Change How You Address Me
“Is that so?” Toby raised his chin, but he didn’t probe further. Instead, he bent down and placed the high
heels in front of her feet. “Wear them.”
“Okay,” Sonia answered. Then, she held the wall, ready to put on her shoes.
At this moment, he suddenly rose to his full height and grabbed her hand to place it on his shoulder.
She looked at him in confusion and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Hold my shoulder while you wear them,” came Toby’s answer.
“No, it’s the same even if I hold onto the wall,” she replied and was about to remove her hand when
Toby stopped her.
Toby pressed her hand down on his shoulder and didn’t release it. “The wall is very cold, so your hand
will freeze. My shoulder is warmer.”
Sonia felt amused upon hearing this. “You’re really… Forget it. Since you are willing to be a wall, then
I’ll just use you as my support.”
With that, she simply grabbed his shoulder, raised her foot and began to wear her shoes. After putting
them on, Sonia removed her hand. “Thank you, Mr. Wall.”
This nickname made Toby subconsciously raise his eyebrows. “Mr. Wall?”
“Yes, you were behaving like a wall for me, so it is only right to call you Mr. Wall.” Sonia looked at him
with a tease.
He smiled slightly before he responded, “As long as you like it, but I’m much happier when you call me
by my name. So, Sonia, don’t address me as President Fuller in the future, okay?”
Although his eyes were dark, there was a hint of hope in them, making Sonia unable to refuse him.
Sonia turned her head to avoid his gaze before she concurred, “Then, from now on, I’ll call you Toby.”
“Good.” Toby nodded in agreement.
Although it made him feel a little detached for her to address him by his name, it was considered an
improvement from ‘President Fuller’ which was worse. I will have her call me something more intimate
one day.
“Let’s go. I’ll bring you to meet President Homer.” Toby looked at the time and since it was already
11:00PM, the person of interest would leave in a while if they didn’t arrive soon. The main purpose for
Sonia’s arrival was to meet Ted Homer.
After hearing what Toby said, Sonia nodded heavily. “Okay.”
The two of them went toward the elevator and arrived at the lounge upstairs. When they came to the
door of Ted’s lounge, Toby suddenly stopped in his tracks. She noticed this and was rather puzzled.
Just as when she wanted to ask what was wrong, he explained, “You can enter on your own; I’ll wait for
you outside. Didn’t you say that you wanted to obtain the purchasing rights by yourself? So, I won’t go
in.”
If he entered and Ted saw that Toby was with Sonia, it was almost a guarantee that Ted would
immediately award her with the purchasing rights. It would only mean that she didn’t receive the
purchasing rights through her own ability, but rather because of Toby’s name. Hence, he wouldn’t enter
and influence the outcome of the situation.
Sonia quickly understood his reason and solemnly replied, “Alright. Then, I’ll be out soon.” He is right. I
need to rely on my own ability to obtain the purchasing rights, so it’s better for him not to go in.
As she had forgotten about this, it was a good thing that he reminded her.
“Go ahead. Good luck.” Toby nodded and gave an encouraging smile.
Sonia returned the smile. “I will; I’m going in now.”
In response, he acknowledged her words with a grunt. Afterward, Sonia took a deep breath, rearranged
her clothes and hair before she raised her hand to knock on the door. A moment later, she went in.
True to his words, Toby stood at the door like a guardian.
After waiting for about half an hour, there was movement behind the door. Thus, he straightened his
posture and looked at the door opposite him. When the door opened, it was Sonia emerging with an
excited face. His gaze softened as a smile appeared on his face while he observed her face that
flushed with happiness. “Were you successful?”
“Yes.” Both of Sonia’s hands clenched into fists in excitement and she said, “During the interview,
President Homer was originally unwilling to award the purchasing rights because he thought that
Paradigm Co. was too small. However, I finally moved him with my persistence and he’s agreed to let
me have the purchasing rights and even asked me to head to his company tomorrow to sign the
contract.”
“Great!” Toby gave her a thumbs up in praise.
She was considered great—from a newbie who knew nothing in the beginning to slowly getting to
speed with the handling of the company’s business, she was now also able to discuss with a
transnational company’s boss alone and successfully obtain their collaboration. All of these
improvements happened in just a few months and enough to illustrate that in addition to her talent, a lot
of hard work went into play. As a result, he believed that in the future, she would dazzle more in the
industry.
Sonia had a wide smile as she responded, “Thank you for the compliment. I feel awesome too.”
A laughing Toby lowered his hand. “You really don’t know how to be modest.”
“It’s not that. I just think that when I should be proud, I should just accept such a feeling. As long as I
know that I have to keep working hard, it’s okay to be proud.” She ruffled her own hair as she
elaborated.
Toby’s gaze was gentle when he replied, “That’s right.”
When Sonia met his kind eyes, she was stunned. She suddenly realized that he was becoming gentler,
which reminded her of the way he used to behave as the forbearing child in white.
He reached out and waved his hand in front of her when he noticed that she stared at him while lost in
her train of thoughts. “What are you thinking about again?”
She had yet to fully return to her senses. When she heard his words, she subconsciously said, “I
thought of the past you.”
“The past me?!” Toby narrowed his eyes.
Her gaze wavered before she completely regained her composure. While looking at him, she hurriedly
asked, “Um… What did I just say?”
“You said that you remember the past me.” Toby added, “Sonia, to you, what was the past me like?”
What was he like? Sonia lowered her eyes and thought. In the past, Toby was the most hygienic,
gentlest, most heartwarming teenager she had ever met. When she first met him, he had left her so
stunned that she wondered how there could be such a wonderful senior in this world.
However, after she married him, she realized that he had long changed from a gentle teenager to a
stoic and indifferent jerk who cared about no one. When she thought about this, she looked at Toby
again and glared at him instead. “In any case, he’s completely different from you now.”
At that, Sonia walked toward the banquet hall while a doubtful Toby looked at her back.
What is going on? Why is she angry? I didn’t seem to have provoked her, right? He couldn’t figure out
what he had done wrong, so he gave her a chase. By the time they returned to the banquet hall, the
speech that Sonia’s friend and her fiance gave was over. It should’ve ended a long time ago, but due to
the earlier earthquake, it was postponed until now. Sonia stood at the corner and followed other guests
in applauding and congratulating the couple for officially being engaged.
Of course she wasn’t giving her blessings like the others, but rather, she was merely following the tide
because she knew that her friend didn’t need grace at all. After all, it wasn’t a union out of love.
“Your friend is not willing to cancel the engagement with Will Lazuli.” Toby brought a glass of red wine
to Sonia and he stared at the couple onstage.
Sonia looked at the glass of red wine in his hand and frowned. “Your arm and foot aren’t even healed
yet, so why are you drinking?” Then, she snatched the glass from his hand and placed it on the dining
table at the side before bringing him a glass of juice instead. “Drink this.”
Toby looked at the bright red juice in his hand, the corners of his mouth slightly twitching with
amusement. He knew it was sacchariferous without having to drink it and since he disliked anything
that was too sweet, he never drank juice. However, this was a different matter altogether. She cared
about him, which was why she handed him the glass of juice. If he didn’t drink it, it would sadden her.
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