Cary couldn't resist letting out a laughter. Anyway, it was undeniable.
Though Donna's words were polite enough, Susan could tell from the surprise in her eyes that Donna believed she was not a fine match for Cary.
This was the first time that Susan had been aware of the facts about Cary that she hadn't noticed before. She used to recognize him as an idle man. Now, he struck her as some sort of rich and successful man. Abruptly, she felt lowly about herself, for she had totally misunderstood him. She never noticed the gap between them.
'He is such a wealthy man, born in a rich family. Why would he waste his precious time on a nobody like me?' Susan couldn't help feeling a little more inferior with this thought.
Donna seemed to perceive the subtle change on Susan's face. She was afraid that her words would hurt her unintentionally, so she added, "Susan must be a very thoughtful and caring girl with many virtues to get your attention. I just hope my son could marry a girl like her one day. I would be more than happy if that would come true."
She smiled at Susan and then looked back at Cary. "Anyway, you do have a good eye for girls."
"Aunt Donna, please don't talk like that." Cary felt pleased with most of Donna's comments, and joked, "If you continue to speak highly of her, this girl will gather too much cockiness."
In mild irritation, Susan patted Cary on his back to let him shut up. "Stop talking that kind of nonsense," she said in a bashful tone.
The scene of this couple teasing each other was such a satisfying sight for Donna. She was almost lost in thought when she remembered her son. Her expression suddenly turned gloomy as she ended up comparing them.
"Oh, Aunt Donna." Beyond the casual chat, Cary finally found an opportunity to state his purpose. He explained in between smiles, "I actually came here today to ask you a favor. It's more of a personal request. Hope you can help me with that."
"What kind of personal request is it?" Donna was a little surprised he needed her help. She was a bit curious to hear about it, but cautious at the same time. She thought to herself that as a senior, she should behave generously in front of a junior. "What is it exactly?" she repeated. "You and George were schoolmates, so I've always regarded you as my own son. Just tell me and I will try my best to give you a hand."
Cary felt more than happy to hear that. He immediately seized his chance. "Given that you agreed to help me, let me be straightforward. Aunt Donna, I came here today for Susan's sake. Believe it or not, by a strange twist of fate, the paths George and I have taken often crossed. We used to be schoolmates, and now Susan is working as a staff in George's company."
"Oh, Really?!" Donna got really surprised so she commented, "What a coincidence!"
After that, she remained silent. She attentively looked at Cary and waited for him to continue.
"Okay, here is the thing. Susan and I are coming to a point where we are planning to get married. I have put a lot of thoughts into her present job in terms of our future. She has been a model in George's company for so many years. But I suggest she shouldn't do that job anymore and she agrees. So I am trying to help her quit her job. However, the problem is that she has signed an agreement to work for several years. I have talked to George about her resignation and asked him to help us cancel the contract."
Cary paused for a while to steady the pace of his speech, in order to make himself clearer. "Surely, I've promised him that we would pay the full amount of penalty to terminate the contract. You should know that I have no intention to make this difficult, and that nor we want to take this to court. Considering that George and I have always gotten along pretty well, I was sure that he wouldn't disagree with me."
Hearing this, Donna seemed to know where the story was leading to, but she was still unsure.
"Do you mean that he refused your request in the end? But why?" she finally asked.
"What he said was," Cary answered with a helpless smile, "he couldn't help me since Holley is in charge of it. He claimed that there was nothing he could do to help me about the contract without her permission. I could barely find another way if he couldn't help me. In the last resort, I decided to turn to you for help, and hoped that you could help me to persuade Holley."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Real Wedded Bride