Sophia took a deep breath to contain her anger.
At that time, Mr. Xu walked out of the bathroom and sat down in his spot. The confrontation between Sophia and Colin ended.
"Mr. Li, I'd like to propose a toast to you, and wish for a stronger relationship between our companies in the future." Mr. Xu's secretary refilled Colin's glass, and also poured a little liquor into Sophia's.
Colin smiled, "Thank you."
The sound of glasses clinking filled the room. After completing the toast, Colin and Mr. Xu drank the shot of liquor.
Mr. Xu didn't sit down after the toast. Instead, he refilled his glass, turned to Sophia, and gently asked, "How long have you been at the SL group, Ms. Lo?"
Sophia knew what he meant. She looked at Colin, but he averted his eyes.
She had to pick up her glass and speak with Mr. Xu. She smiled, "I've been working at the SL group for less than two months. Thank you for asking, Mr. Xu."
"I had the honor of meeting Mz. Lo during Simon's anniversary celebration many years ago. Back then, I didn't know you'd rather keep a low profile. Just have a look at you now!"
He meant to say that Sophia's present attire was very different from what she wore the other night.
Sophia wasn't upset. She just smiled and changed the subject, "Mr. Xu, I'd like to propose a toast to you."
She then gently clinked glasses with Mr. Xu and drank its contents.
Instead of buying clothes and dressing herself up to avoid all these harsh comments, Sophia was decided on using her money to travel to A country to visit her father and her parents-in-law.
Perhaps it was because she was already in a bad mood, or because she remembered something sad, Sophia did not reject the following two shots of liquor that Mr. Xu offered her.
After three shots, Sophia looked different. Her behavior stunned Colin even more.
Sophia's face was flushed. She took off the black long coat, and revealed the wine-red close-fitting sweater inside.
She was only 24, after all, an age of the prime of feminine beauty.
Her long hair was simply pulled on top of her head, revealing her white neck. And the long wine-red sweater also added some maturity to her beauty.
With another shot of liquor in her hand, Sophia glanced around. She averted Colin's eyes and looked at Mr. Xu. She spoke respectfully. "Mr. Xu, to tell you the truth, your company's shopping malls are astounding. Not only is the ambiance luxurious, but the brands you've acquired are an impossible dream for us commoners......"
To compensate for Colin's silence, Sophia continued complimenting Mr. Xu with witty remarks. She even managed to make him chuckle several times.
"Mr. Xu, I'd like to purpose another toast to you! I wish your business thrives and prospers!" There was an imperceptible touch of sweetness in Sophia's voice when she spoke. And it sounded so alluring.
"Well said! I'd like to drink to that!" Mr. Xu toasted with with Sophia. By now Sophia had lost count of how many glasses she had drunk.
......
At the end of the meeting, Colin and Mr. Xu's secretary were sober whereas Sophia and Mr. Xu were inebriated.
Sophia's personality and charm shown through the whole meeting. With panache, she had settled their contract. Mr. Xu was so pleased that he signed the contract without even reading through.
The SL group was somewhat inferior at this negotiation table as the FW company had superior resources, and so many other companies wanted to cooperate with them on this project.
With the contract signed, the SL group would have a net profit of hundreds of millions!
The significance of this contract signing was underscored by the fact that this was the first time that Colin had relied on a woman to win a big project.
After dinner finished, Sophia followed the other three people out of the room. She vigorously shook her head several times in an attempt to clear her head. Shoot! She'd had too much alcohol!
She staggered several times as she followed the three people to the hotel's entrance.
When Mr. Xu sat in his car, he took Sophia by the hand and said, "Mz. Lo, I'd like to ask you out for dinner sometime soon Don't let me down!"
"Of course...not. Have a nice one, Mr. Xu!"
"Thanks, you too. Goodbye, Mr. Li. Goodbye, Mz. Lo."
"Take care!"
As Mr. Xu left, Colin's face changed. Cold fury enveloped him. It was so intense and tangible that even Sophia could feel it.
But before she could see his expression clearly, Colin strode towards the parking lot.
Sophia tried to follow him, but... she felt like vomiting.
She ran back inside the hotel and asked a waiter for directions to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Sophia walked out of the bathroom stall languidly. She stood near the washbasin, trying to gather herself. She turned on the tap and start washing.
She patted some cold water onto her forehead in order to be more conscious.
Sophia was still a little tipsy when she staggered out of the bathroom. She had no idea why she had drunk so much alcohol.
She assumed that Colin had left her behind.
She could feel Colin's anger even though she was drunk. What was he mad about? Wasn't the contract concluded?
At the end of the corridor, a man stood near the window, smoking a cigarette. When Colin saw Sophia walking closer, he stubbed out his cigarette.
"Sophia Lo!" He stopped the woman who was walking with her head bowed.
"Yes? Mr. Li!?" Sophia was surprised to see Colin standing in front of her. She thought he had left.
Colin lifted her chin with his fingers. His face was expressionless, "What a hidden skill we've discovered tonight. I never thought that our Miss Sophia Lo had it in her to win a man's heart with such ease."
Sophia's eyes turned cold. She slapped off Colin's hand. "Did you just become aware of that? How ignorant!" Her words dripped with sarcasm.
Then she walked past Colin with confidence. By the time she reached the lobby, she was stumbling again.
Colin grabbed her by the crook of her arm, and with a pull Sophia found herself pushed up against the wallpapered wall.
Sophia glared at Colin "Mr. Li, aren't you afraid that someone would say that you are having an affair with a secretary?"
"Sophia Lo, will it kill you to stop being so harsh to me?"
"Colin Li, will it kill you to stop fussing over trivial matters?"
......
Colin lifted her up into his arms, ignored her struggle, and carried her through the lobby, and out of the hotel.
The Porche was waiting at the porte-cochere. When the doorman saw Colin approaching, he hurriedly opened the door of the back passenger seat.
"Colin! You jealous turd! Let me go!" Sophia struggled so much that Colin who could've carried her into the car with ease, was now out of breath.
As soon as he settled Sophia and climbed in, Colin ordered, "Okay, let's go!"
Wade started the car and pulled away from the hotel.
"Where are we going, Mr. Li?" Wade looked at Colin's reflection in the rear-view mirror.
Sophia got up from the seat and leaned on the front passenger seat, "Mr. Ji, I want to go home. The address is JH block, SS road!"
Colin pulled her back.
"Don't listen to her! To my villa."
"I'm not going! I want to go to my home!"
"Very well. Drop me at her home too."
"No! You are not welcome in my house!" Sophia was always criticizing and contradicting Colin, even when she was still drunk.
Colin grabbed her wrist. "Are you in a hurry to go home because you made an appointment with Mr. Xu at your apartment? Or do you have other filthy business at home and you don't want me there to see it?"
Sophia hiccuped before shrieking, "Colin Li! Don't make me cuss!"
Motherfucker! He knew only how to speak ill of her! And he thought of her only as a slut!
"Do it then!"
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