Lewis smoked quietly, lost in his thought.
Conrad added, "But now that Seth is gone, he wouldn't bother Mrs. Alvarez anymore."
"He'd better not."
"Are you still going to the company today?"
Lewis glanced at him, and Conrad immediately understood his meaning. He nodded, bowed slightly, and smiled. "Chairman Alvarez, I'll take my leave since you're busy."
He looked at the beautiful woman dozing off with the microphone before exiting.
Seeing him leave, the woman collapsed weakly onto the sofa. She stared at Lewis with a pitiful gaze.
"Sir, can we take a break? Money is important, but our lives are even more so."
Lewis looked at her with an ambiguous smile. "Are you afraid of death?"
"Who isn't afraid of death? Sir, aren't you afraid of death?"
Lewis glanced at the half-burnt cigarette in his hand, the ember slowly fading. His expression was hard to discern.
The woman approached him with the microphone and sat beside him. "Sir, I feel like you're different from the others."
"In what way?"
"I don't know how to explain it, but I just think you're different. You're high and mighty, and many people look up to you. But your nobility comes from within. It feels other-worldly. Other people are weighed down by countless concerns."
A mocking smile crept onto Lewis' lips. "Do you mean I should die?"
The woman's face fell, and she hurriedly said, "No, no. Why would I say that? But now that you mention it, I notice what makes you different."
"Oh?"
"It's that kind of indifferent attitude toward life and death. Sir, do you believe in God? I've met many devoted people, but I can't sense that same feeling from them."
"God?" Lewis sneered, "Even God can't help me."
"That bad?"
Lewis changed the topic. "We're out of alcohol."
The woman understood he didn't want to continue discussing this, so she tactfully stood up. "I'll go fetch some. Please wait a moment. I might need to change my clothes too."
After a night of drinking, she reeked of alcohol.
As for Josephine, she fell asleep at some point. When she woke up, it was already noon. She picked up her phone and checked the time. It was already 12:00 pm.
Fortunately, it was a Saturday today.
She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed with a sore body. As she was getting dressed, she noticed the box again.
Josephine stared at the box for a while and felt increasingly uncomfortable. She walked over, picked up the box, and threw it into the trash bin.
As she arrived downstairs, Mrs. Larson quickly served her lunch.
"Mrs. Alvarez, Mr. Alvarez went out last night and hasn't returned yet."
"Oh." Josephine didn't react much. She walked to the dining table and picked up the bowl of herbal concoction. "It's not my concern. You don't need to report to me next time."
Mrs. Larson was slightly stunned. She soon understood what was going on. She thought that they had quarreled again.
She sighed, knowing that whenever these two argued, she was the one who suffered.
"Well, enjoy your meal. I'll go feed Lucy and Ricky."
"Lucy and Ricky? Who are they?"
"Mrs. Alvarez, did you forget? They are the dogs you brought back before. You didn't give them names, so I named them."
Mrs. Larson felt somewhat embarrassed as she said, "They're used to those names. I don't think we can change them."
Josephine remembered those two dogs. They were the ones she brought down from the mountain.
She hadn't fed them more than twice. Josephine skipped her meal and went to check on the two golden dogs.
They were kept in the yard outside. Due to Josephine's previous conflicts with Lewis, Mrs. Larson kept them confined so they wouldn't provoke Lewis.
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