Chapter 298: Did Something Happen in His Office?

There was a brief pause on the other end.

"She already left."

Riley’s expression immediately changed. "She left? I thought she would stay till afternoon..."

"Yeah. She finished her work earlier."

Riley tried to hide his disappointment. "Oh. That’s too bad. I was actually on my way there."

Mia chuckled. "Then you’re a little late."

"Thanks for telling me, Mia..." Riley said, forcing a laugh. "Do you know where she went?"

"She went with her husband."

Riley’s smile disappeared. "With her husband?"

"Yep. So sweet, right?"

Riley remained silent for a moment, and Mia seemed to notice his silence.

"Hey, you awfully silent. Did you need something from her?"

"Uhm, No. Nothing important," Riley replied smoothly. "I just wanted to congratulate her on the opening."

"That’s so nice of you," Mia said, sounding amused. "But you know, you could always call her and congratulate her over the phone, right?"

"I have called. She didn’t answer."

Mia laughed softly. "Then maybe she was busy with her husband."

"Yeah, most likely."

There was another short silence before Mia added teasingly, "Don’t tell me you came all the way here just to see Sienna."

Riley quickly laughed. "Of course not. I had other business nearby. How about Ava? Is she there?"

"No, she is busy arranging her wedding."

"Damn! When I have time to stop by, they’re both not there." Riley chuckled.

"Mr. CEO, are you this free? I thought people like you don’t have time... not even to eat?"

Riley couldn’t help but laugh. "You watch too many dramas. We’re human too; of course we have time to enjoy life and meet friends."

"Haha, I’m just teasing you..."

Riley shook his head. "Alright, Mia. I’ll let you get back to work."

"Okay. Take care, Riley. Come when we are officially open..."

"Sure, I will. Bye..."

The call ended, and Riley slowly lowered his phone. His disappointment was much stronger now. He had been looking forward to seeing Sienna, only to find out that she had already left with Zachary.

The thought of his uncle immediately soured his mood.

Riley’s hatred for his uncle had been growing for a long time, and every time he saw Sienna with him, that hatred became stronger.

In his mind, Zachary had everything he wanted. He had the position, the power, the respect of their family, and, most importantly, Sienna.

Riley tightened his grip around his phone as he thought about her.

He wanted Sienna more than ever. He wanted to take her away from Zachary and make her choose him instead. The fact that she was currently with his uncle only made him more determined.

’One day, Sienna will be mine.’

Riley took a slow breath and forced the anger out of his expression. He knew he couldn’t act recklessly. If he wanted Sienna, he had to be patient and stick to his plan.

For now, he had another matter to deal with: The military project.

If Sterling Tech won the tender, it would strengthen his position within the company and prove to his father that he could lead the business. With that success behind him, Riley believed he would have even more opportunities to get closer to Sienna.

He put his phone back into his pocket and stepped into the elevator. Although he was disappointed that he had missed Sienna, his confidence slowly returned.

...

While at one of the sushi restaurants in town, Sienna sat alone in the VIP room.

Zachary had stepped out a few minutes earlier to take a phone call, and even after the waitress served their food, he still had not returned.

Sienna checked her watch again, growing slightly worried as she wondered whether something had happened at his office that required such a long conversation.

"It’s almost ten minutes," she murmured anxiously, glancing toward the door. "Did something happen in his office?"

She felt a little guilty for taking up Zachary’s time. She hadn’t originally planned to have lunch with him. Still, after Jessica suddenly appeared at her cafe, she couldn’t refuse when Zachary offered to take her out for dinner.

Now that he had to deal with something urgent, she couldn’t help feeling as though she had caused him to rearrange his schedule for her.

Still, she didn’t want to waste the food or let herself worry too much. She picked up her chopsticks and began eating her tuna sushi roll, occasionally glancing toward the door between bites.

Several Japanese dishes were spread across the table, including salmon sushi, shrimp tempura, grilled eel, sashimi, and a few other beautifully arranged dishes that had caught her attention as soon as they arrived.

The food was delicious, and Sienna slowly relaxed as she ate.

Every now and then, she looked toward the door, hoping to see Zachary return. However, the longer he stayed away, the more she wondered what kind of business had kept him on the phone for so long.

By the time she had eaten almost half of the food on the table, the door finally opened.

Zachary appeared, and the moment his eyes landed on Sienna, his expression became apologetic. He quickly walked toward her and sat down beside her.

"Sorry, my love," he said, his voice warm with guilt. "Something came up, and I had to stay on the phone longer than I expected."

"It’s okay." Sienna smiled at him and handed him her chopsticks. "Come on, let’s eat. I’ve almost finished all the food by myself."

Zachary looked at the table and laughed softly. "I can see that. You really didn’t wait for me."

"I waited," Sienna protested with a small smile. "But you took too long, so I had no choice. Besides, you were the one who told me to eat."

"Well, we can order as much as you want," Zachary replied as he picked up the chopsticks. "So you don’t have to worry about finishing everything before I come back."

Sienna laughed and watched him begin eating.

The tension she had felt while waiting for him slowly disappeared. Neither of them brought up what had happened at his office, and instead, they focused on the food in front of them.

Sienna complimented the sushi and admired how carefully each dish was arranged.

"This place really knows how to present Japanese food," she said, looking at the dishes with appreciation. "Everything looks so pretty that I almost don’t want to eat it."