Sonia had never expected things to go so smoothly with the government. It only took an hour for a contract to be signed. As thanks to her for a few years of free land use rights, they promised to help her build her factory and have a machinery plant set up for her.
By the time she exited the department, the sky was already dark. As if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly. Hearing it, Charles threw an arm around her shoulders. “How about we have steak for dinner, baby?”
“Sure.” She nodded in agreement.
“Let’s go!” Still with his arm around her, he lengthened his stride in the direction of their car.
Half an hour later, they arrived at one of Seafield’s most famous restaurants. The moment they walked inside, Sonia heard a familiar voice behind her. “Miss Reed, Mr. Lane, we meet again.”
Instantly, Sonia’s smile faded. Much less politely, Charles rolled his eyes. “Why is it you both again?”
It was none other than Tina and Toby. With a gentle smile, Tina asked, “You don’t wish to see us, Mr. Lane?”
“You don’t need to ask to know that,” he retorted, spreading his arms.
Nonetheless, her smile stayed on her face. She didn’t seem angry. On the other hand, Toby was silent. His gaze was fixed on the bandage on Sonia’s head with an unreadable look in his eyes.
Feeling his stare, Sonia gave him a curious glance and quirked her lips. “Aren’t you afraid your fiancee will get jealous of you staring at me like that, President Fuller?”
At her question, the smile on Tina’s face finally slipped. While Tina knew Sonia was purposely trying to provoke her and Toby, she had no way of denying that Sonia was telling the truth and that Toby had, indeed, been staring at her. Even though jealousy flashed across Tina’s eyes and brewed even more potently in her heart, she made an effort to bring a smile back to her face.
“What are you saying, Miss Reed? How could I possibly be jealous? You’re standing in front of me and Toby, so it’s not so strange that Toby is looking at you. Not to mention, he’s seen plenty of female employees at Fuller Group every day. If I got jealous of every one of them, I’d be very busy. Wouldn’t you say, Toby?” She wrapped her hands around Toby’s arm.
Feeling the force of her grip, Toby frowned slightly but didn’t pull his arm away.
“That’s very magnanimous of you, Miss Gray.” Sonia pretended not to see Tina’s forced smile.
After yawning, Charles said, “Baby, why are you still talking to them? I thought you were hungry. Let’s go get ourselves a table.”
“Of course.” She nodded.
With that, Charles put his arms around her waist and followed the waiter.
As Toby watched them walk away intimately, he lowered his eyes and pursed his lips into a straight line. All of a sudden, he had an urge to rush up and separate them. Nonetheless, he held back. Keeping his head lowered to hide the expression in his eyes, he said to Tina, “Let’s go.”
“Alright,” she answered cheerfully.
On the way to their private room, Charles couldn’t resist grumbling, “Do you think Tina gets tired of faking a smile when she’s clearly jealous of you but pretending she isn’t?”
“Do you get tired of eating and sleeping?” Sonia asked without answering.
Perplexed, he shook his head. With a smile, she pointed out, “Well, there you have it. Some people consider pretending as a vital part of their survival––just like eating or sleeping. So, why would she feel tired?”
“That’s true.” He curled his lips. After a moment of thought, he grinned playfully. “Baby, what’d you say if we tore away her fake mask; wouldn’t she––”
“That’s enough.” She gave him an elbow. “She hasn’t done anything to us at the moment, so we’re not going to do anything to her.” Of course, if Tina made the first move, it would be a different matter altogether.
Just then, they reached their private room. The couple ordered the restaurant’s famous steaks. Halfway through the meal, Sonia wiped the corners of her lips and stood up. “I’m going to the restroom.”
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