Sorry Sir I Don’t Want You Back by Little Angelic Devil

“Well... I like his idea,” Cherise replied. “I want to get that exclusive partnership. Kingston Group currently dominates the gaming industry. It'll be good to be involved with them.”

“Cherise, you know I'm not asking about that,” Charles scolded her for deflecting the topic. “I know you can persuade the shareholders to go along with your plans, but that's not the point." Cherise looked at her grandpa and sighed helplessly. “Grandpa, I've just got divorced. I can’t go into another relationship right now."

“Why not?” Charles insisted. “Theo is different from Hudson. I've watched him grow up, and he is a gentle soul. He'll be perfect for you. Or do you still want Hudson? That's why you don't want to be involved with another man?”

Cherise groaned and sprawled on the dining table. She peeked at her grandpa from underneath her long lashes.

“It's just too soon, Grandpa,” she answered softly, her eyes begging for Charles to see her point. “My heart is still on the mend. I'm not ready yet. Please understand this."

Looking at his granddaughter’s vulnerability, Charles finally relented, but he still advised her, “Alright, Grandpa understands.” Cherise’s upper body straightened up so fast from the table, and she threw herself at her grandpa. “Really? You mean it?"

Charles chuckled. “I haven't finished speaking.”

Cherise made a whining sound, but Charles reassured her that he wouldn't force her to date anymore.

“But please promise me not to shut your heart. If Theo or any other eligible men ask you out, don't reject them. At least be open to friendship,” Charles said as he kissed the top of Cherise’s head.

He didn't want her to stop believing in love. He made her promise that in the hope love could bloom from any of those friendships.

Cherise knew her grandpa was worried about her, so she agreed with him without hesitation. “Alright, Grandpa. I will be open to new friendships.”

Charles nodded, accepting his granddaughter's response. “Alright, I'm going back tomorrow, so spend time with your grandpa today. Now, tell me how you'll proceed with the Kingston Group's partnership. I believe you will hire a team and lead it by yourself?”

Cherise gaped at her grandpa. How did he know?

“Don’t think since I'm old, I don’t know anything” Charles mock glared at Cherise. “I know you like to tinker with computers and the sorts."

Cherise breathed in relief secretly. At least he didn’t know she was Q, or she might be in trouble!

“I do like computers and the sorts,” Cherise giggled. “And yes, I plan to lead our teams together with Theo.”

The grandfather and granddaughter then talked about this new project, and Cherise laughed a lot of times since her grandpa was behind on technology.

Over the next few days, Cherise was busy persuading the shareholders to support her proposal for the Alster Group to enter the gaming industry.

Some of the older shareholders were scared of the risks, and it took more than a meeting before they finally agreed to the idea.

After that, she needed to have more meetings with Theo regarding the terms of their partnership.

When the Alster Group posted a recruitment job for their team, job hunters flooded the company emails.

Since Cherise wanted to lead the team by herself, she chose to interview each candidate with Tristan’s help as he was still free.

Tristan was beyond excited and wanted to join but Cherise reminded him of his jobs, and he sulked and whined until Cherise promised he could help as “Ace’.

When everything was ready, she called Theo and asked him to meet her at the Alster Group to sign the contract.

Theo arrived with his PA and lawyers, smiling ever so gently. Most of the female employees gawked at him and whispered gossip among themselves, even creating a harmless poll of who was the most handsome between Julian, Logan, Hudson, and Theo.

“Please forgive my female employees,” Cherise laughed when she saw them eyeing him dreamily.

“I don’t mind it,” Theo said, adding, “I only have my eyes on you."

The female employees nearly screamed at Theo's declaration. Was their CEO's new partner going to court her too? How lucky their CEO was to be courted by two handsome men, they thought, all thoughts of Dahlia and Polly's cruelty to Cherise forgotten.

Cherise chuckled. She felt Theo was telling the truth and not merely flirting, but she didn't want to acknowledge it.

“Such a charmer, Mr. Kingston,” she said with a smile. “Let's go into my office and sign the contracts."

Theo smiled and gestured for her to lead the way.

Cherise led them to her office and the contract signing went smoothly.

Afterward, Theo asked her, “Miss Alster, seeing we are partners now, how about having dinner with me to celebrate our new joint venture?”

Cherise was startled for a few seconds and wanted to reject his offer, but she thought it was normal for new partners to celebrate, so she agreed in the end.

“Perfect,” Theo smiled. “I will pick you up after office hours."

Cherise nodded and let Neil escort them out. She pondered about Theo as she sat alone in her office.

She had a feeling that Theo was interested in her, and she didn't really want to lead him on, but then she remembered her promise to her grandpa and sighed.

A friendship. This would be a cooperation and friendship between them and nothing more. She could do that. As her grandpa had pointed out, she shouldn't shut herself out. She could make new male friends.

With that thought planted firmly in her head, she resumed working until Neil knocked on her door and told her that Theo had arrived.

“Do you still need time?" Theo asked gently as he saw the paperwork on Cherise’s table.

“No,” Cherise smiled and stood up, gathering her bag and giving her car key to Neil so he could drop it off at Julian's place. “Let's go."

Hudson, who had just finished a conference meeting and was about to meet Keith and Finley for dinner, received news of Miles.

“sir, the Kingston Group did not choose us for their project,” Miles informed him, making Hudson frown.

He wanted the Amery Group to enter the gaming industry, and when he heard the Kingston Group was looking for an exclusive partner, he naturally offered to fund their project. He never expected to be rejected.

“Who gets it?" he asked. The Amery Group was the most successful and influential in Country B. Why would the Kingston Group choose a lesser company?

Miles swallowed nervously before blurting out, “The Alster Group."

Hudson stilled but then smiled, surprising Miles.

Had his boss gone mad? He had just lost a huge opportunity to spread the Amery Group influence, yet he was happy about it. Oh wait, could it be because...

“Is there any other project that we are to compete for?” Hudson asked his PA.

“There are,” Miles replied. “Two for now.”

“Then just give it to her” Hudson glanced briefly at Miles and walked past him, not waiting for his PA's answer.

Still, Miles called out to him right before Hudson entered the elevator. “Right away, Sir!"

Miles wasn't sure this was the best decision, but he knew his boss was doing this for Miss Cherise and she should be happy, right?

He quickly called the PAs of the two company CEOS and told them of his boss’ decision.

Theo's car arrived in front of a grand building, and he got off at the same time the valet opened the car door for her. He offered his arm to her, and out of habit, Cherise hooked her hand in the crook of his arm.

“I see you love this restaurant,” Cherise smiled at him after they rode the elevator and arrived at the restaurant's entrance.

Theo laughed, saying, “It has a charming view, and the food is exceptional."

“We can eat here for free, you know,” Cherise teased him. “You know the Alster Group is the owner, right? I don’t mind leeching off my own family’s wealth.”

Theo laughed again, his gentle laugh drawing the attention of the ladies inside. “I know, but today is my treat. You can treat me next time.”

“l will” Cherise agreed before she realized what she was doing. Oh well, it would be another meal between friends. She had many meals with Tristan and would probably have more meals with Theo since they were doing a project together.

“Cherise, do you mind if we sit among the other customers and not in a private room?” Theo asked. “I always love to hear a live piano performance, but we can't hear it in the private room.”

“Of course not," Cherise said. “The view is better here than in the private rooms anyway.” In the common area, they could see all the 360 degrees of view, which they could not see from the private rooms.

Theo smiled at her, told the staff his name, and they were led to their table, which was right by the window.

“Do you mind if you order for us?” Theo asked gently.

“By all means,” Cherise replied, watching him as he placed their orders, raising her brow when she realized most of the dishes were her favorite.

Theo gave the menu back to the waiter, and as if he could read her mind, he said, “I've done my research on you.”

Cherise wasn't too surprised to hear it. She usually did research before meeting her business partners to ensure she wouldn't order something they were allergic to.

Knowing who Cherise was, the waiter prioritized their order, and their wine arrived before they could even converse.

“Let the lady taste it," Theo said to the waiter.

Cherise accepted the glass, swirled it, inhaled, and tasted the wine before she nodded, indicating she was fine with it. The waiter poured them a glass each, and when the waiter left, Theo raised his glass. Some paragraphs are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jo b nib.com. “To a successful partnership.” Cherise smiled and raised her own glass, echoing his words, “To a successful partnership.”

They sipped their wine before Cheride told him, “Theo, you don’t have to be so polite with me. We are going to work together and spend a lot of time together. If you keep asking me if I mind something, I don’t think we'll have much work done.”

Theo chuckled and replied, “I asked not to be polite, Cherise. I asked because I value your opinions, and I can tell you I will not change even when we are working on our project.” Cherise felt something in her heart. Not something good but she also couldn't really place what it was.

“Well, I'll be prepared for it then,” she replied with a laugh, trying not to show her uneasiness. Cherise didn’t know a pair of dark, hawk-like eyes had been watching their interactions from the restaurant's entrance for a while.