Chapter 96 Family is My Line in the Sand
Adeline was taken aback.
Ethan Foster wanted to talk to Jasper about her?
In the eyes of the Foster family, she was just another staff member who had resigned, wasn't she? Why the fuss?
Jasper seemed just as surprised.
He knitted his brows with a glance at Adeline and then at Alice. "Tell the kitchen to whip up some fried chicken."
Alice paused, nodded, and with one hand holding Lauren and the other taking Bennett by the hand, they all headed into the mansion.
Ryan drove off to the garage.
That left only Jasper and Adeline at the front door of the villa.
Jasper wasn't in a hurry to go inside.
He fished a cigarette out of his pocket and, leaning against a stone pillar by the entrance, lit it. The smoke billowed up, accentuating his stoic and arresting features with an aura of detached coolness.
His deep, inscrutable gaze lightly swept over Adeline; his lips curled with a hint of frostiness. "Can't make a move through me, so you start playing mind games with my father?"
"How many favors has Brandon Torres handed you for you to sacrifice yourself like this and try to extract trade secrets for him?"
Adeline furrowed her brows.
After a moment, she lifted her lips indifferently.
Did Jasper really think it was she who sought out Ethan Foster, and that was why he had come here to discuss her?
And did he actually believe she kept approaching him again and again solely to gather intelligence for Brandon Torres?
He was overestimating her and underestimating Brandon Torres.
Brandon was indeed his competitor, who, until now, couldn't quite get the upper hand against him.
But that didn't mean Brandon was ready to stoop to any low and use her as a pathway to a breakthrough.
Brandon wasn't that despicable.
Only someone like Jasper, accustomed to dirty tricks, would jump to such conclusions.
With this thought, a colder light flashed in her eyes.
She let out a derisive laugh after a beat. "Mr. Foster, you keep insisting I'm a spy for Brandon Torres."
"Could you then tell me, having been a 'spy' beside you for nearly two months, does the Torres Group now have any trade secrets of the Foster Group up its sleeve?"
Jasper scoffed, "Just because they haven't doesn't mean they won't."
"Maybe Brandon Torres is holding his cards close to his chest."
He exhaled a smoke ring and through the misty cloud of smoke, his eyes seemed to grow colder. "I don't care who sent you or what your purpose is."
"But Adeline," he continued, "I've made it clear to you before—family is my line in the sand."
"You can scheme all you want, but involving Lauren and my father to get to me, like you did today..." he said with a hardened edge to his voice.
"I’d rather not see it happen again."
With that, the man extinguished his half-smoked cigarette with an indifferent flick, "Go inside."
He hefted himself up with an imposing stride and made his way into the villa.
Adeline stood there, her brows knotted in thought, hesitating for a moment before finally stepping forward and entering the house herself.
Despite despising him, she was well aware of what she should and shouldn’t do.
Endure.
She had always embodied this word exceedingly well.
Now was no different.
One after the other, they entered Blue Bay.
"Jasper."
The moment Jasper stepped through the door, Ethan Foster, who was seated on the couch, hurried to his feet. "I wanted to discuss something with you about Adeline—"
His words faltered as he caught sight of Adeline trailing behind Jasper.
The middle-aged man's speech stumbled into silence.
After a beat, he mustered a sheepish grin, “Miss Wilson, you’ve arrived too."
Adeline nodded courteously with a smile, "Mr. Foster."
"The staff mentioned you've been waiting for over an hour?"
Jasper removed his coat, handed it to the attendant, and then eased back onto the couch as his long arm casually draped gracefully over the leather armrest, "What did you want to discuss?"
"It’s a small matter."
Ethan Foster glanced at Adeline as his brow furrowed. He then offered a faint smile, "Maybe another time."
"If you wait, I might lose interest."
Jasper’s legs crossed elegantly, “Speak now.”
He had never harbored much affection for his father, always engaging with him with a stringent, detached professionalism akin to conversing about work with a subordinate.
Ethan Foster seemed taken aback by Jasper’s blunt refusal to afford him any deference.
After a brief silence, he managed a wry smile and spoke up, "Fine, I’ll say it."
He glanced at Adeline and cleared his throat, “It concerns Miss Adeline. As you know, I'm a jewelry designer, and Lauren has a real gift for it, too.”
"But I’ve got my own obligations, and I’ll be leaving in a few days."
"I don’t want Lauren’s talent for jewelry design to be overshadowed. I also don’t believe Denver offers a suitable mentor for her, except for..."
His finger extended, pointing directly at Adeline, "Except for Miss Wilson.”
"At first, I thought Miss Wilson was just another unremarkable staff member like everybody else."
"But later, when I became aware of Miss Wilson's true profession and abilities, I felt downright inadequate. My perspective was just too narrow."
Ethan's earnest, dark gaze held Adeline's face. "Miss Wilson's talent and sharpness in jewelry design are exactly what Lauren needs."
"I think she's the perfect mentor for Lauren."
The moment Ethan's words trailed off, Jasper burst into laughter.
He raised an eyebrow, his gaze lightly sweeping over Adeline's face, "And you're still claiming he didn't bring you here?"
Since Ethan had returned to the Foster family, Jasper had barely exchanged a few words with him.
And yet, this father of his happened to suggest, just before leaving, that Adeline should tutor Lauren.
Wasn't this the same as trying to keep Adeline close to him?
Adeline furrowed her brows, sensing an uneasy premonition.
She had indeed been a formidable jewelry designer in the past.
But...
Before returning home, she had Brandon Torres update her credentials.
Now, her portfolio portrayed her as nothing more than a novice with modest achievements.
The experience listed on her resume was not nearly enough to qualify her as a tutor for a prodigious talent like Lauren.
To think there weren't better teachers than her in Denver, as her resume implied, was laughable.
Adeline pursed her lips, glancing at Ethan Foster with suspicion.
What was this man's true intention?
"Daddy!"
At that moment, Lauren poked her head out from upstairs, "Can you come up for a moment?"
"Bennett and I need to talk to you!"
Jasper responded calmly and gracefully stood up, "Let me check on them."
"Go ahead!"
Ethan waved him off with a smile, "This gives Miss Wilson and me a chance to chat a bit more."
Jasper frowned slightly.
After giving Adeline a cold glance, he strode upstairs.
With the man gone, only Adeline and Ethan Foster remained in the living room.
"Miss Wilson."
Ethan took a deep breath before settling down on the couch in front of her, "Should I address you as Miss Wilson... or should I call you... Master Moon?"
"Who would have thought?"
Ethan Foster poured himself some tea, taking a sip as if it were second nature. "So, the renowned jewelry designer, Miss Moon, who recently took her leave from the high-profile world of gems and jewels, is now working in my son's home as a nanny?"
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