The Substitute Bride

"I like anything that you prepare, grandma." Autumn chuckled. She gave her grandparents a hug and then hurried off to work.

Since everything had been cleared up with Charles, Autumn felt relaxed and wore a smile on her face. The world was beautiful again. As soon as Isla entered the office and saw a new and refreshed Autumn, she knew that she and Charles had made up.

"Take a look at this, Autumn. It looks like I'm gonna be really busy today, " Isla said holding up a stack of papers and left Autumn's office. The cooperation with Giant Promise Company, along with the fact that their opponent stole their proposal getting out, had led to a gradual increase in the company's business. Now the whole Cloud Advertising Company was swamped. One could feel the energy within the company.

As the company had been constantly getting better, Autumn was exhilarated beyond description.

She remembered that Amy invited her to dinner so she made time to call Charles and asked him to go with her and visit the Zhao family after work. "Okay, I'll pick you up after work then." Charles said holding the phone to his ear while signing a few documents.

"No, you don't have to bother coming here. I'll come to you, " Autumn replied, smiling by herself in her office.

After hanging up, Charles remained in his seat, looking across the table at Leila, and asked, "What did you say?"

"Oh, Mr. Lu, I said..." Leila beamed and repeated what she had just said. Since their return from Europe, tensions between Charles and Leila had eased a lot.

Charles was able to see Leila's abilities based on their latest business trip to Europe. Naturally, he wanted to treasure her talent.

After giving her report, Leila kept looking at Charles, her dark eyes gleaming with expectation. Charles gave her a puzzled look and asked, "What's the matter? Anything else?"

"Mr. Lu, you promised me a reward when we were in Europe, remember?" Leila reminded him with a faint giggle.

Charles smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course I haven't forgotten. So have you decided what you want for you reward?" he replied with one eyebrow raised.

er well today.

Halfway through lunch, Charles went to the register and settled the bill. As he turned around, he saw Leila standing in front of him, looking at him confused. This made him feel guilty, as if he just got caught in the act, doing something bad.

"What do you mean by doing this, Mr. Lu?" Leila asked, taking a step towards him. "I said it was my treat. Why did you settle the bill?"

"That's all right, " Charles said. "We seldom eat out together. Besides, I know how much you get paid. It's not easy for you to make money. How could I get you to pay the bill when I'm here?"

"But... " Leila frowned and tried to argue but Charles stopped her.

"It's settled already. Come on, no need to argue about it." Charles said casually, "You may rest assured that this meal is not the one you asked me to treat you to."

Leila smiled and finally added, "But Mr. Lu, if we go out for a meal again, please let me pay for it. I told everyone it was my treat, but you paid for it. It has become embarrassing for me."

"Okay, I'll make sure you pay next time, " Charles replied, and returned to the table with Leila.

An hour before work was over, Autumn handed over the job to Isla, ready to go and pick up Charles. "I'm going now, Isla. Please take care of these."

"Okay, I'll make sure they're done, " Isla assured her. She was glad to see that Autumn was back to her original energetic self.