Chapter 374 - 139: Abusing Power for Personal Gain
"I’m very sorry for not telling you the news in advance," Pello apologized the next day as he and Su Ziceng were seated together on the flight to Spain.
"Your decision was the right one. Telling me would have thrown me into disarray, and telling my father would have led him to make a decision in a short time, forcing me to act upon it," Su Ziceng too was aware that Pello did this to ease her decision-making, but she did wish that he had informed her first, as she was fully invested in the matter, even though the funds came from Su Qingzhang.
"But why do I feel that the young lady sitting beside me is angry," Pello, sitting in business class, raised his hand to order two cups of hot tea and handed one to Su Ziceng.
"I’m not angry; I’m not angry about this. I just feel you’re keeping too many things from me," Su Ziceng still refrained from looking directly at Pello; there were many things she could get mad about regarding him.
"For instance?" Pello read from Su Ziceng’s displeased expression that he might have really offended her. That won’t do; this European trip was meticulously planned by him, and Su Ziceng was one of its key players. He wouldn’t let his "cordially invited actor" be disappointed.
"The incident where you hurt Yishao on the yacht," Su Ziceng picked out a grievance from the pile to silence Pello.
"I felt his behavior that night wasn’t up to a man’s standards, which is why I hit him, besides, I did it in response to provocation," Pello shifted the blame to Hang Yishao. Compared to Hang Yishao, he was more adept in restraint and would not let emotions dictate his actions.
"What else? I think there’s something else bothering you," Pello snatched the cup from Su Ziceng’s hands, forcing her to turn her face to look him directly in the eye.
The plane soared through the sky, the white clouds and the azure heavens adding a hint of blue to Pello’s eyes.
As though under a spell, Su Ziceng said insincerely, "For example, your relationship with Wen Maixue as lovers, despite always telling me she was your benefactor."
Behind his smile, Pello’s gaze shifted, a proud look as if he found joy in Su Ziceng’s pettiness.
Not denying it meant it was true. Su Ziceng asked another question, "How far have you two gone?"
"The same step that any normal man and woman together would take," Pello didn’t wish to lie at an altitude of ten thousand meters, where one is close to God. Wen Maixue wasn’t his first woman, but she certainly was a memorable one.
Su Ziceng fell silent, no longer wanting even the cup of tea, staring blankly out the window, trying to use it to escape from the anger Pello’s words had stirred in her.
But through the clear window, she saw Pello’s face again, overlaid on her own, an indescribable intimacy.
After disembarking from the plane, Su Ziceng continuously maintained a cold demeanor. In fact, she had no right nor reason to be angry. Yet, she still couldn’t help wanting to lash out, so she decided to ignore Pello. However, that resolution quickly had to be broken.
The head of ZARA’s head office confirmed the authenticity of the contract with the other party. The manager with a heavy French accent tinted by Spain’s southern dialect made Su Ziceng completely helpless. In the end, she had no choice but to beg Pello to "speak" up and help.
Pello, sitting aside, did not immediately offer help; he simply retorted in Mandarin to Su Ziceng, "I thought you wanted to keep up this silent treatment with me till the very end."
Su Ziceng inwardly cursed his pettiness, "I can’t really understand what he’s saying?"
Pello, who had been a sailor, was exposed to people from all around the globe, hence his excellent listening skills made this level of accented French easy for him.
"I am just responsible for accompanying you to the negotiation, not acting as a translator," Pello spread his hands, still refusing to help.
The person in charge looked at Su Ziceng with a skeptical face. Su Ziceng herself felt somewhat embarrassed; how could she negotiate without understanding what was being said.
"Then I’m now begging you, can you please help me out?" Su Ziceng’s face fell as she nearly pleaded.
"Fine, but I have a condition, you must follow my lead for the rest of the trip," he said unabashedly, even as they were in someone else’s office, flicking Su Ziceng’s nose in a gesture that looked like an intimate little tease between lovers.
Su Ziceng hummed a response, her nose tingling, and withdrew to a corner without speaking again; after all, this business trip had already been dictated by Pello’s terms. When she had set out for Spain, she nearly lost her luggage, and Pello took all her luggage and documents in the name of safety.
Now, all her money and passport were under his control; the only thing she could decide on by herself was herself.
"Hello," Pello did not speak in French but chose to continue the conversation in Spanish, which he thought would be easier for the ZARA manager to understand: "My fiancée, in her desire to collaborate with your company, has been dedicated to her work for the past two years. She once said that if she couldn’t secure the management rights this time, she would never marry me."
Pello was an outstanding man and judging from his earlier interaction with Su Ziceng, he must dote on his fiancée considerably. The ZARA manager looked again at Su Ziceng, who sat beside them looking gloomy and distracted, and felt somewhat uncomfortable himself.
Indeed, two years ago, he remembered a Chinese girl coming to discuss a possible collaboration, and they reached a preliminary cooperative intention, but as time went by and there was no news from the girl’s side, it was forgotten.
About a month ago, an aristocrat from Europe made a high offer. Over the years, ZARA had operated very well globally, but in Asia, especially in China, they had no achievements, so they agreed to the other party’s terms and formally signed a cooperation agreement two weeks ago.
"Regarding the matter of you and your fiancée, we are very sorry, as the contract has been signed, we cannot break it and sign another. However, I can instruct my secretary to prepare that businessman’s contact information for you; I can only tell you his contact details. As for the rest, you’ll need to make more effort yourselves," said the ZARA manager with regret.
Pello nodded understandingly, and they both stood up. Su Ziceng also stood up, and seeing the manager leave, she tugged at Pello and asked, "How did it go, is there a chance for a turnaround?"
"He said he needs some time to think and suggested we stay a bit longer in Spain, learn to appreciate the beauty here, as it would help our understanding of the ZARA spirit," Pello misled Su Ziceng.
For the next month or so, he could mix business with pleasure in Spain, this peninsular country, and take the time to cultivate feelings with Su Ziceng. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to give it recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation.)