Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
Callum’s assistant felt angered at how Bluestone Corp sent an executive manager for the meeting.The manager was slick and did not reveal any sign of annoyance after Callum’s assistant pointed fingers at him. He explained,
“Well, our CEO has been busy lately. That’s why they sent me to entertain you.”From the way he emphasized the word ‘entertain’, one could sense the sarcasm in his tone.
Callum was thinking the situation over with an unhappy expression.
“I hope your CEO keeps his word.”The manager smiled and extended a polished hand.
“Don’t worry. I will not string you along. By the way, my name is Jay Weasley. You can call me Junior too.”Junior… Callum’s assistant rolled his eyes and almost gagged. This guy looks at least twice the age of Mr. Winthrop! Junior? Pfft! He’s more like a Senior!Callum said coolly,
“Mr. Weasley, what’s the plan of your CEO?””My CEO wants me to bring you around. Of course, I will spend all my time with you.”
Jay’s hand hung in the air. When he noticed that Callum didn’t want to shake hands, he withdrew his hand without a hint of embarrassment.
“You probably didn’t get to travel abroad a lot. There are lots of fun places around. I’ll quickly show you around.”Callum’s assistant hissed with simmering anger,
“Our CEO’s time is precious. He can’t be going on a tour with you.””This is a business discussion between the two companies. I believe we don’t need an assistant to school me over and over,”
Jay retorted with a smile on his face. Even though he wasn’t furious, he showed that he was highly aware of the situation but chose to put on a professional front through a strong statement.Callum realized that he had no idea what Bluestone Corp’s CEO was getting at. He kept his dissatisfaction to himself and said coldly,
“Well, if your CEO said so, I’d love to be brought around.””Mr. Winthrop, you’re easygoing indeed. Don’t fret. I promise that you’d meet our CEO in three days.”Callum nodded, but this time, his eyes betrayed a hint of exhaustion, which did not escape the assistant’s keen gaze.
“Mr. Winthrop, do you want to take a rest if you’re tired?”Jay gasped in astonishment,
“Oh, Mr. Winthrop, looks like you didn’t get enough rest. You do seem exhausted. How about this? I’ll bring you to this great place.”Callum looked at him icily.
“Where to?”Jay took a sip of tea and smiled wickedly.
“It’s the place of every man’s dream.”Not once did he forget the orders from his CEO to offend Callum Winthrop from the Winthrop Group. He also heard that Callum was distant and unfriendly. He’d love a good challenge of humiliating the difficult and haughty CEO of Winthrop Group.Although he was reserved in his choice of words, his attitude said it all. The assistant got the hint and blushed.
“What are you talking about? What do you take our CEO for? He never visits those entertainment places!”Annoyed, Jay glared at him and cut him off,
“What do you know? If you don’t want to go with us, just stay at the hotel.”The assistant turned to Callum.
“Mr. Winthrop, you can’t visit those places! Take a good look at this man in front of us. If I were you, I’d rather not work with them! Let’s head back.”The assistant was impatient and restless at his young age. However, Callum did not back off. At the beginning of the meeting, he suspected that Bluestone Corp’s CEO wanted to lure him to Eden and make a fool of him. At this point, he was very sure that fooling him was the plan all around.They wanted to humiliate him, anger him, and accuse him of not being sporty enough. If he left the scene in a fit of anger, he’d only fall into their trap. He would love to see what tricks they had up their sleeves.
“I’ll go.”The assistant panicked.
“Mr. Winthrop!””Ah, Mr. Winthrop, you’re exactly like how people described you-a remarkable man!”
Jay praised.When dusk arrived, the veil of night slowly descended on the city. Jay was driving, and Callum was resting in the back seat. Sitting beside Callum was the assistant, who grumbled,
“I wonder what’s in the mind of the Bluestone CEO. He’s being all mysterious, and now, he got us a sleazy man to bring you around!”Jay heard himself being described as ‘sleazy,’ but he did not protest and merely flashed a smile.It took two hours to get from their hotel to the red light district. When they arrived, the streets were brightly lit in the deep of the night.Lights shone and glasses clinked around them. The entertainment outlets oozed with indulgence and bustled with patrons. Jay parked his car and brought Callum deeper into the district.”You might not know this, but all of us love visiting this place when we’re abroad. This is a heaven for men.”
The anticipation on Jay’s face seemed genuine.The deeper they ventured into the district, the greater the enthusiasm showed by the ladies. A few of them threw themselves at the three men and caressed their chests boldly.The young assistant was in the prime of manhood after all. He had never experienced such a situation before and stumbled backward frantically, at the same time shielding Callum from the advances of the women.”This must be the famous red light district in Eden.”
Callum finally broke his silence on the trip.”Indeed, Mr. Winthrop. You’re sharp. This is the famous red light district. The women here have great bodies. Most are bombshells. The last time I visited here, I wished I could stay for three nights.”The assistant shot him a loathsome look.
“Alright, that’s enough. Mr. Winthrop is unlike you. He doesn’t need to hear your lewd gushing.””How’s that lewd? Isn’t he a man as well? Does he not have carnal desires?”
While Jay was speaking, Callum was thinking about the same topic.Jay noticed that
Callum was deep in thought, and he believed that something must be brewing.
“Mr. Winthrop, you must have recalled the pleasures. You know, the women here are great at pleasing men. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”Callum said icily,
“I don’t need that.”Jay thought dismissively, Hah, look at him, lying to himself. I bet he’ll go crazier than me later in the night. Despite secretly looking down on Callum, he still wore a smile on his face.
“Sure. Mr. Winthrop, don’t worry. There are all sorts of women around. You just need to pick one that suits your taste.”One that suits my taste… Callum frowned deeply and felt distressed. No matter how hard he racked his brains, there was only one woman in his mind. She had silky black hair and red lips. He pictured her smiling like a fox in a tantalizing black evening gown.Gosh, why am I thinking of Elspeth?Her name was something that had always bothered him.He shook his head to clear the thoughts of Elspeth, but her figure further crystallized in his head. Not only that, when he looked at the women on the two sides of the streets, one of their images seemed to overlap with Elspeth’s figure in his mind.The familiar woman in his memory was smiling at men in skimpy clothes and sexy makeup, just like the other women on the streets.Wait. Is that… Elspeth?
Callum’s eyes darkened as he stared.Jay followed his gaze and noticed Elspeth. He thought that, from the way Callum looked at her, he must be interested. And so, a sinful smile formed on his lips.
“I see that she’s your type. Good choice. She’s probably the best-looking lady I’ve seen around.”Jay was sure that Callum was interested in Elspeth, and he hurriedly made the arrangements.
“Mr. Winthrop, are you into that woman? If so, we can get her to serve you.”This time, Callum did not turn down his offer. He felt extremely uneasy when he noticed that Elspeth was almost pressing her body against another man. Before he knew it, he nodded and said to Jay,
“Sure.””Anything, as long as you’re happy! Great, let’s head over.”
Jay took the lead and walked into the store, with Callum and the assistant following right behind. When Callum walked past Elspeth, he did not as much as take a look at her. He went straight into the store.That puzzled Jay, for Callum had appeared very interested in the woman earlier. Why didn’t he even say hi to her at the door?As Callum was moving fast, Jay had to drop his thoughts and keep up immediately.Naturally, Elspeth did not notice Callum walking past her. Instead, she was flashing a fake smile at a stocky man, looking as charming as ever.The man said in a gruff voice,
“How much do you charge per night?”She pointed at herself and beamed seductively.
“Me? Why don’t you try me out? You’ll know then.”The pair chatted for a bit at the door. The man started having lustful thoughts about Elspeth because of her looks.
“Sure, let’s head in now.”When he wrapped his arm around her waist, his desire was immediately aroused. She sensed his biological changes, which disgusted her to no end. However, she could not express her emotions overtly.Subsequently, they entered the store and headed to the private lounge on the second floor.Callum had taken a seat by then, and he shot icy glares at them when he noticed that they were clinging to each other on their way to the second floor.Jay sensed Callum’s dissatisfaction and chuckled. He whispered cautiously,
“Mr. Winthrop, do you want me to talk to the boss and have her come to us?”Jay took Callum’s silence as an agreement. He stood up and stopped the man in his tracks.
“The CEO wants this lady to meet him.””CEO? Which CEO?”
The overweight man was annoyed because he lost his chance with a lovely woman. No man would be happy in his circumstance.When he turned around and saw the regal aura of the CEO behind him, his blood suddenly ran cold. Unsure about Callum’s background, he’d rather not offend his unknown rival and carefully let go of Elspeth.On the other hand, Elspeth glared at Jay unhappily, as though she was complaining about his insensitivity.What CEO is that? How dare he ruin my plans?Her eyes traveled in the direction of Jay’s gaze, and she found Callum seated not far away with a glass of wine in his hand. All at once, her smile froze.C-Callum Winthrop? Why did he show up here? Has he found out about me? Her thoughts were jumbled, and she started panicking. Right as she was about to escape, she felt his frosty and murderous gaze falling on her.She had never seen that expression on him before, and she felt her legs turn to jelly. After thinking it over, she realized that she did not have to inform him about her whereabouts or what she was up to, for there was no relationship between them. So, she simply stood up straight and looked into his eyes unhappily.”Miss, you should count your lucky stars that our CEO took a liking to you! Why don’t you follow me now?”
Jay noticed that she looked like a Charic and started coaxing her in Charish. He was showing enthusiasm only because Callum wanted her.Secretly upset, she frowned at him.
“Tell him that I don’t know him. I won’t go.””Miss, don’t you see where you’re working? Who cares if you don’t know Mr. Winthrop? Do you know this man right next to you?”Jay was not wrong. Elspeth couldn’t express her annoyance and caved in after some internal struggles.When the stocky man saw that she had followed Jay to meet with Callum, he had no choice but to leave in anger.She glided to Callum and noticed that he was sipping on the wine and ignoring her. That was her last straw.
“Why did you call me over?”
She used polite speech with him that sounded anything but polite.Callum kept quiet and merely gave Jay a side look.”Right, I’ll leave now.”
Taking the hint, Jay flashed them a toady smile and left them alone.Only Callum’s assistant was on edge. He stared at the familiar woman as his jaw fell to the floor.Isn’t this our former Mrs. Winthrop? Why is she at this place?”Go and have fun on your own. I need to talk to her.”
The assistant was shooed away by Callum before he could even collect himself.”I never thought that you’d end up like this.”
After sending everyone away, Callum finally looked at her. There was a faint smile on his lips that trod the line between mockery and disdain.Taking her seat gracefully, she poured herself a glass of red wine. She swirled the content and downed it.
“What I do here is none of your business. Instead of wasting your time bossing me around, why don’t you go home to your first love? She might run away with another man again.”He paused his movement, his expression heavy.
“What are you implying?”She thought he was upset because she badmouthed Emma Walker. Feeling a little bitter, she replied,
“Nothing. If this is all you have to say, it’s time you stop causing a nuisance while I work.”Then, she put away her glass of wine and stood up to leave.”Stop right there.”She obeyed his soft-sounding command unconsciously, thanks to her muscle memory that had formed after a long time.”I told you I need to work,”
she hissed.Although Elspeth was on the verge of exploding, Callum did not seem the slightest bothered.
“And I told you to stop right there.””Are you going to boss me about where I’m going?”He stood up and towered over her.
“Didn’t you say you need to work? I’ll give you a chance to serve me.”
Elspeth turned around and took a few steps forward, her eyes fixed firmly on the man in front of her.
“Callum, are you dumb? Why couldn’t I tell you had a thing for such establishments when we were together? I didn’t think you’d come to this kind of place to find a woman for yourself.”Whenever she thought about the fact that Callum would come to such a place, her heart was filled with disappointment.However, he didn’t reply and rebuked sarcastically instead,
“I didn’t realize that you’d work at a place like this either!”What a master at sarcasm! After a moment of thought, she felt that she could not beat him, and she was at a disadvantage as well, so she decided to slip away. However, before she could run, Callum saw through her thoughts.The moment she turned around, he grabbed her collar, his cold voice sounding from behind.
“Where are you going? To serve someone else?””Anyone but you!”
A wave of humiliation surging within her, she immediately whipped around and bit his hand viciously.She was certain that she had mustered all of her strength, but he still did not budge an inch.”Answer my question.””Answer what?”
Elspeth demanded desperately. Yet, as she spoke, her eyes flashed with tears.
“What the hell do you want? It was clearly you who said you didn’t like me anymore, it was also you who personally admitted that the two of us broke up and canceled our engagement, and it was even you who forced me to leave by giving me the cold shoulder. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous to say these things now?”Callum rarely saw her cry, and he had seldom seen an outburst from her like this. As he watched her tear up and yell at him, his heart suddenly ached fiercely. She was right; it really seemed to be his fault.Slowly, he let go of her. As he looked at the teeth marks on the back of his hand, he felt a sharp pain and frowned.Realizing that she had lost control of her emotions, Elspeth took a deep breath and said indifferently,
“I got a little too emotional earlier. Just pretend you didn’t hear anything.””It’s fine. You weren’t wrong.”As soon as he spoke, she instantly felt as if they were strangers.”If there’s nothing else, I really need to go work now,”
Elspeth replied politely, her demeanor turning courteous yet detached.Callum didn’t like this feeling. When he had just lost his feelings for her, he was somewhat averse to her deliberate approaches, but when she truly distanced herself from him, his heart suddenly began to grow apprehensive again, as if her leaving was not a good thing for him.Elspeth turned around and was about to leave when he grabbed her hand again. He decided to follow his heart.”You’re not allowed to smile at anyone else.”Whenever he thought about the possibility of her smiling and flirting with another man, and even taking the next step with them, his heart boiled with fury.Annoyed, Elspeth shook his hand off.
“On what grounds are you controlling me? And who are you to me anyway? That was my first customer since I worked here. It’s all your fault for disrupting my work.”Her first customer? That means she hasn’t done anything with another man yet.At that thought, Callum’s anger dispersed significantly, and he stared at her intensely with his dark eyes.
“How much do you charge per night? I’ll book you for an entire month.””What?”
Elspeth froze. Why was it different from what she’d imagined? Shouldn’t he be leaving in a fit of anger right now because of her provocations? How did things turn out like this? Is Callum’s boundaries really that… low? Although Elspeth secretly thought to herself in shock, she still said stubbornly,
