Chapter 175: Christian Slams the Green Tea
Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Christian Slams the Green Tea
Everyone present knew who Thea York was, so they were surprised when she mentioned Estelle Lockwood’s name.
’This Miss York, who’s supposedly in a marriage alliance with Mr. Sloan, knows Mrs. Sloan too?’
After speaking, Thea York pretended to walk past nonchalantly, but she watched Nathaniel Sloan’s expression from the corner of her eye.
When Nathaniel Sloan didn’t respond for a long moment, Thea York felt slighted. She bit her lip. "Nathaniel..."
"Miss York, Mrs. Sloan is busy with her own work," Luke White said, stepping forward with a smile. "It’s a nice suggestion, but not a practical one."
Thea York’s face stiffened, her complexion flashing from pale to red. After a couple of seconds, she reverted to her "understanding buddy" persona, affecting a casual air. "Oh, I get it. You just can’t bear to see Estelle work so hard."
"I’m so envious of Estelle sometimes. With a wonderful husband like you, she has endless money to spend without even working. You pamper her and provide for her everything. It’s not like me, I had it so rough when I was abroad..."
At this, Thea York seemed to recall some sad memory and hastily shook her head.
"Never mind, never mind, what am I even talking about? I’m one of the guys, meant to endure a little hardship. Not like a delicate girl such as Estelle. Everyone has their own lot in life; I can’t just wish for hers."
Luke White’s face twisted as if he’d just swallowed a fly.
’There was something really off about what she’d just said.’
’She called Mrs. Sloan a delicate, spoiled woman, while calling herself a "man," one of his "good buddies."’
’She claimed it was right for her to endure hardship, but between the lines, she was implying Mrs. Sloan couldn’t handle any.’
’Besides, acting like buddies with a married man... no matter how you looked at it, it was just... Luke White couldn’t quite put his finger on it.’
Nathaniel Sloan glanced down at her, his gaze cool. "A man?"
Thea York forced a smile. "Yeah, I’m a tough guy, used to..."
"Miss York, you may have a cognitive disorder regarding your own gender. I will be sure to mention this to Chairman York," Nathaniel Sloan said.
Thea York’s smile faltered. "Nathaniel, what are you talking about? What cognitive disorder? Okay, okay, I wasn’t comparing myself to Estelle. I was just talking..."
"Mia, what kind of green tea is that? It smells so fragrant."
Suddenly, a child’s bright, boyish voice cut Thea York off.
Thea York instinctively frowned, but her expression immediately brightened into a smile when she saw who had arrived.
Nathaniel Sloan strode over, his delight obvious. "Christian, Zachery, Mia, did you come looking for Daddy?"
Zachery, the one who had spoken, nodded. He then returned to his previous topic. "Mia, do you smell that? It’s really fragrant. Must be a high-grade green tea."
It took a moment for the others to catch on. ’High-grade green tea? Where is there any green tea?’
Mia played along, feigning curiosity. "I see a green tea, but why do you call it high-grade?"
Zachery put on a "you just don’t get it" expression and shook his head like a little scholar. "The fragrance is faint, as if it’s there but not there, close but not close. The green tea disguises itself to look normal, but if you get close, you can smell a hint of its true character."
Mia exclaimed, "Wow, Zachery, you’re so smart! I get it now!"
With that, the three little ones shot a subtle glance at Thea York.
"..." At that point, even those who hadn’t wanted to understand, now understood completely.
Accompanying Nathaniel Sloan on his tour was a female director. With her were two department managers, followed by their assistants and secretaries. Over half the people in the group were women.
After hearing what Zachery said, how could they not catch on?
’Thinking back on what Thea York had said earlier... what was all that about?’
’Acting like buddies with a married man, putting down Mrs. Sloan to highlight her own "independence."’
’That act went out of style, like, ten years ago, right?’
Thea York’s face was rigid. She bit down hard on her lip, her hands clenching into fists. "Nathaniel, are these your children? I finally get to meet them. They’re so cute... By the way, isn’t Estelle here?"
Thea York gave a slight smile. "The children are so little. How could they be allowed to come to the company by themselves? As their mother, isn’t Estelle worried?"
Mia laughed.
’Seriously, what was this woman’s problem?’
’Badmouthing their mommy in front of their daddy was one thing, but now she was trying to slander the three of them?’
She was about to speak, but she saw Christian calmly shake his head. "Aunt York, Mommy is very busy."
Mia: "..."
Mia took a step back, yielding the stage to the little young master.
A glint appeared in Thea York’s eyes, but she maintained her casual, "good buddy" persona as she said disapprovingly.
"Nathaniel, I’m not trying to be critical, but how busy can Estelle possibly be? No matter what’s going on, the children should be the most important thing. You should really have a talk with her. Don’t blame me for overstepping—I’m only saying this because I’m your good buddy."
Mia said sweetly, "Daddy, Grandma Kendrick brought us here, and Mommy knows all about it."
Nathaniel Sloan nodded, his gaze turning cold and displeased as he looked at Thea York. "What Estelle does is not for you to criticize."
"Nathaniel," Thea York said, shaking her head helplessly. "Fine, I’m an outsider anyway. The more I say, the more I’m in the wrong. If you think it’s fine, then it’s fine."
"Speaking of which, I really do envy Estelle. She doesn’t have to worry about a career or a family. You give her anything she wants. She doesn’t have to do a thing except enjoy her life all day..."
"Aunt York, actually, my mommy is very envious of you too," Christian suddenly said.
The little schemer was about to deliver a crushing blow. Mia and Zachery took half a step back.
Christian sighed, looking downcast. "My mommy is so busy. She has to build her career from scratch. Not like you, Aunt York. You have your family’s support. Grandpa York practically gave you all of the York Family’s resources. But my mommy... sigh..."
A flicker of a smile crossed Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes.
Christian continued, "I heard you registered a company overseas, Aunt York. Is that right? You work so hard, documenting your efforts on Weibo every day. It’s so admirable, getting such a big company without even breaking a sweat. Not like my mommy... *sob*... she has to do everything herself."
Mia nodded in agreement.
’Mocking her mommy for being a lazy freeloader? Please.’
’Who was the real freeloader here? Thea York threw her weight around thanks to the York Family, pretending to be some busy, powerful career woman. In reality, all of her "achievements" were arranged by Chairman York and handed to her on a silver platter.’
’But Estelle Lockwood was the real deal. She founded Star herself and personally directed all its designs.’
The surrounding employees understood now, and the looks they gave Thea York were filled with even more veiled mockery.
Thea York’s smile was frozen on her face.
’She was screaming internally, wishing she could just strangle all three of those brats!’
’Just wait. Once she and Nathaniel were joined by marriage, she would get rid of them sooner or later!’
But for now, Thea York had to maintain her "good buddy" persona. She could only force a nonchalant smile. "Christian makes a good point. Nathaniel, my godson is just adorable."
She said this while grinding her teeth so hard she nearly shattered them.
Zachery pursed his lips. ’Godson? Who’s her godson?’
Sure enough, Christian was about to unleash his ultimate move: