Chapter 15
Having eaten to her heart’s content, Jasmine gleefully said, “Shawn, I’m not interested in the eligible bachelors. Serenity and I are only here to check out the scene and taste the food. The place lives up to its name as a seven-star hotel. The food is amazing. It was a hearty meal.”
Shawn, “…”
“We‘re stuffed now. It’s getting late, Shawn. Serenity and I got to go. Please let my aunt know on my behalf.”
Anxious, Shawn did a double take on Serenity and answered, “Leaving so soon? Jas, the party is only halfway through. It’s still early. The earliest would be eleven o’clock tonight before the party’s over.”
Serenity chimed in. ‘We have a business to run tomorrow, so we can’t stay out that late.”
With the pair getting up, Shawn followed behind them.
“You know you can delay the opening time by a few hours.”
Shawn hovered around Serenity, hoping to keep the girls around for a little longer.
“That won’t do. Our busiest times are in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Missing out on the morning session could cost us a lot.”
Patting her cousin’s shoulder, Jasmine poked fun in delight. “You should stick around and see if there’s anyone you fancy. Although you’re still young, nothing’s stopping you from seeing a girl.”
Shawn stole another glance at Serenity. Blushing in the face, he bashfully said, “I’m fresh out of college, Jas. I’ll think about marriage once I’m steady in my job for a few years.”
Serenity put forth her opinion. “There’s no rush for boys. Shawn‘s only twenty-two this year. He can wait another two years.”
Shawn bobbed his head along, only for Serenity to add responsively. “You were still a little kid when I first met you. I can’t believe you’re all grown up now.”
Shawn, “…”
Unable to persuade the girls to stay, Shawn walked with them out of the hotel.
“Jas, did you drive here?”
“Your mom arranged for a car to pick us up.”
Jas was not bothered when she said, “Seren and I can take the cab. You should go back in. Shawn. Tell my aunt that we got to leave. I hope you have fun.”
There were a lot of people hanging around the lobby. Everybody glanced at Jasmine and Serenity, but none came to chat with him as the girls were unfamiliar faces.
Since the pair did not want to catch a cab in front of the hotel, they walked to the street before hailing a cab. They told Shawn, who had been walking with them, “Shawn, hurry back to the hotel. Bye now.”
Shawn waved his arm reluctantly as he watched the girls get into the cab and ride off. He stood by the road for a long time before making his way back. At the hotel entrance, he bumped into Zachary who was on his way out. The center of attention as always, Zachary demonstrated the makings of a leader through his security detall around him.
Shawn stopped at the sight of him and took a step to the side to make way for Zachary.
“Mr. Lowe.”
Zachary paused in his footsteps as he was passing by Shawn and politely acknowledged Shawn.
Flattered, Shawn immediately responded with a smile, “Mr. York.”
Everybody else was taken aback by the exchange of greeting between Zachary and Shawn. The Lowes were of the upper crust, but they barely crossed paths with the Yorks. Shawn was only a kid in everybody’s eyes. Although he had entered the family business, Shawn was starting from the bottom up. Shawn was holding an insignificant position in the Lowes’ company.
For the lofty Zachary to say hello to Shawn, was he trying to build a bridge because he saw something in Shawn as the future heir of the Lowes’ business, or did he see a promising future in the Lowes?
Mr. and Mrs. Lowe were seeing Zachary out along with the crowd. Seeing that Zachary acknowledged their son’s presence, the couple was astonished and pleasantly surprised.