Chapter 153

Kelvin stood by the door, asking softly. As someone emerged carrying a stack of documents, he stopped them, took the tests, and gave them a scolding. Honestly, they were pretty subpar.

Kelvin stroked his chin. “Normally, Mr. Turner wouldn’t be quite so harsh with his words, but these days–it’s all because Miss Mitter and Mr. Turner have a falling out,” he wondered.

Kelvin patted the manager on the shoulder. “Even if this project is tough, you still need to put in more effort. Mr. Turner’s been in a foul mood lately, so everyone better be on their toes.”

With that, Kelvin entered with this quarter’s financial report. “Mr. Turner, here’s the financial statement from accounting. Please take a look.”

Bowen pressed a hand to his forehead and waved the report away.

Kelvin casually brought it up. “Mr. Turner, I have this friend who recently took a liking to a young lady. The thing is, he thought he was such a catch that she’d naturally fall for him without him even trying. Guess what happened?”

Kelvin continued, “The girl got snatched up by another guy!”

Bowen stared at Kelvin, shifting his full attention to him.

Seeing he had Bowen’s attention, Kelvin cleared his throat and continued, “I think if he likes her, he has got to make his move quickly, or at least drop some hints. Just waiting around will get him nowhere.”

“Kelvin, do you have too much free time on your hands lately?” Bowen asked in a dangerous voice.

He pressed, “Or is it because I haven’t docked your bonus lately that you’ve gotten cocky?”

Bowen wondered, “Does he really take me for a fool, thinking I can’t tell he’s making a point about me?”

Kelvin forced a laugh. “Let’s not go there with the bonus deduction, Mr. Turner. How about checking the financial statements first?”

Bowen scoffed decisively.

Bowen thought, "If you like her but don’t take the initiative, some other guy might sweep her off her feet? Nonsense, how is that even comparable to me?

Who do I even like? How could I possibly like her? I just see her as a little girl."

As Bowen mulled over Kelvin’s words, he grew increasingly unsettled.

He wondered, "Holiday is coming up, and in just about six months, Bree will be heading off to college. There’d be plenty of guys chasing after her then. What if she meets some smooth-talking charmer? What if she gets taken advantage of?"

Bowen couldn’t make sense of the documents in his hands. “You’re dismissed,” he ordered.

After dismissing Kelvin, Bowen called Ollie.

“Well, I should go buy a lottery ticket today–the super busy guy actually called me,” Ollie teased.

Bowen remained silent, half-listening to Ollie brag for a while.

“Alright, spill it. Why’d you call?” Ollie asked.

“Got a question for you,” Bowen said, narrowing his eyes, though what really occupied his mind was how Aubree hadn’t shown the slightest intention of reaching out to him these past few days.

Bowen even asked Alvin about her last night–not a single word about him.

“Now that’s something,” Ollie chuckled. “Come on, what’s the scoop?”

“What’s the deal when a girl doesn’t give a guy the slightest attention?” Bowen said.

“They used to spend quite some time together,” he added.

This sent Ollie into a fit of laughter. He’d been wondering why Bowen suddenly reached out to him. ‘So that’s why,’ he wondered. ‘It seems he is about to fall in love!’

Ollie laughed and said, “Come on, isn’t it obvious? The girl just isn’t into the guy.”

The corners of Bowen’s mouth instantly drooped, but still unwilling to give up, he rationalized, “What if she’s just been too busy lately?”

Ollie could barely contain his laughter. This was absolutely hilarious. "She must’ve finally dumped him," he thought, thoroughly amused.

“Come on, Bowen, who could be busier than you? Back when you were so into Bree, you always made time for her, no matter how packed your schedule was. Let’s be real, if she really cared, she would find the time. Bottom line is, she’s just not making you a priority,” said Ollie.

Bowen fell silent for a moment, then weakly insisted, “I wasn’t talking about my issue.”

“Right, of course it’s not you,” Ollie drawled, kicking back in his chair and picking at his ear. “Anything else? Or can I hang up now?”

Bowen said, “Let’s grab drinks tonight.”

“Sure thing, round up Mark and the gang,” Ollie smiled.