Chapter 53 That Place Is My Home

Chapter 53 That Place Is My Home After coming back to his senses, Christopher said to the short, chubby, and somewhat bald-headed man in front of him with a smile, “Oh, I’m afraid your concern is misplaced, Mr. Parker. Everyone knows that Evergreen Incorporated is financially strong, so the Isle Project doesn’t require the help of external funding, nor does it need anyone else’s participation.”

Mr. Parker’s face froze. After a long time, he forced out a chuckle. “You have always been so bold and resolute, Mr. Wayne. It seems that I really worry too much.”

The furrows in Queenie’s brow deepened as she listened to the conversation between these two men.

As the atmosphere was awkward, she tried to ease the situation, but before she could say a word, she heard Christopher saying, “I have a friend over there, Mr. Parker, so please excuse my absence.”

“Feel free to excuse yourself, Mr. Wayne…” Mr. Parker raised his hand out of courtesy.

Christopher then gave everyone else a faint smile and left. When he looked again in the direction he had been looking just now, the lady was still standing there and chatting. She seemed to be having a pleasant conversation, for she covered her mouth and laughed happily from time to time.

Christopher’s brows twitched slightly. As he withdrew his gaze again, his expression grew much colder.

“What’s wrong with you, Christopher? You left in such a hurry.” Queenie caught up with him.

As he concealed the restlessness in his eyes, Christopher looked at her indifferently. “It’s nothing. I’m just a bit tired after a busy day. Queenie, could you tell the Swinton Family that I have something else to attend to and will be leaving first?”

The Swinton Family was the host of this banquet. The family was among the crowd just now, but he didn’t feel like rejoining the crowd after leaving it, so he asked Queenie to tell them that he was leaving.

Queenie frowned. Since she was afraid that Christopher would leave alone, she replied, “Wait for me then. I’ll be back right away.”

“Okay,” Christopher replied without saying another word. He stood in place after Queenie left, but he couldn’t help looking over at the crowd and spotting that slim figure again.

Compared to most of the women present who were dressed exquisitely in evening gowns, Diane was casually dressed that day in a loose white knitted shirt and a pair of black trousers. With her straight hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, she actually lacked distinguishing features when hidden among the crowd. However, she caught his attention and made him look at her again and again.

While Christopher was feeling restless, Queenie happened to come back, so he forcibly withdrew his gaze. “Let’s go.”

As such, the two of them left quietly. Christopher remained silent since leaving the hotel, whereas Queenie looked at him from time to time. She restrained herself along the way, and it wasn’t until they got into the car that she asked with a smile, “What was wrong with you just now, Christopher? Why did you turn Mr. Parker down so bluntly? You discomfited him by doing so.”

Christopher looked stern and frosty, though. “There’s no problem with my reply. He’s simply dreaming of interfering in my project.”

“Yeah, but… this is uncharacteristic of you. You said that people’s interests should be put first in the commercial world, for people play the greatest role in the business world. Why are you so worked up today?”

She’s right. Why am I so worked up today? Instead of answering Queenie, Christopher turned his face forward and looked at the dark sky through the car window. After what seemed like an eternity, he asked in a whisper, “What are you trying to say?”

Queenie was stunned. Her heart shuddered slightly, for she found herself feeling nervous upon seeing the side of Christopher’s stony face. After a while, she tried hard to force a smile. “You’re being oversensitive. I’m not trying to say anything; I just want to remind you that Mr. Parker is also a person of influence in Fairview City, so it’s rather inappropriate to turn him down like that. Would you like me to ask him out for dinner next time to explain what happened today?”

“Just do as you please,” Christopher responded quickly as if he couldn’t care less about Mr. Parker.

Queenie stared at him for a long time. When she saw that he never turned to glance at her, she knew that he either didn’t feel like speaking at this moment or didn’t want to talk to her, so she held back the words on the tip of her tongue. After remaining silent for a long time, she suddenly heard Christopher giving orders to Scott as the latter drove. He said, “Send Queenie home first.”

“Yes, Mr. Wayne,” Scott replied.

Queenie, who had turned her face toward the window, whipped her face back to stare at Christopher.

“What about you? Will you be sleeping in your office again tonight?”

“Queenie.” Christopher turned to meet Queenie’s gaze.

Upon meeting Christopher’s eyes, Queenie sensed a hint of chilliness. The chilliness wasn’t intense;

only faint displeasure was visible in his deep eyes, but that displeasure was serious in her opinion. “Are you angry? I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have asked you this.” She lowered her eyes as her long and curly eyelashes cast a bit of shadow on her delicate features.

Christopher stared at this extremely aggrieved woman for a long time before he softened his expression and voice at last. “It’s okay; I know that you care about me. I’ve been too busy with work these days. It’s more convenient for me to stay in my office, so you don’t have to worry about me. Just go back and rest early. After all, the doctor said that you can’t be too tired.” He raised his hand and patted Queenie’s lap lightly.

The warmth of the man’s palm spread through the thin layer of clothing to her body; it seeped into her skin, entered her blood vessels and spread all over her body. For an instant, she almost couldn’t restrain herself from grabbing this hand, but she restrained herself in the end.

Queenie sensibly obeyed him right away, and she stopped bringing up subjects that he might not want to talk about again. “All right then, I’ll go back first. Don’t exhaust yourself and remember to rest early.”

Luckily, Christopher’s expression softened even more at her reply. He nodded and turned his face forward again without saying another word.

He seems to like being so silent this evening. Is it because of Diane? thought Queenie to herself. Her heart ached at the thought of Diane’s face and Christopher’s intent gaze when they stood together and talked to each other.

Silence reigned in the second half of the journey. After sending Queenie back home, Scott turned the car around.

Since it was late at night, there weren’t many cars on the road. The car drove along at a constant speed as it headed straight toward the company’s direction.

Scott drove to the company without asking Christopher. However, as they were halfway through the journey, he heard an order from behind. “Drive me home.”

“Home? Do you mean Elm Manor?” Scott was in disbelief. He looked back and asked Christopher for confirmation, only to be greeted with a disdainful look from the latter. “Where else is my home other than that place?”

Scott was rendered speechless by Christopher’s remark. In fact, he wanted to remind Christopher that the latter had at least seven or eight properties under his name in Fairview City, including his apartment units and villas. To him, any of these properties could be considered home, but it was apparent from his boss’s expression that this wasn’t the case. Not daring to ask another question, he turned his head around, made a turn at the next intersection, and headed straight for Elm Manor.

…

“Thank you, William, but it’s not necessary. I’ll go back by myself.”

After the banquet ended, Diane turned down William’s offer to drive her home. Presently, she was still staying at Christopher’s Elm Manor. Even though many were aware that she was together with Christopher, she didn’t want to disclose this to those she had just come into contact with.

Fortunately, William stopped insisting after a while. After they said goodbye to each other, Diane walked along the road to a section where it was easy to hail a taxi. After waiting for a while, she managed to hail an empty taxi. Since it was already almost 10.00PM when the banquet ended, it was past 11.00PM when she finally reached home.

After getting out of the taxi, she massaged her aching waist and entered the house. Just as she was about to head upstairs and go to the second floor directly, she suddenly saw a person sitting on the sofa. “Aaaah—”

The chandelier in the living room wasn’t switched on. Only a single wall light shone, but Diane didn’t give it much thought since she assumed that the maid had switched it on to leave the door unlocked for her. Therefore, she was frightened out of her wits when she suddenly saw someone sitting there under such a dim light.