Chapter 208 - 206: You Don’t Have to Come Anymore

"Ms. Sterling, please, have a seat."

Randall Jennings spoke warmly, taking the opportunity to introduce Jasmine Sterling to Lillian Hughes.

Before Lillian Hughes could even process what was happening, her hand had already extended as if on its own. "H-Hello..."

’So *she’s* Ms. Sterling...’

Remembering what she had said to her downstairs, Lillian Hughes felt a pang of guilt, and her cheeks burned.

But with Randall Jennings present, she could only pretend that nothing had happened.

Fortunately, Jasmine Sterling didn’t make things awkward for her, greeting her politely as if they were meeting for the first time.

Lillian Hughes, however, couldn’t figure it out. What exactly was the relationship between Randall Jennings and this Ms. Sterling? She grew even more confused when she saw the lunch container sitting on the desk.

The woman had clearly come to bring Randall food.

’Who brings food to a single member of the opposite sex for no reason?’

’But why was Randall being so courteous to her?’

In all her time here, she had never seen Randall Jennings be so pleasant and genuinely warm to anyone.

He even personally poured a cup of the tea that Secretary Lawson brought in for Ms. Sterling.

Jasmine Sterling also noticed the open lunch container on the desk. It was the lunch Lillian Hughes had prepared for Randall Jennings—a beef and vegetable salad.

It contained protein, vitamins, and a small amount of carbs. With its exquisite presentation and balanced nutrition, it was clearly prepared with great care.

But the black Chia Seeds sprinkled densely over the top immediately caught Jasmine Sterling’s eye.

Her brow furrowed instinctively, and she blurted out, "Mr. Jennings, you can’t eat this, can you?"

She remembered: Randall Jennings was allergic to Chia Seeds.

Hearing this, Randall Jennings looked properly at the lunch Lillian Hughes had brought him for the first time. But before he could speak, Lillian cut in, "What’s that supposed to mean? I made this lunch myself. Why can’t Randall eat it?"

Subconsciously, Lillian Hughes took Jasmine Sterling’s words as a personal attack.

Sensing the displeasure in her tone, Jasmine Sterling quickly clarified in a gentle voice, "Young lady, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t criticizing you. It’s just that Mr. Jennings is allergic to Chia Seeds. Didn’t you know?"

Lillian Hughes was speechless.

’How was I supposed to know?’

’An allergy to Chia Seeds?’

’That’s such a rare allergen.’

She instinctively looked at Randall Jennings, still a little disbelieving as she asked softly, "Randall, you’re allergic to Chia Seeds?"

Randall Jennings nodded slightly, then turned to Jasmine Sterling with a smile. "It’s impressive that you still remember, Ms. Sterling."

"With consequences that severe, it would be hard to forget," Jasmine Sterling replied with a helpless smile.

Randall Jennings laughed as well. Lillian Hughes couldn’t understand what they were talking about, but she could sense from their natural interaction that the two of them shared a past that others didn’t know about.

The feeling made Lillian Hughes both embarrassed and jealous. ’Randall is allergic to Chia Seeds... why does *this woman* know that?’

Alarm bells went off in her mind. Only now did she realize she couldn’t underestimate her rival just because she was older.

"That was careless of me; I had no idea," Lillian Hughes said, quickly packing away the lunch container to hide her embarrassment. She feigned composure and added, "You shouldn’t eat it, then. Randall, should I have Lawson get you something from the cafeteria?"

"No need. Ms. Sterling brought me some God Jumps Over the Wall. I’ll just have this." As Randall Jennings spoke, he pushed the container Lillian had prepared aside and took the one from Jasmine Sterling, opening it himself. The moment the lid came off, a rich, mellow aroma wafted straight to his nose.

He took a deep breath and praised, "This is the exact flavor. I’ve never forgotten the taste of your God Jumps Over the Wall since I had it last time. The other day, I had dinner with that little rascal Cecilia, and we ordered God Jumps Over the Wall. I even told her it wasn’t as good as yours."

Hearing Randall Jennings say that, Jasmine Sterling knew she had done the right thing by coming.

"Cecilia told me about the collaboration with Jennings Group and said you helped her out a great deal, Mr. Jennings. I was wondering how I could thank you on her behalf, but I couldn’t think of anything. Then today, I was looking at some God Jumps Over the Wall, and the memory of you visiting my home suddenly came to mind. I remembered you saying you liked it, so I took the liberty of bringing some for you."

As she spoke, Randall Jennings was already eagerly digging in.

Lillian Hughes watched from the side, a sour taste of jealousy in her heart.

’Isn’t Randall supposed to keep women at arm’s length? Why did he go to that Ms. Sterling’s house?’

Not knowing the full story, her imagination ran wild. The more Lillian Hughes thought about it, the more confused she became, eventually getting tangled in her own assumptions.

Unconsciously, a flicker of hostility appeared in her gaze as she looked at Jasmine Sterling.

Jasmine Sterling wasn’t a fool; she could feel it. It was also obvious that this Miss Hughes had a special relationship with Mr. Jennings. ’I probably came at a bad time,’ she thought. ’And she seems to have gotten the wrong idea about me.’

Afraid of deepening the misunderstanding, Jasmine Sterling didn’t dare say much more. She just sat there, feeling a bit awkward and uneasy, only responding when Randall Jennings initiated the conversation.

This continued until Randall Jennings had finished all of the God Jumps Over the Wall.

"That was truly the best God Jumps Over the Wall I’ve had in years. Thank you for making a special trip to bring it to me," Randall Jennings said to Jasmine Sterling.

Jasmine Sterling quickly packed up the lunch container and gave an awkward smile. "You’re too kind, Mr. Jennings. Well, I’ll be going now."

With that, she stood up. Before Randall Jennings could get to his feet, Jasmine Sterling quickly said, "Don’t see me out, Mr. Jennings. I can take the elevator down myself. And I should be thanking you."

"You’re being too polite. Should I have Lawson drive you home?"

"No, that’s alright. I can just grab a cab. Goodbye."

After saying her goodbyes, Jasmine Sterling left with the lunch container. Randall Jennings could see she was in a hurry. He had wanted to catch up with her, but there hadn’t been a chance.

He couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

The sigh made Lillian Hughes turn to look at him. She thought she detected a note of reluctance in it, and her expression soured. "Randall, who is that woman, anyway? I feel like you treat her differently than you treat everyone else."

Randall Jennings turned to look at Lillian Hughes, his gaze exceptionally deep and grave, making Lillian’s heart lurch.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

She was, after all, a young woman not yet thirty, who had been pampered her whole life. How much cunning could she possibly have? She thought she hadn’t shown any of her true feelings, but Randall Jennings had seen right through her.

However, he wasn’t angry. To him, Lillian Hughes was merely an incidental consequence of placating the old master.

’If it’s not a good fit, I can just end it. No need to waste any more mental energy on it.’

After all, they hadn’t reached a stage where they were inseparably attached or entangled in a complicated relationship.

He concealed the gloom in his eyes and stood up, heading toward the private lounge inside his office. "You can go. And you don’t need to come back again."