Chapter 120 A Surprise Visitor
Chapter 120 A Surprise Visitor
"Ariel, no need to order takeout for me today. In about half an hour, my wife will be coming over. Could you go down and meet her? Have her wait in my office."
He went into the meeting room, leaving Ariel by herself.
Did she hear that right? That was their Matthew, wasn't it, smiling like the sun in spring? Was she seeing things, or had something that surreal actually happened?
Matthew said his wife was coming, so Matthew was married?
Good heavens, this was big news. The Boss's lady was coming to the office!
In the office, the other young women were even more dumbfounded than Ariel, frozen stiff, taking a long time to snap out of it.
"Ariel, was that really our Matthew?"
"We have a Boss's lady now?"
"Yes. It's true. We'll get to meet her soon." Ariel regained her composure and quickly called the receptionist, instructing her to let the young woman know if anyone was looking for Matthew.
Madison wrapped up her visit to the fabric market and hailed a cab to the JK Group headquarters.
After walking in, the very professional receptionist came forward to greet her, inquiring about who she was looking for.
"I'm here to see Matthew."
The receptionist told Madison to sit down and called upstairs.
The receptionist promptly let Ariel know when Madison arrived, as Ariel had instructed her to inform her immediately about important visitors. This was because Madison matched the expected profile of someone seeking Matthew and arrived within the anticipated timeframe.
"Ariel, the lady looking for Matthew, is downstairs."
"All right, I'm on my way down." Ariel immediately headed downstairs to meet her.
As she exited the elevator, she spotted a young woman in a tracksuit calmly seated on a sofa. Was this Mrs. Matthew? She appeared remarkably young, almost like a college student.
Madison wore casual clothes to go to the fabric market early. She sat in the lobby but felt a bit embarrassed seeing everyone else in formal attire. She wished she had met Matthew at his store instead.
Ariel walked briskly toward her and stopped in front of Madison.
Still a bit uncertain, she asked, "Are you, Mrs. Matthew?"
Madison looked up at Ariel with an apologetic, shy smile and nodded. "Yes, that's me."
"Matthew's in a meeting right now; he asked me to come fetch you. Let me take you to his office where you can wait. He should be finishing up soon."
"Okay, thank you for your trouble."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. It's what I'm here for," Ariel reassured her with a smile.
Leading the way, Ariel escorted Madison into the elevator to go upstairs.
Ariel thought the Boss's wife looked young and friendly. She guessed the two kids with her were hers and Matthew's, especially since the girl, Nuonuo, resembled her mother.
Madison followed Ariel to the top floor and was led into Matthew's office. Ariel made some tea before leaving and closing the door behind her. Meanwhile, back in her office, Ariel was surrounded by her colleagues whispering among themselves.
"The boss's wife is incredibly young; Matthew seems to be robbing the cradle!"
"But Matthew doesn't look that old himself."
"So that's the type he goes for – naturally sweet and demure. You can't fake that."
"All right, enough gossiping. Get back to work, or we'll get an earful," Ariel scolded, worried someone might overhear and create a mess.
"Ariel, the boss has been on cloud nine recently, in such good spirits, he hasn't been scolding anyone, ha!"
Ariel pondered and realized it was true. Matthew hadn't been harsh lately, likely thanks to the calming influence of his wife.
"If the boss isn't scolding, then you'd better get back to work, or I'll start," Ariel playfully threatened.
The cluster of young ladies giggled and stuck out their tongues before dispersing to their desks.
Madison sat in Matthew's office, her eyes wandering curiously around the room. She reminisced about the last time she was there, seeking Matthew's help with Nicholas to find Quentin and Hannah.
Matthew returned to the conference room with renewed energy, his efficiency soaring. The meeting originally slated for the afternoon was concluded by noon.
"Pass any remaining issues to the Assistant. Meeting adjourned."
With those brief words, he swiftly exited the conference room, heading toward his office.
Pushing the door open, he saw Madison standing by the expansive floor-to-ceiling window, her back to him.
"Honey."
His cheerful voice was so clear that it probably reached the ears of anyone standing outside.
Madison turned around, her smile greeting Matthew. "Is the meeting over?"
"Yeah, it's done. Have you been waiting long? Are you hungry? What do you feel like having for lunch?" Matthew walked over, took her by the hand, and together they settled on the couch.
"No, I just got here too. Anything's fine, you pick."
"All right, let's go to that place you liked last time."
"Will it interfere with your work this afternoon?" Madison knew the restaurant he meant; it was a drive from the office.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not tied up this afternoon."
Unable to resist her pink lips, Matthew leaned in and captured her.
When she finally wriggled free, Madison placed her hand on his chest playfully. "We're still at work. What if someone walks in?"
"There's nobody here. Besides, even if there were, who would dare to look!" Matthew caught her hand in his, their fingers intertwining.
Brian, about to knock and enter with a stack of files, twisted his mouth into a wry smile. Boss, what do you mean nothing is going on? These files all need to be dealt with today! What do you mean no one's around? We're right here. No one would dare to speak up.
Though Brian didn't want to interrupt his Boss and his better half, he still had a stack of documents requiring the Boss's signature, so he knocked on the door.
"Come in." Matthew and Madison, still hand in hand, waited for the voice inside before Brian pushed the door open.
"Matthew, these documents need your signature. I'll leave them on your desk."
Brian quickly walked to the desk, dropped off the files, and made his urgent exit.
Great, now I'm the guy interrupting the Boss and his lady. Will this cost me my bonus? Next time, I'll just let them come to me.
After Brian left, Matthew stood up, still holding Madison's hand. "Honey, let's go get some lunch."
The couple, fingers still entwined, left the office and approached the elevator.
When the doors slid open, Patrick emerged.
"You two are heading out for lunch?"
Matthew just gave him a look, light and unfazed, with no words exchanged.
"Hmm, is Little Five coming too?" Madison inquired.
"Sure, sure," Patrick responded immediately, fearing that any hesitation would earn him a scowl from Matthew and a prompt ejection.
"What are you doing up here?" the three of them entered the elevator, and Matthew, with a cool tone, grilled Patrick. He was annoyed that his brief lunch with his wife was about to be interrupted by Little Five, the human light bulb.
"I came to have lunch with you, Matthew. It's perfect timing," Patrick said with a chuckle, completely ignoring the displeasure on Matthew's face.
Actually, he had overheard Matthew's wife visiting down in the lobby. It was rare for her to do so, and knowing this, he made a point of coming to see for himself. Matthew had been out a lot lately, so Patrick hadn't bothered to seek him out, preferring to hang around with his older brother instead.
"Why don't you go have lunch by yourself?"
"But your wife invited me to join, right? It's so rare for her to visit. I'm just lucky today. If the others—our other brothers and Willow—were here, we could all have gone together."
Saying this, he turned to Madison. "Next time you come, we should all go out together."
"Sure," Madison nodded, smiling gently.
Matthew's expression darkened even more at the thought. Wasn't it enough that he was being the third wheel? Now Patrick was suggesting roping in everyone else? Over his dead body!
Madison laughed and lightly tugged at Matthew's arm. The man was like a signboard—all 'Do Not Disturb'.
With a soft huff, Matthew's face illuminated with reluctance, but he conceded that for the sake of his wife, he wouldn't make a fuss.
Then, he ignored Patrick for the rest of the ride.
Reaching the parking garage, the three stepped out of the elevator, and Patrick eagerly offered, "Matthew, let's take my car. I'll drive. It's the least I can do since I'm crashing the lunch."
Unperturbed, Matthew led Madison to Steven's car.
"What are you guys in the mood for? Let me treat you. I'm quite the connoisseur. How about something spicy? I guarantee you'll love it."
"Sounds wonderful," Madison agreed pleasantly; she indeed had a penchant for spicy food.
Matthew nodded his approval silently, pursing his lips.
Patrick drove out of the garage, all the while chatting to Madison about the restaurant they were headed to and boasting about their signature dishes.
Madison laughed. "Hearing Little Five talk about it is making me hungry already."
Hearing his wife claim hunger, Matthew promptly commanded the 'driver,' "Speed up, or she'll faint from hunger before we even get there."
Patrick was speechless.
"If you call my driving slow, Matthew, then what does that make the other cars, snails?" But he didn't dare say it out loud. Silently, he pressed a bit harder on the accelerator.
Patrick guided them to a diner nestled in an alley of the old city district. They parked the car and strolled for a couple of minutes to reach it. The diner was small, with only seven or eight tables, no private rooms, and simple decor, but it was impeccably clean.
They had missed the rush hour, so only one other table was occupied. As they walked in, the delicious aroma of food greeted them.
The three picked a table by the window and sat down.
The owners were a young couple; the husband operated the stove while his wife greeted the guests. They also had a server on staff.
As soon as they were seated, the lady of the house came over with a smile, holding menus and a plate of sunflower seeds while signaling to the server to pour some water.
"Here are the menus. Take your time and see what you fancy," she said.
Madison picked up the menu and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was handwritten with beautiful penmanship. The sight alone made her mouth water.
After browsing for a bit, she looked up at Patrick and asked, "Little Five, what are you in the mood for?"
Before Patrick could respond, Matthew chimed in, "Just order whatever you like, don't mind him."
"Heh, yeah, sis, pick what you want. Most of their dishes are decent," Patrick said with a flattering smile, relieved to have "sister" there to balance out the tough vibe from Matthew.
"All right, I'm ordering then, and no one better waste food," Madison declared, returning her focus to the menu.
She ended up choosing dry-braised fish, spicy chicken, map tofu, a refreshing cucumber salad, and finally tossed in a wild Tacos al Pastor for good measure.
"Think it's too much? Matthew, should I swap one out for a non-spicy dish?" Madison asked, turning to Matthew with concern. He generally enjoyed spicy food, but she worried the spiciness might be too much that day.
"Don't worry, I can handle it," Matthew assured her. He hadn't been a fan of spice before, but since Madison liked it – and even the kids had developed a taste for it despite not eating much – he'd grown to love it too.
Loving someone meant making those little concessions, right?
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