Refusing to Remarry: Mr. Hawthorne, You Are Out-Chapter 64: Is She Deliberately Avoiding Him?
Lily Sinclair was startled by the voice, hurriedly stood up, and turned around.
Seeing that it was Leon Grant, her nervous eyes showed a hint of timidness, "Mr.... Mr. Grant."
Upon realizing that the woman in front of him wasn’t Raine Sinclair, Leon was taken aback, followed by an inevitable layer of shallow disappointment in his eyes.
"Oh, it’s Ms. Sinclair." he murmured, quickly realizing that this Ms. Sinclair was not the one he had in mind.
It’s just that his subordinates didn’t make it clear. With the two Sinclair sisters, they better learn to differentiate them in the future.
Though Lily Sinclair’s usual character was carefree, she was after all a young girl with a delicate mind, and she almost instinctively noticed the significant difference in Leon’s tone between the two sentences.
The first sentence seemed to carry a gentle tenderness.
The latter... was unmistakably polite yet distant.
Realizing this, Lily couldn’t help but feel a sense of desolation within.
But she quickly hid the bad emotions and instead said, "Mr. Grant, my sister..."
As soon as she began speaking, she felt something was wrong and quickly corrected herself, "Ms. Sinclair asked me to come and discuss some matters with you."
"No need to be so formal." Leon noticed how she seemed a bit reserved, so he smiled and said, "If your sister finds out, she might think I’m bullying you."
The semi-joking words, when heard by Lily, brought a sense of melancholy.
She could sense that Leon seemed to be much closer to her cousin, while he was quite distant toward her.
She also knew that her acquaintance with Leon was entirely due to her cousin...
It was normal for her cousin to be familiar with him.
Yet she didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt an uncontrollable pang of sourness in her heart.
"My cousin would not." she said with her eyes lowered and voice somewhat sullen.
Leon, however, didn’t notice this; he wasn’t the type to have the many thoughts of a young girl. He had always lived a carefree life alone, except he had more patience for Raine.
For anyone else, he never bothered to give them much attention.
"Let’s discuss this in the office. I’ve heard about the situation over the phone, but the details still need to be discussed." Leon said, his demeanor already turning serious.
Discussing providing a financial guarantee for Sinclair Group was no trivial matter.
If Sinclair Group faced a financial crisis and couldn’t repay the money, Leon would have to jointly bear the 8.9 billion loan with another person.
Of course, Raine had promised him certain benefits.
The specifics of those benefits were yet to be finalized, which was the reason for today’s conversation.
"Alright." Lily obediently followed behind him, occasionally glancing at his tall and commanding back, and inevitably felt admiration arise from within.
When she first saw Leon at the charity gala, she felt he was extraordinary.
Now, with each additional glance, ripples of emotion stirred more intensely in her heart.
The two went to the office, and Lily recited to Leon the words her cousin had instructed her the previous night.
Perhaps because it was learned just recently and having no practical experience, Lily’s performance was somewhat stiff, almost like following a script, let alone showing any aura or skill.
Leon, a seasoned veteran in the business world, could see it immediately, but he didn’t expose her, simply slowed down the pace silently.
"I understand Ms. Sinclair’s intentions, but the risk of those 8.9 billion is quite significant."
His speech was slow but showed no sign of conceding.
Leon originally intended to discuss the matter directly with Raine, but unexpectedly she sent a young girl over.
Was she deliberately avoiding him?
It wasn’t a lack of sincerity, considering the girl in front of him was her own family.
Even though Leon felt disappointed, he wouldn’t take it out on a young girl.
"I understand." Lily nodded. Though she was still young, she had heard about such things from the older generation, so she was not completely unfamiliar with them. Plus, with personal teaching from her cousin, she continued, "Mr. Grant, rest assured. The benefits promised to you by Ms. Sinclair will surely be fulfilled. You know the reputation of Sinclair Group; we would never let you down."
Listening to her respectful attitude, addressing him as "you," Leon couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
After pondering for a moment, he glanced at his watch and suggested, "It’s getting late. Why don’t we find a restaurant downstairs and discuss over lunch?"
Lily, upon hearing this, realized it was already noon.
She initially wanted to decline the meal, but seeing Leon already standing and heading for the door, she had no choice but to follow, "Mr. Grant, about what we were discussing..."
"Let’s eat first." Leon interrupted her, his unhurried figure almost out of Lily’s sight.
There was no choice but to catch up with him.
While waiting for the dishes, Lily went to the restroom, taking the opportunity to report the situation to Raine.
"He’s stalling." Raine frowned after listening, quickly deciphering Leon’s intentions.
The terms she offered should have been irresistible, and he should have agreed swiftly.
His hesitation was surprising to her.
Lily grew nervous, "What should we do?"
She was here to help her cousin, and if she accomplished nothing, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
Raine pondered for a moment before saying, "Just finish the meal. I’ll think of something later."
"Sis, am I not being helpful..." Lily suddenly said, her voice already quite despondent.
Hearing her guilt, Raine suddenly remembered this was the first time the young girl represented the company in negotiations. If she failed, wouldn’t it hurt her self-esteem?
This wouldn’t be good for her future development.
That wouldn’t do.
Thinking of this, Raine consoled, "It’s okay, you’re doing well. I suspect Leon just wants to keep you waiting."
She said a couple of more sentences before hanging up.
At that moment, she was in a meeting with some senior executives of Sinclair Group.
The head of a children’s brand subsidiary was reporting on a previous child allergy incident.
"Although the matter has been clarified and we, Sinclair Group, covered all the medical expenses for the boy, Toni, the incident did affect our brand negatively..."
Raine was already following up on this matter and was quite aware, so she didn’t need to listen very attentively.
Plus, she had been in control at Sinclair Group for over a month now, handling many things smoothly without needing the same solemnity as before.
She could even afford a small distraction and sent a WeChat message to Leon.
Just at that moment, Leon was checking his phone.
A buzz sounded, and a notification banner popped up.
From Raine Sinclair.
"Mr. Grant, not satisfied with my proposal?"
A cute bewildered emoji was attached below.
