Chapter 114
Cherise was startled by Theo's request.
"Wouldn't it be too soon?" she asked hesitantly. "She'll arrive in a new country. I'm sure she'll want to spend time with you alone. And you pointed out she's timid. I wouldn't want to scare her away with my presence." Theo laughed softly. "You can never scare anyone away with your beauty, Cherise. Furthermore, she wants to thank you for helping her find colleges for her."
Cherise thought about it for a while, then nodded. "Alright, then. But don't tell me I didn't warn you if she gets scared," she laughed.
"It's great that Neil included some music schools on the list too," suddenly Cherise said. "I think I'll need to raise his salary."
"I might have poached him away if I can offer him more," Theo chuckled, and Cherise laughed.
"I'm sure James is as capable as Neil," Cherise assured him. "He just hasn't spent much time in this country."
"You are right." Theo squeezed Cherise's hand briefly before placing it back on the steering wheel. "He's the most loyal PA I've had. He's been working for me ever since I became the CEO of the Kingston Group." Oh, new information, Cherise thought.
"Then you don't have to worry about anything." Cherise smiled. "Loyalty is important, especially in one's own company."
"You are right," Theo agreed. "One mole and the company will fall apart."
***
The following day, Cherise only spent a maximum of two hours before going to their new facility with Theo to check how the team members worked together. She loved seeing how they interacted.
Even though they teased each other, they were still focused on their tasks. Theo helped, and as Cherise was Q, she naturally helped, too, which surprised every team member, including Theo. "Cherise, you know coding?" Theo asked as she was helping one of the team members.
Cherise was concentrating so much that she didn't realize she had shown more of her ability than she was supposed to.
"Oh, you know Tristan Hart, right?" she asked, apologizing to Tristain her mind for using his name.
"Tristan Hart, the famous actor?" one of the female members nearly shrieked in excitement.
"Yeah, that's the one." Cherise nodded and laughed as she saw everyone looking at her excitedly.
It appeared that the female team members and the males were his fans. Not that she could blame them. Tristan could make a man blush when he put on his charm.
"I remember you are close to him," a female member said, blushing. I followed his social media, and there was news that he was present during your introduction banquet as the Alster heiress. Cherise smiled and assured her, "You don't have to be embarrassed for mentioning it."
"Back to topic," Cherise looked around. "Tristan loves games, and he knows a bit about coding, so I asked him to teach me about it. Who knew it would come in handy one day?" She chuckled. "But don't tell anyone about this, alright?" Cherise put a finger in front of her lips and winked. "He doesn't want anyone to know."
Everyone nodded enthusiastically, excited that they knew a secret about Tristan Hart that no one else did.
"Alright, let's start working again." Theo clapped his hands, and the team members started concentrating on their tasks or exchanging ideas on how to improve the game.
Theo led Cherise to a small office, and James prepared tea for Cherise and coffee for Theo.
"Are you close to Tristan Hart?" Theo asked, and Cherise thought she saw an unknown emotion in his eyes. If it was there for more than a split second, she could notice it as jealousy.
But it was only fleeting, so Cherise thought it was only her imagination because Theo's gaze was still gentle.
Cherise nodded and replied casually, "I've known him since he was still new in the showbiz industry and difficult to control."
"Difficult to control?" Tristan raised an eyebrow.
"He thought that, as a son of an upper-class family, he could do anything he wanted, like coming to the set late, forgetting his line, or basically anything to make it hard for the directors and production crews." Cherise laughed. Theo's lips twitched. "And I suppose you put him in his place?"
"I did," Cherise laughed again, her head thrown back as she remembered Tristan's embarrassed and disgusted look. Yet there was also determination firing in his eyes. "He saw it as a challenge, enough to bring him to where he is now." Theo smiled and said, "I know you'll be good for my sister." He paused before adding, "Maybe minus the challenging or even any threatening part."
Cherise laughed. "I told you I might scare your sister away." Then she smiled sincerely. "I promise I will try my best to be your sister's friend and make her more confident. That's why you want me to hang out with her, right?" Theo chuckled. "You are right. I need a female figure for her to look up to, as I've told you before. I'm not enough for her."
"Of course, you are enough for her, Theo," Cherise said gently, her gaze softened as she looked at him. "She misses you and is ready to move to a new country to be with you. It shows that you are a great brother to her."
"But there are some things she won't tell me as a girl, will it?" Theo's eyes sparkled. "Don't tell me you tell Julian about girly things that you can only gossip with your female friends."
"You are right." Cherise laughed. "Julian would bolt out of the room so fast if he heard what us women talked about."
Theo laughed and shook his head to prove his point. "I would be horrified when my sister talked about her first kiss or whatever else she would discuss in the future. As much as I love her, I do not need to hear every little adventure. That would be too much information for a brother."
James entered with their drinks, and after they finished drinking their coffee and tea, Theo and Cherise stood up to leave the office to pick Erica up at the airport.
Theo jokingly reminded the team members not to have too much fun while working on the games because their work environment was not stiff and formal. There were bean bags and games for them to play to destress.
Cherise and Theo didn't wait long in the business class waiting room for Erica to exit the gate.
"Brother!" an excited voice squealed, making Theo stand up and hold out his arms while Cherise looked at them.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
Cherise couldn't see much except that Erica was a petite girl wearing a white fur coat. She had her head buried in Theo's chest and her arms around his waist.
Theo laughed and kissed the top of his sister's head as he hugged her back. "How was your flight?" he asked her tenderly.
Erica tilted her head back and looked at his brother. Even from her side profile, Cherise could see how much Erica worshiped and loved her brother.
"It was good," Erica replied. "There was, fortunately, no turbulence."
"That's good," Theo said as he looked at his sister. "Are you hungry? I know you don't like airline food, and it's dinner time now."
Erica nodded fervently, her eyes shining with excitement. "I'm famished. I only drank orange juice during the flight. Are you going to take me to a restaurant for dinner? Or are you going to cook for me?"
Cherise raised an eyebrow. Theo knew how to cook? Gentle, caring, loved his sister a lot, and knew how to cook. Whoever landed him as her boyfriend would be a happy woman, except if the woman was like Polly, who would look down on him and probably get jealous of his love for Erica.
"I'm going to take you to a restaurant that serves your favorite food," Theo said.
"Fish and chips?" Erica nearly bounced in excitement, making Theo laugh and Cherise smile.
"Yes." Theo nodded. "But first, I'm going to introduce you to someone."
Cherise stood up gracefully and walked the few steps toward them.
Erica's eyes widened slightly, and Cherise smiled in amusement as she hid half of her body behind Theo. Erica was so happy to see her brother again; she didn't realize Theo had brought Cherise with him.
"Hello, you must be Erica," Cherise smiled gently at the timid and pretty girl. "I'm Cherise. You don't have to be afraid of me. I don't bite. You can ask your brother about it." Cherise winked at both of them to make Erica feel more at ease.