Chapter 17: What A Big Misunderstanding

The next day at 7pm, I showed up at the hotel on time. Ian and Yvette were already waiting at the front door of the hotel. They both came up to me when they saw me. "Boss," Yvette took my bag. I glanced at Ian. He was wearing a full set of high-fashion suits today and he looked elegant and gentle. Such a successful man would be popular everywhere he went. "Jacqueline..." I glared at him lightly. He blushed slightly and reworded, "Boss." As a matter of course, many people from the political and business circles gathered for the birthday party of the daughter of the chairman of Y Group. Ian and I were exchanging pleasantries with the other business executives while Yvette kept an eye on Steven Chelton. Soon after, Steven came out. Ian and I walked to him hurriedly. "Mr. Chelton, how do you do? I'm Jacqueline Thompson from the Southeast Region of TR Group." Steven looked me up and down after I stopped him, not showing much enthusiasm, but still wearing a polite smile, "Nice to meet you." "Mr. Chelton, actually I..." "Daddy." A sweet voice sounded. Hearing this voice, Steven immediately grinned from ear to ear, "Nellie." Nellie was Steven's youngest daughter. Steven had two sons and had been looking forward to having a daughters, so Nellie Chelton stood at the top of the pyramid as soon as she was born. Not only her parents but also her older brothers loved her and cared for her. She took Steven's hand, leaned on his shoulder, and asked him in a soft tone, "Who is this beautiful lady?" Though she said "beautiful lady ", she didn't look quite friendly. I understood in a second. The rich young girl probably thought I was trying to hook up with her dad. "She is..." Steven hadn't even listened carefully to my introduction earlier and had no idea who I was. "She's Jacqueline Thompson, president of the Southeast Region of TR Group," Ian said, walking over with champagne in his hand and a light smile on his face. Seeing Ian, Nellie's beautiful eyes lit up and she stared at him almost unabashedly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Chelton. I'm Ian Yates, the consultant of the Southeast Region of TR Group," Ian extended his hand towards Steven, "It's our pleasure to come to your daughter's birthday party." I looked at Ian. In college, Ian had not been a sociable person. He had been excellent, but also introverted, never boastful and arrogant. He had been like a jade. Even though he had never presented himself actively, he would have been noticed. But Ian was really different now. Perhaps all people changed. I had changed, too, hadn't I? Steven seemed to have an impression when he heard Ian's name, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" "Mr. Chelton, we have met once in France." Steven thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "Oh, it was you! That day when my heart was not feeling well, it was you who helped me. You see, I have a short memory, I can't remember people, sorry." I looked at Ian with surprise and questioning. He and Steven knew each other. Why didn't he tell me before? "Oh, did Ian help Daddy?" Nellie looked at Ian with interest, "Thanks, Ian." "Nellie," Steven couldn't bear to blame her for her rudeness, "Call him Mr. Yates." Nellie stuck out her tongue. "Well, Nellie, your friends seem to have arrived, why don't you go and join them?" Steven was a crafty man and he must have known that we had come prepared. He sent his daughter away so he could ask questions. "Is there something you want to see me about?" I deliberated before saying, "Mr. Chelton, we need a batch of materials for our Y project and we want to cooperate with you." "Cooperate?" Ian and I nodded our heads sincerely. Steven had been in business for many years and knew how to speak in a roundabout way, "Ms. Thompson, Mr. Yates, it's not that I don't want to cooperate with your company. It's just that we've always had a fixed partner. Since you suddenly bring it up, we are caught unprepared." "I know it makes it a little difficult for you, but the terms are negotiable." I didn't want to lose this opportunity, "Mr. Chelton, if you work with us, you can definitely feel our sincerity." "I'll think about it." Steven said he would consider, but it was clear that he wasn't very interested. He excused himself and left after a few words when someone looked for him. I was quite disappointed when he left. Being in commercial circles for so long, I knew what to say to different people. I would promise benefits to those who could be persuaded by reason but not be cowed by force, and I wouldn't push those yielding to force but rejecting a soft approach too hard. But a cunning guy like Steven, who spoke ambiguously, made it difficult for me to know where to begin. "Ian, why didn't you tell me in advance that you knew Steven?" Ian compressed his lips together and then said, "We have only met once." I calmed down and waved my hand, "Well, so what if you have helped him? He's a very shrewd man, and he won't respond to your requests just because you have helped him." "But the cooperation..." "We'll see." Ian did have another proposal, "It doesn't have to be Y Group. S Group also provide the same material. I've checked and it's not worse than that of Y Group." I smiled at him. "Ian, do you know why I'm in this position?" He didn't understand. "I want to cooperate with Y Group, not just for the Y project, but I want to get connected with Silva Consortium through it. If we have Silva Consortium as a backing, the road of TR will only get smoother in the future." After hearing what I said, Ian looked at me with burning eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Jacqueline, you've changed." said Ian. "Haven't you changed too?" I laughed, "Who would remain unchanged after years out of school?" "Yeah, we've all changed." Ian seemed to sigh about the old days, "All changed." We had gained nothing tonight. But I at least knew what to do. Steven, as the chairman of Y Group, had been in a high position for many years and had Silva Consortium as his background, so he did not care about our friendly invitation. But what if it was his daughter who made the request? Don't blame me for taking a different path. Sometimes when there was no way out, I had to dig my way out. If I wanted to take Steven, I had to take his baby girl first. When the party was over, a rain had fallen outside as well. It was cool after the rain. When I walked out in my thin dress, I sneezed from the cold wind. Suddenly a suit jacket was placed on my shoulders. I looked up as Ian explained to me, "It's cold tonight. Be careful not to catch a cold." "I'm fine." I wanted to give it back to him but he refused to take it. With a snap, the clean suit jacket fell into the standing water. "Sorry." I bent down to pick it up. Ian was faster than me and knelt down to pick it up. However, I didn't stand still in my high heels, so I fell into his arms. Unfortunately, Elias saw it all.