Take My Breath Away

The way Sheffield addressed him bugged Peterson. He gave his son a hard look. "Qi Group? Bankrupt? You're pulling my leg. It's valued at more than 50 billion, ranked among the top 300 companies in the country."

ZL Group was first among those 300, of course. Theo Group used to be the second. But bad business decisions over the past two years had booted them out of the top 30.

"So if Qi Group is doing well, that means Sexton's just greedy!" Sheffield crumpled the lawyer's letter into a ball and then threw it over the desk and into the waste basket.

At this time, Tobias called. "Mr. Tang, Mr. Qi's lawyer wants to have a talk with you."

"A little busy now. Can't he talk to our legal department?" Sheffield hung up the phone after that.

Tobias was confused. Sheffield was being sued, and he had no lawyer. He refused offers of representation. So who else should the lawyer talk with?

Peterson wasn't happy about how Sheffield was handling things. He announced harshly, "I think you're making a mistake."

And he knew it all was because of Evelyn. 'Women are really trouble.'

"I don't make mistakes," Sheffield disagreed in an arrogant tone, raising his eyebrows disapprovingly.

Peterson felt helpless. Sheffield had always been a hothead. "I wouldn't blow him off. He has a lot of connections where it counts. He could make things difficult for Theo Group."

"So what?" Sheffield retorted as he scribbled something on a file. But, shortly after, something occurred to him. He looked at the man on the sofa and asked, "Are you afraid of him?"

Peterson was taken aback by his question. 'Me? Afraid of Sexton? You kidding me?' "Of course I'm not. I just think you need to take responsibility for what you did. Besides, you did break that boy's ribs."

"Now that's not fair. Sounds like you think I'm the guy in the wrong. His son has a filthy mouth. If Sexton Qi doesn't know how to parent his kid, then it's up to me. If my kid ever insulted a lovely, elegant woman like that, I'd break his ribs too. All of them."

By now, Peterson started regretting ever starting this conversation. He found himself growing more annoyed by the minute

t.

Sheffield threw him another glance and said, "I think she feels guilty about Richard Qi's death. She might need a little time to sort herself out." He finally put down the pen in his hand. "Imagine this: if three women were assassinated because of you, wouldn't you blame yourself for their deaths? Wouldn't you feel bad for their families?"

"Point taken," Joshua nodded. He thought everybody would feel guilty in that case.

"Okay, my father left. You need to do the same. Don't make me kick you out." He was too busy. And he had to meet a client later.

"Oh, hey—do you remember the cutie pie, Gwyn?"

"Of course I do!" The thought of Gwyn brought a genuine smile to Sheffield's face.

Seeing his smile, Joshua whined, "I'm your best friend, and you only met Gwyn once. Why doesn't your face light up like that when you see me?"

"Are you comparing yourself to Gwyn? Don't flatter yourself!"

Joshua's heart was broken! "Sheffield Tang, we're done!"

"What about Gwyn? We're done if you don't tell me now!"

Joshua walked behind Sheffield and put his arm around his neck. "I really want to strangle you."

"Strangle yourself. Do the world a favor!"

"Hey, okay, okay, I'll tell you." Joshua let go of his neck and said, "Terilynn tells me that Gwyn's always saying 'Uncle.' So she thinks it would be a good idea if you spent more time with her. Given her PTSD, maybe it might even help her. So what do you think?"