All Over the Face
Toby? Sonia frowned. What is he doing here?
“Let him in then,” she said calmly.
While at the door, Wanda didn’t manage to convey the message before Toby entered the apartment in
large strides to head straight for the living room.
“Sonia.” When he saw Sonia on the couch, he tried to make his voice gentler as he addressed her.
She turned toward him. “What’s the matter, President Fuller?”
“I came to deliver something to you.” Toby took a seat right opposite her.
Sonia was puzzled. “Deliver something? Sorry, I don’t think I left anything at your place. Even if I did,
it’s certainly not something so important you’d want to come and deliver it yourself.”
“It’s not something you left behind; it’s something that Grandma wants me to deliver to you.” He
lowered his gaze and passed the bag to her.
As Sonia couldn’t see, of course Wanda took the bag in her stead.
Sonia blinked as she asked, “Grandma wanted you to deliver it? What is it exactly?”
“A set of jewelry,” he replied as his eyes brightened. “When Grandma knew that you’re attending her
80th birthday celebration, she was so happy that she took out a set of jewelry she wore when she was
young. She wants you to wear them when you attend the celebration later.”
“Really, huh?” She narrowed her eyes, obviously not buying it.
Toby nodded with a steadfast expression. “Of course. You can call her to confirm it if you want to.”
Sonia fell silent.
A few seconds later, she sighed. “All right, I got it. Please thank her for me. I’ll wear them when I head
over.”
“Good.” His thin lips curved into a smile.
It was something he knew—she wouldn’t really give Rose a call because judging from her character,
she wouldn’t want to bother the old woman unless it was something urgent.
Even though Sonia was on good terms with Rose, she would try to avoid contacting Rose too often
because she had already divorced Toby. Hence, he knew from the start that Sonia wouldn’t clarify with
his grandmother for confirmation, something which he had guessed correctly.
Upon seeing how Sonia accepted the jewelry from Toby, Wanda looked at Sonia before mustering
enough courage to ask, “Miss Reed, shall I open the box to see what sort of jewelry it is?”
Sonia nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Okay!” Wanda replied with a smile. Then, with Toby’s permission, she retrieved the jewelry box from
the bag and slowly opened it.
When she saw the entire set of imperial jade jewelry inside, her jaw dropped. This… Doesn’t this
belong to the late Madam?
She had been serving Toby’s mother as the housekeeper for many years, so she could immediately
recognize that Rose didn’t own this particular set of jewelry. Rather, it was the late Madam’s dowry. So,
Young Master Toby has just lied to Miss Reed.
Toby seemed to have guessed Wanda’s thoughts, for he nodded ever so slightly to confirm her
suspicions.
As a result, she was at a loss for words. My dear Young Master Toby, aren’t you afraid that Miss Reed
would be angry if she found out what you did later on?
He caught her drift, but he lowered his eyelids and refused to answer.
Sonia wasn’t aware of the silent conversation between the two of them. She didn’t hear the sound of
the box being touched either, so she asked, “Wanda, have you opened it?”
Wanda inhaled as she suppressed the uneasiness in her heart. Then, she smiled and answered, “Yes,
I did. It’s a set of imperial jade jewelry.”
“What!” Sonia was in the midst of drinking some water. As soon as she heard Wanda’s words, she
choked on the water, which inevitably sputtered out of her mouth.
Since Toby was sitting right opposite her, he took a direct hit as the water splashed all over his
handsome face.
Not only his face, but his hair as well.
His bangs were clumped together due to the water to the point where one part of it was dripping wet. It
was something he had never experienced before, so he was dumbfounded and rooted on the spot,
looking rather funny and embarrassing.
As a result of what she saw, Wanda couldn’t suppress her laughter. “Mr. Fuller, you—”
Upon hearing Wanda’s laugh, Sonia realized that she might have done something horrendous, so she
tightened her grip on the glass in her hands. She straightened her back a little as she asked, “Um…
Wanda, what happened? Did I just—”
“It’s nothing.” Toby inhaled as he finally recovered from the shock. Then, he reached up and wiped
away the water on his face.
The moment she saw that, Wanda quickly pulled some tissue and passed it to him. “Here, Mr. Fuller.”
“Thank you,” he replied before he took the tissue and proceeded to wipe his face.
Sonia was definitely able to confirm that some of the water had definitely splashed on Toby when she
heard the sound of tissue paper being pulled from the box. Even though it was an accident, she was
still embarrassed, so she bit her lip and said, “Wanda, get a new towel for President Fuller.”
“Sure.” Wanda was elated to see Sonia asking for a towel for Toby’s sake, so she quickly replied and
walked toward the bathroom.
Toby also looked at Sonia in disbelief. “You…”
“What?” she asked.
His throat bobbed up and down. “To think that you’d actually ask someone to get a towel for me…”
Usually, based on her usually cold demeanor toward him, she would’ve just ignored his predicament.
So, he was exceptionally surprised when she offered him a towel.
Sonia bit her lip and asked calmly, “Are you shocked? I know I did something wrong, which was why I
gave you a towel. It’s just me making up for my own mistakes. Also, I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t do it on
purpose.”
Upon seeing her apologetic expression, Toby smiled a little as his voice turned gentler. “I know. I’m not
blaming you.”
After all, how could he blame her?
Sonia moved her lips, but she didn’t say more.
It was because she didn’t know what else to say.
Also, she had already apologized and he said he didn’t mind. If she kept insisting that she didn’t mean
to do it, then her words would take on another meaning.
At this moment, Wanda carried the towel into the living room and she passed it to Toby. “Here, Mr.
Fuller.”
He reached out and took it; then, he placed it on his head and started drying his hair.
Sonia heard the sound of him drying his hair, so she slightly lowered her head and changed the topic.
“Right, President Fuller, why would Grandma let me wear such expensive jewelry?”
That was the one thing she couldn’t understand.
As far as she remembered, Grandma had never given her any jewelry before.
Of course, Old Mrs. Fuller had offered Sonia houses and cars, but she had declined them all.
As Toby had anticipated the question, he cast the towel aside and answered, “Because it’s her 80th
birthday, many famous figures in the business field will be invited. Many of them aren’t even from
Seafield. They are mostly powerful figures from Westsanshire, Sleubury, and even abroad. Most of
them are people you wouldn’t even have the right to meet normally.”
It sounded harsh, but it was the truth.
Even Titus in his prime wouldn’t have the right to see those people in authority, much less Sonia.
It was something that she was well aware of, so she wasn’t exasperated. Rather, she merely asked,
“So?”
“Some of those powerful people have subsidiaries just like Paradigm Co. If Paradigm Co. were to
expand its horizons, it would have to try its best to secure a partnership with those subsidiaries. And
you, as one of the biggest shareholders in Paradigm Co., have to establish relationships with those
people and expand your own horizons. You have to make connections to secure your power as a vice
president whereby people will actually listen to you. Then, you can retrieve the rest of management
rights from Asher whenever you want,” Toby elaborated as he looked at her.
Her expression turned serious and she began to clench her fists.
Sonia had to admit that Toby’s words had hit the bull’s eye.
It was true that she had recently been troubled by the future development in Paradigm Co. and the next
course of action.
Paradigm Co. had achieved its stability by collaborating with the few subsidiaries under the Fuller
Group, but being stable didn’t necessarily mean that Paradigm Co. had improved and developed
enough. The corporation was only saved from the brink of bankruptcy, but it was far from the
development that it envisioned.
So, if Paradigm Co. were to develop and strengthen itself, it would have to do more than partner with
the subsidiaries under the Fuller Group. It had to establish new partnerships and create new
possibilities for more promising partnerships.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda