They arrived at an exclusive private club. “This is the club of the Narcigh Chamber of Commerce,” Jonathan explained.

Teresa grew even more confused. ‘Why did he bring me here?’

“There’s something I haven’t told you. I’m now the chairman of Nareigh Chamber of Commerce.”

Teresa was stunned. She really had no idea. ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ she thought, feeling genuinely happy for him. She looked at him and asked, “When did you take over?”

She remembered that last year, the chairman of the Nareigh Chamber of Commerce wasn’t Jonathan but an older entrepreneur.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I’ve been wasting my time? You just haven’t been paying attention. Let’s go inside.” As they walked, his hand instinctively rested on her shoulder.

As they passed through the revolving door, Teresa’s graceful figure in her coat was reflected in the glass. Jonathan couldn’t help but hold her a little tighter.

They entered a private suite. The room was filled with men. When they saw Jonathan, some stood up to greet him, while others smiled and nodded in welcome.

Teresa glanced around and soon spotted someone—the guy who’d harassed her a few days ago, Carl.

Carl never expected Jonathan to show up again, let alone bring Teresa to the Chamber of Commerce. He looked flustered and ducked his head, coughing nervously. Jonathan’s gaze pinned him in place. “Mr. Hussain, you don’t welcome me?”

Hearing this, Carl had no choice but to look up. He stood and plastered a fake smile on his face. “How could I not welcome you, Mr. Lynn? You’ve been so busy, it’s been ages since we last saw you.

“I wonder which loudmouths have been spreading rumors about you going bankrupt—total nonsense. I knew you could never be in trouble.”

Jonathan curved his lips with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, pulling Teresa closer as they sat down together. “This is Teresa, chairwoman of Teresouth Group. Pretty sure she needs no further introduction.”

Everyone else kept quiet–they all knew better than to ask. A few of the men cast subtle glances at Teresa before shifting back to their business talk.

Jonathan didn’t speak much, legs crossed, leaning back with one hand resting casually on Teresa’s chair. In that position, his body naturally leaned toward her, as if he was completely sheltering her under his arm.

“Mr. Lynn, let me offer you a toast!” Carl got to his feet. He knew he couldn’t just sit there and wait for the axe to fall, so he tried to smooth things over with a drink.

“No, I should be the one toasting you, Mr. Hussain,” Jonathan replied, pouring a glass and handing it over. “Mr. Hussain, you sure have guts when I’m not around. What a surprise that you are so ambitious—reaching your hands where they don’t belong.”

Carl knew what Jonathan was getting at. While Jonathan was away, he’d set his sights on Teresa. He’d even said, “I want to know what it’s like to taste Jonathan’s woman.”

Even though he was fuming inside, Carl took a deep breath and said, “Mr. Lynn, there must be some misunderstanding between us. No matter what it is, I’ll drink this as my apology.”

He downed a glass of drink in one go. He thought that would be the end of it—that Jonathan would just let him off. But Jonathan poured him another drink.

As Jonathan set the glass down, his hand “accidentally” bumped the pepper shaker, and pepper scattered all over Carl’s glass.

“Look at that. I meant to toast you, Mr. Hussain, but now I’ve ruined your drink. You should probably just pour it out–don’t drink it.” After Jonathan finished speaking, he pushed the pepper-covered glass toward Carl, letting him decide for himself.

Carl gritted his teeth. ‘Damn Jonathan.’ Jonathan was now the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and Carl was just a lowly director–he had no choice but to show respect.