CHAPTER 108: CHAPTER 108: WARMING THE HEART (4)_1

He had been to the Maldives and knew that Glades Horne and Julia Bluen were honeymooning there at that moment, but he couldn’t be certain where they would appear. He looked at images of the Maldives on the web, guessing where his brother and sister-in-law might be.

Looking at these pictures... How romantic and blissful it would be if I were honeymooning with Julia Bluen in these places. Or perhaps, just me and my brother playing there. Since childhood, I’ve never gone on a trip alone with him.

Julia Bluen is much luckier than I am, being able to be alone with my brother.

As he gazed, James Horne’s feelings grew increasingly complex once more.

Actually, I know my brother complex isn’t normal, but I truly can’t control myself. Just as I admire my brother, I also have feelings for Julia Bluen.

Emotions, after all, can never be completely controlled by will. Sometimes, you tell yourself not to fall in love with that person, that they’re not someone you can love. Yet your heart doesn’t listen; it falls for that person regardless.

"RING, RING, RING..." His office phone suddenly rang, interrupting his tangled thoughts.

He closed the webpage and picked up the receiver. A tension was present on his usually indifferent face. His voice, utterly devoid of warmth, carried to the other end of the phone, "What is it?"

"General Manager, there’s a Miss Orlando Evans requesting to see you." The Secretary’s voice came through the phone. It was sweet yet also very tentative, as if afraid that a single wrong word could enrage this unpredictable and unapproachable General Manager.

James Horne’s brows knitted. Orlando Evans? She called me a few days ago, affectionately calling me Brother James, but I ignored her. And today, she actually found her way to my company. What does she want?

"I’m busy," James Horne replied coldly, and then he hung up the phone.

Glancing at the closed webpage, his expression became inscrutable.

Then, he opened the document in front of his computer and began to work.

A short while later, his Secretary’s panicked voice came from outside.

"Miss Evans, you cannot go in there! Our General Manager is not available to see you. Please leave."

"As long as he’s here, I must see him!" Orlando Evans’s usually gentle voice now sounded particularly obstinate and unreasonable.

Pushing past the Secretary who was blocking her way, Orlando Evans hurried towards the General Manager’s Office and forcefully pushed open the heavy office door.

James Horne looked up. His icy and detached gaze fixed steadily on Orlando Evans’s face, which could be considered beautiful. His eyes held no warmth, like sharp swords or ice blades. Orlando Evans had been all high and mighty just a moment ago. She immediately lost her bluster under his cold stare and put on a gentle, forced smile, calling out, "Brother James."

"General Manager, I’m sorry, she insisted on coming in." The Secretary followed Orlando Evans into the room, her face full of apologies as she addressed James Horne.

James Horne waved his hand coldly. The Secretary, still muttering apologies, quickly exited, closing the office door behind her.

"Brother James." Seeing that James Horne had not ordered the Secretary to forcibly remove her, Orlando Evans smiled as sweetly as if she had tasted honey and walked toward him.

Closing the file he had just finished processing, James Horne threw his pen on the desk. He stood up from behind his computer, his expression grave. He walked around the desk to the floor-to-ceiling window and pulled back the heavy curtains to look at the blue sky and white clouds outside. His Office Building was not tall, only five floors, and his office was on the fifth floor.

Standing in front of the large window and looking out, he couldn’t see much. Unlike Glades Horne, he couldn’t look down from a sixty-eight-story height and feel that overwhelming sense of grandeur that came with looking down upon the world from above.

"Speak. What do you want?" James Horne said indifferently, his back still towards Orlando Evans. Like Glades Horne, he was unwilling to look directly at her.

Perhaps I’ve never had a good impression of Orlando Evans. Maybe it’s because she seems like a Lady on the surface but is lascivious in reality, or perhaps because she’s Adele Horne’s best friend. Regardless, I simply dislike her.

"Brother James." A trace of resentment flashed through Orlando Evans’s flirtatious eyes. Glades Horne dislikes me, treats me as if I’m air! Even if I stripped naked and threw myself at him, he remained unruffled, treating me like a puppet. I have the figure and the looks—why can’t I attract Glades Horne? The man before her, strikingly similar to Glades Horne, also showed an attitude suggesting he didn’t want to see her at all.

She stepped forward, standing next to James Horne, looking at his handsome face that reminded her so much of Glades Horne. Adoration filled her eyes. I really do love Glades Horne to death! But after all these years, he threw me out in the dead of night and forbade me from stepping even half a foot into the Horne Family’s residence. How could that man be so heartless to a woman who’s been infatuated with him for eight years?

"Brother James."

"Call me Mr. Horne. We are not close, and I cannot bear the ’Brother’ title. Moreover, state your business directly without beating around the bush. I will only give you ten minutes." James Horne’s voice was cold. He even lifted his left wrist, looking at his Rolex watch and starting to count the time. "Two minutes have already passed."

"Brother James, do you have time at noon? Shall we have lunch together?" A flicker of displeasure passed quickly through Orlando Evans’s eyes, but it was brief. Since James Horne wasn’t looking at her, he missed it.

James Horne turned his head and gave her a cold glance.

Turning around, he moved away from the window and sat back at his desk. He picked up the phone, pressed the internal line for the Secretary’s desk, and notified her to come in and show the visitor out.

Unsought favors are often a prelude to trouble.

"Brother James... Mr. Horne." After sensing James Horne’s piercing gaze, Orlando Evans forced herself to correct her address. My heart is now filled with hatred toward James Horne. The fact that he even allowed me to come find him was already giving him a lot of face. Isn’t he just an illegitimate child? What’s there for him to be arrogant about?

The Secretary entered the room.

"General Manager."

The Secretary approached James Horne’s desk, speaking in a soft tone.