Chapter 218 Standing there again
After much deliberation, he relented. “Alright. Once I’ve found a new assistant, I’ll approve your resignation.”
Hearing this, Alana’s tense expression softened slightly.
She asked softly, “When do you think you’ll have found someone?”
“Soon.”
Cole’s reply was vague.
Alana hesitated for a moment but decided not to press the issue.
After all, as long as he agreed to her resignation, asking more questions might make things awkward.
“Thank you. I’ll go back to work now.”
When Cole saw Alana about to turn and leave, his eyes darkened slightly, and
he asked, “Lana, you promised to bring your boyfriend to treat me to a meal, you haven’t kept that promise yet.”
Alana bit her lip, looking somewhat troubled. “I think it’s better if you two don’t meet.”
She recalled how he’d reacted strongly the last time she’d mentioned inviting Cole to dinner.
Moreover, when she had asked him if he’d be willing to go, he hadn’t agreed, clearly, he wasn’t interested.
So, bringing this up with Stephan again made her feel quite torn.
Cole stared intently at her face, as if he could see right through her inner reservations.
He smiled. “Are you worried I’ll make things difficult for him? Don’t worry, I won’t put him on a tight spot. I just want to confirm whether that man treats you well, that’s all.”
“It’s not for that reason. It’s...”
Cole fixed his gaze on her and pressed, “Then what is it? Because he’s too scared to see me?”
He had guessed her boyfriend was timid and cowardly, but he never imagined he
lacked even that much courage.
How could a man like that possibly be qualified to make her happy?
A strong sense of resentment welled up inside Cole, and he was tempted to impulsively urge her once again to break up with that man.
But... he forced himself to hold back.
Because he knew that no matter what he said now, she wouldn’t agree. It would only make their relationship even more awkward.
Alana immediately denied it, “It’s not for that reason...”
Cole tugged at the corner of his mouth, not taking her seriously; he simply assumed Alana was trying to protect her boyfriend’s laughable sense of dignity.
A man who needs his woman to help uphold his dignity was no better than a worthless piece of trash.
“If it’s not that, then what else could it be?”
“Well, I told you, he’s the jealous type and doesn’t like it when I mention other men...”
Hearing himself categorized as “another man,” Cole’s breathing grew slightly ragged. “Whatever the reason, this is what you agreed to from the start, isn’t it?”
Alana was at a loss for words and couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.
At the same time, she regretted it...why had she gone and made trouble for herself?
Sure enough, Stephan was right...her intentions were good, but he’d told her not to go.
Now she regretted going at all, she’d just been showing off.
You learn from your mistakes. Next time before doing a good deed, she’d better weigh her own capabilities first and not go in blindly only to end up with egg on her face.
Alana reluctantly agreed, “Well... all right, I’ll confirm the time with him.”
Cole nodded, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”
“I’ll head out now.”
“Alright.”
Alana couldn’t wait to leave.
Cole watched her retreating figure, his eyes behind his glasses shifting unpredictably.
He thought to himself: Since he couldn’t win her over, he would deal with her weak and incompetent boyfriend instead.
If that man took the initiative to break up with Alana, wouldn’t she then come back to him on her own?
If she were willing to come back to him, she wouldn’t be so fixated on quitting her job anymore.
*************
Alana returned to her desk, hesitating over how to broach the subject with Stephan. Should she bring it up directly, or hint at it subtly?
Should she bring it up now, or wait until she gets back?
But before she could reach a decision, Stephan sent her a message.
Stephan: [Sweetheart, I have a business dinner tonight and might be home a little late. Get some rest early.]
When Alana saw the message, her inner turmoil finally came to a resolution. He has a business dinner tonight, so he’s busy.
If he’s not available, there’s no point bringing it up. I’ll wait until he has time.
After making up her mind, Alana replied,
Alana: [Okay.]
After a moment’s hesitation, she added another line.
Alana: [Don’t drink too much, and come home early.]
Stephan received that first single “Okay” and wasn’t surprised.
After all, she was like this, her responses were typically robotic.
Getting even a single word back was already a sign of her utmost sincerity.
He’d looked into it, some men’s girlfriends were too lazy to even reply at all.
So, he should be content and not ask too much of his girlfriend.
See? A sensible boyfriend already knows how to give his girlfriend a way out.
An inconsiderate boyfriend, upon seeing such a robotic reply from his girlfriend, might even stir up trouble and make a few snide remarks.
See? He perfectly embodies the self-discipline of a qualified boyfriend. Stephan was just about to put his phone down after praising himself.
Suddenly, a new message popped up on the screen.
Upon reading the message, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.
Who said his girlfriend was a robot?
His girlfriend was clearly a warm-hearted and loving sweetheart!
**********
Tonight, Stephan had a business dinner, so Alana planned to cook herself some tomato and egg noodles to get by for dinner.
But she hadn’t expected that there were no tomatoes or eggs left in his fridge.
She realized that lately, he’d been doing most of the cooking and buying the groceries.
Living with him, she’d basically been freeloading, never having to worry about a thing, just eating, sleeping, and living it up.
She’d even put on a few pounds.
She had to admit that, lately, Stephan had been taking excellent care of her.
They say loving someone was like tending to a flower, and Stephan... wasn’t he, in a way, nurturing her just like a flower?
Alana smiled, closed the refrigerator, and got ready to head to the nearby grocery store to buy some groceries.
The supermarket was very close to the apartment, only about 500 meters away.
Since she was already at the supermarket, Alana didn’t want to skimp on herself. After picking out the vegetables she liked, she also grabbed some snacks.
Spotting a row of instant noodles, Alana instinctively picked up a few packs.
Mainly because she was sometimes too lazy to cook, so she’d just boil up some instant noodles for herself.
Although instant noodles weren’t very nutritious, they fill you up and are perfect for office workers.
However, she hadn’t eaten instant noodles since she started dating Stephan.
Oh well, she’d already picked them up. It was okay to switch things up every now and then, having a little now and then was fine. After all, instant noodles do smell and taste pretty good.
After picking and choosing, her shopping cart was almost full.
Alana pushed it over to the checkout counter to pay.
The cashier checked the total and said with a smile, “Hello, that comes to 1,380. Would you like to pay in cash or...”
Alana handed over her bank card. “Card.”
The cashier took her card and swiped it through the machine.
The card reader beeped.
The cashier swiped it several times, but the result was the same.
She looked at Alana. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but it shows here that your card has insufficient funds.”
Alana felt her face grow hot, so she pulled out another card from her purse and handed it to the cashier.
“Oh, sorry, I’ll use this one instead.”
The cashier tried swiping the other card, but it still showed an insufficient balance.”
Alana only had two cards, and she never expected both to have insufficient funds, it
was so embarrassing.
She remembered that she had spent too much money buying ties and those sexy
nightgowns for Stephan, leaving her with less than a thousand dollars on both bank cards.
The cashier smiled at her. “Miss, how would you like to pay?”
After all, there were people waiting in line behind her, so she couldn’t hold them up for too long.
Alana blushed. “Um, I’m really sorry. Just give me a few minutes, I...” Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around to find Darla standing there again.