Using a company car for personal matters—even if David Sullivan is unhappy about it—usually just results in him privately giving John Foster a few warnings.

Intuition told Edward Baker that David Sullivan's displeasure at this moment wasn't because he thought John Foster was exaggerating, nor was it because he was truly worried about his subordinates getting into accidents and having trouble explaining it to the group.

Of course, David Sullivan had always believed he was a casualty of company politics, which was why he’d been sent to Africa. He was usually slack, spending most of his time back in China. Even when he came to Degulamo every two or three months, he always had that “don’t mess with me” look on his face.

Now, seeing David Sullivan like this, Edward Baker really couldn’t tell if it was just his usual bad temper, or if something else was going on.

Speaking of being dispatched to Degulamo, Edward Baker had no idea what it felt like for John Foster, who spent all day worrying that his beloved wife back home might be seduced by someone else. As for himself, he was living quite comfortably.

Three years ago, after getting out of the detention center, his family had no income. He wasn’t the kind of “phoenix man” who’d make his younger sister drop out of school and work to support his studies, so he just went straight to Dongsheng and became a maintenance worker.

A year ago, he managed to secure the opportunity to be sent to Degulamo. With salary and allowances, his income was three times higher than if he’d stayed in China, and the company covered food and lodging. He really had nothing to complain about.

“Even though the company doesn’t pay much attention to this place, you’re still getting paid by them, so at the very least, don’t cause any trouble in Degulamo that can’t be cleaned up. Besides, if something really happens to you, the company will just pay some compensation and send someone else over. It’s not a big loss for them, but what about your families?” David Sullivan still thought of his handful of subordinates as his only assets. After scolding them, his tone softened, showing that his lecture was mainly out of concern for John Foster, Edward Baker, and the others’ personal safety.

Edward Baker sat to the side, noticing that while David Sullivan was lecturing, his gaze kept flickering toward the patch of fair skin showing at Emily Carter’s neckline.

Edward Baker particularly disliked David Sullivan’s greedy yet self-righteous demeanor, though he didn’t mind sneaking a few more glances at that fair skin himself.

Degulamo was full of black women, so seeing someone like Emily Carter, who would easily score over 80 points back in China, was truly a feast for the eyes.

Yeah, really nice.

Emily Carter’s eyes seemed unfocused, but her arms hung at her sides, the muscles under her armpits subtly tensed, making her chest stand out even more with this small movement.

Although Emily Carter did this subconsciously and didn’t look at anyone, Edward Baker’s intuition told him that he was the drooling, covetous man in Emily Carter’s eyes, and she didn’t mind showing off a little for him.

Today was really strange.

Although Edward Baker had always been good at observing people’s expressions and subtle body language, he’d never been this direct and sharp before—almost like telepathy...

Chapter 6 Hello

After scolding the three of them, David Sullivan told Kabuja to start the car. He planned to stay at the China Business Center tonight—David Sullivan spent most of his time in China, only coming to Degulamo every two or three months. Even though he had a room reserved for him at the dorm, he preferred to stay at the China Business Center, which was guarded by local armed police.

“Mr. Yang, I’ll go with you. Even though Xiao Cao isn’t seriously hurt, he was still a bit shaken up!” John Foster stood up and accompanied David Sullivan outside.

David Sullivan didn’t trust Kabuja. Every time he went from the dorm or office to the China Business Center, he’d have John Foster or Edward Baker go with him, and then John Foster or Edward Baker would take Kabuja’s car back to the company or their residence.

Of course, in the past, John Foster always pushed the “escort” duty onto Edward Baker—after all, Edward Baker was just a junior.

Since Edward Baker had just returned from the hospital, John Foster took the initiative to handle the “escort mission” this time, which seemed only natural. But Edward Baker had a gut feeling that his intentions weren’t that simple.

Hearing the car start, the cook Lucy Clark finally poked her head out of the kitchen. Seeing that David Sullivan and John Foster had indeed left, she patted her ample chest in relief and came out.

The cook Lucy Clark was different from the old chief Felician’s granddaughter Lily. She was a pure Yoruba woman, just over thirty, with dark skin and thick lips, but she also had the tall figure and impressive bust typical of local women—though these held no appeal for Edward Baker or John Foster.

Lucy Clark didn’t usually get days off and stayed in the downstairs maid’s room at night.

Lucy Clark came over and gave Edward Baker a hug, happy for his safe return, and exclaimed:

“Oh my, Mr. Cao, you really scared me! I’m so glad to see you’re okay. You probably didn’t get much to eat at the hospital, poor thing must be starving. I made spicy chicken the way you taught me today—Mr. Yang even praised me! I finally learned how to make this dish. When I heard you’d be back tonight, I saved some just for you…”

Seeing that even the cook Lucy Clark couldn’t be bothered to curry favor with her, Emily Carter was already used to it; Edward Baker grinned and walked into the kitchen to help Lucy Clark bring the food to the table.

Logically speaking, with only Edward Baker, John Foster, and Emily Carter as the three dispatched employees in the dorm, taking care of their daily needs shouldn’t be a problem.

When Emily Carter first arrived in Degulamo as a finance staff member, she thought it was too extravagant—and not in line with financial regulations—for three dispatched employees to hire a local cook just to handle food and daily necessities.