Brendan stared at Adeline with his sharp eyes. It was the first time that he had seen her in her office. She was dressed in a neat, black business suit. Her white shirt underneath her jacket had been carefully ironed. She wore a pair of pointy high-heeled shoes to complete her ensemble. Her soft, dark hair was let loose down her shoulders. Her makeup was light and natural, and it brought out the brightness in her eyes. She looked like she belonged to a group of elite young professionals. In Brendan's memory, Adeline had always been in leisure wear with her hair tied up behind her head in a messy bun. She used to smile at him all the time like a clueless simpleton. Now, she looked completely different. She exuded the aura of a powerful, self-made woman, and he couldn't help looking at her up and down with interest. This was a side of Adeline that he had never seen before. Although she was reluctant to greet Brendan, out of professional courtesy, Adeline still raised her head and addressed him with a faint smile. "How do you do, Mr. Clemons?". Then, she averted her gaze. Brendan didn't expect that Adeline would treat him with such cold indifference. In the past, every time she saw him, she would rush up to him and greet him with a sweet smile. But now, it seemed like she didn't even know him at all. Maybe she would be even more hospitable to a complete stranger than to him. At this thought, Brendan felt frustrated

Meanwhile, Adeline had already turned around and asked someone to turn off the lights in the meeting room. Standing not far away from Brendan, she began presenting her proposal to him. She had done extensive research on the history and background of the hotel. Therefore, the design plan s he had prepared looked very well-made and professional. Half an hour later, Adeline finished her presentation, and the lights in t he meeting room were turned back on. The representative s of the hotel wer e very satisfied. Brendan's subordinates all praised Adeline for her w ork, and Brendan himself also liked her proposal ver y much. Strangely, a sense of relief and proudness ar . ose in his h eart. He suddenly recalled what Taylor had sai d to him. Taylor said that Adeline was a talented designer and a charming woman. Brendan was only forced by his family to marry Adeline, and that was part of the reason why he had been uncaring toward her. But seeing Adeline being her own person now, Bren dan realized that he might have had her for three years, but he didn't really know her. After the presentati on, Bruce excitedly approached Brendan. "So how do you like our proposal, Mr. Cl emons?" Bruce asked. Hearing this, Adeli ne felt her heart l eap to her throat. She had mentally prepared herself for one of Brendan's pos sible responses. Brendan hated her, so it was very likely that he would junk her proposal no matter how good it was. However, the next secon d, Brendan replied in a deep, attractive voice. "I'll send someone to come lat er and speak with you about th e details of the cooperation. Did that mean th at he was accepti ng her proposal?

Adeline took a deep b reath, and Bruce looke d at her approvingly. Then, Bruce put on a bigger smile and s aid, "It's time for lunch. Will you sta y and have lunch with us, Mr. Clemons?" . Alex Freeman, Brendan's assistant, politely declined for h im, "Thank you for your luncheon invitation, Mr. Cooper, b ut unfortunately, Mr. Clemons has a tight schedule today. Bruce understood that important people like Bren dan were always on the go, so he simply nodded a nd said, "No worries. There's always next time. Feeling that she was no longe r needed, Adeline turned arou nd and attempted to duck out. Since the moment he stepped into the m eeting room, Brendan had been staring at Adeline. Bruce had also noticed it. Bruce was an experienced business man. He immediately understood wh at Brendan's curious looks meant. He glanced at Adeline who was about to exi t the room and said, "Let us see you to the door, Mr. Clemons. Come with us, Adeline. Adeline didn't want to have any contact with B rendan outside of work. So she shook her head and respectfully said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper, but I have to go and attend to some other things