The IVF Secret That Shook a Dynasty novel Chapter 269

Joseph replied quickly. [He's done playing. We're about to eat.]

Vivica: [Okay, we just got to the hotel and are about to eat too.]

Joseph sent a voice message. She meant to use the speech-to-text feature but accidentally played the audio instead.

"You're in an unfamiliar place. Don't drink. Not a single drop. It's dangerous."

Holly, walking beside her, overheard the message and casually asked, "Is that your dad giving you a lecture?"

Vivica almost laughed at the word "dad." Joseph's voice didn't sound that old, did it?

Still, she couldn't exactly explain that it wasn't her father, but the man she was ambiguously involved with—the father of her future child. So she just gave a dry laugh.

Holly tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, the women aren't expected to drink. It's an unspoken rule at the company; they never pressure female employees to drink."

Vivica nodded eagerly. "That's a great tradition to have."

"Q-Cloud Technology is very people-oriented," Holly said proudly. "A lot of our policies are really good."

Vivica couldn't agree more. After more than a month, she felt increasingly grateful to have landed at such a great company upon returning to the workforce. She cherished this job more and more each day.

...

At dinner, the men toasted and drank, while Vivica stuck to soda.

In the middle of the meal, her WhatsApp pinged again. It was Joseph, asking if she was "behaving."

She knew what he meant. A part of her was annoyed—he was being awfully controlling. But she dutifully snapped a photo and sent it to him as proof that she wasn't drinking.

Holly chimed in to smooth things over. "I'm sure your friend is a real beauty then, Mr. Smith. Beautiful women often look alike, it's normal."

Raymond laughed in agreement. "Yes, exactly! Think about all those gorgeous actresses—their features, their face shapes, they often look so similar. I can hardly tell them apart sometimes."

So that was it. Vivica relaxed a little.

Zavier immediately prompted her, "Vivica, we've been working with Mr. Smith for years and will continue to do so. Since this is your first business trip here, you should propose a toast to him, with your soda."

Zavier knew that after several years as a homemaker, Vivica might be a bit rusty on professional etiquette, so he was giving her a little nudge.

Vivica stood up at once, raising her glass of soda. "Mr. Smith, I look forward to working with you."

Raymond stood as well, equally polite. "Of course. And given this serendipitous resemblance to my friend, let's definitely stay in touch."