46 Fatso

Wade was preparing to meet Lina for lunch when his assistant Kirk Douglas had informed him that someone was here to meet him.

" I don't have any appointments today. Ask them to come some other time." Wade said as he closed the files in his hand.

Kirk was trying to explain the situation to his boss, but was interrupted when the door to the office opened.

"Looks like you are too busy to even meet me." A deep and magnetic voice spoke.

Wade who was placing the files neatly, frozen and then slowly looked at the man who was walking towards him.

Tall and muscular physique with his handsome features, the newcomer looked like a picture taken out of the movies.

"R-Reuben? What are you doing here?" Wade choked out the words.

'Why is he here?' He immediately got up from his seat.

Asst Kirk quietly closed the door and walked out to give them a little privacy.

"It's been a month since we've seen each other and this is how you greet me?" Reuben Ming smiled at him and sat on the couch.

Walking to the couch, Wade sat down opposite him and just stared at him.

"Why are you looking at me like I am some monster, Wade?" Noticing his unblinking gaze, Reuben jokes.

"You are nothing less than a monster!" Wade mumbled and Reuben just raised his eyebrows.

"I still haven't taken the complete payment for the stores that your company has in my mall and you are calling me a monster. Tsk tsk." Reuben stared at him.

'I knew it! He's here for that reason.' Wade felt like crying.

"I won that bet fair and square! Those stores belong to Obsidia now, I have your signature on the lease agreements!" Wade whined like a little boy.

When Wade had approached Reuben Ming to lease a store at Phoenix mall, there was a really high demand for that particular store as it was  in the prime location inside the mall.

Hence Reuben had placed a wager for Wade. If he won that bet, the store is his till he wanted it.

"Sure. But the bet was only for the clothing store, not for the jewellry store." Reuben gave a wicked smile.

"So you want us to vacate the jewelry store? That's the highest earning store in Phoenix!" Wade was surprised at what he heard.

"Let's not forget the sizable amount of rent that we pay!" He reasoned with Reuben.

'Nana will kill me if that happens!' He imagined Lina's heartbroken face if she had to close her store in Phoenix and decided to fight harder for her sake.

As he was preparing ways to convince Reuben to let them keep their store, Reuben laughed with a low voice.

"Calm your tits! Let me complete what I was saying." Shaking his head, he crossed his leg over the other.

'Where do I have tits?' Holding his flat chest, Wade wondered.

"I will let you have the jewellry store as well, with a lease agreement of its own but on one condition." Reuben stated.

"Really? And you won't threaten me with the same reason again?" Wade was shocked at his proposal, but he paused.

"What's the condition?" He asked skeptically.

'What if he makes me do THAT again?' Wade shivered thinking of the bet that they had.

"Don't use your brain, it's not what you are thinking." Reuben squinted his eyes.

'That incident must've scared him a bit.' Reuben thought and chuckled.

"So what is the condition?" Seeing Reuben laugh at him, Wade became impatient.

"It's simple, I want you to send the list of jewelry that your company will be releasing to my mother beforehand. She wants to buy them before they are out in the market." Reuben thought of how his mother pestered him continuously.

'Maybe with this she'll stop sending me those pictures of girls that she wants me to meet.' He rubbed his temples.

After returning to their countryside villa, Renee Ming started sending him various pictures of socialites for him to meet. But those pictures were sadly deleted the moment they reached his inbox.

"I didn't know that Madam Ming loves Obsidia so much?" Wade was happy that there were people who loved Lina's designs so much.

"But I'm sorry I can't do that." He resolutely answered Reuben.

Shocked at being rejected straightforwardly, Reuben just gawked at him.

"I can't do it because our boss and our lead designer are planning something new to be done for the upcoming collection." He explained why he said no.

"Can you at least tell me what this new thing is that your boss is planning?" He questioned with a frown.

'Wade has never spoken about his boss even after I threatened him multiple times. I will definitely find out who is that person who can make this lazy Wade work so hard!' Vowed Reuben and listened to Wade explain about the auction.

'Since Lina is going to announce the details of the auction next week, I don't think she'll mind if I tell Reuben about it.' Wade justified his actions and blabbed about the auction and its rules.

"Smart and innovative, I like this plan. Who came up with it, was it Stuart?" Reuben was impressed at how the auction would earn more and the brand's popularity would also increase with the gossip about the auction.

"Of course not! It's my N.. my Boss. My boss always gets such brilliant ideas!" Wade almost called out Lina's nickname but stopped himself on time.

"I would like to meet your boss, maybe she'll agree to my proposal." Reuben thought out loud.

"No way she will." Wade said with confidence.

'Oh so it's a SHE. A new clue.' Before Reuben could play detective, his thoughts were interrupted.

*Knock*

"Master Wade, I've brought lunch for you and Young Miss." Derek walked in holding two bento boxes.

'Dammit! I must make sure that this guy doesn't blurt out Nana's name here!' Wade signalled with his eyes for Derek to not talk.

Noticing that his Miss was not here and that there was a strange man in here, Derek paused and looked around.

"Master Wade, where is Miss?" Ignorant to Wade's desperate gestures, Derek asked what was on his mind.

Before he could speak anything else, Wade ran up to him and snatched one of the boxes.

"Tell Nana that she can eat lunch downstairs, I have an important meeting here." He whispered to Derek and pushed him outside.

'Weird.' Seeing Wade panicking, Reuben started at the box in his hand.

"So who's this 'Miss' that he was talking about?" Reuben asked the question  that Wade did not want to answer.

'I can't let him know about Lina! I know that he will fall for her and I don't want any idiot to be after my baby sister! Especially this socially challenged idiot.' His overprotective big brother senses were on high alert.

"Did your family accept that Rong lady?"  He questioned.

Before he went away on his business tour, the Yang family scandal had affected the Luo family as well and hence Reuben had heard about it.

"Hell no! Why would she be called my sister! This is someone else." Wade was vague with his answer.

Reuben being the sharp man that he is, felt that Wade was trying to hide something and so he tested him out.

"Who can it be? A Young Miss from your family?" He observed Wade's every reaction as he squirmed in his seat trying to avoid eye contact.

"I know that your maternal cousins are abroad right now. Is it your paternal cousins?" He drawled out his words and saw Wade flinch when he said paternal cousin.

'Gotcha!' Reuben celebrated his little victory.

"So your paternal cousin it is!" He saw Wade swallow his saliva but did not utter a word.

"Oh did that fatso cousin of yours come back?" Reuben had a bad memory crop up in his mind and he gritted his teeth.

'Fatso? Who is he talking about?' Wade wondered and something struck him. His expression soon became grim as he shot daggers at him.

"She was a little chubby! Not fat!" He yelled at Reuben.

"So it is her!" Reuben laughed aloud when he saw Wade's dumbstruck face as he realised that he had indirectly answered his question.

"Did you get her a job in this place?" He asked but got no reply from Wade.

'Well who cares for her anyway!' Reuben huffed and started eating Wade's bento.

"Hey that's mine!" Wade tried snatching away his lunch but he couldn't.

"Don't cry, I asked Asst Kim to get my lunch here. You can have that." Reuben uttered generously and went back to eating.

Reuben had sent Mathew to get them lunch beforehand. If he was here when Derek had come to drop off Lina's lunch, Mathew would have clearly recognized him as Lina's driver from that day at the cafe.

After a few minutes, Mathew Kim entered the room with a big bag of food and seeing Wade staring at the Emperor eating his lunch, he directly handed over the bag in Wade's hands.

He then nodded at Wade who looked at him gratefully. It was already past lunch hours when Wade finally started eating.

"Boss I heard something interesting on my way up here." Mathew spoke and then continued when he saw that he had their attention.

"There's apparently a cupcake fairy in Obsidia and her cupcakes are to die for! So I wanted to ask you a favour Mr. Luo." He looked at Wade with pleading eyes.

He jumped up when he saw Wade nod his head.

"As you know my wife and I are huge dessert lovers and now that she's pregnant her cravings are even more absurd, so can you find out where those cupcakes were bought from? Even if they are half as good as they sound, I will be happy!" He giddily said.

"You want me to search for some cupcake fairy among the hundreds of employees in Obsidia?" Wade asked with a sarcastic smile.