billion book
Chapter 102
Chapter 102
As the car was filled with silence, Bane shifted his attention to his
surroundings without continuing their conversation. Instead, he asked
what she would like to eat. Nevertheless, Victoria didn’t have an appetite
for anything else besides congee. However, since she already had congee
with Bane that night, she didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to
suggest having congee again. Thus, she said, “Your call.”
Bane paused, feeling stunned about Victoria’s decision.
“Are you sure about that? I haven’t lived around here for years.”
“No worries,” Victoria calmly replied, thinking she wouldn’t eat much
anyway. Then, something crossed her mind as she added, “Pick anything
you’re craving for. It’s on me.”
“Really?” Bane pursed his lips. “In that case, I’m going to take my pick
carefully.”
Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
In the end, Bane picked a Western restaurant. Upon arrival, Victoria
stepped out of the car and immediately noticed the restaurant’s high–end
interior. Before the Selwyn Family went bankrupt, Victoria always came to
places like that with her best friends, but after that, everyone else left her,
except Summer. Back then, Victoria was the one who took Summer to
high–class restaurants, but after she went bankrupt, their positions were
reversed, though they frequented less luxurious restaurants.
The first time they went to one, Summer looked at Victoria cautiously and
said, “Victoria, I can only afford to treat you to meals like this, but don’t
worry, once I get rich one day, I’ll treat you to a fancy one.” Victoria couldn’t
help but chuckle with joy when she recalled that. Although she hadn’t
been to any other high–class establishments since going bankrupt, she
felt a lot more fulfilled on the inside than ever before. Furthermore, she
was happy that she got to see the grim reality when she was at her
lowest, deeming it part of her growth.
“What’s on your mind?” Bane’s voice pulled Victoria out of her train of
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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
thought.
Victoria snapped out of her trance and smiled. “Nothing. I was just
recalling something interesting.”
“What’s interesting?” He raised an eyebrow.
She responded with silence and gave Bane a glimpse without showing
any intention of sharing the matter with him. On the other hand, Bane was
a man who knew his boundaries well, so he didn’t press on with his
questions or pry into the details.
As the two of them sat down and ordered their food, Bane passed the
menu directly to Victoria and asked, “Take a look and see what you’d like
to eat.”
Victoria was about to say she was fine with anything, but she quickly
changed her mind; she didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to do
that. After all, she was supposed to show Bane some sincerity for the
Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
farewell party that didn’t go as smoothly as expected. Therefore, she went
on to pick a few dishes and placed her orders before giving the menu
back to Bane.
When Bane took a look at their order, he couldn’t help but give the lady a
strange gaze. “You seem to prefer bland food now, huh? Why has your diet
changed so much?”
“I’ve been practicing a bland diet lately because of my health,” Victoria
said without any change in her facial expression.
Bane smiled and looked at Victoria silently, but Victoria was able to
recognize the look in his eyes right away. If we weren’t childhood friends, I
would be scratching my head while trying to figure out what he is up to,
not knowing him well enough.
“If you’d like, I can take you to the doctor after our meal,” he asked a few
moments later.
Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
“No thanks. I’ve already been there.”
“Ah, it looks like someone’s already grown up, always turning me down.”
Bane then went on to tick a few other boxes on the ordering slip before
giving it to the waiter. After that, something crossed his mind as he added,
“Could you please get a glass of juice for this lady?”
“Sure, sir.”
Victoria was stunned when she heard that. “How did you know?”
“I can’t exactly remember, but you drank two glasses of juice during the
farewell party that night, didn’t you? Anyway, one glass should be enough,
right?”
Before Victoria came, she wasn’t planning to order herself a glass of juice.
Thus, she didn’t pay attention to the menu, but Bane observed her closely.
“Thanks.”
Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
“You don’t have to thank me. You’re the one who’s going to foot the bill,
after all.”
Victoria was speechless at once, finally remembering her purpose of
treating Bane to the meal, Goodness, dining in a restaurant like this is
probably going to cost me a fortune. With the amount of pay she was
receiving, she could afford to foot the bill, but once her baby was born, her
burden would most likely increase. After all, she would have to worry about
putting food on the table for herself and her baby, as well as affording her
child’s education. Because of that, she reckoned it was important to start
saving.
Nevertheless, the thought of that was enough to give Victoria a headache,
for she had no intention of marrying another man again. Therefore, she
would be forced to raise the child alone, which meant she would have to
look for more sources of income besides her current job.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you regret treating me to an expensive meal
Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
right here,” Bane said in a probing manner when he saw her preoccupied
look.
When Victoria snapped out of her trance, the first thing she saw was
Bane’s ambiguously smiling eyes.
“Judging from the pay you’re getting at Cadogan Group, I doubt it’d
trouble you to treat me to lunch.”
“No way.” Victoria was amused by Bane’s words.
He picked up his glass from the table and took a sip, casually saying, “For
old times‘ sake, I don’t mind hiring you if the Cadogan Group doesn’t pay
you enough.”
“Are you trying to poach talents for your company?”
“Me, poaching talents?” Bane was slightly stunned when he heard
Victoria’s words, but deep down, he knew Victoria was right about what he
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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
had in mind. After all, it was true that he was trying to poach talents for his
company, except the talent he just found was no ordinary person.
In the meantime, while Bane didn’t admit it, Victoria was somewhat
relieved. If the reason he ran into me today was that he was in search of
talents for his company, I guess I should have nothing to worry about.
After all, it wasn’t a coincidence we ran into each other.
When he saw her expression, his eyes darkened. “You seem nervous. Are
you worried that I might have feelings for you?”
Feeling as if the man was able to read her mind, she awkwardly blinked
and subconsciously denied it, saying, “No, I wouldn’t feel that way. After all,
why would you have feelings for me in the first place?”
Bane looked at Victoria gently, curling his lips upward while pinching his
nasal bridge. “What if I told you I had?”
Victoria, who was initially relieved, became stunned upon hearing Bane’s
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Chapter 102 Talent Poaching
words. “What?” She thought she had misheard him as she stared blankly
at the man.
“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you got scared.” Bane pointed at the table
with smiling eyes.
When Victoria noticed Bane’s smiling eyes, she realized the man was
joking with her. Not only did she take his joke seriously, but she was also
frightened by him. Despite being speechless, Victoria felt a lot calmer than
before. “No, but I think some jokes are inappropriate among friends and
should be avoided.”
Bane curled his lips upward, his eyes filled with love and tenderness.
“Alright, I’ll quit joking.” However, only he knew that he wouldn’t be this
gentle or humorous anymore when he brought up this issue again.
13:40
Thu, 22 Jun