Chapter 97 Calm Down
"Come on, let's not waste time. I'm swamped," he muttered, picking up the scattered papers.
Alison had no choice but to help. As she bent down, Jack leaned forward, and with a loud "thud," their heads collided.
"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling unlucky. If the papers hadn't fallen, she wouldn't have to deal with Jack right now.
"It's fine. I'll check out your estimates later. I know this project inside out, so I'll highlight the key areas for you. You'll be able to finish quickly."
"Really? Can I get it done by tomorrow?" The thought of quickly getting rid of those numbers made her want to celebrate.
"Yeah, with my help, definitely. I can't believe Aidan is so concerned about you. He went to great lengths to get me here to help you. Alison, you should appreciate it. Aidan really cares about you."
Alison's hand froze. Why did he always bring up Aidan when they were alone? "Mr. Winston, it's work time. Let's not discuss personal matters."
"Alright, alright. Plug the USB into my computer and open the file. Let me see how far you've gotten."
Alison breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and sat in his chair. She plugged in the USB, moved the mouse, and quickly opened the file she had been working on.
Jack walked over with a stack of documents, casually placed them on the desk, and leaned in close to Alison to look at the file on the screen.
"You're really clueless," he said after a quick glance.
"Hey, who are you calling clueless?" Alison was a bit annoyed. This was her first time doing this, and she had worked on it all day.
Jack ignored her protest. His large hand reached for the mouse, brushing against her hand.
Alison jerked her hand away as if she had been shocked. "Hey, you touched my hand!"
"You moved so slowly. Besides, this is my mouse and computer." Jack noticed Alison's unusual reaction. Unlike other women he had encountered, she recoiled as if he were a snake. It hurt his pride.
Alison stood up. "Here, take it."
"Fine." Jack sat down in his chair, which was still warm from Alison.
He moved the mouse, browsed through the numbers Alison had calculated and entered into the spreadsheet, and his frown deepened.
"You're really clueless," he repeated.
Alison was speechless. How could he mock her like this? This wasn't her strong suit; languages were.
So, she retorted in Japanese, "You're the clueless one."
"What did you say?" Jack didn't understand. He knew six languages, but not Japanese.
"I said you're an idiot," she continued in Japanese, knowing he wouldn't understand.
"What does that mean?" He leaned back in his chair, looking at her with interest.
Alison smiled. Maybe facing him with a calm heart wasn't so hard after all. "I said you're clueless."
"You called me clueless?" Jack pointed to himself, incredulous.
"Yes." Alison smiled. He wasn't the only one who could mock; she could too.
"How am I clueless?" He leaned in closer, his dark eyes fixed on her. This little woman always managed to touch a nerve deep inside him, making his heart follow her every move.
"You don't understand what I said, so you're clueless."
"I never learned Japanese. That's normal."
"But I never studied architecture or finance," Alison countered. She felt she had done well enough. Given a month, she believed she could become an excellent budget estimator.
Jack rubbed his forehead, seeming to understand something. He leaned closer. "Alison, you're so petty."
"I am not petty," Alison quickly denied.
"Yes, you are. I made one comment, and you started retaliating. That's not being open-minded," Jack said.
"And you? You're not open-minded either," Alison shot back.
"How am I not open-minded? I even want you to teach me Japanese," Jack said. That way, she wouldn't dare insult him in Japanese again.
"You want to learn Japanese?"
"Yes, I'll need your help, Miss Fairchild."
"I don't take students. There are plenty of Japanese classes you can sign up for," Alison refused.
"Ha, you're really petty. Fine, if you won't teach me, I'll teach you. Come closer, and I'll show you how to calculate these numbers," Jack said with a smile.
"Huh?" Alison was confused. She was already standing in front of him. How much closer did he want her to get?
Jack moved his chair and pulled another chair closer to him. "Sit down. Don't worry, I won't bite."
Alison realized he wanted her to sit next to him.
To complete the estimates, Alison sat down. Jack took the mouse and pointed to a number she had entered. "You don't need to calculate this manually. Just enter the formula." He typed a long formula, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and parentheses. After checking it, he pressed enter, and the answer appeared, matching Alison's calculator result.
"Wow, entering each one manually is really tedious," Alison remarked.
Jack chuckled. "I told you, you're clueless. In this area, you are. But my Japanese is worse than yours. One day, I'll surpass you." He dragged the formula down the column, filling in the answers. This was basic Excel, but Alison didn't know it. Jack looked at her, amused.
Alison blushed. She had worked part-time during school, so her computer skills were basic. What she knew now, she had learned bit by bit at YD Company.
"Got it?" Jack asked, smiling as if to say, "You're really clueless."
"Let me try." Alison said. She didn't know Excel had such a feature. She blamed Sophia and Ethan for not training her properly three years ago.
Alison took the mouse and succeeded on her first try. She realized she wouldn't need a calculator anymore.
"Not bad, there's hope for you yet," Jack said. "You got the formula, but there's more to materials. There are tricks to it." He knew construction material prices inside out and explained many report details to Alison, things she couldn't learn from books.
Every field has its nuances. Alison felt like a blank slate in construction, with so much to learn. She needed to humbly seek Jack's guidance.
That afternoon, Jack taught her like a patient teacher, surprising even himself with his sudden patience.
As Alison happily used his methods for estimates, her smile caught Jack's eye, making it hard for him to look away.