t know why else she would thank him other than the fact that he carried her back. In fact, he reckoned he should be the one to thank Olivia for rushing to his rescue as soon as she learned that he was in trouble. I should be grateful that I was able to take care of the trouble myself, or I would have had to depend on Olivia to save me.
“Thank me for what?”
“Thank you for bringing the Pearson Family closer to the Peraltas and Mortons.”