Chapter 31: Picking her up

"To settle any doubts about capability," Daniel raised his voice for the board, "both my daughters will take charge. Kira will take full control of Qing Grand, our crown jewel. And Sienna..."

He smiled thin-lipped. "...will take the Qing Horizon."

Whispers broke out instantly. Everyone knew Qing Horizon was an aging resort property bleeding money for three years.

Kira’s spirits lifted the moment she heard those words and she lowered her head to hide her smirk.

Director Ma frowned at the blatant unfairness, "President Qing, isn’t that—"

"I accept," Sienna’s crystal-clear voice cut him off.

Her words caught everyone off guard because they had expected her to throw a tantrum.

Instead, Sienna stepped forward in poise as her lips curved in a confident smile, "Since President Qing is so eager to test my capabilities, I will not disappoint him."

"But remember this, everyone..." She swept her gaze across the room before locking eyes with her father, "From now on, no meeting starts without me."

...

Hawke Corporation.

"A little birdie told me your brother is about to marry your wife’s sister," Leon entered the office, hands in his pockets as he broke the news.

Callahan did not raise his head from the file in his hand, ’’Close the door on your way out."

With a shameless grin, Leon continued walking in, "Sigh... You don’t have an ounce of care for your wife’s feelings."

"What does it have to do with her?" Callahan closed the file.

Leon perked up as if he hadn’t expected the man to show up, "She showed up at their shareholder meeting earlier as one of the major shareholders of the Qing Empire... Wait, you don’t look surprised."

"It was only a matter of time before she claimed her inheritance," That was her goal for marrying him so he expected her to act on it sooner or later.

Callahan was not surprised but he was rather interested in watching her lay her pieces one by one while the opponent underestimated her capabilities.

"You say it like you know everything about her," Leon remarked snarkily after being unable to get a reaction from the man, "Why bother asking me if you already knew... oh, I get it!"

Leon immediately realized what Callahan had responded to, "Of course, the engagement has something to do with her. That’s her ex-boyfriend and stepsister. She has to be made of stone to not feel anything about it."

Callahan frowned, "She won’t."

"Do you know women better than me?" Leon leaned over the desk, "Even if she has moved on, she cannot stay aloof from the situation. Forget it, although you never told me the details of your marriage, I know it’s a temporary arrangement. Her personal feelings are little of your concern..."

Stretching his arms, Leon walked over to the couch, "Boss, I have been working like a cow these past few months. Why don’t you let me go vacationing in Hawaii?"

Thinking of sipping a Mai Tai under pink umbrellas and being surrounded by beautiful women, Leon could feel himself floating on cloud nine when suddenly somebody poured acid all over the cloud.

"Dream on."

As Callahan tilted a stack of thick files, Leon sat up on the couch, "At least let me call it a day now. I was born to float on blue water, sipping on my coconut drink. I cannot work like a beast everyday!"

"Pathetic."

One word and Leon’s spirit was crushed. Accepting his fate, he got up to prepare for the next meeting when Callahan’s phone rang. Leon caught a glimpse of the caller ID: Sienna.

"Today?" Callahan closed the file as he stood up, "No, I am free. I will pick you up."

Leon: "_"

With a straight face, Callahan walked past Leon. Holding the office door, he paused briefly, "Call it a day."

"_" Sorry? Is it not pathetic anymore when you do it? It’s only pathetic when I do it?!

...

In front of the Qing Empire Headquarters, Sienna and Vincent walked side by side.

"I have processed all the papers with the legal team of the company and finalized the process. But you still need to be a little cautious in the future," Vincent said, "They will try to exploit any possible loophole in the clause."

Sienna nodded, "I will keep it in mind. Thank you so much, Vincent!"

"It’s my job. It’s just that..."

When she heard the hesitation in his voice, Sienna stopped walking as she turned to look at him.

"It’s not my place to bring this up but I had to see your marriage certificate to verify your status."

"What is it about? Feel free to ask."

"Was it your decision to marry this person? If you are in some trouble..."

Sienna’s attention shifted as a black Maybach parked on the other side of the road at a little distance.

"Vincent, I asked him to marry me," With a few words, Sienna squashed Vincent’s concerns about her being cornered or bullied by her ’husband’ or some dirty play being involved in it.

Vincent looked like he wanted to ask ’You asked and Callahan Hawke agreed?’ but the girl waved her hand and skipped over to the other side of the road.

Vincent was about to walk away when he saw a tall figure stepping out of the Maybach. Callahan walked to the other side and opened the car door for Sienna.

When the car drove off in the distance, Vincent sighed and looked at the sky, his expressions unreadable.

...

Around 8 pm, in the VIP room of a French restaurant, a silver haired ’man’ clicked his tongue, "Jace, what do you think? Will they show up?"

Jace glanced at the hand wrapped around his neck, "Ava, I think you should go a little easy on the disguise."

Ava winked, "Am I handsome enough to make your boyfriend jealous if he sees us together?"

"I wish. My boyfriend isn’t the jealous type," Jace picked up a glass of water.

"All men are the jealous type if you know the right buttons to press. But, I wonder what buttons did Callahan press to cozy up to Sisi?"

"Pff... Cough cough..." Jace spat the water as he choked violently, "Do you have to say it like that..."

At this moment, the door to the VIP room opened.