What Separates Me and You

Lewis' expression was dark, and he said nothing. He looked like he was thinking something over. After getting no answer, Conrad refocused on driving, and they arrived at the office very soon. Lewis looked at his phone and saw that Quintin had indeed taken Josephine out of the city. He shut his eyes and shut off the app, then got out of the car and walked into the company building.

Seth was in the lobby scrolling on his phone. When he heard footsteps, he turned around and smiled. "Chairman Alvarez, why are you so late?" The workday was about to start, and top management had to hold an advance meeting. That was why there were a lot of people at the office that day. The security guards and cleaners had already gotten to work.

Seth realized that Lewis seemed to be in a bad mood. He looked like someone owed him a few million dollars. Seth found it a little funny and asked, "What's the matter?" He glanced at Conrad, who was behind Lewis, and Conrad gave him a look. It was hard to understand what he was trying to convey, but Seth seemed to have got it. He guessed that the mute must have run away again and couldn't stop himself from laughing.

Lewis ignored him and walked toward the elevator coldly. Seth got up and followed him. He walked beside Conrad, asking, "What happened? What's up with the mute? If I remember correctly, didn't he already send her to Quintin? What's he mad about?"

Conrad said softly, "What do you know? Something came up with the madam."

"Oh?"

Seeing Seth's curious expression, Conrad couldn't help but whisper into his ear. Seth's smile slowly disappeared. "Are you serious?" said Seth. Conrad nodded, and Seth frowned in silence for a moment before glancing at Lewis, who was waiting for the elevator. Then, he said casually, "Maybe this is the grave he dug for himself."

"Lower your voice!" Conrad hissed. While they were acting suspiciously, Lewis suddenly turned around and looked at them. Conrad was so frightened that he immediately straightened his back and walked away from Seth. Seth smiled teasingly and walked over to Lewis. Leaning against the wall, he asked on purpose, "Chairman Alvarez, who pissed you off?"

Lewis ignored his question and said, "Seth, any news on Veda Group?"

Seth raised an eyebrow. "I haven't had the time to contact them. Don't we have a meeting now? We'll discuss it afterward."

Coincidentally, the elevator arrived and Lewis got in. He paid no further attention to Seth, who followed him inside and said with a smile, "Chairman Alvarez, I've looked into it. Kiran used quite a huge sum of money to shut Draco up. Those two took the money and disappeared under the radar. My guess is that they left the country."

"So?"

"So... In my opinion, the people at Veda probably won't believe me if I approach them unless I find Faust and Draco as my witnesses. Only then will the big guns at Veda believe that Kiran was behind the shipwreck incident. Of course, there are still some problems. Once Veda finds out about this, they might even hold a grudge against Alvarez Corp. This plan does have some risks. If Veda causes trouble for Alvarez Corp, won't we suffer a huge loss?"

Lewis was leaning against the elevator wall with his hands in his pockets. He looked relaxed, but in fact, his mind was elsewhere. Seth suddenly stopped speaking and glanced at Lewis. He realized that he had just spewed a bunch of nonsense. "Chairman Alvarez, why don't we cancel this meeting?" Seth shrugged and said, "We can only handle business matters better after we settle our private matters." Lewis turned slightly and looked at Seth. "I don't have any private matters to settle," he said.

Seth couldn't help but laugh. "Fine then, but I have private matters. I'm going to Pearl Lodge after the meeting to let loose a little." Pearl Lodge was the place Quintin was taking Josephine. Lewis smirked and ignored him.

The elevator arrived on the 18th floor, and they headed toward the conference room together. There were already a lot of people inside, and many were deep in conversation. They were discussing the interesting or depressing things that had happened during New Year's. When Lewis walked in, the chatter died down slowly into pin-drop silence.

He walked to the head of the table. Conrad pulled out the chair for him, but he did not sit down. He swept his gaze over everybody in the conference room and glanced at the empty seat to his left. That was Kiran's seat. He looked away and said plainly, "President Alvarez has an emergency, and he can't make it to work. His responsibilities will be taken over by Mr. Fairchild for the time being."

Everyone looked at each other. Logically speaking, Kiran had just been appointed not long ago, and it was the perfect opportunity to show everyone his power. He shouldn't have been absent no matter what happened. Wasn't he worried that his position would be snatched away?

"Chairman Alvarez, did something happen to the president?" somebody asked boldly.

Lewis glanced at the person and said expressionlessly, "It's no doubt a private matter. You can give him a call and ask him if you'd like to find out." The person hung his head and kept quiet. Lewis continued, "Although President Alvarez is unable to come to the office, it does not affect our operations. Mr. Fairchild has also been in charge of the matters handled by him, so all of you may approach Mr. Fairchild if there are any problems."

The underlying meaning of his words was that Kiran was dispensable to the company. After hearing what he said, someone started getting some ideas. Actually, quite a number of people at the company knew that Kiran and Lewis weren't on good terms. They each had their own game plan.

It was common knowledge that anybody in the company, no matter personal assistant or general manager, who had more supporters would have a more stable position. But now, people would overthink when Kiran didn't show up at the company. Was he absent because he really had an emergency or had Lewis terminated him? Now that Seth was taking over his responsibilities, it was very likely that he was taken out of the picture.

"Let's start the meeting."

Lewis sat down while Seth stood up. He switched on the projector and started explaining the new project strategies for that year. While he was presenting efficiently, Lewis took out his phone and put it on silent mode before looking at something on the screen. Conrad, who was standing behind him, could clearly see that he was spying on Josephine.

Quintin and Josephine were nearly out of Elysium. Pearl Lodge was located somewhere between Elysium and Moltwain. It was a four-hour journey by car, and the place was located on a mountain that stood by itself. Entrance tickets cost three thousand dollars each, but there wasn't a fixed price for other expenses. All in all, this place was paradise for rich people. There were always wealthy people vacationing there regardless of whether it was winter or summer.

Josephine had fallen asleep in the car. Quintin drove into the valet parking and turned to look at her. Seeing that she was asleep, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her. However, the moment he touched her, she opened her eyes and stared directly at him. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I was afraid you'd be cold. Sorry for waking you up."

She looked at him for a while and gestured with her hand. She didn't remember much sign language. The only signs she recalled were from muscle memory, and they were the ones she had often used.

Even so, Quintin, and Lewis, who was watching her on his phone, both understood the sign she made. Quintin was stunned, while Lewis immediately lost his composure and bolted up from his chair. What she had signed was, "Hubby, I'm hungry."