Chapter 21 Suspicious

At ten o’clock, a team of staff members from Dragon's Ascent Investment Company arrived at Vantage Company. Sitting in a corner, Jade raised her head slightly and saw Zephaniah, who was the first to enter the room. He looked really stylish in his dark gray suit. His thin lips were pressed together, and with his indifferent expression, he gave off the feeling that he was a difficult person to approach. After Zephaniah shook hands with Mister Whittle, he habitually looked across the meeting room. He unintentionally saw Jade in the corner. She had her head lowered as she stared at her laptop on the table, and through her side profile, she looked slightly chubby. Zephaniah’s gaze stayed on her for only a second before he pulled out a chair and sat down. As the leader of a leading investment company, Zephaniah made others feel how strong of a character he was with just a few simple sentences. Even the experienced Mister Whittle looked a little nervous when they talked. After a while, the secretary pushed in a trolley of coffee and snacks. When Jade noticed that the secretary’s hands were a little too full, she got up and helped her to serve the coffee to the few people from Dragon's Ascent Investment Company. When she served a cup of coffee to Zephaniah, she subconsciously chose a warm one without a sugar packet beside the cup. Although Zephaniah only came home once a week in the past, he sometimes had work to do as well. Jade had secretly taken note of the way he liked to drink his coffee, which was not too hot. He also did not like to add sugar to it. Her actions today were completely out of habit. Zephaniah was still talking to Mister Whittle, but when Jade served him a cup of coffee, putting it in front of him, he detected that there was no sugar packet on the saucer. The coffee was warm as well. His hands, which were folded together, furled a little, but the speed of his speech did not slow down. The meeting was never meant to be long. It ended after around forty minutes. Being able to work with Dragon's Ascent Investment Company made Mister Whittle put on a really happy face. After the meeting, he personally brought Zephaniah to the restaurant downstairs for lunch, while others followed them from behind. The prices for food at the restaurant below Jade’s company were quite high, and it cost at least thousands to reserve the entire restaurant for lunch. Since there were quite a lot of them, the restaurant decided to serve them a buffet. “Miss Redfern, here for a meal?” Jade was choosing the dishes she wanted to eat when her colleague came over and greeted her. She hummed in agreement. “I just happened to be hungry.” They chatted for a while before her colleague suddenly changed the subject, speaking like a true gossip-monger. “Did you see Mister Owens from Dragon's Ascent Investment Company? He’s so young! He doesn’t look like he’s even thirty years old. I can’t believe he’s so rich. “Mister Owens doesn’t look like someone who’s amiable, but I have to say, he’s quite good looking. He’s even comparable to the celebrities. Hey, do you think he’s married? I guess a rich man like him should have a few mistresses outside, right?” That colleague of hers gossiped while she cast a few glances at the spot where Mister Whittle was seated in. Her eyes were full of desire, and when Jade saw this, she also looked in the same direction. The man’s tie was loose while he casually spoke with the people there. Yet, it seemed like all eyes were on him. Jade suddenly smiled as if she understood something. ‘Look at how outstanding that man is. You wouldn’t know how many girls out there are longing for him, and some of them might be willing to be in a secret relationship with him. Here I was, stupid enough to think about making him fall for me and hoping that we could be together forever. ‘How ridiculous!’ “All men like that are smart and can control themselves well. You won’t get any benefits from him.” Jade lowered her head and continued to select her food. Her colleague was curious. “How do you know that, Miss Redfern?” ‘I slept with Zephaniah for three years, how could I not know his personality?’ Jade thought secretly. “Miss Redfern, why aren’t you wearing your ring?” Her colleague was observant. She noticed that there was only a faint ring mark on Jade’s ring finger. “Did you… divorce your husband?” Jade hummed as her answer. When they got married, she had also thought of inviting her colleagues to her wedding party. However, Zephaniah told her not to involve him, as though it was better for him if fewer people learned about their marriage. Therefore, she never told anyone in the company who her husband was. “Men nowadays like pretty and perfect women.” Her colleague grumbled and comforted Jade. “Miss Redfern, you’re still young, and you don’t have a kid either. Don’t worry, you can easily get another man.” Jade could not help but take a look at her belly. It was true that she got divorced, but she did it together with the baby inside her. At that moment, someone passed by Jade with a food tray, and there seemed to be some seafood in the tray. A faint, fishy scent then wafted into Jade’s nose, and she felt her stomach churn. Jade pushed her colleague away and ran toward the restroom, covering her mouth with her hand. The colleague who was pushed found the situation incredibly odd. Zephaniah unintentionally saw Jade running toward the restroom with a hand over her mouth, and she looked pale. As she ran, her dress clung to her body, and her belly looked a little round. His gaze darkened.