Chapter 541 - Really Sweet Words
Chapter 541 of "No Trespassing! My Aloof Brother" begins with: "Itâs been many years since we last met." The man deftly changed the subject, as... See the full story!
"Itâs been many years since we last met." The man deftly changed the subject, as if hinting to Maya Spencer that he wasnât familiar with Madelyn Hanson.Maya Spencer looked at the calmness in the manâs eyes, thinking, perhaps he doesnât know that mom is gone!
So, she suddenly blurted out, "Yeah! We wonât be able to meet anymore. My mom passed away four years ago."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Maya wished she could slap herself. Why did she have to mention her momâs passing for no reason? And this man might not even care; Maya felt like she was overthinking things.
Usually, sheâs not like this; quite calm, actually. But when she saw James, she felt an inexplicable tension, and her mind was a bit muddled.
The man looked at the regret in Mayaâs eyes and calmly said, "Yes, I know."
His mood, tone, and intonation were all calm, making it hard to tell what he was thinking.
Maya felt awkward, smiled sheepishly at James twice, and explained, "Chairman Bennett, Iâm sorry, it was wrong to mention such things on our first meeting."
"On the contrary, I felt an immediate connection with you, although you donât look much like your mother."
"Yeah!" Maya accompanied her words with a smile, feeling the conversation was going nowhere. She thought, hopefully, he wonât ask about how her father is doing, or it would be even more awkward.
However, she didnât wait for James to inquire about her. The man merely smiled gently and asked, "Maya, the heater is on inside the club, arenât you hot?"
It was only when James asked if she was hot that Maya realized she was still foolishly wearing her down jacket.
She quickly pulled at her jacket and said, "A little."
Seeing Maya struggling with her jacket, James immediately stood up, went to her side, stretched out his hands, helped her take off the jacket, and then calmly folded it, placing it on the sofa beside her.
"Thank you!" Maya felt a bit uncomfortable with the manâs help, yet not particularly opposed to it.
Moments later, the pastries and corn juice were brought over. James touched the cup with the back of his hand to check the temperature, then smiled at Maya, saying, "Itâs not hot."
Sensing the manâs attentiveness, Maya found it strange and wanted to ask him something. Yet, she held back several times.
James watched the doubt in Mayaâs eyes, leisurely picked up his chopsticks, placed a few pastries on her plate, and said, "The chef at the villa is quite skilled. You should try it."
"Thank you, Chairman Bennett!" Maya politely expressed her gratitude.
"Calling me Chairman Bennett is too formal, just call me Uncle Bennett." The man said as he placed another piece of pastry for Maya.
"But you donât seem like an uncle, more like a brother." For Maya to call James âuncle,â she felt it was pretending to be young and fake modest, as he clearly looked very young. Calling him âuncleâ felt like she was acting coquettishly.
"Pfft..." Maya said James looked like a brother, making him laugh.
He said, "Your mom wasnât as sweet-talking as you."
"Really? What was my mom like when she was young?" Maya asked curiously.
In her memory, her mom was gentle but not fond of smiling, often melancholy, and would tear up while reading books.
Listening to Mayaâs question, the man took a deep breath and calmly said, "Very beautiful and gentle."
"I didnât inherit my momâs gentleness." Maya said helplessly, taking a bite of the pastry.
Actually, Maya was often very gentle; she just hadnât realized it herself.
Regarding the man in front of her, Maya didnât think much about him, nor dared to; she simply regarded him as an old friend of her mom and spoke to him with courtesy.
"How do the pastries taste?" The man asked gently.
"Mm! Itâs delicious, better than the tea house." Maya took another bite.
"If you like, you can visit my home with the third young master. I can have the chef make some for you." James was exceedingly kind to Maya, very gentle.
Hearing the manâs invitation, Maya immediately tossed the pastry in her hand into her mouth, blinked her big eyes, and gazed intently at James.
The manâs enthusiasm left Maya both flustered and flattered. If it were any other man, Maya would have left already. But she couldnât get mad at Jamesâs gentleness, even though she found it strange.
After swallowing the pastry, she quickly grabbed some bottled water, took a sip, and then directly looked into Jamesâs eyes, asking seriously, "Chairman Bennett, why are you being so nice to me? Iâm really curious."
"When I saw you at the door earlier, I felt a connection, so I wanted to be friends with you."
"..." Maya was dumbfounded. A 46-year-old man, albeit a youthful one, saying he wants to be friends really threw her off, and she didnât know how to respond.
She hadnât thought of being friends with James, nor had she thought of refusing him. The only word in her mind was âstrange,â puzzled as to why James would want to be friends.
When she thought of Jamesâs words about destiny, Maya was mildly amused.
She thought, yet she didnât feel any connection or destiny with James, nor did she think about going to his home for snacks.
Suddenly, Maya felt awkward and wanted to leave.
The man, seeing the panic in Mayaâs eyes, smiled and said, "Miss Maya, no need to be nervous, I never intended to make you uncomfortable."
Maya noticed the man backing down, pursed her lips, and gave him a feigned smile, wondering why seeing James made her panic.
Even if he was impressive once, even if Liam and Christopher admired him a lot, what did it have to do with her? She wasnât in business and didnât need Jamesâs guidance on how to make money, so why be afraid of him?
So, Maya took a deep breath, smiled, and said, "Chairman Bennett, Iâve never thought about being friends with you, and weâre not suited to be friends."
"Hahaha! Miss Mayaâs straightforwardness is quite like your motherâs." James looked at Mayaâs earnest appearance, not in the least annoyed, but instead laughed heartily.
He liked Mayaâs straightforward character, liked how she looked at him with wide eyes, making him feel familiar and warm. Moreover, those words had also been spoken by Madelyn before.
Thinking of this, the smile on Jamesâs lips grew brighter, mixed with some helplessness. Nonetheless, he truly felt destined to meet Maya.
Not far away, Christopher watched James help Maya take off her coat, then serve her pastries, always smiling at her.
Christopher was perplexed, thinking, this Chairman Bennett is really strange; usually indifferent to everyone, yet he smiles whenever he sees Maya. Could it be that he...
Fearing what comes next, Christopher hastily nudged Liam and reminded him, "Third brother, I think Chairman Bennett seems quite special towards Maya. Keep an eye out and donât get caught off guard."
"Christopher, youâre overthinking it. Chairman Bennett just finds Maya pleasant, and sheâs old enough to be his daughter." Liam remained unperturbed, unconcerned by Jamesâs kindness toward Maya.