Chapter 68 Unexpected Encounter
Beep, beep, beep—
The horn blared on the early morning street. Carlton sat anxiously in his car, occasionally glancing at his watch, his words filled with impatience.
"Damn it, why is there traffic this early!"
Before dawn, he received a call from his assistant, saying there was a project issue that required his personal attention. It was urgent. Unable to help it, Carlton had to go, but by the time he resolved the issue, it was already too late. Now he was stuck on the way to the airport.
When he arrived at the airport, he was informed that the flight had taken off just five minutes ago. Carlton fiercely punched his suitcase, but he didn't give up easily. He hurriedly rebooked his flight.
Eighteen hours later, the plane landed smoothly.
Everyone looked exhausted, rubbing their legs and couldn’t help complaining.
"We've been sitting for so long; my legs are swollen."
“I’m starving, can we grab something to eat first?”
Alisha tried to calm everyone down. With a gentle smile, she said, "Before our arrival, I sent the flight information to Page Group. They should be here to pick us up, and we can have a meal together later."
Upon hearing this, everyone panicked for a few seconds.
"Oh? Are we meeting with people from Page today?"
"Yeah, I haven't reviewed my basic English yet!"
"Don't worry, we have Alisha. Alisha has traveled abroad before and is good at English."
Alisha smiled slightly, though her English proficiency was just average.
Whenever it was necessary to discuss projects abroad, she would request a translator in advance as she still struggled with many professional terms.
The ten people arrived at the parking lot, waiting for Page Group's designated car.
Luann placed her luggage against the wall and lazily leaned against it, her movements casual yet full of beauty, as if she could become a beautiful painting with a single pose.
After a series of phone communications, a black car slowly pulled over.
The driver waved at them, greeting them, and helping to load their luggage into the trunk.
Alisha handed him a tip and said, "Thank you for coming all the way to pick us up."
The driver naturally replied, "You're welcome. The manager sent me."
Once inside the car, the driver took them to a famous local restaurant.
Led by Alisha, they all headed towards the private room.
"Alisha is amazing. She can navigate so smoothly even overseas."
"Yeah, if it were just us, we would be completely lost and wouldn't even find our way around."
Listening to their compliments, a barely noticeable curve appeared on the corner of Alisha's mouth, as she felt some pride inside.
She pushed open the door to the room but froze for two seconds upon seeing the person sitting on the couch.
The person stood up, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "Alisha, it's been years since we last saw each other."
"Dylan? How can it be you?" Alisha's face was full of disbelief. "Could it be... could you be... the manager of Page Group?"
The man appeared to be around thirty years old with neatly groomed black hair and a handsome appearance.
Dylan approached and embraced Alisha, affectionately brushing his cheek against hers.
With a meaningful tone, he whispered in her ear, "Missed me?"
Alisha looked slightly flustered and took a step back, accidentally stepping on an employee's foot.
"Alisha, why are you so excited? That's just their foreign etiquette."
Alisha quickly apologized, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Everyone, please have a seat."
Luann's gaze swept across Dylan's face, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, then she walked over to sit in the most inconspicuous corner.
Someone asked tentatively, "Sir...do you know Alisha?"
Dylan took a sip of his coffee and nodded casually, a hint of a smile in the corner of his eyes as he looked at Alisha.
"We were high school classmates."
Everyone was stunned.
"I see!"
Luann cupped her hand under her chin and continued chatting with the others.
Her gaze went back and forth between Alisha and Dylan. Judging by their appearance, they were more than just classmates.
"Don't worry, today we won't talk about business. Let's just have a simple meal to welcome you." Dylan finished speaking and signaled the waiter to serve.
Throughout the meal, Alisha, who seemed open-minded about this, hardly said a word. It was Dylan who kept the conversation going, preventing any awkward silence.
Finally finishing the meal, Alisha exchanged a few pleasantries and was about to leave.
However, Dylan said, "Alisha, it's been so long since we last met. We should catch up."
Alisha forced a smile and replied, "I brought my teammates with me, I have to make sure they're settled."
"In that case, I'll have your employees sent to the hotel. Now you can relax, right?"
Facing Dylan's relentless pursuit, Alisha hesitated for a moment but couldn't find a way to refuse. After all, she came here with a purpose.
"Well then..."
Luann followed them as they walked out and grabbed someone.
"I have to go see an old friend while we are here, I need to go see them. You guys go back first."
"Okay, I'll send you the address later."
After they left, Luann hailed a taxi and made a phone call.
"Second Brother, I've arrived in the U.S., same place as always?"
"Good."
Ever since Luann went to the Upper West Side, her visits became few and far between. She couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.
Entering through the back door of the bar, the backstage staff was taken aback for a moment before urging her to leave in English, saying, "Who are you? Get out!"
Luann couldn't help but chuckle. It had been so long that everyone had changed. Not a single person recognized her.
One of them heard the commotion and looked at her with suspicion. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, he quickly approached.
"...Miss Luann?"
"You finally came back!"
Luann patted his shoulder but couldn't recall his name even after thinking for a while.
"Well, I'm here waiting for my Second Brother."
"You can sit up front. It's a bit messy here, we haven't had time to tidy up. I'll have someone bring you a drink, same as before, right?"
"Sure."
Luann sat in a corner, sipping her drink, and watching people dance on the dance floor.
Before long, she saw Dylan squeeze his way out of the crowd and start talking to a foreigner.
The distance was too far to hear the specific content of their conversation.
As soon as Alisha entered the bar, she was overwhelmed by the deafening music. After a journey of about twenty hours, her lack of sleep was apparent. Now being brought to a place like this was giving her a splitting headache.
"What would you like to drink?" Dylan asked with a smile.
"A glass of plain water will do," Alisha reluctantly replied.
Dylan didn't make it difficult for her and brought a glass of water to her.
"Alisha, it's been so long since college. Have you been getting along well with Carlton?"
"He's...
