"You didn't come to the Norton Group when we waved high salaries at you. Why are you taking the initiative to come today?"
Ethan Norton and I were classmates in college and shared a tutor during graduate school, so we had known each other for ten years.
I got right to the point and said, "I heard that the lost daughter of the Norton family has been found."
Ethan's smile faded. "You are well informed."
As the adopted son of the Norton family, Ethan was no doubt disturbed by Monica's return.
"Susan indicated that I could continue to work at the Norton Group if I am willing to marry her daughter."
I scoffed and said, "Ethan, you're inherently arrogant and choosy. Would you really want to marry a woman who's a hopeless romantic and didn't even finish high school?
"Besides, she is carrying another man's child. Such a heavy burden, would you be willing to shoulder it?"
Ethan's gaze intensified. "So what? What are you trying to say?"
"I can assist you. We could collaborate."
I was an orphan and hadn't enjoyed the privileges of life that Monica had. But I had toiled for years in my studies and career, building connections across various sectors.