Chapter 160: Chapter 161: Follow Your Heart
"..."
Thea Lynch wanted to explain but didn’t know how to start.
Her ears turned red, and she finally gave up arguing, just turned her head to look out of the window and "played dead."
"Hey, hey, hey." Silas Cheney poked her shoulder, "Come on, are you mad already?"
Everyone says Sean Bell is the one always asking for trouble, but Thea felt Simon Cheney wasn’t any better; they both were troublesome.
Especially like certain male classmates in her class back in school, deliberately making girls cry and then saying, "Crying over this? What’s there to cry about?"
Just thinking about it made Thea want to hit someone.
"Alright, alright, just joking with you." Silas apologized and quickly comforted her, "Let’s change the topic."
"I’ll call Ian Preston now, listen carefully."
Thea pretended not to hear, closed her eyes, and started to sleep.
Silas knew she was pretending, but didn’t wake her up. He lowered his head, found Ian Preston’s number, dialed it, and turned on the speaker.
The phone system ringtone rang, and while Thea appeared uninterested, she was acutely aware of exactly how many seconds the ringtone lasted.
Her attention was always on the phone.
The call was connected at the thirteenth second.
"Back already?" Ian was the first to speak.
"Hey, hey, Silas here, I just got off the plane." Silas was about to say Thea picked her up, but the next second, he swallowed the words, changing to: "The company sent a car to pick me up."
"Still on the way to the company now."
After exchanging pleasantries, Silas got straight to the point, "Ian, are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner, I’ll invite Thea’s brother and Sean Bell."
"Is Thea available?" Ian asked.
Silas clicked his tongue, "Look at you, only caring about her. So what’s it gonna be, if Thea’s not available, you won’t come?"
Knowing Silas was kidding, Ian played along with a "Hmm." This prompted Silas to teasingly jab a bit more.
His words were of no consequence to Ian.
But it was a different story for Thea.
Silas joked recklessly beside her, and Thea’s cheeks grew hotter and hotter. Finally unable to bear it, she raised her hand and forcefully hammered Silas’s knee.
"Ouch!"
Silas glared at her, this lady sure knew where to strike.
"What’s happening over there?" Ian keenly sensed someone was with him.
"Oh, just my secretary accidentally stepped on my foot." Silas was quick to lie, needing no draft at all, it came off effortlessly.
"So, it’s settled then, I’ll send you the location later. I’m almost at the office, just in time to see Thea."
After hanging up, Silas snapped his fingers, "Piece of cake."
"First step accomplished; now onto step two." Silas patted the partition, "Old Gao, not going back to the office, head to SKP."
"?" Thea opened her eyes, "What are we going there for? I still have to go back to the office to do data work."
"What data work?" Silas’s mouth twitched, "All that talk earlier for nothing, apparently."
"You tell me why we’re going first."
Thea had a bad feeling.
Silas sighed helplessly, took a deep breath to calm himself, and then explained:
"Of course, to pick out a battle outfit for you!"
"?" Thea frowned.
"Surely you’re not planning to wear your work outfit to the date."
"I admit, you’re naturally beautiful, you’d look good even in a sack, but a little sense of occasion is necessary."
"Though Sean Bell had other intentions, he picked out that red dress for you last time, and it really was quite nice. You stole the spotlight upon entry."
"I’m just going for dinner, why wear a gown?"
Silas was speechless, "You truly are my silly apprentice. Going for dinner? You’re going on a date!"
Thea took a deep breath, "No need to be so dressed up."
This appearance would be immediately seen through by Ian Preston, wouldn’t it?
It’s not like it’s been years; Silas only went abroad for a few days, just having a meal for a simple gathering, not some grand banquet. Who wears a trailing gown for dinner with friends?
Ridiculous.
"Overly meticulous dressing reveals all intentions to everyone." Thea said softly.
"True." Silas touched his chin, thought for a few seconds, "Then let’s pick a more casual outfit, no styling needed, just light makeup. That’s fine, right?"
"Appearing less deliberate."
Ten minutes later, Thea followed Silas into the mall.
She hadn’t been out shopping for a while, and during work hours, she felt guilty.
Ultimately, the outfit was entirely Silas’s choice.
During that time, Thea tried to offer some opinions, but they were all rejected.
"Perfect, all done." Silas looked satisfied, as though he’d just closed a billion-dollar deal. "Tonight, follow my lead, wear this."
"Now onto step three."
"Another one?" Thea checked the time; she really needed to hurry back to the office. "I have a meeting in half an hour."
This was genuinely no excuse.
"No rush, we’ll talk on the way."
"..." Thea ultimately couldn’t escape.
Step three, as Silas mentioned, was merely verbally imparting some "art of speaking."
Summed up, it was really one phrase: Follow your heart.
"I’ve taught you all I can here, tonight the rest is up to you, my apprentice." He patted her shoulder with faux seriousness.
Anyone would think he’d just given her some exclusive secret technique.
"Digest it well this afternoon, huh."
——
Back at the office, Thea hurried but still ended up five minutes late.
Fortunately, it was a departmental meeting, with no outsiders present.
Her absence meant Foreman Chandler naturally took charge. Seeing her enter, Foreman Chandler gestured to her, they exchanged briefly, and then Foreman Chandler stepped down, leaving the floor to Thea.
"The main content of this meeting, everyone should have heard Foreman Chandler talk about it just now. Next, I’ll elaborate on the major issues within the department recently."
"Recently, personnel changes have been quite frequent, which is normal. Most here are not new to the workplace, this is understood. But I still want to remind everyone, I welcome any emotions or opinions towards myself."
"But I hope everyone understands not to bring these negative emotions into the work."
"If uncomfortable, you can always request a transfer through HR, it’s not necessary to go through me, just see Foreman Chandler. Stratus’s R&D department is extensive, I wish everyone finds a team well-suited to them."
"Additionally, regarding resigning employees, I hope everyone respects the company’s disciplinary results. I won’t interfere with your private dealings, but please mind your words and actions."
"Also, there’s a temporary announcement, next week there’s an international intellectual summit, Foreman Leigh and your assistant, please prepare to travel with me."
