Chapter 22
Chapter 22
“The mango juice is very sweet.” Tina smiled sweetly at Toby, then placed the cup on the table. “Thank you for remembering what i like.”
Toby’s thin lips twitched slightly. “I remember all the things you like.
There’s a fruit farm with decent fruits. Tomorrow, I’ll ask the boss to send two
boxes of mangoes to the Gray
Residence. If there are other fruits
you’d like to eat, you can just tell me.”
“Okay.” Tina responded forcefully. She
started to feel uncomfortable, so she
pushed her chair aside and stood up
as her face became paler. “I’m going to
the restroom. Toby, you can carry on
chatting with my dad.”
Lifting the hem of her dress, she turned and hurried off. Tina had been allergic
to mangoes since she was a child, and having just a little bit would be life threatening. Before she got to the
restroom, she felt her breathing
becoming uneven, then she twisted her
leg and nearly fell down.
“Tina! Tina!” Julia rushed over and
hurriedly held her daughter.
When Julia saw the discomfort on
Tina’s face, she grew anxious. “Are you
out of your mind? You’re allergic to mangoes! Why did you drink the mango juice Toby gave you? Do you have a death wish?”
“Mom, I’m not feeling well…” Tina was
breathing hard and panting as she
tightly clutched Julia’s hand. “Call for a
doctor. You must never let Toby know.
If he asks you, you must say that I love
mangoes.”
“How can you still talk about this at such a time?!” Julia rebuked, trying to
help Tina to the lounge.
But, after taking a few steps, Tina felt
so sick that she fainted.
“Tina!” Julia was panicking so much
that she was almost in tears, and she
was all over the place. “Help! Someone
help!”.
In the banquet hall, Toby and Titus talked for a long time. Toby checked his watch, only to realize that twenty minutes had passed, but Tina hadn’t
retumed yet.
Tina had just recovered, so Toby was afraid that something else had happened to her body. Pushing his
chair back, he got up. “Mr. Gray, I’m
going to look for Tina.”
“Don’t worry. Tina is fine” Julia
happened to return, and when she
heard what Tony said, she chuckled
and assured him, “She’s just a little
sleepy after busying herself with us
today. I’ve brought her to the lounge to
rest.” Then, she added, “Toby, you’ve
also worked hard today. Go back and
get some early rest When Tina wakes
up, her father and I will bring her back.”
The banquet had come to an end, and
Toby was indeed a little tired.
“Then, I’ll have to trouble you with that,
Mrs. Gray,” Toby said solemnly. “When
you’re not so busy with company
affairs, i hope you and Mr. Gray can
honor me with your presence and have
a meal with my mother.”
Julia smiled. “Sure. Be careful on your
way back.”
Toby then retrieved his coat and left.
When he got to the door and turned
around, he saw Julia tell Titus
something before they walked to the
back of the banquet hall in a hurry.
At the side of the hotel, Tom was
already waiting. When Tom saw Toby
coming out, he hurriedly opened the
back door of the car. The car drove
smoothly to the Fuller Residence.
Now that everything had quieted down,
Toby felt even more irritated as scenes
of Sonia turning up at the banquet
crossed his mind. Not to mention,
there was that gentle and handsome
young man beside her.
Toby tugged on his tie. After a while, he
asked Tom in a deep voice, “Have you
found out Carl’s family situation?”
Tom reported his findings truthfully,
“Yes. Carl was born in Jordain County.
It’s a slum area, and it’s close to the
mountains, so the transportation system there isn’t developed. There‘s
only one school, and it’s ten kilometers
away. Six years ago, Miss Reed went to
Jordain County to visit the poor
children and provided Carl with
financial aid. After he left, he was
scouted by Vashine Entertainment on
his way to work during summer
vacation, and now, he’s their most
expensive male model. Carl’s also
particularly smart. Miss Reed was able
to become a shareholder of Paradigm
Co. so quickly because he helped her.”
After hearing all that, Toby said bleakly. “Sonia is controlling Paradigm Co with her shares, but if the shareholders disagree with her, Paradigm Co. won’t
last long. She hasn’t dabbled in the
industry before, so she doesn’t know
anything.”
“Indeed.” Tom agreed. “President Fuller,
although you were forced to marry
Miss Reed, I can see that you treat her well. Knowing that she has just taken
over Paradigm Co., you must be afraid
that President Gray would take revenge
on Miss Reed in the business world for
his daughter’s sake, so you gave her the Ocean’s Heart to get her to leave.”
Toby closed his eyes to rest for a
while. A moment later, he said, “She
often goes to the Fuller Residence to
accompany Grandma. She’s taken care
of her for so many years, so I’m just
doing it for Grandma’s sake.”
Tom smiled. “Yes. Old Mrs. Fuller likes
Miss Reed very much.”
Toby could also tell that Rose liked Sonia very much. Every time he and
Sonia returned to the Fuller Residence,
Rose would hold on to Sonia and talk
to her non-stop. However, when he
brought Tina to visit her, Rose had her
dislike toward Tina clearly written on
her face.
As Toby thought of the fact that Rose
didn’t like Tina, he got a headache. As
such, he said coldly, “Why are you so talkative today?”
Hearing that, Tom immediately kept his mouth shut. At this moment, the phone in Toby’s suit pocket vibrated twice.
When he reached for it, he came into
contact with a small hard object.
Toby looked at his phone first and saw that Tina had sent a message asking if
he had arrived home. After responding
to her message, the man looked at the
ring in his hand under the glow of the
light in the car. Soon, he remembered
that he and Sonia went to the Civil
Affairs Bureau to sign the divorce
papers the other day. After they came
out, he took off his wedding ring and
threw it into his suit pocket. The
servant must have presumed it was a valuable item and dared not remove it, so they placed the ring back after cleaning his suit.
After staring at the ring for a long time, Toby asked, “Did I buy this wedding ring?”
Tom looked at Toby in the rearview
mirror, then at the ring in his hand before saying carefully, “When you
married Miss Reed, you said it would
be hard to explain to Miss Gray if you
bought Miss Reed a wedding dress
and the other necessary stuff, so there
was no wedding dress or grand
ceremony. The wedding ceremony was
simple. Also, you asked Miss Reed to pick the ring on her own, but…” After a pause, Tom continued, “You didn’t give Miss Reed any cards, nor did you ask me to handle it, so Miss Reed bought the wedding ring herself.”
After hearing what Tom said, Toby
stared even more intensely at the ring.
He thought back to how carefree and proud Sonia looked on the day they got
divorced. During their six years of
marriage, Sonia never asked anything
from him, and she left the marriage
with nothing as well.
Tom noticed that Toby was silent for a
long time. He wasn’t sure what he was
thinking, so he asked after careful
consideration, “President Fuller, do you want me to deal with the ring for you?”
“After you arrive at the office tomorrow
moming, sort out Continental Co’s
information,” Toby instructed. “Since
Zane’s company has a cooperation
with Paradigm Co., you can send this information to Paradigm Co. under his
name.”
“Okay.” After working for Toby for
several years, Tom instantly
understood the meaning behind his
words. Then, he said, “Paradigm Co. is
already dying. If they can successfully win over Continental Co., they might be
able to start over, but the only concern
is that Paradigm Co. might not have
enough funds.”
Toby replied, “Then, it depends on how Sonia handles the Ocean’s Heart. The
victory or defeat of Paradigm Co. lies
in her hands.”
Tom couldn’t help but add, “I think Carl
is quite incredible. He could easily
make Miss Reed a new shareholder of
Paradigm Co. If Miss Reed asks him to
help Paradigm Co., then their future.”
As he spoke, Tom noticed a sudden
drop in the atmosphere in the car-it was suddenly so cold that it caused him to shudder. He immediately shut up and drove quietly.
Toby’s gaze fell on the ring again. He thought about how when he wore the
wedding ring while attending various
receptions over the past few years, he
managed to stop many women from
throwing themselves at him. At that
thought, he figured his wedding ring
wasn’t just a meaningless accessory after all.
A few seconds later, Toby put the
wedding ring back into his suit pocket, then said to Tom, “If Paradigm Co. can’t acquire Continental Co., bring
someone in to help.”
Tom responded, “Got it.”