His Precious Love

Chapter 33 Worry

"Just say it. Why are you staring at me?" Roxanne's intent gaze crept Rayna out. The latter could not stand it and slapped her. "We've arrived."

Roxanne pouted angrily and snapped, "Stop hitting me!"

If she continues, I'd be beaten silly.

Rayna wanted to buy some clothes for Linda. When they visited a shop, Roxanne offered to choose for Linda and even fought to pay for it. That was very uncharacteristic of Roxanne as she was one who usually complained of feeling tired when shopping.

"I'll get it, Rayna. I have money!"

After that, they went to the underground supermarket to get groceries before heading to Linda's house.

Linda still lived in the old residential area where she had brought the siblings up. It took them about an hour to get there from the city center. Rayna had always wanted Linda to move to another place, but the latter refused, insisting that she liked her current neighborhood.

When they got home, Linda started cooking in the kitchen, whereas Roxanne and Rayna chatted while watching television. A few minutes into their conversation, Roxanne showed her true colors. "Are you free this Saturday night, Rayna?"

"I knew it! You must have an ulterior motive for being nice to me today." Rayna tossed a pillow at her sister and grinned. "Spill! Why did you ask?"

Roxanne inched closer and began to coax her, "There's a cocktail reception at Dame Estate on Saturday night. Many famous directors from abroad will be there. Why don't you come with me?" Rayna rejected right away, "Nope. I'm not interested."

Usually, she never liked those events. She would only attend such events only if her job required her to be present.

"Rayna, my sweet Rayna..." Roxanne showed her puppy dog eyes. "A director I admire will be going, and he's searching for Chanaeans to star in his new movie. I want to have a chat with him. Who knows I might get an acting role successfully! However, you know I'm not good at speaking Anglandurn. Therefore, I was hoping that you could be my temporary translator."

Rayna cast a disappointing glance at her. "Your sister is a translator, but you are terrible in Anglandurn. How embarrassing is that? Even primary school children speak better Anglandurn than you." "Oh well, we all have different interests. Your calling is to be a translator, whereas mine is to act." Roxanne twisted the context skillfully. "You're probably worse than me if you were to become an actress." Her remark rendered Rayna speechless.

Roxanne kept persuading Rayna, and the latter said yes in the end. How can I not lend a hand when my biological sister is trying to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry? "You're the best, Rayna!" Roxanne hugged and kissed her repeatedly. She even took a selfie with her sister out of excitement. Rayna could not stand her antics and pushed her away.

Soon, Linda finished cooking and invited the sisters to the table. Just when Rayna was getting up, the phone screen lit up, and she accidentally saw an incoming message from a person named "Brother-in- law".

Frowning, she took up the phone and questioned Roxanne, "Did you add Julian?" Since Rayna was Roxanne's only elder sister, the former was certain that the message was from Julian. Roxanne hurried over to snatch her phone back from Rayna. Then, she rolled her eyes and said, "Am I so free to stay in touch with that sc*mbag? Whatever for? After all, you two are divorced."

"I just saw someone by the name of 'Brother-in-law' sent you a text message."

"That's my stylist," Roxanne clarified without turning a hair. "I saved his contact on WhatsApp as 'Brother-in-law' and forgot to rename it. All right, Rayna, can we eat now?"

Rayna believed her explanation totally.

Nowadays, youngsters use many strange and crazy profile names. A colleague of mind even called himself "Daddy".

It had been several months since Rayna last tasted homecooked food. Hence, she requested extra helping. Roxanne, on the other hand, was a picky eater. Rayna threw her an icy-cold gaze as she reminded Roxanne about the cocktail reception and made sure the latter finish her food.

There's no such thing as a fussy eater. All she needs is someone to discipline her.

In the afternoon, Rayna needed to return to the office while Roxanne had a commercial to shoot. So, Linda packed some sweet soup for both of them.

"Mom, stop working as a housekeeper." Rayna told her mother before leaving. "Tell me when you need money, okay? I can take good care of you."

Linda nodded. "I got it. Henceforth, I'll only help out in the library."

Rayna heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing her response. "You should have done that a long time ago. When you feel bored, you can consider going to the square and do line dancing with the others. Oh, by the way, Julian and I are divorced, so please don't visit the Faymon family anymore."

"What happened? I thought you guys were happy together?" Linda could not wrap her head around it. "T-Then, what is your plan after the divorce? Who will want you?"

Rayna was bereft of words.

"You don't understand, Mom. Rayna has made the right decision to divorce that kind of man. She won't have a future with him!" Roxanne interrupted. "Rayna is so talented, and she has lots of suitors. Your worry of not having a son-in-law is unfounded."

"I think Julian is a nice guy. Whenever he comes over, he will address me politely and buy me gifts," Linda added.

Roxanne rolled her eyes at Linda and left with Rayna without saying anything further.

"Rayna, don't bring this up to Mom again. She won't understand one bit. Mom wouldn't have rejected the money when she and Dad separated if she was slightly more self-centered," urged Roxanne. "She's still your mom, no matter how silly she is." Rayna stared daggers at Roxanne and pinched her ear. "Don't raise your voice or yell but talk to her privately. Have I made myself clear?" "Okay, I know."

The place where Roxanne was heading was along the way to Rayna's office. Thus, they shared a cab. Upon arrival, Roxanne informed Rayna that someone would deliver a gown to her.

"I have dresses to wear. Don't spend your money unnecessarily," advised Rayna.

"Don't worry. It's all sponsored." Roxanne waved at her before entering the building.

Rayna smiled resignedly.

Though Roxanne would act rather silly and spoilt most of the time, Rayna was glad that her sister remained filial and lived with integrity. She was unlike some girls who lost themselves upon joining the entertainment industry.

When Rayna got back to the office, she ran into Gabriel.

"Mr. Tylinski," she greeted him. "Did you come over for work matters?" She noticed the documents in his hands.

"Yup, Mr. Faymon is here to work on something."

His response piqued Rayna's interest.

This isn't the first time Curtis visited the office. Usually, the few vice CEOs are the ones who manage all of the company affairs, and Curtis is never hands-on. Is the company in trouble?

After entering the private elevator, Gabriel pressed the open button, assuming Rayna was waiting to get on one.

"Come on in, Ms. Garland."

"Okay, thank you." Apart from the upper management, employees from the translation and planning departments were also allowed to use the private elevator. However, they usually avoid being in the same space as the management staff.

Rayna was surprised that Gabriel, whom he had barely met, would invite her to take the elevator together. After all, they had only spoken a few times with each other.

Why do I feel something's wrong?

As Rayna gazed at her thermos, an idea suddenly dawned on her. She thought for a while and offered it to Gabriel. "I heard that Mr. Faymon likes something sweet. Could you please pass this to him, please? Just a little token of appreciation from me."

If Curtis did not lend a helping hand, the worst that could probably happen to Meredith was a demotion.

Gabriel did not ask further. He accepted the thermos and said, "Thank you, Ms. Garland. I'll pass Mr. Faymon the message."

"You're welcome."

After sending Rayna to the translation department, Gabriel headed to the top floor. He strode toward the CEO's office with a thermos in one hand and some documents in another.

"B*stard!"

The moment Gabriel walked into the office, he was hit by a stack of papers which then dropped onto the ground. Curtis was standing in front of the windows with his hands on his hips, looking sullen. Even though the room was filled with average air-conditioning temperature, it felt like an ice cellar.

Without saying a word, Gabriel shut the door behind him and proceeded to pick the papers up. Then, he placed all the items in his hands on the solid mahogany desk.

"Everyone's eager to showcase themselves, but their presentations are appalling!" Curtis grew impatient and pulled his tie off his neck. "Do they think I'm blind?"

"Well, Mr. Faymon, you've been concentrating your efforts on expanding the global markets. The staff here feared no one since there wasn't a head figure in the company." Gabriel added, "Moreover, Mr. Julian isn't very bright, to begin with."

Curtis sneered, "He even had the cheek to pay Dad a visit at the Fayman residence. Just look at his character! If not for Meredith, he wouldn't be able to become the vice CEO."

"Mr. Julian's father passed away when he was very young. Both Mr. Julian and his mother aren't the greedy type either." Gabriel paused for a moment before continuing, "Well, we will never know who might ge them into trouble. Fortunately, he carries the last name 'Faymon' though he's a relative."

Curtis pinched between his furrowed brows and asked, "Has he filed a divorce with Rayna?"

Gabriel nodded. "I asked Mr. Julian about it, and he told me he has signed the papers. However, something seems amiss. Several days ago, he was adamant about getting a divorce and even wanted to sue Ms. Garland. Anyhow, he signed it."

"As long as they are divorced legally." Curtis could not care less about the process. "Please book the flight tickets and throw Julian to the branch in Horington. Don't let him roam around."

"Noted. I'll make all the necessary arrangements soon," replied Gabriel. "Oh, Mr. Faymon, Mr. Johnson is holding a cocktail reception at Dame Estate this Saturday. He would like you to bring Ms. Kristie along.' Cocktail reception?

Curtis knew exactly what the other party was up to. After mulling it over, he agreed to attend the event. "Tell Mr. Johnson I'll be there. Also, give the person in charge at Chanel a call and place an order on the latest haute couture."

"Duly noted."

Suddenly, Curtis felt thirsty after talking and wanted a cup of coffee. As he turned around, he spotted a thermos on his desk. "Wow, you made me an herbal drink?" he teased Gabriel.