When I Was A Wallflower

Chapter 237

phone, but he recalled adding Bria’s number and allowing her interruption.No matter what he was doing at the moment, she was allowed to call him at any time.He turned on the ‘do not disturb’ mode to silence his phone before the meeting. Thus, only her number was allowed through even though he was busy.He flipped his phone over and saw the expected caller ID.The others in the room were watching him with close attention.The moment they saw his gaze land on the phone, they were expecting him to immediately reject the call because it was only natural for him.“Hello?”To their surprise, the man’s response was the opposite of their expectations.Leo reached for the phone and pushed his chair back with a calm expression as all eyes were on him.Tapping on the table, he gestured for Eugene to continue the meeting without him before he walked out of the room, leaving the others gaping in shock.The reason was that they could see a smile forming at the corners of his lips and stretching across his face after he answered the call.Is that a smile? Mr. Alston? Smiling? Is this a dream?The executive’s hearts thundered in their chests because their minds were blown by their discovery.“I wonder, who’s calling Mr. Alston?”Even though they were a bunch of top talents trained to become the elites, some of them were eager to find out the identity of the caller after witnessing Leo’s smile.After all, Leo didn’t even smile like that back when he was dating Elyse.Eugene scanned around the room blandly. “Don’t talk about Mr. Alston behind his back unless you’re hoping to get fired.”In a split second, complete silence fell between them.Outside the room where nobody was watching, Leo held the phone in his hand as his expression softened. “Bria, did you call because something happened?”“Yes.” Bria nodded her head vigorously, her round eyes on her fair face widened to build a sense of mystery. “Daddy, there’s something you need to know. Mommy and a man are planning to race cars tonight.”Leo already knew that Amelie was a pro racing driver, but he couldn’t help but be surprised at Bria’s words. “Just the two of them?”“Yes!” She nodded again.Even though she couldn’t hear the man’s name clearly, she remembered the rendezvous point, so she immediately told Leo afterward. Other than that, she also reminded him, “Remember, it’s 9.00PM. Don’t forget about it.”Leo’s curling lips were slowly pulled downward by the weight of the news and eventually pressed into a thin line.A man and woman racing cars at 9.00PM?He couldn’t help but imagine other scenes that could ever happen between two people, and none of them was related to car racing at all.His worries were understandable. After all, Amelie was surrounded by many men after the divorce and all of them were planning to make a move to devour her.He clenched his fists so tight that his fingernails sank into his palm.However, he didn’t visibly react to the pain, let alone grunt. Instead, he only answered, “I got it.”Leo kept his voice as calm as ever the whole time.When he returned to the office, the executives could sense a change in him judging by the way he looked more distant than ever.The veins in his forehead were bulging due to anger.I remember him leaving the room with a smile on his face a moment ago.The men’s gaze all landed on Leo as he strode toward his seat. Instead of sitting back, he put his hands on the table to support his weight as he scanned the others’ faces from a commanding position. “Whoever has acquaintances in the motorsport industry can round up his team and pack their things. I don’t want to see any of you in the company.”The others exchanged looks wordlessly. What’s wrong with having acquaintances in the motorsport industry?In their opinion, Leo was a fair person who rewarded and punished people equally. Even if he planned to fire his employee, the person must be a poor performer who deserved it. He would also present detailed data and in-depth information to prove his decision was right, so the person wouldn’t argue with him.Why is it wrong to have acquaintances in the motorsport industry? Is there a trend to prove those people are poor performers?Eugene was also confused, so he turned to Leo for the answer.However, Leo simply answered the question by dismissing the meeting and leaving the room.When he returned to his office, he pushed the windows open in frustration before he stood there with his arms akimbo.Eugen followed after him. “Mr. Alston—”“You have been neglecting your responsibilities as an assistant, haven’t you? The air conditioner is not even blowing cold air. Can’t you feel it?” Leo accused with a frown between his brows.Eugene was taken aback by the groundless accusation. That’s because you opened the windows to the hot weather outside! It’s not the air conditioner’s fault!Even though these thoughts were running through his mind, he shut the windows that Leo opened a moment ago without a word before lowering the air conditioner’s temperature.At last, he finally turned to Leo. Even for him, it was the first time to see Leo getting angry to the degree that he tried to fire a group of people without a good reason.As the room temperature dropped, Leo felt slightly calmer. He walked toward the sofa and sat there without saying a word. Resting his hands on his lap, he knitted his brows in annoyance and confusion.What’s wrong with me? Why did I get angry just because Bria told me that Amelie has planned to race against another man tonight?He remembered Toby asking him whether he had fallen for Amelie. He also remembered himself admitting his feelings, but it was only because he felt at peace around Amelie.He would never have thought that learning the news that she was meeting up with another man would affect him that much.Putting the meeting minutes on Leo’s desk, Eugene asked warily, “Mr. Alston, is there anything else?”His question brought Leo back to reality. He massaged the bridge of his nose as his expression returned to its original state. “Turn down the business dinner later.”Eugene blinked in surprise. “The business dinner later is important, though. Mr. Smith is going—”Before he could finish his words, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine as Leo gave him a death stare.Eugene immediately complied with his boss’ wish. “All right.”…Amelie arrived at the racetrack at 9.00PM sharp.The newly built racetrack was oval in shape like the others, and the audience could sit in the grandstand and look down at the race circuit when there was a race.As she got down from the car, Amelie smelled the mix of fresh paint and other building materials.She made a fanning motion in front of her nose. Just then, two beams of white light illuminated the dark as if a monster lurking in the dark had opened its eyes upon smelling its prey.Amelie narrowed her eyes to make out the intruder behind the strong light.Behind them was a sports car painted in a custom scheme. The car’s skirting had almost touched the ground and it had sharp lines overall.Clad in his white racing suit, Chris got down from the car with a racing helmet in his hand, looking both handsome and confident.“Good evening.” Greeting him warmly, Amelie walked over, only to find another car parked next to Chris’.A man got out of the car.She frowned slightly at the sight of the uninvited guest.“Ash is interested in racing against us. Amelie, you don’t mind, do you?” Chris proposed with caution.He now treated Amelie as his idol in car racing. If she allowed it, he would even worship her.Ashton had a fake smile at the mention of his name before he sneered. “Why do you care? She’s no longer related to your family.”After that, he snorted again as his gaze landed on Amelie as if implying that she was misleading Chris on purpose.However, she rarely met Chris after their last encounter, so she had no way to mislead him even if she wanted.Even so, she didn’t try to explain herself. Instead, she approached Chris with a calm expression. “I don’t mind. After all, it’s your plan. Besides, I indeed am no longer related to your family, but you can call me ‘Amy’ or ‘Elie’ since we are friends.”Ashton sneered, disapproving of the idea in her words again.After all, he loathed Amelie. Thus, he would always find her words perfunctory while her a hypocrite, and he wouldn’t hesitate to express his disapproval.“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Chris hesitated. It’s impolite to address my idol by her nickname.“I think I’ll stick with ‘Amelie’.”“Sure.”As the easy-going woman that she was, Amelie agreed with him. Then, she turned around and grabbed her helmet before putting it on. “How many laps?”Chris watched her without blinking. She wore the helmet in one go with a natural and smooth motion.The red helmet and suit suited her well and set off her complexion, making her look both authoritative and vibrant.Before Chris could answer, Ashton chimed in, “Where’s the fun in it if you do it like normal?”He was also chewing gum at the same moment. There was a smug grin at the corner of his lips, and his expression was telling the pair that he wouldn’t let their answers stop him from getting what he wanted.Amelie detected the implication in his words, so she turned to him. “How do you want to