Sure enough, Julien turned around and saw Zack pacing back and forth outside, looking tense.
Knowing Zack well, Julien speculated it should be something important.
"Excuse me," Julien said, standing up and nodding apologetically to the old man across the table.
Mr. McDaniel knew what was coming and picked up his cup of tea with a smile. "No worries. Go ahead with it. I'm not in a hurry."
"Okay. Just a second," Julien said, nodding slightly before waving to his assistant.
Zack immediately came in. "Mr. Flint."
"What is it?" Julien asked.
Zack didn't answer directly but glanced at Mr. McDaniel, who was sipping his tea.
Julien said, "Just go ahead with it. My teacher is not an outsider."
"Yes," Zack agreed, nodding before turning back to Julien. "Something has happened to Ms. Raines."
"What?" Julien changed colors and asked with concern, "What happened?"
Zack was about to answer.
But Mr. McDaniel put down his cup and cut in, "Ms. Raines Zack mentioned is the one you got back together with after your divorce, right?"
"Yes." Julien nodded.
Mr. McDaniel fondled his cup, his smile becoming somewhat meaningful. "You know, I've never met Ms. Raines in all these years."
Julien didn't notice anything amiss in Mr. McDaniel's expression and assumed he was simply curious about Sydney. He smiled back and said, "I'll introduce you to her when we attend the business party."
"There's no need to rush," Mr. McDaniel said, raising his hand to indicate he wasn't that eager to meet Sydney.
In fact, he didn't like her.
The smile on Julien's face slowly faded. "Do you have any reservations about her?"
Mr. McDaniel was surprised, not expecting his emotions to be seen through.
Had he been that obvious?
Even so, he didn't feel embarrassed about it.
Far from it, he remained calm.
And he admitted it.
"I do have some opinions." He nodded.
Julien frowned.
And Zack was stunned.
This old man was blunt to say that in the presence of Julien.
No one could accept their beloved ones to be judged by others.
Even if he didn't like Sydney, he should have kept it to himself instead of creating such an awkward situation.
This was, after all, Julien's place.
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