“Does Mr. Nelson know that person on the card or are you interested in her?” The customer relations supervisor leaned forward to pick up the documents and the invitation card. The card was given to her by her friend and she unknowingly placed it with the documents that she brought with her to the meeting. In her carelessness, she dropped the documents and Matthew happened to see the card and asked out of curiosity.
She held the documents close to her chest and held the invitation card for a couple of seconds before giving it to Matthew, “I’m already married and I can’t possibly wear a bridal gown again. What if I see a beautiful bridal gown? I might be forced to look for a new husband. Perhaps I should give this invitation card to you, Mr. Nelson.”
As the supervisor of the customer relations department, she was particularly sensitive to a person’s expressions and gestures. Although Matthew did not express that he wanted the invitation card, she could sense that he was interested in the person in the picture on the card. Otherwise, he would not have hesitated.
Matthew reached out and accepted it graciously, “Thanks.”
The supervisor was a middle-aged woman in her forties with short-cropped hair and dressed professionally. She followed him into his office and curiously asked, “Mr. Nelson, do you know her?”
Could he have a new squeeze? The previous woman who he spoke about to the office staff did not resemble that lady on the card.
“Why are you so interested in my private matters?” Matthew said nonchalantly as he glanced at her.
The supervisor smiled and said mischievously, “All women are equally curious. However, Mr. Nelson had been treating me like one of the chaps.” Thereafter she returned to her seat. Matthew never differentiated his staff based on their gender. He based his tasks assignment based on the staff’s abilities. Matthew seemed to be lost in his thoughts as he looked at the lady dressed in red cheongsam featured in the invitation card.
The doctor sent him pictures of Theresa after she recovered from the cosmetic surgery. Although she no longer looked like her former self, he could still recognize her after close inspection of the photograph. He lost track of Theresa after she left the hospital but he guessed that she must have been staying with Dolores. Although there was no trace of Dolores in the invitation card, he was certain that Dolores must be somehow involved.
After instructing Abbott to take the invitation card to his office, he took his seat and started the meeting.
The top executives of the top ten ranked companies sat uneasily in their places. Each meeting with Matthew felt torturous. They were worried that they would misspeak and upset the boss. The grueling meeting could drag on for hours.
Matthew would maintain a very stern expression throughout the meeting, causing them to second guess themselves as if they had done something wrong. Even if they had performed their tasks to perfection, it could not even elicit a smile from him.
However, unlike in the past, he had started to praise them if they had done a good job. In the past, he would berate unreservedly if the person had not performed the task to his satisfaction. The top executives were also contented and prayed for the meeting to end as soon as possible. They all had the feeling that they just wanted to quickly escape from that meeting.
The current meeting lasted a couple of hours. Matthew left the conference room with Abbott following closely behind and reminded him, “You have a lunch appointment with Mr. Tyrone at the Moon Restaurant. At three this afternoon, you have a meeting with Mr. Webb to discuss the merger. You have a charity event at eight this evening. Do you want me to find someone to attend the event with you tonight?”
Events like this were attended by couples. Some would bring their secretaries while others would bring their wives. People who attend such charity events were society elites who utilize such occasions to network and would inevitably talk about business dealings.
Matthew was slim and athletic. With one hand in his pocket and the other hand undoing his collar, he said, “Attend the charity on my behalf.” No one would say anything so long as the money had been donated.
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