Still, Toby did ont enjoy being mobbed. Furthermore, these people clamoring around him were there with specific intentions.
Their eyes were filled with ambition and sparkled with greed, which increased his disgust.
He knew why these people came forward to greet him.
After all, it was fine to have the intention to ascend the social ladder, but the problem was that these people were completely ignorant to one's mood and they could not seem to tell that he was fairly annoyed.
How dare they continue to mob me and chatter incessantly!
These people tried to introduce themselves or their company's products to him to try and pique his interest so that he would invest in their products or collaborate with them. They hoped to be able to make use of his influence to work their way up the social ladder. They're too greedy!
If he had encountered any of these people by chance any other day, he might have some interest in their elevator pitch.
As the chairman and president of Fuller Group, he never looked down upon any person and he clearly knew that a lot of the smaller companies had great potential. As such, he never refused the idea to collaborate with any smaller companies. After all, Fuller Group started out as a tiny workshop.
As such, he found it normal for the bosses of such small companies to wish to foster ties with him and build up a connection, seeing that it was normal for them to wish to grab hold of an opportunity. This was essentially a chance for them to push for the development of their company. If he actually discovers any company with potential, then he would be willing to give the other party a chance. Therefore, it would be a win-win situation for both parties.
However, he disliked the fact that these people were bothering him during his personal time while he was trying to rest; they did not seem to possess basic decency either. Can't they tell that I'm busy spending time with my wife?
Despite his utter annoyance with these people, he did not flare up at them nor get them to leave. This was Bayside Residence after all and it was Sonia's property. It was also a present from Henry when Sonia turned eighteen. Even if Sonia would move away from here to stay somewhere else with him in the future, the apartment would still remain nevertheless. He was worried that if he took action against these people, they would carry a grudge and do something to Sonia's apartment. After all, he could not exactly make sure that everything was well-sorted despite his capabilities, since he was not lawless.
As such, in order to ensure the good condition of Sonia's apartment—which was the final gift Henry left for Sonia—he had no choice but to stifle his frustrations and collect each of the name cards handed over by these people, despite his reluctance. Finally, it was their turn to pay at the counter, so he managed to get away from these people.
Naturally, they utilized the delivery services of the grocery store to get their groceries delivered home, so they walked back to the apartment empty-handed.
Well… They were not exactly empty-handed because they were holding onto each other's hand.
For Toby, just a simple act of holding her felt like he had the entire world in his hand.
"Earlier on, you did that because of me, right?" Suddenly, Sonia lifted her head and asked as she kept her eyes on the stars in the sky.
Toby paused momentarily and soon regained his composure as he chuckled lightly in response. "What do you mean?"
She turned to shoot a silent look from the side of her eyes at him. "Yeah, sure, keep up this facade. Just keep it up. Earlier on at the store, there were many people who recognized you and handed their name cards to you. You clearly looked annoyed and impatient, but you suppressed yourself and didn't get them to leave. This isn't how you normally behave."
"Oh?" Toby chuckled slightly. "Then, how do I normally behave?"
Sonia beamed and asked, "Is this a test for me?"
He nodded slightly. "I just want to find out how well you know me."
At that moment, she snorted. "Well, I reckon I know you very well. If you had behaved as the normal you, then you would have asked those people to leave impatiently. After all, you're not the type to tolerate things silently. You would only do that when you have something you're concerned about. Of course, you won't be concerned about yourself because you'd have no qualms about getting them to leave and offending them. You wouldn't be afraid that they'd seek revenge and take action against you because they wouldn't have the guts to go after you anyway. Besides, they are no match for you. So, I would be the only reason for your concern. That's because we're the only two here. As for the second reason, well…"
She casually lifted her hand and put up two fingers as she shook them.
Her slender fingers appeared much fairer under the lit-up night scene and it looked much prettier.
Toby could not take his eyes off her upon seeing her fingers and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Continue on…"
Sonia put down her hand and smiled. "Well, since you said that it was because of your concern for me that you didn't ask those people to leave, then the second reason would be quite simple, of course. This is where I'm staying and you're usually much busier than I am. Furthermore, there will be times when you'll have to sleep at Fuller Group and not return, so I'd be the only one to come back here. You're afraid that they would target me instead of you. After all, despite your capabilities, you wouldn't be able to cover all the bases, so that's why you chose to tolerate them."
Toby's expression mellowed as he reached out to ruffle her hair. "You're smart. What would you like as a reward?"
Sonia removed his hand from her head. "I don't want a reward from you. It's always the same old thing."
At that moment, there was a glint across Toby's eyes. "Oh? What do you mean by the same old thing? Why aren't you being more specific?"
Sonia noticed the wicked smile on his face and she could not help pulling a long face as she patted him lightly on his shoulders. "Toby, that's enough there! You get what I mean! Why are you forcing me to say it out loud?"
The man chuckled lightly and he was clearly in good spirits.
He continued to smile and finally pursed his lips before coughing lightly. "Your deductions are spot on and I was indeed concerned about all those that you mentioned. That's why I accepted the name cards from those people. I could choose to ignore them, of course, and I wouldn't be worried about offending them and facing the consequences of their revenge. However, it's a different story if you were involved. If I was by your side, then they wouldn't dare to do anything to you, but we're two separate individuals and each of us has our own life. I can't stay by your side at all times and I can't bring you everywhere with me either. That's why it would be the perfect opportunity for those men to target you if I wasn't around. I will never underestimate anyone, especially small fries like them."
As soon as Toby mentioned that, his expression changed slightly. As he looked at the road in front, his expression turned more somber. "Small fries tend to scheme more than others of higher positions because those at a higher position tend to think highly of themselves, so they would turn their noses at using schemeful methods to achieve their goals. However, small fries usually start out from a lowly position and they would always use underhanded tactics to achieve their goal. This is how they survive."
"I get that." Sonia nodded. "That's because the resources are usually limited and are usually controlled by people at higher positions. Those people at a lower position would need to scheme and plot just to snatch the resources from the people at the higher pyramid."
"Exactly. That's why those small fries tend to be much harder to deal with compared to those with higher positions. Besides, they would very easily take an extreme stance when faced with people of higher positions. That's because they realize that they might not have a chance of winning if they competed fairly. So most of the time, in order to vent their anger and seek revenge against the other party, the small fries would choose to sacrifice themselves to bring the other party down. That's how a person without any care in the world would act."
Sonia heaved a sigh. "It would be worthwhile for them if they managed to bring down someone of a higher position. That's what I've heard in my social circles."
"That's why, for your safety, I would have to consider more and suppress myself," said Toby solemnly as he glanced at Sonia.
At that moment, Sonia felt a warm fuzzy feeling well up within her. At the same time, she felt slightly bad on his behalf. She tightened her grip on his hands slightly and glanced at him. "I'm sorry."
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Same story i read about Jarred and Amber Reed...