Chapter 145: Chapter 145: Stealing My Brother’s Girl
Sean Bell: "Sometimes, I even wonder if there’s something wrong with your eyesight."
Thea Lynch: "..."
"But, the fact that you’re able to ask me so bluntly shows you truly don’t like me."
"I was just curious." Thea still left him some dignity. After all, they’ve both secretly liked someone before; she understood that feeling.
Sean laughed, "Oh, come on. If you even liked me a little, you wouldn’t ask like that. You just have to look at how you act with Silas."
"You can go roundabout and ask about me, about your second brother, but you’ve never directly asked about your third brother."
"That’s what liking someone is, that’s what curiosity is."
"You don’t need to explain, I get what you mean. I’m a grown man; I don’t need you to comfort me. Besides, I never thought about being with you from the start."
"To be blunt, even if you liked me now and wanted to be with me, even if you kneeled and begged, I wouldn’t agree."
"..." Thea choked on her breath; this topic was quite sensitive initially, still a bit awkward to discuss. But Sean’s interjection left her speechless.
"Don’t think I’m joking, I’m telling the truth."
Sean took off his glasses, wiped them while speaking seriously: "Ever since I first liked you, I never thought about being with you. Otherwise, I’d have made a move long ago."
"But, thinking carefully, even if I had gotten together with you before Silas, knowing his cunning nature, he’d probably still try to undermine his own brother."
"Tsk, his lovesick mind might even do something for love like being the third wheel."
"Don’t say, thinking about it, it’s quite thrilling."
As soon as he finished speaking, he got a kick on his leg.
A solid shoe print was stamped on his dress pants.
Sean didn’t even flinch, almost expecting her to kick him.
"Now I can’t even speak honestly?"
Thea hugged her arms, giving him a sidelong glance: "For your ’honesty’ to count, you need to speak sensibly."
Sean was left speechless and didn’t know what to say.
——
Thea had been staying at her family’s place these past few days, as was Sean.
Uncle Joe and Aunty Qing had to return to work, they couldn’t stay long, so they took a flight back the next afternoon.
Before boarding, Aunty Qing hugged Thea tightly, "Auntie’s waiting for the good news about you and Liam."
"Ah?" Thea froze.
How did Aunty Qing know?
Aunty Qing smiled at her, "Before we came, your uncle and I were worried about you. Thinking about how much you liked your second brother as a child, if you agreed, we’d let you both settle down first. Someone always needs to take care of you."
"..." Indeed, Thea’s guess was right.
Before she could say anything, Aunty Qing gestured for her to wait and continued, "But now I don’t have that thought anymore."
"I privately asked your second brother, and he said that you like someone. Plus, you didn’t directly answer my question in the car, but neither did you refuse. After thinking it over, if you didn’t have anyone, with your personality, you’d be honest."
"Being so secretive, it’s likely there’s something going on. Along with your second brother’s words, I’ve completely dismissed that idea."
"Then how did you know... it’s Silas?"
"You’re too obvious," Aunty Qing poked her chest, "your thoughts are written all over your face."
"That’s not true." Thea denied.
Aunty Qing chuckled, "You and Sean have no reservations; you don’t change when talking about your fourth brother’s blind dates. But when I chat with your aunt about Liam’s recent happenings, you pay extra attention."
Thea: "..."
"Rest assured, Aunty Qing hasn’t told anyone. It’s a good thing." Aunty Qing held her hand, "Auntie is thrilled that Thea has someone she likes. I’ll definitely keep it a secret and wait for your happy news."
——
On the way back, Thea asked Sean, "Was it really so obvious?"
Sean, having overheard their conversation, shrugged at her words, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Thea didn’t say more.
In the evening, Thea received a call from Silas Cheney.
Because of the time difference, Silas had only found time to call her back now.
"Just listen to the old man’s words casually, whatever you do, don’t take them seriously."
"Don’t worry, I know."
"That’s good." Silas half-jokingly, half-seriously said, "You have no idea, your third brother almost wanted to fall out with me."
Thea changed the topic, "Did you see the email?"
"Oh, that? I saw it. I discussed it with Mr. Gao; we’ll follow your plan."
"Then let the vice president proceed as I initially planned; I won’t separately discuss this matter with him."
Silas readily agreed, "Alright. I’ll call him later."
"Next time the old man contacts you about anything, just directly refuse and have him talk to me."
"Okay." Thea switched hands holding the phone, "It’s understandable from Grandpa’s perspective."
"Sigh." Silas sighed, "He’s just worried about nothing now."
Even though he said that, Silas understood the reasoning.
He knew Grandpa was doing it for his good.
The next morning, Thea noticed the assistant hadn’t come yet.
Just as she was about to ask, she suddenly glanced at the calendar on the table.
Right, the school anniversary.
Originally he asked for one day off, but she called him yesterday and changed it to two days.
Anyway, he was about to leave Stratus soon, one day or two days made no difference to Thea.
She agreed offhandedly.
"Foreman Lynch!" Foreman Chandler’s assistant temporarily came to help her.
"Is there anything you need me to do here?"
"Not for now. You can go help Foreman Chandler; I’ll call you if anything comes up."
"Okay."
Thea scrolled through her WeChat list to find the manager of the HR department.
The other party had already received some news earlier, so wasn’t surprised that Thea contacted her.
However, given orders from above, she didn’t dare to pry. Whatever Thea said was what she’d follow.
"Help me find a new assistant."
"Does Foreman Lynch have any specific requirements?"
The same question had been asked by the manager before. The answer Thea had given previously was that she had no requirements.
This time, she hesitated a little, "Fresh graduates, no school restrictions. I’ll personally interview them. Please, as soon as possible."
HR Manager: "Got it!"
At lunch in the cafeteria, when Thea returned after getting her food, she found her spot taken.
Her water cup was placed in the opposite seat.
Thea calmly sat down opposite and silently ate her meal.
Through the whole process, the woman across did nothing but blatantly stared at her, her gaze lingering on Thea’s face.
With a hint of scrutiny.
Thea put down her chopsticks halfway, clasped her hands, resting her chin on them, her clear eyes staring directly at the person: "Did no elders in your family ever tell you that staring at someone like this is very rude?"
"Your presence here is affecting my appetite."
