Elise gave Owen a nod. Then, she walked up to Quentin, saying, “Papa, this is Alexander Griffith, my boyfriend.” Only then did Quentin raise his head and look at Elise. His eyes were full of scrutiny when he laid them on Alexander, but it took him just a glance to sense something extraordinary from the majestic aura Alexander gave off. This young man is no ordinary man, he thought. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Fassbender. I’m Alexander Griffith,” Alexander said slowly. The instant he spoke, he gave the feeling of a man born to be king, which surprised Quentin greatly.
This young lad seems to be in his early 20s, yet he gives off such an impressive aura. Also surprised was Alexander, who surely never expected Elise’s godfather to be Quentin Fassbender, the richest man on earth who topped the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires. “You look like a fine man, young lad,” Quentin replied with a smile. However, the smile didn’t reach his eyes, which were full of scrutiny as he sized Alexander up. Elise asked Alexander to take a seat and then said to Quentin with a grin, “Papa, now that I’ve brought him to you, please have a good look at him.
I believe my dear Alex will not disappoint you.” Her words filled Alexander with immense pleasure, not least because the words ‘my dear Alex’ made him feel like he and Elise had been married for years. Quentin replied, “Oh, I’m sure he won’t. I have no problems as long as he’s someone you like, Ellie. Besides, even if I disapprove of him, you won’t break up with him, right?” Elise replied with a helpless smile, “You must be joking, Papa.” “Haha, look at this daughter of mine!
She’s already so protective of him right now; what will become of her in the future?” Owen kept smiling the whole time without saying a word, but only he knew how affected his smile was. He had no interest in Elise at first, but he changed his mind after seeing what she really looked like. However, he didn’t expect Elise’s current boyfriend to be Alexander—the all-powerful head of the Griffith Family. Quentin had lived abroad for many years and thus knew little about Athesea, but Owen was well aware of Alexander’s status and family background.
He didn’t expect Elise to be Alexander’s girlfriend at such a young age. This was something he couldn’t sniff at. But who cares if Alexander is her boyfriend? As long as it’s something I want, there’s nothing I couldn’t get my hands on, he thought. “Since our distinguished guest has arrived, why don’t we seat ourselves?”
he suggested. Quentin agreed at once. “Good idea. Let’s have a talk after dinner,” he replied. With that, the group went to the dining room. Elise held Alexander’s hand while whispering in his ear, “My godfather is easy to please. It’s fine as long as you make it look like we’re faithfully devoted to each other.
He definitely won’t give us a hard time.” Alexander turned to look at her. He asked, “Elise, why didn’t you tell me before we came that your godfather is Quentin Fassbender?” Elise frowned. “Does it matter?” For a moment, Alexander was at a loss for a reply. Does it matter? Of course it does.
It’s your godfather that we’re talking about, after all, he thought. However, he couldn’t say that to Elise since they weren’t really dating at present. Seeing how intimately Elise and Alexander interacted with each other, Quentin said, “Ellie, come over and sit on my left. Owen, you’ll sit on my right.”
Since Quentin said so, Alexander could only sit next to Elise. Just then, Quentin asked, “What do you do for a living, Alex? Do you have anyone else in your family? Are they in Athesea?” A background check already? Elise thought. She quickly asked, “Are you doing a background check on him, Papa?” Quentin immediately replied, “Ain’t I trying to learn about Alex’s family?” Worried that Quentin might say something that displeased Alexander, Elise replied baldly, “If there’s anything you’d like to know, Papa, just ask me. I’m staying at his place, anyway.”
As soon as she said that, the air turned heavy right away, and the atmosphere in the spacious dining room changed at once. Quentin cleared his throat. Obviously, he didn’t expect the young couple to have already reached this point in their relationship. I suppose it’s too late for me to stop them now. Alexander is a fine lad, though. His looks, the way he carries himself, and his upbringing are those of an upper-class man, so he totally deserves my dear daughter, he thought. Deep down inside, though, he was a bit reluctant to part with Elise. He felt like he had painstakingly grown a pot of flowers, only to have the flowers taken away along with the pot.
Alexander knew that everyone had gotten the wrong idea. If it were someone else, they would definitely not explain anything; since he and Elise were both adults, it was no big deal even if they shared a room. Nevertheless, to save her reputation, he explained, “Please don’t get it wrong, Mr. Fassbender. Elise is only staying at my place for the time being for my grandfather’s sake. We live in our own rooms, so we never crossed the line.” Quentin’s inner displeasure vanished without a trace when he heard Alexander say so. “I’ve never heard Ellie mentioning it before.
It’s all my fault. I guess I was too caught up with my work before and didn’t care much about her.” “Elise is a nice young lady. Not only is she hardworking, but she’s also kind and lovely. I’m lucky to have her as my girlfriend,” Alexander replied, not forgetting to turn his head and give Elise an affectionate look. In the eyes of outsiders, they looked totally like a young couple madly in love with each other. Upon seeing this, Quentin became a lot more satisfied with Alexander.
“Your family is also running a business, right, Alex?” he said in the indicative mood, despite what he said being a question. Obviously, he had roughly figured it out. “Yeah,” Alexander replied, “I’m the one managing the Griffith Group at the moment.” Naturally, Quentin knew that the Griffith Group was one of the largest conglomerates in Athesea. Seems that my Ellie does have good taste in men, he thought. “Still, you’ve made such great achievements at such a young age. I’m sure you’ll do well,” he said, before finally noticing Owen sitting next to him. He then said, “It’s rare for you young people to gather together.
How about this? Alex, Elise, why don’t you two stay the night and go horse riding with us on the ranch tomorrow?” Startled by his sudden proposal, Elise quickly replied, “Uh, I’m afraid we’ll have to pass, Papa. Alex still has lots of work to do tomorrow, so it’s really inconvenient for him to do so. Why don’t we go some other day?” Quentin turned to look at Alexander. “Is that so, Alex?” To his surprise, Alexander replied in all calmness, “However busy I am, I still have time to go horse riding with you, sir.”
Quentin was very satisfied with Alexander’s answer, and his lips curved into a smile. “Alright, it’s settled then. Let’s go horse riding together tomorrow,” he said, before turning to look at Owen. “Owen, you’ll go with us. Let’s have a race together.” Owen replied, “Sure, Mr. Fassbender.”
They had a great time over dinner, and Quentin became more and more satisfied with Alexander as they chatted. As he had completely regarded Alexander as his future son-in-law, he totally forgot about Owen, who had previously been his favorite. Naturally, Owen noticed all this.
