To the Love of My Life

Fortunately, Steve returned to the city a bit early. When he arrived at the company’s underground parking lot, the radio in the car was reporting the traffic conditions, announcing that the road he had just taken was jam-packed with traffic.

Ordinarily, Pristine’s Enterprises starts work at ten o’clock, and Steve would typically arrive around nine fifty-five. As a result, the receptionist was unable to hide her surprise when she saw Steve stepping into the company at exactly nine o five. Nonetheless, she quickly stood up, respectfully greeting him with, “Good morning, Mr. Burton.”

Steve offered her a slight nod before boarding the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed, one of the front desk girls whispered gossipy, “Isn’t tomorrow Mr. Burton’s engagement day? Why is he at the company today?”

It wasn’t just the front desk who was confused, even Ms. Taylor, the secretary-general, hesitated for a moment before standing up to greet Steve when she saw him walk into the office.

Steve didn’t even wait for her to finish speaking; instead, he tossed a statement—”Send today’s schedule to my office”—and walked straight into his office.

Schedule? He had an engagement party with Ruby Gregory tomorrow, what kind of schedule could he have arranged for today?

Ms. Taylor anxiously stamped her foot, and after making several calls, finally managed to arrange an engagement for Steve before walking into his office.

The appointment was scheduled for twelve o’clock noon, a meeting with the CEO of a multinational corporation.

In the three hours before, Steve had nothing to do. He had been up all night, but showed no signs of fatigue. He stood alone in front of the French windows in his office, zoning out as he stared out for an hour and a half. During that time, Ms. Taylor entered once. Despite knocking for quite long, she received no response, so she quietly pushed open the door. Seeing Steve standing there motionlessly, not even blinking his eyes, she chose not to disturb him and left quietly.

At ten forty, Steve heads to the bedroom in his office where he bathes, changes his clothes, and then leaves his office to go to his appointment with the car keys in hand.

The CEO had been collaborating with Steve for three to four years, and they became good friends irrespective of their age difference. The CEO initially lived in Costa Luna, but he recently moved the head office back to Ciawell after spending a lot of money. In his words, he called it “returning to one’s roots.”

The CEO invited Steve to meet him at the Courtyard House he just purchased. He and his wife had personally prepared the meal. Despite having stayed abroad for many years, the meal the CEO prepared had an authentic Chinese taste, and in celebration, the CEO also opened a bottle of fine wine that he had been storing for half his lifetime.

Throughout the meal, the CEO and Steve did all the talking while the CEO’s wife remained mostly silent. She stayed nearby, bustling about to serve the two of them and didn’t allow any servants to intervene. Finally, the CEO gently patted his wife’s hand, asking her kindly to go rest. But she didn’t move, instead quietly telling him to drink less alcohol.

The interaction between the CEO and his wife was minimal, yet it was evident to observers the harmony and happiness in their relationship.

Watching this scene, a sense of envy unexpectedly surfaced in Steve’s heart. He raised his wine glass and gave a toast to the CEO, “Mr. Lawson and Mrs. Lawson’s relationship really is remarkable.”