Chapter 639 Didn't Measure Up
Teresa plopped back into her seat, feeling totally defeated. "You're really pushing it!"
Frank just grinned and said, "Chill and enjoy your food."
Right then, the waiters started bringing out a bunch of fancy dishes.
Teresa was racking her brain on how to explain all this to Anthony when he showed up.
The restaurant was pretty close to the Crescent Group, so about fifteen minutes later, Anthony walked in.
Anthony came in all smiles, but his face fell when he saw Frank sitting there with Teresa. He looked from Frank to Teresa. "Teresa, are you having a candlelight dinner with Mr. Perez?"
Teresa gave an awkward smile. "There are candles, but it's not like that. Mr. Perez and I were just grabbing lunch since we were nearby. Anthony, come sit. Order whatever you want. Mr. Perez is picking up the tab!"
She patted the chair next to her.
Anthony trusted Teresa, but being so close to Frank made him uneasy. "Mr. Perez, thanks for the treat!"
He pulled out a chair and sat down.
Frank, still smiling, cut his steak and said casually, "Anthony, I heard you took some time off for family stuff."
Anthony felt a pang of guilt. "Mr. Perez, I..."
Teresa saw Anthony's discomfort and snapped at Frank, "Yeah! A girlfriend counts as a family! He took leave for me. Isn't that normal?"
Frank glanced at them and chuckled.
To blow off some steam, Teresa called the waiter and had Anthony order the priciest dishes, determined to make Frank pay big time.
Anthony thought it was excessive and tried to stop her, but Teresa insisted on ordering the most expensive stuff.
Once the food was served, Anthony cut a piece of steak, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to Teresa. "Teresa, try this first."
Teresa felt a bit awkward but didn't want to hurt Anthony's feelings. After a pause, she took a bite. "This is amazing. You go ahead and eat, I'm fine!"
Frank didn't show much reaction, but the sound of his knife and fork scraping the plate was kinda annoying.
Before leaving, Frank had the restaurant pack up a takeaway order.
As they walked out, Teresa, feeling a bit bad for Anthony, turned to Frank and said, "Mr. Perez, why don't you take the food to Katherine? Anthony's off today, and I'd like to spend some time with him. I'll visit her later!"
Frank squinted, clearly not happy, but didn't say anything to Teresa. Instead, he looked at Anthony and said, "Anthony, if you head back to work now, I'll count this as your lunch break, not leave."
Anthony was caught off guard but quickly found himself in a tough spot. After glancing at Teresa, he made up his mind and said to Frank, "Mr. Perez, thanks for the offer, but I've already taken the leave. Rushing back now wouldn't make sense since the meeting's over. I'd rather spend time with Teresa."
Frank's smile turned a bit sinister, making Anthony worry he might get canned.
"Alright! Goodbye, Mr. Perez! We're outta here!" Teresa broke the tension, dragging Anthony towards the nearby mall.
Frank stood there for a moment, lost in thought, before getting into his car and driving off.
Teresa hustled Anthony into the mall, then sneakily looked back to make sure Frank was gone before finally relaxing.
Anthony, noticing her behavior, felt uneasy. "Teresa, what's the deal with you and Mr. Perez? Why does he seem so hostile towards me?"
Teresa snapped out of it and looked at Anthony with some guilt. "I'm sorry, Anthony, for dragging you into this mess."
Anthony quickly shook his head. "No! I'm concerned that if Mr. Perez is my competitor, I might not have a chance.""
Teresa forced a smile. "Don't overthink it! Everyone at the company knows what kind of guy Mr. Perez is. He's a notorious playboy. Even if he's interested in me, it's not serious."
Hearing this, Anthony relaxed a bit. "I thought you might like someone as charming and successful as Mr. Perez."
Teresa felt a bit guilty. "Never mind! Let's not talk about him. You took the day off to be with me, so let's enjoy our time at the mall. You didn't eat much earlier, did you? Come on, let me treat you to another meal."
When Frank got home, he was immediately confronted by Leander standing at the door. His distracted expression froze, and he looked at Leander unwelcomingly. "What are you doing here?"
Leander politely nodded. "Hello, Mr. Perez. I'm here on Mr. Melville's orders to protect Mrs. Melville."
Frank's brow furrowed, and he sneered, " Go back and tell Mr. Melville that we can protect Katherine ourselves. We don't require a playboy like him to be concerned."
Leander, having been by Alex's side for years, had excellent emotional control and responded with a polite smile, "Mr. Melville wouldn't dare call himself a playboy in front of you, Mr. Perez. Compared to you, he doesn't measure up and wouldn't dare take the title."
Frank thought, 'Is my reputation as a playboy that well-known?'
Leander was right, and Frank couldn't argue. "Now that I'm back, I'll take care of Katherine. You can leave."
Leander remained unmoved. "My task is to stay here, and there's no conflict."
Frank was already in a bad mood. "You..."
"Frank!" Katherine walked out of the bedroom, yawning. "What did you bring back? I'm starving."
Hearing Katherine's voice, Frank shifted his attention from Leander. "Katherine, I brought you a steak and mushroom soup."
Katherine nodded. "That's fine."
Frank smiled. "I'll heat it up for you! Just hang tight."
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