"How is that possible? You must be mistaken!" Paulina's eyes widened in disbelief. "She's just a normal employee at a pharmaceutical company. How could she be allowed to go to the second floor? Sylvia! Did you use some dirty tricks?"
The moment Paulina's words fell, the entire hall fell silent, and Michael's gaze turned piercing.
Michael turned to Clint and said sternly, "Mr. Norris, please discipline your fiancée, or I will have to ban you both from entering the store."
Paulina trembled and clutched tightly onto Clint's sleeve.
Clint stared at Sylvia, utterly shocked. "Sylvia, you..."
Sylvia ignored him and followed Michael upstairs.
At the same time, an understatedly luxurious Maybach was pulling slowly into MT's VIP garage.
Roderick stepped out, headed towards the private entrance reserved for VIPs.
He looked slightly anxious.
Arriving at MT, he checked his reservation record. Then his heart sank.
His voice was deep, tinged with a threatening intensity. "Has my wife not arrived?"
The receptionist looked puzzled. "Mr. Norris, we haven't seen your wife, but your son is here. He and his fiancée are in a booth on the first floor picking out rings. Shall I take you to them?"
Roderick had a bad feeling.
Had she changed her mind?
Did she no longer want to marry him?
Or was the ring she mentioned that evening not for her and him, but for her and her ex-boyfriend instead?
As his thoughts went wild, Michael's sarcastic voice snapped him into reality.
"What took you so long? I was shocked when you told me you were getting married." Michael casually threw an arm over Roderick's shoulder. "You know what? I always thought you weren't interested in women. Who reaches forty without ever touching a woman? Even your son is..."
"Enough!" Roderick cut Michael off coldly.
Michael sensed Roderick's displeasure and quickly reined in his laughter. "What's wrong?"
Roderick glanced at Michael, making the latter feel as if the air around him had suddenly turned frigid.
"Tell me, how do you make a young woman happy?"
Michael paused for a long time at Roderick's words.
Michael had thought that Roderick intended to acquire MT or have his rival go bankrupt.
But he couldn't imagine how Roderick, known for being serious and harsh, could ask such a tender question.
"Do you think a young woman truly cares about age?" As Roderick asked, his eyes dimmed, resembling an unwanted large dog.
Michael still hadn't processed the situation and could only shake his head repeatedly. "Man! How can you think like that?" What woman wouldn't be charmed by you? You're upstanding, fit, and wealthy. You look like a young man in your twenties."
With that, Roderick suddenly looked up at Michael. "Is she unwilling to pick out a ring because her heart belongs to another guy..."
Before Roderick could sink further into melancholy, Sylvia appeared. She poked her head out of the second-floor railing and said, "Roderick?"
In the next moment, Michael was astounded to see Roderick, his composed and dignified friend, eagerly rush to Sylvia, with his eyes lit up instantly.