Shrouded Affections Winning Back My CEO Wife

Chapter 158 Chapter 158: Suddenly, Eileen felt her worries were completely unnecessary. Her clear eyes flickered with irritation.

"Ridiculous," she said. Could she possibly manage to support him? Turning away, she hurried from the balcony to the door without a backward glance. "It's getting late. I'm going to rest." By the tBryan reacted, Eileen had already left. A soft chuckle filled the room as Bryan shut the balcony door and walked back to his desk. He glanced at the spot where Eileen had been, the air still carrying the faint trace of her scent. His expression softened as he turned on the laptop and got back to work.

Back in her own room, Eileen was restless in her bed. The image of Bryan smoking on the balcony haunted her. Eventually, she sat up, turned on her laptop, and started looking up information on Apex Group's project in Wist Land. But the online details were scant, merely outlining the project and hinting at its likely cancellation by Apex Group. There was no useful information.

Such family conflicts were rarely aired in public, so it had to be Bryan's father who wanted to drop the project. After a fruitless search, Eileen lay back down. Though she was temporarily taking care of Bryan for Raymond, she hadn't abandoned her duties at the education agency.

The next day, she took her laptop and joined Bryan in his office, a place filled with unfamiliar faces. Bryan's staff looked on with curiosity at the new face. His office remained a stark mix of black and gray, reflecting the coldness of its owner. Eileen, her hair neatly tied in a bun, wasn't dressed too formally as she sat at Raymond's desk, scanning the schedule. That evening, Bryan was supposed to dine with Gilbert White.

Eileen phoned Gilbert's assistant to confirm the dinner, only to be brusquely turned away. "Sorry, Mr. White is too busy tonight." Despite the dismissal, Eileen kept her tone courteous. "Then when might Mr. White be free? Can we reschedule?" "I don't know. We're in a meeting. I need to hang up now." The assistant ended the call abruptly, not allowing Eileen to say more. This was the first tEileen had faced rejection as Bryan's assistant, and she was a bit confused. She glanced at Bryan and decided to call Raymond. "Mr. White canceled tonight's dinner. Any idea why?" she asked Raymond.

Raymond hesitated before responding, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you, the dinner is destined to be canceled. No need to confirm it." Eileen was baffled. "Why is it destined to be canceled?" Hearing that, Raymond realized Eileen clearly didn't grasp the dynamics between the White and Blake families. After a pause, he clarified, “Well, Mr. White is Arthur's uncle." Bryan had been the one who put Arthur in the hospital. Raymond continued, "Mr. White only has one sister, Arthur's mother, and he's very protective of her. Since this incident, the White family hasn't been responding to my calls." Eileen had used her personal phone, which explained why Gilbert's assistant had answered her call. Noticing Eileen's silence, Raymond added, "But the White family doesn't dare challenge Mr. Dawson. They can't afford to provoke him, so they just avoid him." Bryan cfrom a powerful family, after all. Despite his family's internal conflicts, outsiders wouldn't dare to offend him. “What did Bryan want to discuss with Mr. White over dinner?" Eileen inquired.

Raymond was straightforward in his response. “Apex Group is pulling out of the project and halting funding. The project is in a financial crisis, and Mr. Dawson is looking to secure an investment from the White family." After a moment of silence, Raymond softly reminded Eileen, "The White family is the only one in Wist Land capable of providing Mr. Dawson with the substantial funds he needs." "Understood." Eileen ended the call, her mind swirling with thoughts. She hadn't expected Arthur's situation to affect Bryan so much. This project had been ongoing since her tat Apex Group and was Bryan's most significant undertaking in recent years. If it were abandoned, all his efforts would be in vain.

While Eileen was lost in thought, a sudden tapping on the table jolted her. Looking up, she saw Bryan standing before her desk, his gaze fixed on her. "Take this document to the finance department," he ordered. "Okay." Eileen grabbed the document and stood up. "The dinner with the White family is off." "I know. Concentrate on your work; I'll take care of everything else," Bryan replied. He then turned and went back to his office.

After Eileen delivered the document, she started devising strategies to manage the situation with the White family. Around noon, she ordered two meals and, with a document in hand, walked into Bryan's office. The Wist Land branch was a modest outpost of the Apex Group, dwarfed by the main office in Onaland. The building was a mere ten stories high. Though Bryan's office here was smaller than his workspace in Onaland, he maintained an aura of elegance.

Eileen found him by the floor-to-ceiling window, deep in a phone conversation. Noticing Eileen, he gestured for her to sit on the sofa and wait. After wrapping up his call ten minutes later, he joined her, eyeing the takeout boxes that had just arrived. "Is this our lunch?" he asked with a slight frown.

"I don't know the local restaurants' numbers yet," Eileen explained. Back in Onaland, Eileen could recite the contact details of all the top restaurants. But her move to Wist Land had seen few visits to such luxurious establishments. She pushed the takeout toward Bryan. "It's the best I could do under the circumstances." Bryan's voice was gentle, his tone lightly teasing. "It seems you're unhappy with my recent services. Not every decent meal? I remember treating you better." In the past, Eileen's dining and accommodation had matched Bryan's when she had worked closely with him. "If you don't want it, never mind." Eileen's expression darkened, and she reached for the food to take it back.

Bryan grabbed the takeout with his left hand and used his right to block her hand. “I'll eat. Consider it a push forto improve," he declared, signaling his intention to strive for her satisfaction in the future.

Retracting her hand with a huff, Eileen moved a bit further from him and began to eat. Once she finished, she wiped her mouth with a tissue and laid the document she had brought before Bryan.

"Here's Mr. White's schedule," she said. "He has a golf gthis afternoon. Tonight's dinner is off, but he has no other plans. Tomorrow includes a press conference and a company meeting. The day after, the White family is hosting a business seminar, and we received the invitation yesterday." This meant that if Bryan wanted, it wouldn't be hard for him to meet Gilbert. Finishing his meal, Bryan studied the schedule and allowed a small smile to form.

"Raymond has been working forfor a year, to no avail," he suddenly said. Eileen had a knack for providing Bryan with precisely what he needed, quickly warming his heart. Such attentiveness brought him great joy.

Pausing, Eileen frowned, puzzled by his comment. "Enough with the cryptic remarks. What's your next move?" she asked. Did he plan to meet Gilbert and convince him, or did he have a different strategy for resolving the investment dilemma? "Just handle the business of your education agency and manage my daily life," Bryan responded, lifting an eyebrow to signal that she should stay out of his professional dealings. Eileen somehow sensed that Bryan preferred to keep her out of the Blake family's mess. Yet, feeling responsible for offending Arthur, she carried a sense of guilt.

"Milford and Adalina won't be able to attend their tutoring sessions, and I'll take care of the agency's business matters by working nights. Since I'm here, I might as well do the work." She sat on the couch, fixing Bryan with a serious look that reached something deep within him. He responded, "Working nights will cut into your rest." After all, he wanted her to spend her nights with him.

The mention of their intimate relationship again caused Eileen to frown. "Can we please stay focused on work?" Their one night together had thrown her emotions into Er turmoil. Were it not for Raymond's hospitalization and Arthur's troubles, she might have distanced herself from Bryan to think things clearly. Now, she needed to proceed cautiously, unsure of her own feelings.

Noticing the turmoil in her eyes, Bryan's expression darkened. He insisted she concentrate on herm responsibilities at the education agency. Later that afternoon, after wrapping up her tasks, Eileen secretly prepared for potential issues with the White family. She and Bryan got off work at seven. As if by poor fortune, Bryan's car got a flat tire, leading him to call a tow truck. Luckily, Pianoforte Villas was only a half-hour walk away. So when Bryan suggested they walk back home, Eileen agreed without hesitation.

As evening fell and the temperature dipped, Eileen was thankful for her purple coat. Her ponytail swayed with each step as she walked. Bryanm trailed slightly behind to her right, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigarette. In the past, she would always walk behind him, constrained by their work roles. Now, freed from such boundaries, they navigated their new dynamic, sparking unfamiliar emotions in Bryan. Bryan tossed the cigarette, quickened his pace, and grasped her wrist. Eileen, startled by the sudden touch, instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand. "Don't," Bryan warned, his eyes narrowing with displeasure. Eileen stopped her action, blinking as he guided her onward.

Their shadows merged and elongated under the street lamps. Gradually, Bryan's grip shifted from her wrist to her hand, their fingers intertwining.