Chapter 5197

The shop manager smiled. “We’re just wiping the tables. It’s still early—no customers yet. I’ll make you some coffee.”

The two bosses often stopped by for coffee, and the manager knew their preferences well. Whenever she saw them, she personally brewed their drinks.

“Thank you for the trouble,” Jane said politely.

“President Jane, please don’t say that. It’s my duty.”

Both women were approachable. Even after marrying into powerful families, they never put on airs. They treated longtime employees like friends and family.

After the manager left, the two women chatted—first about business, then about their children.

“Avah has been very busy lately, hasn’t she?” Iris asked. “I haven’t seen her in ages. I asked Hendrix to bring her over for dinner, but I’ve been asking him for months, and he still hasn’t done it.”

Iris and Yves’s only son, Hendrix Osborne, was still called Little Hendrix by everyone. He always complained that despite being outstanding, he still lived in his father’s shadow—and that his father wasn’t even that impressive, always overshadowed by his future father-in-law.

“My daughter is a workaholic,” Jane sighed. “She leaves early and comes home late. Even living in the same house, I barely see her unless I wake up early. We keep telling her to slow down, but she refuses. The path we paved for her doesn’t interest her—she insists on carrying the burden herself. Her father and I feel terrible.”

“We should tell Avah not to work so hard,” Iris said. “Let Hendrix handle everything. He’s tough.”

“Hendrix is busy too,” Jane replied. “He’s managing the Osborne family business now. Do you think it’s easy? Yves retired long ago, but Ben still holds the chairman title and occasionally handles company matters.”

Yves had retired as soon as his son was capable. He believed that if Hendrix could manage the company, he was truly competent. If not, then he simply wasn’t cut out for it.

He planned to enjoy retirement with his wife. And no matter how reckless Hendrix might be, he couldn’t possibly squander the entire Osborne fortune.

Fortunately, Hendrix proved capable. He and Avah met frequently for business, but if he wanted to take her home for dinner, he had to schedule it far in advance.

Everyone considered them a couple. They had grown up together, attended the same schools, and were inseparable. Both families hoped they would go from school uniforms to wedding gowns.

“I told Yves to hold on a few more years so Hendrix wouldn’t have to work so hard and could focus on dating,” Iris said. “But he refused. He said he managed the company and still had time to pursue me. He said Hendrix is even better—at least Hendrix truly loves Avah, unlike him, who once had his heart broken.”

Jane laughed. “He still brings up his former love interest? I thought he’d forgotten her long ago.”