Chapter 4

Holding onto Xavier? Miranda lowered her eyes, feeling the irony and dejection in her system. She had done everything to make him stay, including threatening him with suicide. She had always been one to never give up until the last moment, and she could forsake her dignity and pride when it came to him. In the end, she lost. Since the moment she awoke from the car accident, she had killed off the last bit of hope she had for him. "You misunderstood, Mr. Schneider," Miranda softly replied. "You may not be the most loyal man on earth, but you're definitely far from being a scumbag. "Our frequent contact will only upset Yovanna. Besides, I'm not the only capable one in Schneider Corp." Xavier stared at her for a long time. After a while, he piped up with indifference. "Yovi isn't as petty as you think. Since you're the one who started the project, there's no point in dragging others in. You can leave once you seal the deal." Miranda considered it. Since he only wanted her to finalize the collaboration, she assumed it wouldn't take her much time. She no longer refused him and affirmed, "Understood." Once she stepped out of the office, she received a text from Sharon. "Mira, make time tomorrow to meet the blind date I recommended the other day." The text was attached with a photo of a man who appeared gentle and elegant with his gold-rimmed glasses. Miranda replied, "Okay." She was 25, and it was time for her to settle down. If her blind date turned out to be decent, she wouldn't mind marrying him. She gave the whole thing a serious thought. Before clocking out for the day, Miranda notified Xavier about her leave. "Mr. Schneider, I'll be off tomorrow since nothing is up. The handover procedure is almost completed." He asked coldly, "Your schedule is packed, huh?" She casually replied, "I have a meeting with someone tomorrow." With slightly furrowed brows, he glanced at her and no longer pressed further. Miranda was a beginner in the world of blind dates. Luckily, Naomi suggested tagging along when she found out. It wasn't a rare scenario to bring a best friend along to a blind date. Miranda accepted her suggestion and allowed her to watch the fun. Surprisingly, Sharon had recommended a decent man. At the cafe, Miranda became somewhat satisfied after getting to know her date. The man was Josh Gallagher, a lawyer who seemed to be fairly well-known. He came from a middle-class family, and his parents were warm and kind-hearted. He didn't seem like his photo. In fact, he appeared even more elegant and striking in person. Ultimately, the two decided to start as friends. The blind date was pleasant throughout. At the end of the date, Josh pushed at his glasses and confessed, "Actually, this isn't my first meeting with you, Ms. Jennings. There was previously a dinner party where you acted as Schneider Corp's secretary and kicked out a man who bullied a woman. "You even humiliated him in front of the media. That woman happened to be my sister. Since then, she's been admiring you, Ms. Jennings." Miranda was surprised. She could faintly remember that incident, which happened about two years ago. The boss was a nouveau riche and was probably using his status to blatantly bully young women. Despite all her years of meeting a variety of scumbags, she couldn't contain her desire to defend the woman. When she approached, the man eyed her instead, making crude and offensive remarks. She recorded the conversation, handed the recording to the media, and unhesitatingly called the police. Miranda was pleasantly surprised that the woman was Josh's sister. It was no wonder why she met a decent and wonderful man like him on her first blind date. "That's a coincidence, for sure." She laughed politely. Meanwhile, Naomi kept sending signals to her through her eyes. Right then, an excited female voice came from around them. "Ms. Jennings!" Yovanna held Xavier's arm and looked surprisingly at Miranda. "Is this your boyfriend?" Naomi became upset at the sight of that couple. She lazily stretched out her long legs and let out a mocking laugh. "Mind your damn business." Naturally, Miranda was surprised to run into Yovanna and Xavier. Still, she knew Yovanna had nothing to do with her relationship fallout with Xavier. At the same time, she understood Naomi's fury. She simply nodded at them in response. Xavier's countenance was devoid of emotions, his gaze landing on Josh instead. Naomi's words rendered Yovanna in an awkward position. She tugged at Xavier's sleeve and gazed embarrassingly at Miranda. "I'm sorry. I thought you weren't planning on dating anyone for the time being. After all, you've just rejected someone not long ago. With that said, I understand many guys must be into you since you're so beautiful…" Her tone was quick and confined, with not a hint of malice in between her words. Still, she left out the part where Miranda said she was after someone she could marry. From her words, it sounded like Miranda was having flings. Yovanna's words angered Naomi. She truly couldn't stand her indirectness and double entendre. Thus, she casually remarked, "Of course, Mira is a likable woman, and many men are into her—unlike someone who's scheming and only takes other women's man…" Then, she gazed at Xavier and scoffed, "Oh, and after the brutal lesson Mira had, she'd learned to be smarter in picking men. She'll never go back to a man who's cold-hearted, unfeeling, and lacks basic compassion!"