Wade was a clever and alert person; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been chosen by Sam Noah as his assistant. So Wade saw through his bragging at a glance. At that time, Sam Noah had just assigned a task to Wade to find someone who was both stupid and bad to do a job, and Wade thought Oscar fit the bill perfectly.
Wade didn’t expose him but went along with his words, praising him a few times, which quickly made Oscar feel elated. Gradually, Wade steered the conversation toward women, and Oscar began to boast again about how many women he had in Brackenfield.
Listening to his words, Wade deliberately made a face of envy, then sighed heavily, lamenting, “If only I had skills like Brother Oscar, I wouldn’t be so heartbroken over love.”
Oscar immediately asked what was going on when he heard this. Wade said, “I’ve recently taken a liking to a girl and spent a lot of effort trying to pursue her, but she won’t even look at me. She says I’m from out of town and not a local. She says she looks down on outsiders, claiming they’re dirty and uncouth.”
Oscar was indeed displeased to hear this. Although most of what Wade said was exaggerated, he had indeed gained some status in Brackenfield. Plus, Oscar was a person with a strong sense of pride; when he first came to Brackenfield, he had also been looked down upon. So now that he had achieved some success, the most disgusting thing was to be treated as an outsider again.
Oscar patted Wade’s shoulder and said, “Brother, if you don’t mind, give me this woman’s contact information. I’ll go meet her. I’ve seen plenty of women like her; they’re just pretending to be high and mighty.”
Wade pretended to look doubtful but still took out the girl’s photo to show him, “Her name is Ava. She wants to become a star and has already signed with an agency. She’ll probably debut soon. She’s going to be a star, so how could she look at us? I appreciate Oscar’s intentions, but you don’t need to waste time on me.”
Oscar, who loved face and was very proud, couldn’t stand being doubted. He immediately took the photo and said, “Just you wait, brother.”
Unexpectedly, two months later, Oscar sent Wade a set of photos. Wade knew Oscar was showing off, as if to say, “Look, didn’t you say I couldn’t do it?” However, these photos were exactly what Wade needed, and he was very satisfied, pretending to praise him a few times for being impressive.
Before the New Year, Sam Group held an end-of-year meeting in the form of a banquet. All the senior executives of Sam Group and its partners were invited to attend. Sam Noah had now publicly acknowledged Thelma’s identity, so as the boss lady of Sam Group, Thelma naturally attended.
The banquet was held on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. On the day of the banquet, Thelma wore a white evening gown, and the little boy was also dressed formally in a mini suit. Mr. Sam wore a tailcoat with a bow tie, giving off a medieval European noble vibe.
Ruth and several responsible people from the winery also attended the banquet. Thelma accompanied Sam Noah to greet them. Remembering something, she turned to Ruth and said, “Can I talk to Mom alone for a moment?”
“Come over here.”
Ruth led her to a secluded corner and asked, “What do you want to talk about?”
Thelma said, “I remember everything now.”
Ruth was drinking champagne when she heard this and suddenly looked at her, her eyes narrowing, but she didn’t say a word.
“I know I had some unpleasantness with you before, Mom. A few years ago, I went through some setbacks, became sensitive and insecure, and was filled with resentment, which led to some disrespectful actions towards you.”
Ruth’s gaze slowly turned to one of doubt, as if she couldn’t believe her daughter would say such things. She furrowed her brows in thought for a moment, then sighed, “You don’t need to blame yourself. I also have my shortcomings. I said before that as long as you treat Noah and Tyler well, I don’t want to hold the past against you.”
Thelma breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Okay, thank you for your understanding, Mom.”
After chatting for a while, the two returned to find Tyler and Sam Noah, only to see that Sam Noah was now surrounded by a few people: Chris, Susan, and Ava.
