Sorry Sir I Don’t Want You Back by Little Angelic Devil
Chapter 98

Hudson frowned and shrugged off his suit jacket, placing it on the back of his swiveling chair before he joined his two best friends on the couch. "Was it romantic enough?" he asked.

He had never done anything for a girl or a woman before. Even when he thought he was in love with Emely before, he usually asked her what she wanted for her birthday and bought it according to her wishes. He never bought her flowers or brought her to dinner, just the two of them, because she was off-limit as his late brother's girlfriend.

Now that he thought about it, he had never even longed to spend time with her alone. That was when it hit him that he had never been in love with Emely.

Keith was right all along. He had mistaken gratitude for love because Emely was the first person ever to risk her life for him, and that made him think he was in love with her.

"I was never in love with Emely," he confessed out loud, and it somehow made him relieved yet guilty.

"You don't have to feel guilty for not loving someone who once saved your life," Keith, ever the observant, could see the guilt in Hudson's eyes, and being his best friend for so long; he naturally knew how Hudson thought of things. "You feel guilty for not loving Emely because she once saved your life?" Finley asked in disbelief.

"Hudson, if everyone has to fall in love with people who have saved their lives, many people in this world will have several spouses," Finley added.

Hudson laughed as he felt silly after hearing Finley's words because he was right. Saving someone's life did not equal getting love in return. They deserved gratitude for sure, but love was an emotion that could not be forced. "You are right," he told Finley with a smile. "Thank you for clearing that up for me, you two."

Keith chuckled. Hudson had a high IQ, but because of his arrogance and domineering nature, he had a low EQ, especially when it came to women and matters of the heart.

Coupled with the fact that he was never interested in getting close to women except maybe Emely and that he could get any woman he wanted with just a flick of his hand, it wasn't really a wonder he didn't know how to be a romantic.

"No worries, that's what friends are for," Finley replied cheerily. "As for your question. The answer is yes! That's romantic enough for now.To avoid an incomplete reading experience, visit Jobn1'b.com. You gave her fresh flowers from country A, didn't you? What time did you ask them to deliver it for you? God, I wish I had your connections. I can be more romantic myself."

"More playboy, you mean," Keith teased him.

"Same difference." Finley gave him a cheeky smile.

Hudson rubbed his forehead and then snapped his finger. "Focus, guys." Why did the conversation shift to be about Finley when it was supposed to be about him?

"Oh, sorry," Finley apologized sheepishly while Keith just chuckled again. "Romantic... Yes! Nothing is more romantic than an aloof and cold man holding a fresh, imported bouquet of roses and confessing his love for his ex-wife on national television!" "The ring is a nice addition, too," Keith added as he stretched his legs languidly.

"Oh my God, the ring!" Finley jumped from his seat and dropped himself beside Hudson. "Lemme see it!" he said as he reached to touch Hudson's hand.

As much as Hudson did not want Finley to touch his hand, he let him be. It was better than taking the ring off his finger and giving it to Finley. Who knew what Finley would do to the ring?

Knowing him, he most probably lost his hold on the ring, and Hudson would risk losing it, or he would try it on, which Hudson wouldn't let happen because that was his wedding ring that Cherise had designed for them, and only he was allowed to wear it. "Man, this was even better than any of the rings in the 'True Love' collection," Finley said as he admired Hudson's ring. "It's so simple yet suits you perfectly. Cherise sure does know you."

Finley's words were like a punch to Hudson's gut. He had now realized how much Cherise had cared for him and knew his preferences. She always cooked his favorite food, and she always prepared his clothes, matching ties, and cufflinks when they were married. He remembered his servants telling him how Cherise learned to cook only for him. She was the Alster's heiress, whom he was sure had never done any of those things before but had done every wifely duty to make sure he was happy.

But what did he do? Instead of loving her back, he insulted her and let his friends do the same.

And what did he know about her? Nothing. Because he never bothered to ask or pay attention.

He didn't know what her favorite flower was or even her favorite food, which was apparently seafood because his grandma prepared them the last time they visited her.

The only thing he knew was how she loved to be touched on the rare moments he wanted to pleasure her.

That thought, once again, made him feel like a jerk.

Fortunately, Finley spoke again, bringing Hudson out of his reverie. Hudson shook his head to clear out any negative thoughts. He could not allow himself to keep wallowing in self-guilt. What he needed to concentrate on was how to win Cherise back. "You are so lucky, Hudson," Finley said wistfully. "Cherise designed it with the help of Angel."

Hudson and Keith looked at each other, but neither said anything. Cherise was still hiding her identity as Angel, and it was not their place to spread her secret.

"Hey, do you think you can ask Cherise to introduce me to Angel?" Finley asked excitedly. "I really want to have one of her jewelry."

Keith stood up and strode toward them, smacking Finley on the back of his head.

"Ouch!" Finley rubbed the place where Keith had hit him. "What was that for?"

"We are supposed to help Hudson and not talk about you," Keith pointed out before returning to his seat.

"But he's done well," Finley whined. "What else can we help him with?"

"You said I'm romantic enough for now," Hudson said. "What else can I do to keep myself romantic from now on?"

"Oh." Finley finally realized Hudson's problem. "Seeing how she is the Alster's heiress and could get anything she wants, you need to show her you care instead of sending her jewelry and everything else." "How do I do that?" Hudson asked.

"You can keep sending her flowers every day," Finley replied. "And maybe her favorite breakfast and lunch. You know, all those little touches."

Hudson frowned since he didn't understand what 'little touches' meant. Did women not prefer grand gestures?

"Tell me more," he ordered, and they began brainstorming how to touch Cherise's heart and win her back.

***

It didn't take long for Cherise to familiarize herself with everything regarding the Alster Group.

She was a fast learner, and with Julian's, Logan's, and Neil's help, she learned everything within a week.

As an Alster, she was naturally gifted in business, including management, negotiation, and everything else. Her strong memory also helped a lot.

After discussing it with her grandpa and Julian, she will now work at the main building with Neil still as her personal assistant.

Logan would stay in Country B to oversee some projects the Jennings Group had there while at the same time taking over Cherise's job at the Angelworld Jewelry as he did while Cherise was married to Hudson. Even though she was a woman, she had that commanding presence that all successful CEOs had and just enough air of arrogance to face down difficult business partners who looked down on her being a woman. Cherise easily won over all the employees - old and young - with her charisma. She never looked down on any of the employees' suggestions, no matter how small or unimportant they seemed.

When the suggestions did not align with her or the company's visions and missions, she told them the reasons for her rejections in a manner that made the employees feel that they were heard and that their suggestions mattered, even if they were ultimately rejected.

With that, she earned the respect of all her employees, including the cleaning crews and guards.

Every job hunter in Country B knew how the Alayer Group values its employees with high salaries and incentives. They also knew that the higher-ups did not look down on any of their employees, and the employees themselves respected each other.

Working in the Alster Group was a dream of many job hunters, and with words how Cherise, as the CEO, was more approachable than Julian, the Alster Group became even more famous, not only among job hunters but also among those seeking partnership with them.

One morning, Cherise was leading a meeting with the shareholders and Julian when suddenly, the door to the meeting room opened unannounced.

She frowned, as she didn't like to be disturbed in such a way, but when she saw it was her grandpa who entered, her face lit up.

Cherise and everyone else stood up to greet the former president of the Alster Group, with Julian intending to give up his seat, but Charles held up his hand and told them he was there to assess the new CEO's performance and let his butler lead him to a chair at the back of the room.

Julian quickly asked Neil to prepare tea for his grandpa, but Charles waved him off, telling Cherise to resume the meeting.

Cherise wasn't afraid or intimidated by her grandpa's presence in the meeting room, and with the same confidence and professionalism, she continued and finished the meeting smoothly.

Knowing their former president was there for his grandchildren, the rest of the shareholders did not linger long in chatting with Charles.

Cherise led his grandpa to her office with Julian in tow and the moment they were all seated comfortably, Charles began praising his beloved granddaughter for a job well done.

"I knew you'd make a great CEO," Charles said proudly. "And from what I heard, everyone in the company loves working with you and respects you."

"It's because I have the Alster's blood in my veins," Cherise teased her grandpa, making him and Julian laugh.

Suddenly, they heard the office door being knocked, and Cherise groaned when she saw Neil entering, holding a bouquet of rainbow roses.

Julian and Cherise looked at Neil, who stood awkwardly in the presence of Charles Alster.

"Ohh, such a beautiful bouquet," Charles said as he admired the rainbow roses. "Who is it from? Cherise, do you already have an admirer? Why didn't you tell me about it?"

Cherise groaned audibly. "It's from Hudson," she told her grandpa. It had been a week since she moved to work at the Alster Group main building, and Hudson kept sending her a bouquet of flowers every day.

She had a mind to tell him to stop, but on second thought, she wouldn't mind wasting his money as she knew those bouquets he sent were expensive.

"Hudson?" her grandpa asked with a frown. "As in, the kid from the Amery family whom you used to marry?"

Julian chuckled when he heard his grandpa use the word 'kid' to describe Hudson, and Cherise giggled. "Yeah, he's the one," Cherise answered.

"So he's really trying to win you back like he said during the press conference, huh?" Charles asked his granddaughter.