Man, what's wrong with you?

Chapter 34 You Have No Right to Interfere With Me

After all, Jeremy was her husband. But in the three years since they'd gotten married, they'd told very few people about it.

Sherry thought it was ridiculous to let other people know she was his wife. Her expression turned cold and she opened her lips, as though to speak, but she didn't say anything.

"I'll give you some time to consider it. You can go to work now," said Jeremy. He withdrew his hand.

As soon as he pulled away, Sherry turned and practically ran into the office building.

Jeremy watched her go. As soon as she was out of sight, he glanced at Chester, who was staring at him.

It usually didn't matter to Jeremy what others thought of him. But he wanted the people he cared about to see that, especially Chester.

Sherry worked in the advertising department. When she reached her desk, she dropped her bag, and then went straight to the tea room. She couldn't stop thinking about what Jeremy had just done, and it made her angrier with him. She was so annoyed that she would have bitten him if he was there right now, to show her displeasure.

She got a glass of water and returned to her desk. She had just gotten settled in her seat when she saw Beisy entering the office.

Beisy went to greet Langston, who suddenly looked over at her. He called, "Sherry, come here for a moment."

Sherry put down the glass and went to them. "Director Langston, Beisy, good morning," she greeted them.

"Mr. Gu is going to meet a client. Can you come with us?" Beisy asked.

Langston was quite capable of handling the meeting on his own. However, the fact that Chester wanted to take Sherry along to meet the client showed that he attached great importance to her.

Sherry nodded heavily. "Good, get your files and let's go. We'll start right now," Langston instructed.

Sherry and Langston arrived at the conference room. The room was full of staff who were busy setting up a projector and placing bottles of water on the table. As soon as they finished, Langston and Sherry went to their seats and brought out their own files, ready to listen and take notes on the meeting.

Langston was relatively young, not even forty years old, but he was very calm and trustworthy. Sherry knew that from her experience in working with him. He would patiently explain things and answer questions about the matters she didn't understand.

However, Langston had not yet discovered all that she was capable of, apart from the jewelry design he'd seen three years ago.

In general, his attitude towards her was neither too cold nor too warm, but Sherry didn't mind. They were deep in discussion about the upcoming meeting when they heard footsteps coming closer.

They glanced towards the door and saw Beisy enter, followed by a familiar face. It was Steve Song!

Langston stood up to give the client a warm reception. But Sherry remained seated, staring at Steve in a daze.

Steve looked totally different from how she remembered him. For this business meeting, he was dressed neatly in a sharp gray suit; his hair was combed back instead of tousled, and his face was bright and alert. There was no trace of the leering playboy she'd met before.

After Steve, Chester entered, followed by senior executives from both companies.

Sherry took a deep breath. Now was not the time to fall apart. She stood up and forced a welcoming smile onto her face.

"Mr. Song, good to see you," Langston greeted politely. Sherry's face was stiff as she repeated, "Mr. Song."

Steve had not noticed her yet, but when he heard that voice, he knew it sounded familiar. He turned his head quickly and saw Sherry standing behind Langston, on the opposite side of the table.

His eyes lit up. He said, "Miss Xu!"

Calling her 'Sherry' would be awkward, so he decided against it. There were too many people here, and this was a formal business association. It was inappropriate for him to do so. He and Chester were friends, and he was here to make a deal. He shouldn't be distracted by a woman.

Chester raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sherry. "Do you two know each other?"

"Yes, we've met," Sherry said quickly, praying that Steve would keep his mouth shut. If he shared any personal details about how they'd met, then her life at the office would become difficult.

Steve was the heir of the Song Group. The company had recently launched a new car, and they were looking for an advertiser to partner with. The famous SZ Advertising Company, where Sherry worked, was their first choice.

Sherry tried to focus but she was in a trance throughout the discussion. She was disgusted with the way Steve had looked at her. 'Why is he looking at me in such an outrageous manner?' she thought.

As soon as the conference ended, Chester left with Beisy. He was a busy man and he had other matters to attend to. Langston exchanged a few more words with some of the executives present at the meeting before he also left the room.

Sherry couldn't rush out as she had to put away the documents on the desk. She did so and was about to leave when Steve said behind her, "Miss Xu!"

Sherry bit back a groan. She had known Steve wouldn't let her escape but she had hoped he would let her go without saying anything more. Of course, with her luck, Steve stopped her before she could leave.

Was he going to bring up how Jeremy had offered to give her to him? She smiled bitterly to herself, and turned stiffly to face Steve.

Steve moved closer to her. He smiled and said, "Sit down, please. I have something to tell you."

He glanced at his subordinates and told them to go ahead, until he and Sherry were alone in the huge conference room.

Sherry went to the other side of the table and sat down on the chair opposite Steve. "What did you want to say?"

"You work for the SZ Advertising Company?" he asked, raising his brows. "Since when?"

"I started yesterday," replied Sherry shortly.

So she had just started yesterday. No wonder he hadn't been able to find out where she was working no matter how hard he searched. Steve nodded and said, "Well, it's been a while, so it's good to see you. Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other as we work together on our advertising plan."

Sherry gave him a bland, professional smile. She was impatient for him to get down to business so she could leave.

Before Steve could get to the point, however, a ringtone sounded. It was Sherry's phone.

Sherry was about to answer the call when she saw on the screen that it was Jeremy calling her.

She hesitated, not wanting to answer. The phone kept ringing. She put it on silent and ignored the call.

Steve noticed her helpless look and glanced at her phone. "Since we'll need to communicate in the future, I think it would be a good idea to exchange our contact numbers, don't you think so? If there's any problem, I want to be able to talk to you directly."

He took out his own phone. "So what's your number?"

Fate had given him an incredible opportunity to get close to her, and of course Steve wouldn't let it slip.

Sherry didn't want to give him her number, but then she thought of what her boss would say if Steve accused her of being rude to him. Reluctantly she recited her new number.

Steve saved the information on his phone, grinning. So she had changed her phone number! No wonder he hadn't been able to reach her, despite trying to call her repeatedly.

He pressed the dial button, and Sherry's phone began to vibrate again. He cancelled the call and said to Sherry, "Don't forget to save my number!"

Sherry nodded. "Anything else?"

"No, nothing for now. Good to see you!" Steve gave her his signature charming grin, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight that slanted through the enormous windows of the conference room.

"You too," Sherry said mechanically.

After Steve left, Sherry spent the rest of the day working on the car launched by the Song Group.

When she got home from work, Jeremy wasn't there. She supposed he'd attended a dinner party or returned to the villa.

Well, that would be for the best. She was happier without him.

She had started cooking dinner when she heard a key turning in the lock. The front door swung open.

Jeremy changed his shoes and entered. He saw that she was busy in the kitchen, and it put him in a good mood. "I'm back, Sherry."

Sherry was stunned. He'd never said that to her before. Usually he came home drunk, or he came home without bothering to greet her.

Had he really changed? She flushed and quickly discarded that line of thinking. That path could only lead to humiliation. It was not a bad thing that he'd changed some of his ways, but she was at a loss as to why—and scared that the change wasn't permanent.

On the tea table was the white cell phone he'd bought for her.

He sat down near the table, and the phone began vibrating silently.

The screen lit up, and Jeremy glanced casually at the phone. To his shock, the caller was Steve!

Without thinking, he reached out and pressed the button that would end the call. He looked quickly at Sherry. She was busy in the kitchen and hadn't noticed what he was doing.

He picked up the phone and deleted her call log. Then he placed the phone back on the table. He immediately went to the balcony and closed the door so that Sherry wouldn't hear, and called Steve on his own phone.

"Hey, Jeremy, what's up?" Steve's tone was casual, but not very friendly. Perhaps because Sherry had just hung up on him.

Jeremy said lazily, "Nothing new. Hey, aren't you always inquiring about Sherry? What did you find out? Did you learn anything about what she's doing?"

Steve's voice became animated. "Actually, yes! I found out today where she's working. Remember I told you about the car the Song Group is launching? Well, we met with SZ Advertising Company, and that's where I ran into Sherry. We'll be working together on this launch."

Jeremy's hand clenched around the phone. "Working together?"

His eyes narrowed. What a small world! How could there be so many men around his wife who coveted her?

Steve didn't notice Jeremy's strange tone, and continued to chatter on. "No wonder! She changed her phone number. I was wondering why I couldn't get through yesterday." Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Jeremy scowled. There was a dangerous look in his eyes.

"This is a great opportunity! I have the perfect excuse to get closer to her. I know I can convince her to..."

Before Steve could finish his sentence, Jeremy hung up on him.

Convince her? He placed one hand on the railing, a cold smile forming on his face.

"What are you doing out here? Aren't you hungry?" Sherry said, opening the door to the balcony. She poked her head out and gave him an inquiring glance.

Jeremy nodded and walked back in, and they sat down together to eat dinner. She had prepared only green vegetables. Jeremy wondered if this was why she had been losing weight. Still, he ate a large serving of her food.

Sherry could see that he wasn't comfortable eating this kind of food, and she enjoyed his discomfort. She had the pleasure of exacting revenge on him for showing up unexpectedly. Anyway, she was only cooking for herself, so he had no choice but to eat what she wanted to eat.

"Would you consider resigning from your new job?" Jeremy asked suddenly, while Sherry was washing the dishes. He leaned against the kitchen door. His voice was careless, but he was closely watching her reaction.

She went on washing the dishes. Calmly she said, "No. I won't resign."

He discarded his pretense of casualness and walked up behind her. "What did you say?" he asked in a dangerous, unpleasant tone.

Sherry met his eyes with a serene look. "I said, I won't resign. I've already told you I won't quit my job. It doesn't matter what you say or do. It won't affect me."

"Sherry, listen to me!" he shouted. Why did she always make him so angry?

He refused to admit that it had been difficult to keep calm when he saw Chester put a coat around her shoulders. He'd almost lost his temper with Steve when he heard that he was planning to pursue her. He was so jealous that it made him furious.

"Remember what I said I'd do if you don't quit your job?" he threatened ruthlessly.

Sherry finished with the last of the dishes and dried her hands. Then she turned to face him. Her eyes were as clear and bright as a calm, still pond. She was like a cool breeze compared to the violent storm of his anger.

"By now you must have noticed that I've changed a lot since I left you. Or maybe not, since you never really bother to pay any attention to me. I'm telling you now that it won't work if you try to imprison me.

I'm not who I used to be," she told him. Every word was calm and composed. She continued,

"I'm free to decide whether I want to work or not. Before, you were the center of my life. Look how that worked out! So now, I'm putting myself first. You have no right to interfere with my decision."

Jeremy moved closer to her, so that there was hardly any space between them. He heard every single word she said. He'd never heard her sound so harsh and firm before. The realization began to dawn on him that she really wouldn't resign.

"You say you want to work! Fine, then, keep working! You'll pay for your decision!" He spoke through gritted teeth, feeling frustrated and furious with her. He gave her a last, piercing glare and walked out of the kitchen.