There were two framed photos on John's office desk. One was a family photo of him, Nina, and their children, and the other was a collage of small ones of him and Nina.
Caroline had taken many photos of them together, and John kept all of them.
He deliberately placed the framed photos at the upper right corner of his desk. Every time he looked up, he saw them, and he could reach out his hand and touch them.
Whenever he saw their photos, John would be in a good mood. It freaked him out at first, seeing himself grin, but now he was used to it.
He had grown so accustomed to smiling that he would occasionally greet and smile at his employees, which scared the hell out of them.
To them, he looked more frightening when he smiled.
But Amy kept calm. She knew the reason of her boss's recent changes of heart, although she had to admit that it worried her a little.
She watched as John took another glance at the photos and smiled again.
"Mr. Shi, Victor, Tim's assistant, wants to see you. He said that Tim sent him to make a deal with you."
The smile on John's face suddenly vanished. "Make a deal? What kind of deal? I don't want to see him."
"Yes, sir." When John did not say anything more, Amy bowed slightly and turned around to leave. Then he suddenly called out to her. "Fine. Send him in."
John knitted his brows and immersed himself deeply in thought. Tim had been keeping his distance from him during the past couple of years. Now he suddenly wanted to make a deal. There must be some kind of plot underneath it all.
He decided to figure out what deal it was.
A few minutes later, John heard footsteps approaching and a man talking incessantly. It must be Victor who kept asking Amy endless questions.
Amy had learned a lot of things from John, and one of those things was not to respond to strange chatterboxes like Victor. Amy ignored him the entire time, which angered Victor so much that he called her a mute.
That was when Amy decided that she had had enough and said her first words to Victor. "Go in by yourself."
"Do I even need your help?" Victor replied arrogantly and swaggered into John's office.
As soon as he saw the cold-faced CEO sitting at his desk, Victor immediately switched to a neutral facial expression. He might be standing in the presence of a very powerful man, but he had no respect for him.
He only had respect for Tim, the man who had given him a second chance at life.
"Mr. Shi, Mr. Shen wants to make a deal with you." Without beating around the bush, Victor continued, "He wants an invitation to your wedding, and in return, he will give you the specific date, time, and place of Vivian's deal."
John kept still in his seat with half his expressionless face rendered warm by daylight bouncing off his skin. If he had been stunned by Victor's bluntness, he did not show it.
With narrowed eyes, he looked him up and down.
Victor was displeased to see that John did not seem to be moved by what he just said. "It's a great thing to make a deal with Mr. Shen. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain here. Do you have any idea how many people want Mr. Shen to be a witness to their wedding?
It's an honor, and he won't eat or drink much at the banquet. Anyway, just let me know whether you agree or not. I have to return with something." Without waiting for John's reply, Victor casually strode in and sat on the sofa.
The quality of the sofa startled him. It was soft but firm, like sitting on an upholstered cloud. Victor leaned back and made himself comfortable, completely ignoring John.
Tim did not care about human life, and he was not afraid of him. Why would he be scared of John?
"Your sofa is so comfortable and beautiful, Mr. Shi. Where did you get it? I may get one for Mr. Shen."
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