Chapter 157 - The Engagement Dinner (1/2)

The next day Finland tried to think of a way to ask Tony for permission to work part time from outside the office. Before she thought of anything, the man entered her office to announce important news.

”I would like to invite all of you to come to the Starry Night Restaurant tonight, as a celebration because my girlfriend accepted my proposal.” His face beamed as he announced this happy news.

Finland was a bit surprised because she didn't know that Tony was dating someone, and now, out of the blue, he suddenly announced his engagement. However, she was very happy for her boss. Tony had shown himself to be a good boss and had given Finland a lot of slack these past few years.

The staff in the office immediately applauded and congratulated Tony.

[My boss invited us to dinner after work. Apparently, Tony is recently engaged.] Finland knew she couldn't avoid coming to Tony's dinner, so she told Lauriel that she would return home late to pick up Aleksis. After pondering for a moment, she sent an additional message, [Do you want to come?]

Lauriel's reply arrived 5 minutes later.

[Of course. It would be a great opportunity for me to talk to Tony and ask for 2 months leave for you.]

[Oh... good luck then.]

[Thanks.]

Finland couldn't forget Lauriel's attitude since they discussed the possibility of Finland and Aleksis' reunion with Caspar. The thought of never seeing him again made her feel really sad.

Lauriel would definitely be very sad to be separated from them... but he never once tried to force Finland and Aleksis to stay with him.

That was why Finland felt that she had to take every opportunity to involve Lauriel in their lives, before they went separate ways. If Lauriel wanted them to accompany him to the Amazon, so be it.

Finland also invited him to come to Tony's engagement celebration dinner because it meant that they would spend more time together.

***

Tony was really in love. Everyone could see his happy face as he introduced his future wife to all LTX employees he treated to dinner at the restaurant that night. The girl's name was Rachel Park and she was a beautiful and smart Korean-American woman.

They met at Tony's regular bookstore, and after dating for only 6 months, Tony was convinced that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Rachel.

Rachel worked as a pediatrician at a local hospital and was very busy, but she took the time to come to the event dedicated to her and Tony's engagement. She was quickly on the good side of the LTX International girls because she was very friendly and down to earth.

However, the star of the evening's event was Aleksis, who arrived with Lauriel. Everyone immediately surrounded them both and asked to take pictures together. Aleksis, who loved being the center of attention, chattered happily and made everyone want to pinch her cheeks because she was too cute.

”Ohh... this kid is soooo cute...” Rachel happily carried Aleksis, ”You should star in commercials. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met...”

”Thank you, Aunty Rachel,” Aleksis said politely and her sweet smile made everyone happy.

”Gosh... not only are you pretty, your manners are perfect too... You're so cute!”

Finland looked at Lauriel out of the corner of her eye and found the man's radiant and proud face. It was safe to say that Lauriel was the one who educated Aleksis because he spent more time with the little girl than Finland. Ever since Aleksis was able to speak, she had been taught to always say the words 'please' and 'thank you'.

”Thank you,” Finland whispered to Lauriel. The man just nodded.

For some reason, they both thought about the same thing, that after two months, Lauriel would remove himself from their lives. The thought made Finland's chest feel heavy. She felt that it was unfair to Lauriel.

When the girls were playing with Aleksis, Lauriel had a serious talk with Tony. Finland's boss seemed to be listening to Lauriel intently and nodded several times. Finland suspected that Lauriel was again using his charm to make Tony do as he wanted, and he succeeded.

”Tony already knows and agrees. You can work 2 days a week for the next two months remotely, from anywhere in the world,” Lauriel said as they drove back to Finland's apartment. He would drive them home first before returning to his home.