The Apple of My Eye

"It was you, Charles! Why did you do that to me?" Mr. Xu was a smart man. He quickly realized that Charles had set him up.

As Charles approached him with a menacing look, Mr. Xu suddenly realized that something was wrong. When Charles spoke, it confirmed his rousing suspicion.

"I know you and my former secretary go way back. This project is quite big, so I was worried that you couldn't handle it alone. I thought maybe I could help with that. After giving it much thought, I've decided it's better if I handle this project, thus effectively replacing you," Charles said with an evil smile, leaving Mr. Xu speechless.

Mr. Xu didn't know what to do. This was the last thing he had expected. Charles was sneaky, and he didn't see it coming.

He had thought he beat Charles, and he couldn't believe that Charles was able to so quickly turn the tables on him. Now Charles was at the advantage while he was losing and being cornered. "Charles, how did you..."

"Okay, let's put an end to this now. Mr. Xu, we're going to take it from here. I've booked your flight for you. Just go home," David interrupted.

Mr. Xu helplessly sighed as he conceded, saying, "Okay, Charles! You win!" Then Mr. Xu turned and left the hotel.

Charles knew this fight was not over. Even if he was able to handle Mr. Xu now, he knew that the company was probably going to send someone else. Charles wouldn't let his guard down until then. Around half an hour after Mr. Xu had left, another representative arrived to negotiate with Charles.

The negotiations went well, but Charles was cautious throughout the entire process.

David knew he wasn't going to be of any help during the meeting, so he chose to wait outside the room.

At Cloud Advertising Company

Sheryl stayed in her office with Phoebe. There was so much to do that they'd worked overtime again.

"Mrs. Xia, how long do you still have to continue to work tonight?" Phoebe asked, casting Sheryl a keen look.

Sheryl immediately read what was on her mind. She figured Phoebe must have a date with Sean tonight. Phoebe wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be late for the date.

"I'm almost done. You can leave now if you want. It's fine!" Sheryl smiled. She kept her eyes on the screen as she responded to Phoebe.

Phoebe couldn't be happier. Before she left, she wanted to make sure that Sheryl would be able to finish the remaining workload alone. While she didn't like being late for her date, she thought work was more important. She didn't want to delay anything due to her personal matters.

"Really, Mrs. Xia? Are you sure you don't need me?" Phoebe checked before she left.

"Go, don't worry! If you don't leave now, won't you be late for your date with Sean?" Sheryl teased.

Phoebe didn't expect Sheryl to know she had a date tonight. She thought Sheryl would be too focused on her work to care about anything else. She was pleasantly surprised that Sheryl had cared enough to pay attention to her. Sheryl purposely allowed her to leave for this reason.

Half an hour after Phoebe had left, Sheryl was able to finish the work. She quickly cleaned up her desk before leaving.

As she headed to her car in the parking lot, she kept herself busy on her phone. She was a workaholic like that. Even if she was done with her work for the day, she still liked keeping herself busy. There was always work to be done anyway.

She took her eyes off the phone as she fished for her car keys. As she unlocked her car door, she sensed something off. She urgently turned to look around. While no one was around the area, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was following her.

Sheryl took a deep breath to calm herself down. She convinced herself that it was completely normal for women to be more alert, especially at night. As she opened her car door, she decided she was going to drive home as quickly as possible.

The instant she turned back, she saw a shadow behind her being reflected in the car window. She instantly felt scared, shivering in response. She was nervous as she didn't know what was going to happen. She cursed herself for not being careful enough.

Gathering her courage, she decided to turn and face the man. With a quick turn, she finally saw who it was.

She was amazed to find that it was no one else but Damian. He was holding a bouquet of flowers, grinning at her.

Sheryl was now both surprised and confused. She wasn't able to control herself, and she cried out loud. She hadn't expected this.

Sheryl didn't know what Damian had intended to do to her. Damian was just gazing at her, still grinning.

"What are you doing here?" Sheryl asked.

Damian's sudden appearance was a surprise to her. She hadn't expected he'd travel this far just to see her. "My business doesn't need much managing. I'm just staying at home now. Aren't you excited to see me?" "No, I didn't say that!" Sheryl quipped.

She was then reminded of the whole thing that had happened at the square. She couldn't help but think that it had something to do with Damian. She grew bashful upon realizing this. She lowered her head in embarrassment.

"What? Why? Why are you doing that?" Damian was quick to notice the change in Sheryl's behavior.

"Nothing. I'm fine!" Sheryl turned her face away from Damian.

As Sheryl turned her face away, Damian saw that Sheryl was flushing. He then understood what she must have been feeling. He didn't know what to do. For a moment, he felt as if he wanted to pull her into his

arms.

Damian then cleared this throat and asked, "Did you like the balloons in the square? I prepared that to surprise you!"

Sheryl's suspicions were confirmed. Her face reddened further.

Damian couldn't help but be amused at the sight of this.

"What are you laughing for? Anyway, I didn't expect you would do something like that. It's quite childish," Sheryl said simply.

"Did you think it was childish? I just wanted to give you a surprise!" Damian explained. He looked at Sheryl, beaming.

"Okay, well, it was definitely a surprise. I was quite shocked." Sheryl rolled her eyes as she spoke. Then she looked away from Damian's face.

Damian tried to change the topic as the awkwardness was only worsening. He said, "How are the kids? Are Clark and Shirley okay? I kind of miss them because I haven't seen them in a while."

"Well, they're fine, but I don't think they missed you back." Sheryl was purposely keeping her words uncensored.

Sheryl and Damian hadn't been friends for too long, but they had still gotten quite close in the short time they knew each other.

"Sheryl, why are you treating me like this? Don't be so cold to me. I want the Sheryl I used to know..." Damian pretended to be heartbroken, placing his hand over his chest. Sheryl couldn't help but chuckle.

"Okay, fine. You win. I was just making fun of you, but that thing that you did really pissed me off!"

"Let's have dinner tonight. It will be my peace offering. My way of apologizing. I already know a nice place," Damian offered.

Sheryl couldn't refuse. Damian was already here, so she had no choice but to agree.

Sheryl saw Damian as a sincere and reliable man. She was grateful that she had met him. When she had left the country, he always accompanied her so that she wouldn't be lonely.

"Are you sure? Aren't you new here? I should pick where we could go since I'm the one who lives here," Sheryl countered.

"All right, that sounds better," Damian agreed lightheartedly. His eyes were expectant, wondering where Sheryl was going to take him.

This was the first time that they were going to eat together in the city, so Sheryl knew she needed to pick a nice place. She racked her mind trying to come up with an idea. She decided to go to a western restaurant since that was what Damian was used to.

As soon as she'd decided on the restaurant, they got into the car and drove off.

Soon, they arrived at their destination.

After ordering their food, Sheryl handed the menu back to the waiter. When she turned to look at Damian, who was sitting across from her, she found him staring at her.