Chapter 21 You Ask Too Much
Alexander subconsciously turned to look when he heard someone calling him ‘Mr. Alexander’. He froze for a moment when he saw the little girl waving at him, feeling that she looked rather familiar. As he stared blankly at the girl, Jordan had already let go of his hand and ran over. Hence, Alexander had no choice but to follow him.
Courtney was blocking her face when she felt a tight grip on her legs. As she looked down, she saw a pair of big eyes staring back at her—Jordan was hugging one of her legs with an ecstatic look on his face.
“We’ve met before, Mr. Alexander!” Tina stood by the table as her black, pearl-like eyes blinked at Alexander.
Alexander pondered for a moment and finally associated the young woman in front of him as the clumsy, little girl who had bumped into him at the airport. His expression softened as he realized who she was.
“How do you two know each other?” Courtney was still confused.
“Mr. Alexander was the one who gave me chocolates at the airport the other day, Mommy!” explained Tina as her eyes lit up. “What a coincidence! I can’t believe we’d bump into each other here. Mommy, do you know Mr. Alexander too?”
Courtney’s face stiffened. “He’s… the boss of my company.”
Alexander stood by the table and looked down in a condescending manner. “This is your daughter?”
“Yes.”
He felt an indescribable feeling in his heart when he heard Courtney’s answer. She’s actually married with a child? He quickly changed the subject and asked casually, “Has your hand recovered?”
Why do the things I don’t want to happen keep happening? Courtney bit her lip as she pulled Jordan out from under the table, using him as a shield. She replied shyly, “It’s not fully recovered, so it’s still a bit uncomfortable.”
“In that case, you should rest for a while longer. You don’t have to rush back to work.”
Courtney was stunned by Alexander’s words. Since when did he become such a nice person to talk to?
“Her hands are fine! She can go back to work tomorrow!” Tina interrupted.
“Tina!” Courtney glared at her. Since when did her daughter become a snitch?
However, Alexander seemed unfazed by Tina’s words. He simply thought of it as a child’s joke and swiftly changed the subject. “Thank you for rescuing Jordan. I’m sorry for not visiting you at the hospital earlier, but when I finally went over, I was told that you had been discharged. I even thought about bringing Jordan to your house to express my gratitude.”
“No, no.” Courtney shook her head. “The holiday that you’ve given me is already considered a form of gratitude. After all, it is my duty as a company employee to ensure the safety of our guests anyway.”
“That’s another issue.” Alexander glanced at Tina as his expression darkened. “However, you shouldn’t forget about the bet. I don’t plan on extending the three-month deadline.”
Courtney’s face turned sour when she heard his words. What does he mean by that? Is he trying to imply that the holiday I’m on right now is equivalent to wasting my time? All the good feelings she felt toward Alexander moments ago dissipated in a flash. This man is definitely good at giving people a hard time!
Before Courtney could come back to her senses, Alexander beckoned toward Jordan. “Let’s go, Jordan! Let’s not disturb their meal.”
However, Jordan clung tightly onto Courtney’s arm. He turned to look at Alexander like he was about to battle an enemy.
“Jordan!” Alexander frowned.
The little boy’s stubborn face was an exact replica of Alexander’s, which was right in front of him. Seeing this, Courtney quickly jumped in to smoothen things over. “If you don’t mind, both of you can just join us. This is a four-person seat anyway.”
It wasn’t busy at the restaurant, so the waiter had arranged a spacious seat for Courtney—who knew that it would’ve come in handy at this moment?
Realizing that Jordan had no intention of leaving, Alexander sat down with a grumbled look that Courtney found to be quite amusing. Even the President of Sunhill Enterprise has a soft spot.
Tina wanted Alexander to be here, so she pulled out a chair enthusiastically. “Why don’t you sit down first, Mr. Alexander? I’ll go and get some fruit.”
As she was about to leave, she looked at Jordan and invited him earnestly. “Do you want to come with me?”
Jordan took in Tina’s cheerful and pleasing manner; he hesitated for a while before letting go of Courtney’s hand and followed Tina. I want to get along with Ms. Courtney’s daughter.
Meanwhile, Alexander was amazed. Jordan is actually willing to get along with this little girl? He knew that his son had always been temperamental and had no friends among his peers. Alexander even tried to get his friends’ children to play with him, but Jordan couldn’t be bothered to make friends with them. As such, his son’s emotional disorder had always been like a thorn in his heart.
“Your daughter is very lively.”
“Are you talking about Tina?” Courtney smiled. “She is such a little brat. Most of the time, I don’t even know how many weird ideas she has inside her head. She usually gets along well with her peers, so you don’t have to worry about it, President Duncan. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
Alexander wanted to explain himself, but he decided to drop the topic. “You don’t have to be so formal. Jordan is really fond of you, and I’m afraid that he’ll throw a tantrum if you call him Young Master.”
After that, he ordered a few more dishes and handed the menu back to the waiter.
Soon, the two children came back with fruits. When they realized that their food hadn’t been served yet, Tina and Jordan ran over to the slide at the children’s play area. Courtney was at ease because the view from their seats was good enough to watch over them.
The atmosphere was light and relaxed. After some small talk, Courtney felt that Alexander was not as unfriendly as he was in the company; the two of them chatted casually. She thought about Jordan’s episode back then and asked, “By the way, is Jordan’s ability to speak congenital? Is it due to his mother’s weak body?”
All of a sudden, Alexander’s bland expression darkened and his gaze snapped from the children’s area to Courtney—it was a piercing look laced with warning.
“I’m sorry.” Courtney was flustered by his stare and realized that she had crossed a line. “It was just a simple question; I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Alexander glanced at her and said coldly, “You ask too much. You should just mind your own business.”
Courtney clenched her fingers under the table in embarrassment; she regretted asking so many questions. After all, how could she casually ask about the disability of someone else’s child—especially from someone as proud as Alexander?
The temperature of the atmosphere dropped instantly. Meanwhile, Alexander was lost in thought because of her words as he stared at the distant children’s area.
In fact, Jordan’s speech disability was not a congenital disease. When he was two years old, he could already speak in full sentences; he was even smarter than his peers. If it hadn’t been for Alexander’s negligence back then, Jordan wouldn’t have nearly died from a high fever—the situation today would have been much different.
All the doctors they had visited throughout the years circled back to the same conclusion; Jordan’s vocal cords weren’t damaged, but it was rather his own unwillingness to talk
