âItâs not abuse. But the dining table is like a black, heavy cloud thatâll rain if not being careful when eating at Daddyâs place. It makes me lose my appetite.â Annie lifted her hand up to wipe her mouth.
Seeing that Alan was staring deeply at her, she couldnât help but stuck out her tongue, âDad, are you not happy with what I said?â
It wasnât that Alan was upset, but felt like he owed his child. He reached out to rub the top of her hair, âYouâre telling the truth and dad isnât unhappy, but I feel a little sorry for you and mommy.â
Chloe murmured, âThereâs no difference. Consider you have conscience.â
Olive put a food into his bowl and smiled, âEnough. Nothingâs to feel sorry of. Consider Iâm lucky to have taken a good man like you to Luo City. Itâs quite normal for the old lady gets a little angry.â
Oliveâs parents secretly sighed. It was really sad seeing the relationship between their daughter and her mother-in-law still had no progress.
That afternoon, Olive couldnât take a break and went to the hotel. She had brought small fights for everyone in the general manager.
âI want it too,â her secretary exclaimed with joy.
âOf course. You even get couple set with Ted. Think of them as my wedding gift in advance for you two.
But, open them after you guys finish your work,â Olive smiled. She swept her eyes around the room and couldnât find her assistantâs shadow. âRou, call Ted to my office.â
âOkay.â Her secretary hugged Tedâs gift in her arms and happily returned to her seat to make a call.
Although they werenât allowed to open it now, when Olive was gone, no one could stop their impatience and there was rustling noises.
âWow. Itâs my favorite perfume.â
âThe lipstick that I want.â
âMy dream, out-of-print Jacksonâs disc. Cool.â
Whatâs yours?â
âAn autographed photo of my prince charming.â
Amidst the joy, someone asked suspiciously, âHow does Director Steele know that these are what we like?â
âYeah. This is amazing.â
Not really. It was that Olive sometimes hung out with them and occasionally attend their after get off work parties. Men and women played together and talked about everything, including what hobbies they usually had. They spoke unintentionally, but she listened tentatively.
Not all of these gifts were prepared by her alone. There were some things that she wasnât capable of, but it didnât matter. Someone was, for example, Kent Bai, the capable people and strangers under him.
They werenât useless. Besides, those things were easy for them, but for some people who desired it, they were hopeless.
Ted rushed over after receiving the call, âOlive, youâre back.â
âYeah. I just got off the plan. There arenât any problems with the hotel, right?â
Ted answered, âNo, butâ¦â
Olive slightly frowned at his hesitation, âBut what?â
âI donât if youâve heard that the chairman has found his biological daughter.â
So that was what it was. She thought it was something big. She was surprised at first. âIâve heard.
Whatâs the problem?â
âNothing. But you wonât leave not that sheâs back, right? As far as I know, that woman named Susan is quite capable. Not only sheâs a top business student, she also holds an important position in a large foreign company. I think the chairman has the meaning to ask her to resign and come back to take care of the hotel. I know that Mr. Hoyle has long wanted you to work for him. You wonât take this opportunity to leave the hotel, right? We donât want you to leave.â
Ted was being sincere and not flattering her. On the surface, he was mixed up with this hotel, but in the end, he was just a worker.
If a worker could meet a good boss who appreciated and used his potential, it was his luck. And he cherished this luck.
âI havenât said I want to leave. Why are you being nervous here?â Olive rolled her eyes at him. If she wanted to leave, she had to figure out the truth first before that. She couldnât give the hotel to someone with unknown origin.
Ted snickered, âIâm just worried. If youâre leaving, where are we going to find a good leader like you?â
âHmph. Stop flattering meâ¦â
Olive was about to ask him about the woman named Susan, but she didnât expect a hearty laugh came from the outside and it interrupted their conversation.
The old man from the Geve walked in with charisma and accompanied by a young woman. It seemed that the old man had been well and felt very happy.
âWho said about leaving? Olive, you canât leave this sick old man.â
âLook at your refreshing appearance. You donât look like a sick old man at all,â Olive smiled and stood up from her seat to welcome him. She helped him to sit on the sofa, then turned to Ted, âPrepare us tea.â
âLook at your sweet mouth,â Norton beamed with joy. He looked a bit like a Maitreya Buddha, but his body had grown thinner than before because of his illness. Fortunately, his still had his good spirit.
âMy mouth still wants to say that seeing youâve come to the hotel today, it seems that youâre recovering well. I initially wanted to wait until I got off work to visit you. I didnât expect you to be one step ahead of me.â
âThe moment I heard youâve returned, I wanted to go out, so I came. Lest you run away, right?â
âUncle Norton, look at you. Youâve recovered a lot. How about you come back and take charge of everything?â
Norton waved is hand, âIâm old and itâs the world you young people. This hotel really canât go on without you. Donât even think to run away from me after marrying that Alan Hoyle.â
âLook at what you said. I donât have that great ability. You think too highly of me,â Olive chuckled. Then she turned her attention to the young woman. She had seen her picture, so she looked familiar. âUncle Norton, Iâve heard that youâve already found your daughter. It must be this beautiful lady, right?â
Norton was puzzled, âHuh? Your news is pretty well-informed. Who told you? I obviously told them not to tell you because I want to personally announce it when youâve come back.â
âI just knew it too,â Olive smiled and stretched out her right hand. âHello, my name is Olive Steele.â
The woman also stretched out her fair hand and clasped with hers. She faintly smiled, âHello, Iâm Susan. Iâve heard about you from my father these days. Iâm very thankful that you take care of him and the hotel during his period of serious illness.â
Susanâs Chinese wasnât that fluent and she had the unique accent of a foreigner. She wasnât used to talk in Chinese, but her meaning was well understood.
âItâs my job. Youâre welcome.â Olive couldnât help but stared. The woman before her was capable and fitting. She should be a veteran who had been in the workplace for many years. She was different from a weak heroine what TV series usually depicted nowadays.
It looked like it wouldnât be easy to see her flaws with naked eyes.
Ted had made tea and brought them over. âEnjoy.â
âShall we have dinner together with your kid tonight?â Norton suggested.
Olive naturally agreed and the location was set at the Angel Hotel. She couldnât let outsiders to handle it, so she let Ted to do it.
Norton laughed and said to Susan, âTry the food of our familyâs hotel. The chef was hired personally by Olive herself.â
Susan also smiled, âReally? It seems that Director Steele is really responsible for everything. Itâs no wonder that in a short period of time, she can bring a hotel that was on the verge of bankruptcy back to life. And it grows better now that itâs in her hands.â
âThank you for Ms. Susanâs compliment,â Olive said modestly.
But Norton felt the conversation go awkward, âOkay, okay. You two donât have to call this Director Steele, call that Ms. Susan. Susan, Olive is older than you for a few days, so you have to treat her like a sister now, understand? If it werenât for her and her man, your father wonât be alive until now and the hotel wonât be able to survive. So, they two people are people weâre, the Geve, grateful for. You have to remember.â
âI know, father. Iâll remember them,â Susan said obediently, then stood up and bowed to Olive, âThank you, Olive.â
âOh, stop. This is making me feel embarrassed. Uncle Norton, why did you say these emotional things?â Olive was afraid that she couldnât bear such honor.
Norton was in a high spirit and the smile never left his face. âFine, I wonât say it anymore. Iâll remember that.â
âUncle Norton, Iâm being serious with you. Now that your daughter has been found too, shouldnât it be the time for you to lessen my stress?â Olive asked with a smile, eyes glancing with meaning to Susan.
She was prettier than in the picture. At first glance, she indeed looked like a likeable person. But she didnât know what she was thinking at the moment.
She was afraid that she was another face of beauty but with a snake heart.
Norton felt a little pissed. âYou canât leave this hotel. We have a dealâyouâll help me taking care of Angel Hotel.â
Olive smiled, âUncle Norton, I donât mean that. I mean, Susan has returned now, shouldnât we let her take over some stuffs of the hotel? Sooner or later, she has to get familiar with the hotelâs business, right? This hotel will have to be left to her in the future.â
âNo, no, no. Olive, donât say that,â Susan hurriedly declined. âThe hotel is in perfect order under your management. The staffs are all like you. So, I wonât intervene. Besides, Iâm working now in a company in the United States. This time I was on a business trip to Luo City and I happened to meet my biological parents. This was an unexpected gainâa gift from the Lord. I already feel very happy. My adoptive parents have passed away a few years ago. I have no relatives in the United States. Now, I have a father and a mother, Iâm ecstatic. I want to spend more time with them, so I plan to submit an application to the US headquarters to transfer my job to Luo City. I love my job very much, so you still should take care of Angel Hotel. My father is relieved to leave it to you.â