Chapter 6
Her cry pierced through the room.
All eyes, including Juan's and Debra's, turned to her.
In their eyes, Shelia was a rude and uncultured woman.
The old gardener bent down to pick up the scattered roses and apologized profusely.
Feeling the stares around her, Shelia quickly changed her attitude. "I'm sorry. I was in haste. Are you okay, sir?"
Debra watched from nearby.
Even though Shelia tried to fix it, it only came off as insincere.
Shelia also noticed Debra beside Juan.
"How did she get here?" Juan frowned.
Given his expression, he seemed clueless about Shelia's arrival.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
Debra wondered if Shelia came on her own.
Debra stayed silent.
This plot was different from that of her last life. Juan brought Shelia to the party, where Shelia impressed Caleb Houston. It led to a smooth path overseas and success after graduation with support from Juan and Caleb. Debra thought that Shelia would not show up this time.
Yet here she was.
"Mr. Nichols!" Hearing the commotion, Joe rushed in.
Juan's tone was curt. "Who let her in?"
"It was me." Joe bowed his head. "I thought Miss Miles could help you."
Juan rubbed his temples.
He used to be very tolerant of Shelia.
But in this situation, Shelia shouldn't have appeared.
"Miss Miles isn't familiar with the place. Go check on her," Debra said, taking a sip of champagne.
Juan saw Shelia's scared looks, and he couldn't bear to leave her alone to handle the situation. "I'll be back in a moment."
Debra said nothing.
That was expected.
He could never let go of Shelia.
Juan went over and asked, "How did you come here?"
Shelia lowered her head, looking pitiful. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see the event."
Seeing her tear up, Juan couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh.
In a sense, Shelia was trained by him, and he had seen all her efforts.
"I'll have Joe take you back."
Seeing Juan about to leave, Shelia hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. "Mr. Nichols, can I stay?" Juan frowned.
In the past, Shelia was always obedient and aware of her identity, never crossing that boundary. Shelia felt his displeasure and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Nichols. I..."
Juan relented in the end. "You can stay. This event could be helpful for your overseas studies." Shelia finally broke into a sweet smile.
"Can I stay with you?"
Juan glanced at the surrounding crowd, concerned about leaving Shelia alone here.
"Yeah."
Shelia was delighted.
Joe couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what about Mrs. Nichols?"
"Go accompany her. Don't let her cause trouble like last time."
Juan knew that Debra often attended such events, but as someone unfamiliar with finance, she was here merely to pass the time.
As long as she didn't cause trouble like last time, it was fine.
Debra watched as Joe approached her. Before he could say anything, she asked, "He's gone to accompany Shelia?"
"Miss Miles is a key candidate for the company, so..."
"I understand."
Debra looked as if she was not bothered at all.
Joe breathed a sigh of relief.
But somehow, he felt that Debra had changed.
Shelia followed Juan and confidently conversed with some bigwigs, which was noticed by Debra.
Although Shelia had good grades at school, she was still just a student. In front of these seasoned businessmen, what she said wasn't very insightful.
They were only praising Shelia out of respect for Juan.
However, soon Shelia faced difficulty with a foreign elderly gentleman.
Debra recognized that man as a financial tycoon from Dawnreach.
He only spoke his native language and didn't know any foreign languages.
And his translator was absent.
"Mr. Nichols..."
Shelia bit her lip, glancing at Juan.
Juan was pondering how to defuse the awkwardness when Debra approached and fluently conversed with the man.
The man seemed quite pleased with what Debra said and shook hands with her.
Shelia finally noticed Debra, dressed in an identical black dress.
Compared to her, Debra seemed like a refined lady, while she looked like a street vendor.
Shelia clenched her fists and forced a smile. "Debra, that's impressive. You can speak the Dawnreach language."
Debra smiled without saying anything.
Juan remembered that Debra could speak foreign languages, but Dawnreach language wasn't widely used. Not many people knew it, so he was surprised that Debra was fluent in it. "What did you say to Mr. Stephen? He seemed quite pleased," Shelia asked.
"I told him that the piece of land he bought near the southeastern sea at the auction is going to sell well, so he's happy," Debra replied.
"That piece of land will sell well?" Shelia looked puzzled.
The land didn't seem extraordinary.
"Maybe," Debra replied casually.
In her last life, that piece of land did sell for a considerable sum. The area suddenly developed into a tourist destination, making a hefty profit from tourism.
Mr. Stephen probably foresaw its development, hence his purchase.
Shelia lacked that foresight.
Juan stared at Debra, which made her uncomfortable.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Debra asked.
"How did you know that the land would sell well?" Juan said.