The Supreme Soldier in the City-Chapter 166 Conspiracy

Sarah held a large box in her arms that weighed about eighty-eight pounds. While it wasn’t very heavy for an adult man, for a girl like Sarah, it was indeed burdensome.

Normally, there were laborers to help with the heavy lifting, but knowing how tight the schedule was at the company, especially in the logistics department, she needed to have all the equipment ready before a large number of employees came in. So, she decided to carry what she could to save a little time.

The laborers, all strong, burly men, couldn’t help but admire the beautiful girl working just as hard as they were, which made them too embarrassed to slack off.

"Ouch!" The box was so big that Sarah couldn’t see her feet and didn’t notice what she tripped over, causing her body to suddenly lurch forward. Yet, she tenaciously held on to the box, attempting to turn her body to prevent it from crashing onto the floor. After all, it contained important electronic equipment, and breaking it would mean losing a substantial amount of money.

Sarah’s body was already tilted backward at a thirty-degree angle to the ground when suddenly an arm caught her around the waist and pulled her upright.

"Oh! Big Brother Brown!" Sarah cried out in surprise.

James Brown frowned and said, "This box is so heavy; why are you moving it yourself when we’ve hired many people?"

Embarrassed, Sarah replied, "I was just trying to save some time."

Her reply made James feel a bit guilty. Seeing Sarah work so hard while he— a grown man—was slacking off, he promptly took the box from her and said, "Alright, my department is free today; I might as well help you. You just focus on directing."

Sarah nodded her head and said, "I really appreciate it, Big Brother Brown."

"What are you thanking me for? We are friends after all. I can’t just watch you struggle. Okay, no more chitchat, just tell me where to move this."

"Alright, all these first go to the marketing department."

After several trips with James’ help, all the goods were finally moved. Sarah continued working, but at James’ insistence, she only handled lighter items.

Once finished with the batch, she immediately ran to see Sunny Nguyen with James to get approval for purchasing more items.

Although Sunny acknowledged James upon his entrance, she quickly reviewed and signed the form Sarah handed to her and said, "Go get a signature from Mr. Lopez first, and I’ll write you a check."

Sarah hurriedly went on her way while James sat down across from Sunny.

"President Smith, are you supervising my work?" Sunny joked as she looked up at James.

"How would I dare? I’m just the HR manager, and you know how people say HR doesn’t really work. Ironically, I ended up in this department."

"Is it because you were looking for some peace and quiet?" Sunny teased, causing James to laugh.

Even though James taking over as president had initially shocked Sunny, she felt quite relaxed around him. Lighting up a cigarette, James said, "You’ve been very busy lately. You should relax occasionally."

Sunny winked at James and flirtatiously suggested, "Why don’t you give me a massage tonight?"

Previously, James would have readily agreed. But just last night, he had made his relationship with Emma Campbell official. He felt it wouldn’t be right to behave the same way with Sunny anymore. After taking a drag of his cigarette, he replied, "My massage skills are quite poor."

Sunny looked surprised at his response, stared at him intently for a moment, and then suspiciously asked, "Is it that you don’t dare anymore?"

They say women’s intuition is sharp, and James couldn’t deny it as he chuckled softly and confessed, "I’ve got a girlfriend now. I feel I should be responsible to her and can’t mess around anymore."

"Well, good for you, deciding to settle down," Sunny exclaimed enthusiastically. "I’d like the chance to meet her, see what kind of person can tame you."

"Heh, she’s not as impressive as you, but she is very gentle, an ideal person to settle down with."

"Now you’ve made me even more curious. Bring her by sometime, let both Gina and I meet her."

"Give it some time. She’s very unassuming. Seeing all the big bosses around might scare her."

"Tsk," Sunny scoffed, dissatisfied. "Still pampering her, huh?"

Just then, Sarah rushed back in hurriedly, causing James and Sunny to drop the subject. Sunny quickly wrote a check for Sarah, who then left with James.

Sitting alone, pen in hand, Sunny felt an unexpected irritation stirring within her. She knew it was because of James. She had never thought about marrying him for life, but he was undeniably a man who touched her heart. During her most painful times, it was James who helped her move past her failed marriage. Now, knowing he no longer wanted to continue their past involvement, she felt truly disheartened.

The knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she called.

Gina Lopez entered, closed the door behind her, and sat opposite Sunny, saying, "Sister Sunny, did you know that James has got himself a girlfriend?"

Surprised by Gina’s discussion topic amidst a busy schedule, Sunny quickly responded, "He just told me."

"That must mean it’s true. I’m curious, what kind of guy has he found that he’s not with you anymore?" Gina’s face showed undeniable vexation.

Sunny Nguyen gently tapped the table and laughed, "Look Gina, whether he finds a girlfriend or not is none of my business, and why are you getting mad?"

Gina Lopez immediately retorted, "It just irks me. I mean, look at you! You’ve got looks, talent—even though you’re divorced, you’re still the dream of countless men. And he doesn’t cherish that."

Sunny’s smile widened, "Gina, stop projecting onto me, it’s clearly you who’s feeling uncomfortable."

Gina tried to argue but ended up sighing despondently, "Okay, I admit it. But I just got used to him pretending to be my boyfriend for a while; it’s not that I have feelings for him. I’ve always supported you two getting together."

Sunny gave a meaningful smile, "Feelings often start from getting used to someone. Those intense romances are the ones that don’t last."

Gina glared at Sunny reproachfully, "Sister Sunny, I’ve told you many times, I really don’t have feelings for him. His lifestyle is totally different from mine; his laziness just annoys me."

"Alright, alright, I’ll drop it. So, what did you really want to talk about?"

"This... I really want to see what his girlfriend looks like. Don’t you?"

"I do want to see. I just pushed him to bring her over so I could have a look, but he said his girlfriend is shy and wouldn’t come."

"That jerk, fooling some poor girl, we really need to check her out."

Sunny squinted her eyes, "Then how about this? Let’s have a dinner party tomorrow night. We can have the staff bring their families. It could boost morale, and we could also see this guy’s girlfriend."

"And if he refuses to bring her?"

"If he doesn’t bring her... then you pretend to be his girlfriend and see what he says."

"Or better yet, if he doesn’t bring her, let’s make him marry you."

"Let’s agree on that then."

"Alright, that’s settled."

................

James Brown was driving when he suddenly sneezed twice. Sarah Utah immediately expressed her concern, "Big Brother Brown, are you feeling okay? Hope you haven’t caught a cold."

James rubbed his nose, "No, I’m fine."

Sarah chuckled, "Then someone must be missing you."

James laughed, "Missing me? I think it’s more like someone is badmouthing me, scheming against me. Every time someone schemes against me, I start sneezing."

James was only joking with Sarah, but this time he had ironically hit the nail on the head, as Gina Lopez, the general manager, and Sunny Nguyen, the senior manager, were indeed scheming against him at that moment.

Sarah blinked, "Big Brother Brown, I’ve always been curious, how did you and Mr. Lopez end up together?"

James shrugged, "Actually, you got it wrong; there was nothing between us."

"Big Brother Brown, why deny it? I saw it with my own eyes. Yesterday, she was with you in the office, and the looks Mr. Lopez was giving made me think she suspected something between us; I was terrified."

"I’m not denying anything. My girlfriend, she’s actually that college student. The thing with Mr. Lopez is for some reasons."

"No way! Turning down someone like Mr. Lopez for a college student?" Sarah widened her eyes in disbelief; to her, Gina Lopez was a flawless woman, unbeatable by anyone else.

"Heh, it’s not a matter of wanting or not. We never started anything in the first place. What you saw that day was just Mr. Lopez’s sister."

"No way, my eyes aren’t failing me; how could I have seen it wrong?"

"Mr. Lopez is a twin. His sister looks just like him. The one you saw in the office yesterday was his sister. How else could Mr. Lopez have looked at you that way?"

"How is that possible? Even if they’re twins, they can’t look that alike."

"If you saw them both together, you’d know. I can’t even tell them apart."

"Big Brother Brown, are you fooling me?" Sarah stared at James.

James gave a small smile, "Of course, I’m not fooling you. If it were true, I’d admit it. Do I seem like someone who’s afraid to admit things?"

Suddenly, Sarah fell silent, her gaze towards James shifting, making him regret a bit as if admitting Gina Lopez wasn’t his girlfriend was a mistake.