Chapter 433 Help Me to Locate This Phone
When Alexander and Caleb’s eyes met, they exchanged sharp looks with each other almost at that moment.
“This is a final decision that the board of directors has made. Don’t tell me you’re turning your nose up at their decision, Mr. Menzie? Or, is it because you’re not content with the mere position of chief executive of the legal department?” Alexander’s sentence was a trap for Caleb and whichever option Caleb chose, it was a case of damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
However, he wasn’t someone that should be underrated either. Maybe it was because he had a straightforward personality or he enjoyed dealing with the riskier side of things. Then, he frowned inconspicuously and calmly mentioned, “Everyone has their own goals. I honestly don’t crave this position since this isn’t what I came here for. As for what the board of directors have decided, well, President Duncan, you don’t have to worry about explaining things to them. I’ll sort things out with my dad.”
There were a few people who gasped in disbelief at Caleb’s elaboration since it was an obvious act of contempt toward Alexander. Despite the truth of Alexander being the president of Sunhill Enterprise, were all of his actions vetted and restricted by the board of directors?
In the end, the meeting ended abruptly whereupon everyone collected their belongings and quickly dashed out of the meeting room. The only ones left were Alexander and his personal assistant as well as Caleb, who took his time to gather his items.
Then, Alexander glanced at Caleb. “Mr. Menzie, are you free now? Let’s grab lunch together.”
“I’ve made plans with someone.” Caleb didn’t even bother to lift his head as he was focused on shoving his belongings into his bag. “I’ve applied for time off for this afternoon, which human resources have since approved.”
“What plans do you have?” Alexander stared at him. “I recall Director Menzie telling me that you hardly go out during the weekends. Even if you do, you would usually be at the library or attending urgent court hearings.”
It so happened that Caleb had collected all of his belongings. Then, he lifted his head and he slung his bag on his shoulder while solemnly replying, “I have a blind date.”
Suddenly, Alexander’s expression stiffened. This is the second time today that I’ve heard this!
“My friend has arranged for me to go on a blind date. I’m supposed to meet up with the other person for lunch, so I won’t be able to take you up on your offer. Let’s have lunch together next time then. It’ll be my treat.” After Caleb said that, he turned around to leave the place without a backward glance.
Then, Eric watched the back of Caleb’s dashing figure while feeling slightly envious and anxious. Subsequently, Eric quickly scrutinized Alexander and regretted his decision after being shocked by what he saw. Gosh! His expression is thunderous!
At that point, Eric was slightly resentful toward Caleb, who now somehow managed to make his own life a living hell. That guy is so dense! He came up with such a crap excuse to reject Presiden Duncan’s invitation for lunch! Blind date?! He’s obviously well sought after, so why would he need to go on a blind date?! That’s obviously a lie!
“President Duncan, it’s nearly lunchtime. Why don’t we have lunch together instead?”
However, Alexander didn’t respond and his expression darkened even more. It didn’t even look like he wanted to leave after that. Shortly after that, he made a call with a cold expression in front of Eric. “Gale, I need you to locate the location of this phone number.”
Meanwhile, Courtney was making her way to the agreed restaurant.
It was a French restaurant where the furnishings were acceptable, but it didn’t leave a strong impression either. Nonetheless, it looked exactly as how a French restaurant should resemble—each booth wasn’t far apart from each other, so everyone spoke in hushed voices and combined with the music from the live band, their voices were inaudible.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the other person was finally here, but he was late.
“Are you Dr. Hass?” A young man decked out in a well-pressed suit and holding a briefcase stood next to her table. From the looks of it, it was obvious that he had just rushed over from work. He had a magnetic voice that drew Courtney’s attention to him.
When she heard the question, she lifted her head and saw that he was a fresh-faced and slim man with a coolly attractive feature.
“Yes, I am.” Courtney hurriedly rose to her height and glanced at him tentatively. “You must be Mr. Menzie?”
He nodded his head and gestured for her to take her seat. “I’m sorry, but there was a last-minute meeting at the office earlier that held me back. Sorry for making you wait. As a token of my apology, it’ll be my treat for today’s meal.”
The man had phrased his suggestion in a respectable manner. After all, it was an unspoken rule for a man to treat a lady on their date. However, one couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of meeting a peculiar date who requested to go Dutch for the meal. Nonetheless, once a lady had paid for the meal, then it was fair to insinuate that the relationship wouldn’t progress any further than that.
Furthermore, Caleb had mentioned something else too—by mentioning today’s itinerary, he had allowed for some leeway. Maybe if they enjoyed each other’s company, they could even catch a movie or find something else to do.
Courtney then carefully regarded her blind date and she secretly felt that it was a shame that Linda wasn’t the one here. Judging by his good looks, she wouldn’t lose out on anything if she had attended today’s date instead. I guess she hasn’t seen a photo of him beforehand.
“Have you ordered your meal?”
“Yes, I have.” Courtney nodded. “Then again, I instructed them to prepare it later with your order, so take your time. There’s no need to rush.”
After Caleb placed his order, he handed the menu to the waiter and cut to the chase. “When my dad was hospitalized earlier on, the caregiver whom Nurse Simmons had referred was lovely. My mom also felt a connection with Nurse Simmons and that was why she pushed for today’s date. I’m sorry if that sounded offensive.”
He’s such a gentleman! Courtney tried hard to suppress the swell of regret that surfaced in her mind. Then, she willed herself and tightly balled her fist before replying with a forced smile, “I wasn’t offended. In fact, a blind date can be considered as a fast track into entering a relationship. Each of us can frankly reveal our good traits and subsequently aim for marriage. If we find each other to be a suitable candidate, then we can proceed. That makes everything simple and straightforward.”
Caleb was slightly taken aback as he didn’t expect her to be so candor with him. “That does make sense.”
“That’s true, right? I’m not one to pretend, so I’ll definitely answer any of your questions with full disclosure.”
Then, he revealed a smile. “I don’t have any questions. We can slowly get to know each other.”
“Would you mind me asking something?” Meanwhile, she refused to budge.
“Of course not.”
“How much is your monthly wage? Do you own your home? How many properties do you own? Do you have a mortgage? By the way, how many women have you dated? How long did each relationship last for? Why did you guys break up?” She fired a barrage of questions at him, which caused him to be confused and perplexed for some time.
At this moment, Courtney felt pleased with herself. It’s fortunate that there are many slightly older and single females at the hospital who keep talking about their blind dates. She had heard a lot of tales regarding peculiar dates, so she merely made use of the examples that she had heard of.
Despite that, Caleb seemed to be much calmer than she anticipated and after a momentary pause, he voiced out, “My annual income is half a million and that’s not even inclusive of my bonus. I have some savings and I own two properties in Melrose City. I’m currently living in one of the apartments I own while the other property is currently vacant. I plan to move over to the vacant one after my marriage and both properties are mortgage-free. I had two prior relationships where one of them lasted for a year. We went our separate ways because I moved abroad for my studies. The other one lasted for one and a half years and we broke up because I moved back for work.”
He had given a perfect textbook answer and she was so tempted to applaud him for that. However, she restrained herself from doing so and turned to him with a glint in her eyes before she dropped a bombshell. “I’m quite satisfied, but I’m not sure whether my daughters would like you. If they don’t, then that would be a tough situation to deal with.”
“Your daughters?” Caleb frowned and he considered the situation for a moment before asking, “How old are they?”
“The eldest is seventeen and the youngest one is eleven.”
“Seventeen?!”
“Oh, my ex-husband and I had adopted our eldest daughter.” Courtney scrutinized his expression and intentionally asked, “Didn’t my mom tell you that I was once married and have kids?”
This was within her expectations and after fueling the fire, she knew that Caleb would definitely turn to leave in shock.
