Page 4 of The Billionaire's Contract Baby

His body language showed he expected me to say no. I would have preferred he brought this to my office, but I was here now. And I got to see Crystal - so, not that bad. How has she been? She certainly looked good. I smirked, then caught Edward looking at me with hope. Poor man, I wasn't thinking about you. I've heard a lot about these fruit wines and the appeal to low-income people. However, Rosii Wines were a luxury product and couldn't be devalued. I have rejected ideas like these, but he was right to say we needed to diversify our markets.

"Do you have samples here?" I asked, wanting to give him a chance.

"Yes, yes. A second, sir." He sprang to his feet and went to his cabinet. He brought out two unlabeled bottles and two glass cups. He sets it down on the table in front of me. He served each wine into different cups. I picked the first one and took a sip. Sweet and punchy with notes of various fruits in it. Not something I'd choose, but I could see young people liking this. Keeping my face expressionless, I tried the other: it was tangy and bitter, but after drinking it, it left a sweet aftertaste. Not bad, although not unique. Such flavors were ubiquitous in wines.

"Edward, these varieties need more work. I am not impressed. The taste is generic and uninspiring, but I see a future for them. Don't bring such to me again." He lost his enthusiasm, making him look years older. Mincing words would be disingenuous. I didn't bring my company to the level it was today with inferior wines. “You have hope, just keep on refining this and maybe it just might meet my standards." That should have softened the blow.

"Yes, sir." That was good. I hated groveling and apologies.

Nodding, I set the cup down and leaned into the seat. "How long has Crystal worked here?" My question caught him off guard, but he responded quickly.

"She just started as our Production Supervisor today. Her resume is quite remarkable." He was obviously proud of her. Last time I saw her, she hadn't gone to college and needed money to take care of her bills. It seemed she had done well for herself over the past few years.

"I see. Well, keep up the work here. I will take my leave." I rose. I didn't have much time to spend, and I'd rather spend more of it time with Crystal. "No, don't follow me. Get back to work." I didn't want him fidgeting around me.

"Okay, sir, have a lovely ride." I opened the door and closed it behind me. Letting out a deep breath, I swiftly reached the elevator and went to the lower floor.

I didn't know where Crystal was, so I went to the reception area. The guy quickly turned his attention to me. Smiling, he said, "How may I be of help, sir?"

"I would like to meet with Crystal. She's your Production Supervisor."

"She's currently in the storage unit. Just walk down, and to your left you will see the door." Nodding, I followed his directions. Seeing the door with the storage sign, I opened it. Cool air wafted out, caressing my cheeks. I stepped in to see boxes of wine arranged in an orderly fashion. She was nowhere to be seen. “Crystal?" I called out. A voice let out a yelp as she came out from behind some crates, a file in her hand.

"I'm sorry, I was busy. How may I help you, sir?" She was professional and distant. Did she really not remember me?

"Crystal, don't you remember me, or are you just feigning ignorance?" I took a step toward her. Her eyes wavered, and she shook her head. She was lying, she knew me but was trying to act oblivious.

"If that's the case, I guess I ought to talk to your boss. You might be the wrong person, impersonating the identity of someone dear to me," I said with mock pain in my voice.

"No, please. I'm Crystal. I would never steal someone's identity…Lorenzo." She bit her full lips, looking away from me shyly. The way she said my name did something inexplicable to me.

"I want to talk to you. Somewhere away from here. Do you have time?" Her lips moved for a bit, and she nodded. She was nervous, so I gave her my hand. After hesitating, she took my hand and set the file on a box.

"Let's go." Her smile gave me pause. I caressed the back of her hand and led her out of the room. She was suddenly more nervous. "Can you not hold my hand? I don't want others to get the wrong impression."

"Let them talk. You should ignore them. Come, my car is waiting outside." Although she was still nervous, she walked more confidently beside me.

We left the building and walked to the parking lot. Antonio was beside my car. He saw me and opened the door. When we reached it, I helped Crystal get in and took my seat beside her. Antonio closed the door and got in the driver's seat. "Take us to the nearest fine restaurant."

"Yes, sir." He started the car and drove out of the parking lot. Crystal had moved to the other end of the car. She was looking through the window, pensive. I took her hand and squeezed it. She faced me and smiled. I didn't return the smile, but I held her hand and rubbed my thumb on her palm. She scoffed and looked out the window again.

The ride was not long as Antonio parked before a restaurant with a sign at the entrance embossed with its name:Éclairs Home.I opened the door and got out while Crystal stepped out on her own. A lock of hair swayed in front of her face; she pushed it back and sighed.

"Come on." We both closed the door at the same time. She walked over to me, and I took her hand again. We passed through the glass door at the entrance. An enticing aroma welcomed us. Lounge chairs dominated the space, and waiters moved about serving people.

I led her to a seat closer to one of the windows. Helping her to her seat, I took mine opposite her. The menu was beside us on the table. "What would you like to have?"

She flipped through it and shook her head. "I'm not hungry but I wouldn't mind the chocolate pudding."

Nodding, I beckoned a waitress over. "She'll have a chocolate pudding, while I'll have the stir-fried pasta." She wrote something down and then walked away.

"How have you been all these years? After our plans failed you suddenly became a ghost." I tapped the table with a finger, curious as to what she'd say.

"I wanted to make something out of my life, and you gave me the means to do that. I was able to go to college and now I'm better off. For that I'm grateful." She blushed and touched her cheeks, blushing a darker pink shade.

"You don't have to thank me. You deserved it. You could have come to me, and I would have given you a better position at my company." I paused, watching as the waitress served our food and strode away.

"I wanted to get a job on my own merit, and I did. How have you been since then?" she asked. She took a spoonful of her pudding and savored it. Twirling a fork in my pasta, I brought it to my mouth and chewed slowly.

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