Chapter 579 Each to His Own Thoughts
It was only after Tom went out to prepare some tea that those collaborators resumed their conversation.
Among them was someone who asked, “President Reed, you came in earlier with Tom, no? Was it just a coincidence, or was he waiting for you?”
Since Sonia was befuddled by his question, she gave an honest answer. “He was waiting for me.”
Silence befell them once again the moment they heard this as their gazes turned into fear while they watched her.
Throughout this period of time, they had heard through the grapevine that Toby was showing obvious signs of pursuing his ex-wife once more.
As it wasn’t the first time that they had heard this rumor, they all treated it as mere gossip and ignored it.
After all, in the past, they all saw how Toby had neglected his own wife and was instead head over heels for the girl from the Gray Family.
So, how could they believe that he wanted to reconcile with Sonia once again?
Even if his ex-wife had managed to obtain a share in the renewable energy project, it would most likely be due to her own luck, and not because of Toby’s influence in the matter.
However, they now had no choice but to believe what was laid in front of them.
After all, Tom was Toby’s personal assistant and in the giant corporation that was Fuller Group, only Toby had the power to order Tom around. If not for Toby’s order, why would Tom be so gracious as to wait and escort Sonia to the meeting?
This in itself illustrated how serious Toby was when it came to his ex-wife as he had even sent his own personal assistant to her.
Otherwise, why didn’t Toby just send a random person to bring her up, like how he had done for them?
From the looks of it, they could no longer underestimate her or her company, Paradigm Co, from today onward.
If they did so, all of them would be at the risk of offending the Fuller Family.
Perhaps, proactively supporting Paradigm Co. was something they could try to do. It could bring a smile to Toby’s lips and therefore create more opportunities for future collaborations.
The CEOs looked at each other and realized that they all shared the same thought.
Not knowing and not wanting to be interested in what their thoughts were, Sonia opened her own notebook and waited for the meeting to start.
After a while, instead of Toby, it was Tom who made his way into the room with a tray of tea.
Tom placed the cups of tea brewed from high quality leaves in front of each and everyone. In the end, when he arrived in front of Sonia, he set the remaining cup of black tea as well as a piece of cake in front of her.
This action by Tom caused everyone in the meeting room to fall speechless once again.
First, they lowered their heads to look at the green tea in front of them before fixing their gazes on Sonia’s black tea with twitching eyes. Why is this different yet again?
Yet, they had to accept the fact that maybe Sonia had preferred black tea since she was a woman. What is with the cake, though? Why is she only having it while we get nothing? This is blatant favoritism!
Forget the disgruntled CEOs, even Sonia was made somewhat awkward by the sight.
Tom’s extra care was throwing her into a tight spot at that moment.
“Tom, I don’t think I want the cake.” Sonia then pushed the plate forward, hinting at him to take it back.
Of course, Tom couldn’t just take the plate of cake back. After he adjusted his glasses, he glanced at everybody in the room with a dark expression before he explained, “Miss Reed, this cake was specially prepared for you by President Fuller, so please don’t disappoint him. I think our esteemed guests would not mind the slight preferential treatment. After all, the rumors that have been circulating around have clearly illustrated to everyone here why the president cares a lot for you, Miss Reed.”
“Yes, of course we know.”
When they heard what Tom said, all of the CEOs could only nod in response as they were aware that it was secretly a warning from Tom.
A frowning Sonia then clarified, “Rumors? What kind of rumors?”
Tom gave a mysterious smile before replying, “If you want to know, Miss Reed, you can wait until the meeting ends and find out for yourself. Alright, everyone, I have to head over and see whether the president is now free or not. If he is, then he will be coming over soon. If not, I’m afraid I’ll have to implore you all to wait a bit more.”
After stating his piece, he then made his move.
Once he left, the meeting room became noisier than a market.
Some of the CEOs even gossiped and asked, “President Reed, is it true that you have reconciled with President Fuller?”
“What?” The black tea in Sonia’s hand nearly spilled out of the cup as her hands trembled.
She decided not to drink it and placed the cup aside before she observed her curious companions. Then, she shook her head and waved her hand. “Why would you all ask things that aren’t even true?”
“Everyone in the industry has been talking about this. They are all saying that the president is courting you,” one of the CEOs replied.
A shocked Sonia asked, “Has it spread that far?”
“What do you think? We are even aware of it and we are people who don’t gossip much either.”
As she opened her mouth, she wanted to probe further, but she stayed quiet in the end. No way! Is it that obvious that I and Toby are considering getting together again? Now, even everybody in the industry knows about it!
She was about to give this a thought when the door to the meeting room opened whereby crisp footsteps could be heard.
As if Sonia was being guided by her sixth sense, she subconsciously raised her head to look at the direction the sound was coming from and met Toby’s gaze.
Now that she was looking at his black irises, she was instantly reminded of what Tim had said in the hospital. Coupled with the questions that the business collaborators posed, her face started to redden. As she quickly turned her head to the other side, her heart was beating wildly and showed no signs of calming down anytime soon. It’s all because of Tim and these people. How can they just ask these sorts of questions without any proof?
As Toby watched Sonia’s red side profile, he grew slightly curious. What is she thinking about now?
“President Fuller, here’s the briefing for the meeting.” Before he could even decipher her thoughts, Tom had already handed him a document file.
Left with no choice, Toby could only take a seat first. “Let’s start.”
With his word, the meeting was finally officiated and it was not until 5:00PM that the meeting finally ended.
Toby shot a glance at his watch and closed his laptop before he gently announced, “Let’s conclude today’s meeting. It’s getting quite late now, so let us move to the hotel. I’ll be hosting the dinner tonight, so I hope you gentlemen could grace me with your presence.”
When they heard that Toby was treating them to dinner, the CEOs were elated.
“Of course, President Fuller. How could we miss out on a dinner that you’re hosting?”
Only Sonia did not speak, but she did not outrightly reject him either.
After all, everybody was here for the meeting. She felt that it would be inappropriate if she rejected Toby’s offer.
Toby glanced at Sonia as he addressed the crowd, “Then, I’ll see you all there. Tom, please lead them to the car.”
“Yes, President Fuller,” Tom responded and thereby gestured at the CEOs.
With Tom leading the way, everyone present then left the meeting room.
The last to leave was Sonia. When she walked past Toby, he reached out to grab her arm. “You’ll be riding with me.”
“There’s no need for that.” She tried wiggling her arm to break free from his grip.
However, Toby’s grip on her was firm. “It’s either you are sitting with me or with that bunch of geezers. Which would you rather have?”
“Um…” The way Toby phrased his words rendered Sonia speechless, but it was obvious that sitting with him was much more appealing.
He responded with a light smile. “Let’s go.”
Then, Sonia gathered her belongings in one arm and followed him out.
As they were heading to the elevator, he suddenly asked, “Why were you blushing earlier?”
“It’s nothing.” Now that she had lowered her head, she didn’t want to answer him.
Toby maintained his gaze and continued to pressure her. “Is it really nothing?”
“It really was nothing, so stop asking. It’s hard for me to say it out loud,” Sonia replied while trying to cover her face with one hand.
His repeated questioning made her think about Tim’s words once again.
An instant of devilish delight flashed across Toby’s eyes when he saw Sonia’s ears reddening again. “Okay then. Since you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll stop asking. By the way, are you free tomorrow afternoon?”
“Yes, I am.” Sonia nodded. “Why are you asking?”
