Joanne put on her shoes obediently. Once done, she reached for Brian's hand and tugged. "Let's go," she said.

She dragged Brian out the door excitedly, her grin so wide that it was as if her lips had stretched all the way to the bottom of her eyes. She did not seem to have noticed at all that she had voluntarily reached for his hand.

Brian regarded her alabaster hands, which were slender and small. All of a sudden, he realized that this was what he wanted.

Fame. Money. None of them could compare to this unintended but affectionate gesture of hers.

When she had dragged Brian out of the hotel, Joanne turned around and looked at him smilingly. "You're not going to ask where I'm taking you?"

Brian smiled back at her. "Well, you can tell me now."

"Actually, I'm not even sure if I can find the place," Joanne said, holding out her hand. "Phone."

Brian handed her the phone, the same one he had grabbed on the way out of the suite. She sent Chris several texts, which the latter replied within a minute. Chris had texted back an address.

"Ah, I know this place," said the driver. "But it's a bit far. It'll take roughly 40 minutes to get there."

"That's okay!" said Joanne.

With much ebullience, Joanne dragged Brian towards the car. When they were both in the car, she started explaining to Brian without being asked. "I never met my grandparents. They both passed away when I was very young. As far as I can remember, there's only one elderly person who was very fond of me back then. I call her Granny Wallace. She was the nanny who had taken care of my mother back then. She cared for my mom until I was seven. That was when she left us to return to her home town. After that, she would often come to A City to visit us. When she did, she would bring me a lot of rice dumplings that she'd made herself. I never saw her again after my mom died."

"She's from G City?" Brian asked.

"Mm," Joanne said, nodding. "My brother mentioned before that Granny Wallace started her own restaurant after she returned to G City. Whenever he was in G City for business trips, save for his business meals, he would always have his meals at Granny Wallace's restaurant. Because the taste of Granny Wallace's food is the closest to my mom's!"

Forty minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a small restaurant.

It was a small noodle joint hidden within an alley of an old village. There were four sets of plain-looking tables and chairs. All in all, the place looked neat and clean.

The restaurant's lighting was dim, perhaps due to the fact that it was past its business hours. A young woman sat behind the counter, watching a movie while munching on sunflower seeds. The woman seemed to have noticed that someone had entered. "Sorry, we're closed," the woman said without raising her head.

Joanne remembered that Granny Wallace had a granddaughter. "Maybe it's this lady," Joanne thought. She walked towards the counter and stood before it. "Hi."

Yuna Wallace raised her head and saw Joanne. Her eyes went wide instantly. "Eh?" Yuna said. When she noticed Brian, her jaw dropped. "Wow! Even more handsome than the one shown in the newspaper!"

Joanne smiled and spoke politely, "I'm looking for..."

"I know! You're looking for my grandmother!" Yuna interjected. She stood up and wiped her hands. "She mentioned you a lot over the years. Today will be her happy day. Please give me a moment, I'll call her out."

Yuna moved as if she were a gust of wind, parting the portiere and dashing to the back of the restaurant. Joanne glanced at the portiere, which looked clean but old, like it had been washed so many times that the colors on it had faded. She recalled that Granny Wallace's clothes looked like that too. Memories from the time when she was cared for by both her mother and Granny Wallace flashed before her eyes.

Brian noticed the look of yearning reminiscence on her face. He walked over and calmly held her hand. Joanne smiled at him. All of a sudden, they heard a voice, which sounded weak with age. There was a slight tremor in the voice too. "Joanne."

Joanne glanced towards the portiere. All of a sudden, she felt her eyes growing hot.

It had been ten years. While time had transformed Joanne from an innocent little girl into a married woman, it had also engraved Granny Wallace's face with wrinkles and bent her back.

The only thing about the old lady that had not changed was the kindness in her eyes. Whenever those eyes fell upon someone, one would feel as if one was loved and cared for by the entire world.

Seeing that the little girl from before had grown into such a tall beauty, the old lady could not help but feel a surge of emotion in her. The old lady's eyes instantly became red-rimmed. "Joanne, look how much you've grown. So outstanding, just like your brother. Your mother would be relieved if she knew the woman you've become."

Joanne held the old woman's hands tightly. After a long moment, she found her voice. "Granny Wallace, I'm married."

Joanne tugged at Brian's hand, wanting to make the introductions. Granny Wallace smiled. "I know. Your brother had told me about it a month ago when he was here for a business trip. I was talking about you just a few days ago and Yuna showed me your photos."

The old lady's back was a bit hunched, so it was difficult to her to keep looking up at Brian's tall and towering frame. Joanne wanted to help the old lady sit down, but Brian had beaten her to it by reaching out his hand. There was a small smile on his face. "Granny, please have a sit."

Granny Wallace smiled happily as she sat down. She patted Brian's hand lightly. "I heard from Yuna that you're as brilliant as Joanne's brother. Chris adores his younger sister. You have to promise me that you'll look after Joanne the way Chris did."

Feeling a bit unsettled, Joanne looked at Brian, though she could not contain the anticipation she was feeling right then. Brian kept smiling. None of his usual aloofness could be detected on his face. Then, he said, "Please, don't worry. I definitely will."

She sighed in relief. Vaguely, she could feel sweetness welling in her chest. Following the sweetness, there was a feeling of melancholy.

Perhaps Brian's promise was only intended to comfort Granny Wallace.

"What's there to be so happy about?" she thought.

At Brian's response, Granny Wallace looked even happier. Suddenly, she looked as if she just remembered something. "Joanne, have you guys had dinner? Whenever your brother is in G City, he'd always be busy. So he'd come by my place around this time too. Every time he'd be whining about how hungry he was. Even told me that he had purposely come here on an empty stomach."

Joanne smiled. "We're the same. Granny Wallace, I miss your pork eggplant."

"Very well. I'll start preparing it right away."

The old lady entered the kitchen with a smile on her face. Yuna into the kitchen to help out too. As if remembering something, Joanne asked, "When are we returning to A City?"

"You want to go back?"

Joanne shook her head. "It's not that. I get really bored staying at the hotel during the day. If we're not going back tomorrow, then I'd like to come here during the day."

"We'll go back the following afternoon. I'll have the driver send you here tomorrow," Brian said.

Joanne had so many things she wanted to tell Granny Wallace. "Okay!" Joanne said, nodding happily.

Even though Granny Wallace was old, her movements in the kitchen were not slow at all. In less than 40 minutes, she had prepared three dishes: pork eggplant, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and boiled cabbages. The chicken soup had already been prepared beforehand, so she warmed it and had Yuna bring it out. She looked at Joanne affectionately. "You're too thin. Not to mention how tiring you must be with your job and everything. You have to eat more."

Yuna helped her grandmother sit down. "Granny, women nowadays are aiming for the skinny look. Overeating will make us feel guilty."

"Oh, you still have the nerve to say it." The old lady pinched Yuna. "How's the job hunting going? Chris asked you to help out in his company. Why did you refuse?"

"I want to stay with you, so I won't go anywhere outside of G City. Plus, I'm worried I won't be able to handle a badass company like Everbridge Group." "I've thought about what I want to do, though," Yuna said smilingly. "I'll apply for a job at the hotpot restaurant in the old city area. 7 hours a day plus a salary of 500 dollars. That's just enough for me to spend. I'd like be a waitress and live a chill and stress-free life."

Other than surprise, Joanne began to wonder if things really were that coincidental. She asked Yuna, "Are you talking about the hotpot restaurant near the riverside? The one without a name? You plan to work there?"

"Yep!" Yuna nodded vigorously. "You guys have been there? I heard that the place only serves the owner's friends. So there will be about six or seven days in a month that I'll be totally free. It's because of that that I want to work there. Are you guys and the owner...?"

"We're friends," Brian said. "I'll have a word with Wesley. Whenever you are ready to start working, just go there straight away."

Wesley himself would often have his meals at the hotpot restaurant, which was why every employee in that restaurant were people that he could fully trust. The only reason the restaurant was hiring was that an auntie who was one of its employees got injured in an accident. Yuna had always doubted her own chances of getting hired there.

But now... could things really go that smoothly?

Also, given the complicated nature of Wesley's background, how did Brian end up friends with him?

Despite the barrage of thoughts that had come to her mind, Yuna maintained her smile. "Okay, then. Thanks in advance!"

Granny Wallace sighed. "Women nowadays are so independent and they all strive for excellence. Yuna, why aren't you like that?"

Yuna hugged her grandmother and spoke affectionately. "Other women are aiming high because that's what they want. What I want is to stay by your side every day."

The old lady laughed as if in resignation, though her eyes contained nothing but happiness.

Her granddaughter was the only family she had left. Of course, she would want her granddaughter by her side at all times.

After dinner, Joanne bid farewell to Granny Wallace and told her that she would drop by again tomorrow. The old lady noted how late it was and told Joanne to return to the hotel early to rest.

In the car, Joanne asked Brian, "You said your friend is planning to open a branch in A City? But if he only serves his friends, then why bother with another branch in A City?"

Brian raised his brows. "To serve his friends in A City, of course."

He had spoken of it as if running a restaurant was a piece of cake. At those words, Joanne could only bite her own tongue in silence. She was rendered completely speechless. "Spoken like a true tycoon!" she thought.

When Brian called Wesley to discuss Yuna's employment, Wesley held nothing back in his teasing. "Since when did you start bothering with this kind of shit? Well, my original plan was to bring a servant from my house to the restaurant to help out. But now that you've recommended someone, I'll have someone run a background check on the girl."

Wesley called back after a while. "She's a G City local," Wesley said, "Doesn't have any skills or knowledge since young. Unambitious. Graduated from university with third-class honors. She lied to her grandmother after her graduation, saying that she was going to further her studies abroad. But what she really did was to travel the world. Her only special skill is that she's multilingual. Ha. What an interesting girl. Fine, it's settled then. Let her come to work."

Brian hung up. After a short while, Gavin called to discuss work-related matters. As he spoke, Brian leaned against the backrest. With one hand, he held his phone and with the other, he reached out casually to twirl a strand of Joanne's long hair in his fingers. His movements were so laidback that they completely clashed with the serious tone that he was speaking in.

Joanne stared at him and gestured for him to release her hair. But a certain someone outright pretended not to notice and kept on playing with her hair. In the end, she had no choice but to reach up to pull his hand away.

Brian frowned in displeasure. With much ease, he grabbed Joanne and pulled her straight into his arms. His hands went around her and clamped down on her shoulder tightly.

"Ah..." Joanne yelped in surprised.

On the other end of the line, Gavin had heard the noise. A silence ensued before he said, "Ah, Mr. Brian, I see you're busy with missus boss. My apologies, I really didn't know. Well, I guess work can wait till tomorrow. I'll let you get back to..."

Due to the fact that she was held snugly against Brian and also the fact that it was too quiet in the car, Joanne had heard Gavin's words clearly. Her cheeks heated up instantly. She began struggling to free herself from Brian's hold.

Brian held her still effortlessly. "Gavin had asked us to get back to it. Why are you running?" he said in a teasing tone.

"Pervert!" Joanne raised her face to protest her innocence. "We weren't even doing anything!"

Her dark eyes glinted in defiance and seriousness. Brian smiled. "Well, it's still not too late to do something now."