Chapter 24 The Awkward Quentin
Lauren realized why Quentin was so fearful of her eyeing his wealth. If such a vast enterprise were split in half, she'd be heartbroken too, if she were in his shoes.
Linda said with a smile, "Quentin is a good boss, never too harsh on his employees. He tries his best to resolve all their issues and as long as they serve the company well, they're rewarded with the best benefits."
She never knew he could be so humane. But why was he so cold and cruel towardstoward her?
"Ms. Walker, what would you like to eat?" inquired Linda.
Lauren, coming back to reality, replied, "Just call me Amelia, Linda."
Linda turned with a charming smile.
"Alright, Amelia, how about we grab some pasta? There's a lounge nearby, perfect for resting up after we eat," Linda suggested.
Lauren nodded in agreement. With a two-hour break at midday, she really had no other plans.
Lauren and Linda walked into the cafeteria but were soon captivated by two men near the window.
Quentin... and Noah.
Linda, all smiles, tugged Lauren along. "Quentin, Mr. Martin, grabbing some noodles too?"
Off the clock, Linda shed her worktime reserve, and with Noah being so approachable, it was no wonder he was popular with the ladies.
"Yeah," Noah said with a smile. "You two beauties want to join our table?"
Quentin's face was all chill. One hand on his phone checking out the news and the other spearing soup with his fork, he clearly didn't want the intrusion.
Lauren's spine was stiff; she wanted to bolt but Linda’s grip made her stay put.
Linda was no fool. Seeing Quentin's icy demeanor, she managed a strained laughter. "No, we take our time eating. Don't want to disturb you, executives."
Noah glanced at Quentin, feeling a bit helpless. With that zombie face of his, scaring beauties away was almost a given.
"Alright, we're almost done here anyway," Noah conceded, deciding not to push it. With a partner that cold, him finding a date would be a real marvel.
Lauren mentally breathed a sigh of relief, nodded politely to Quentin and Noah, then turned to leave with Linda.
The women ordered their noodles and sat in the back, waiting. Soon, Quentin and Noah were finished. They stood up, gathered their things, and left the diner. Lauren could finally relax.
Linda addressed the elephant in the room. "Amelia, did that spook you? Didn't expect to see the big bosses at the staff diner, huh?"
Lauren mustered a smile. "Yeah, totally didn't see it coming... running into them, I mean."
Linda chuckled. "Don't let Quentin's cool front fool you. He really doesn't act all high and mighty. Usually, he'll have lunch here if nothing's up, no VIP treatment or special favors."
Lauren nodded, her gaze drifting to the door where Quentin had exited moments ago.
Today she saw another side to Quentin. Despite his aloofness, the respect and admiration he evoked in his staff explained why the Robinson Conglomerate thrived and succeeded. No wonder she was falling for him. What woman wouldn't be drawn to a man so enigmatic and accomplished?
After work, the staff from the Sales Department started leaving one by one, yet Lauren had no intention of ending her day just yet. She had decided earlier to push through and finish reviewing her material. As the lights flickered off in the dozen or so divisions of the Sales Department, Lauren finally settled down, deeply engrossed in the sales data.
Meanwhile, Quentin was sitting idly in his office chair, apparently waiting for something. He had firmly told Noah to treat Amelia as if she were thin air, but ever since Amelia joined the company, her image kept involuntarily popping into his mind.
He thought of the day she confidently persuaded him to collaborate, the casual way she mentioned her divorce, and how she always seemed to be in a good mood...
The more Quentin thought about it, the angrier he got until he punched the desk in frustration.
Dammit! Can't he stop thinking about her?
He had to admit that the woman's push-and-pull tactics had once again caught his attention. But she was underestimating him; he was not someone she could toy with on a whim.
Quentin plunged back into workaholic mode to stop his thoughts from drifting back to Lauren, immersing himself in a sea of work.
Before he realized, it was already nine in the evening. After finishing his last video conference, Quentin shut down his computer and prepared to leave.
As he entered the elevator and was about to press the button for his floor, on some strange impulse, he hit the button for the eighteenth floor instead.
The elevator dinged and came to a halt. Quentin stepped into the dark Sales Department, feeling a sense of loss. It was only then that he remembered he had no idea where in the Sales Department Lauren's unit was. As he was about to give in to frustration, he noticed a faint light at the far end.
Quentin walked towardstoward it, step by step... getting closer... until he almost reached the source, he halted. The person engrossed in documents at the desk was undeniably Lauren.
He suddenly found himself hesitating to approach, afraid to see the aloof look in Lauren's eyes, afraid of the awkward tension between them, and afraid she might bring up the topic of divorce again...
What a joke. What was he afraid of? He simply couldn't be bothered with her. Quentin reassured himself internally, feeling no need to stay, and he turned to leave.
Lauren suddenly felt a chill behind her, as if someone was watching her. When she turned around, though, she found no one there.
"Phew—scared me for a second, I thought I was in some horror movie!" Lauren chuckled to herself and continued reviewing her documents.
The moment Quentin left the building, he saw the security guard in his office, fixated on his cell phone. Quentin knocked on the glass of the guard’s booth.
The guard, realizing it was the company's big boss who'd knocked, scrambled up, terrified that he'ds been caught slacking off on his phone during work hours.
"Lu... Quentin, hi."
"Hmm, it's pretty late now; we can lock up. There are still some folks from the Sales Department working overtime upstairs, go ahead and tell them to come down," Quentin said.
It was awkward for him, and he knew it. He didn’t’t want that petite person to work so hard, yet he cloaked it with a different excuse.
"Alright…… okay," the security guard let out a sigh of relief, his emotions this late at night were like a roller coaster ride.
After Quentin finished speaking, he turned around and left, getting into his car parked at the front door, and driving away from the office.
Lauren was interrupted from her studies by the security guard and after understanding the reason, she couldn’t’t help but chuckle in disbelief. The Robinson Conglomerate was actually this considerate, not allowing employees to work overtime.? Such policy was definitely something the domineering Quentin would implement.
What Lauren didn’t’t realize was that during busy periods, some employees from the Sales Department worked all night without anyone batting an eye. This time, it was only because she was the one staying late.
