Chapter 10: Have Dinner Together

Scarlett's POV:

After a day's work, I walked home in the afterglow of the setting sun.I was both physically and mentally
exhausted.

All I wanted right now was to go home, take a warm shower, and sleep.

While I was on my way home, a Bentley pulled over next to me.

A middle-aged man with a big belly then got out and approached me.

"Hello, Miss Riley," he greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hello.Uh...who are you?" I racked my brains to try and figure out who he was.

"It doesn't matter who I am.What matters is that you, Miss Riley, are free now.Our boss is inviting you
to dinner," the man explained.

I took a look at the black Bentley in bewilderment.

The car window was rolled down.

Inside the car, a handsome man about 30 years old was looking at me with a gentle smile.

He seemed to be a powerful man and had a strong background.

I could not help but wonder why he had suddenly came to a small potato like me.

He must have reasons for doing this.

"Hello," I greeted back.



Just as I was about to decline him, I heard a familiar voice come from behind me.

"Hello, Mr.Walker."

I turned around and saw Rita and Charles standing a few feet away from me.

She was wearing a yellow V- neck dress and was holding Charles's right arm.

In all honesty, she looked like a lady who was happily in love.

Meanwhile, Charles was wearing a black suit, which exuded nobility and elegance.

He had an imposing manner as usual, and his frigid expression seemed as though it was telling
everyone to stay away from him.

As I gazed at him, I found that he was also looking at me.

When I saw him, I did not feel anything, even longing or regret.

Perhaps it was because I had already given up on him.

Mr.Walker looked at Rita and Charles.

"What a coincidence, Miss Lively.I didn't expect to see you here."

Judging from his words, he and Rita knew each other very well.

"Mr.Walker, this is Charles, my fiance.Actually, we were just about to invite Scarlett to dinner.Is that
okay with you?"

Although the man seemed reluctant, he answered, "Of course."

With that, he beckoned the driver to get in the car and drive off.



I watched in awe as the black Bentley sped away.

All I could think about was how unlucky I was to get entangled by these people on my first day of work.

I just wanted to work hard.

Why was it so hard? All of a sudden, Rita let go of Charles's hand and then held mine.

"Hey, Scarlett! Today is your first day to work, isn't it? Well, Charles and I wanted to celebrate such a
wonderful occasion.Shall we go now?"

"No, thanks.I want to go home now.You and Charles can go instead."

I declined politely while getting rid of her hand.I did not want to see them display their affection.

To me, it was offensive to the eye.

"Scarlett, people ought to eat something.You're going to eat later anyway.Why not join us now?"

Rita was still unwilling to give up.

"No, I-"

Abner Todd, the department leader in the TV station, walked up to me just as I was about to refuse
Rita's invitation yet again.

"Hey, Scarlett.No wonder I didn't see you in the company.You must've left in a hurry."

"I wanted to go home early, so I left as soon as I could” I explained with a smile.I did not want to show
my true emotions so openly in front of other people, especially them.

"I see." Abner looked at Charles and Rita and added, "Are these your friends?"



"This is Rita Lively, and this is her fiance, Charles Moore.This is Mr.Abner Todd, a colleague of mine at
the TV station." I introduced them to each other.

As soon as I finished speaking, Rita stepped forward and shook hands with Abner.

"Nice to meet you, Mr.Todd.By the way, did our Scarlett do well in the company? I hope she didn't
cause you any trouble."

"Actually, Scarlett is an excellent host.Everyone in the department likes her.As soon as she came to
the company, she undertook a difficult task on her own.She has been really helpful.How could she
cause us any trouble?"

"That's good to hear.I was worried that she hasn't settled in the company yet.Mr.Todd, she's new in this
industry and please do forgive her if she makes a mistake in the future."

Rita was pretending to be worried that I would cause trouble to the company on my first day.

How pretentious.

People who did not know us would think we had a good relationship.

"Scarlett, I envy you for having such a caring friend," Abner said to me with a smile.

All of a sudden, his face lit up as though he had just recalled something.

"By the way, since today is your first day to work, as the leader of our department, I'd like to invite you
for a congratulatory dinner tonight.Would you like to come?"

"I appreciate your kindness, but I don’t want to take up your time with your family," I declined politely.

"There's nothing to worry about.Besides, I'm single, and I don't really have any family to company at
the moment."



The atmosphere became ambiguous the instant Abner declared that he was single.

A single man had asked a woman out for dinner.

What an excellent topic for an after-dinner conversation.

For sure, rumors that I hooked up with my boss as soon as I came to the TV station would spread like
wildfire.

Well, I did not want to get into any trouble, so I would have to turn him down.

Unfortunately, I could not come up with a good excuse to decline his invitation.

"Scarlett, are you going to eat with us or with him?" Charles unexpectedly asked.

His tone was domineering, and he sounded as though he was forcing me to quickly make up my mind.

At that moment, I lowered my eyes and thought hard of how I would decline both sides.

"If that's the case, why don't we just eat together? We all want to celebrate Scarlett's first day at
work,anyway’’ Rita suggested with a sly look in her eyes.

Was this woman playing tricks again? « Well, it did not matter.

Whether she was playing tricks or not, I could not say no anymore.

If I offended the leader of the TV station, I would have a difficult time working there in the future.

So, in the end, the four of us went to dinner together.

We went to a high-end restaurant.

Rita and Charles sat next to each other while Abner and I sat opposite them.



The sunset outside the French window dyed the surrounding scenery red.

It was breathtaking.

Not long after we sat down, Rita took out her phone and showed a picture to me.

"Scarlett, what do you think of this wedding dress?" she asked, all puffed up.

I glanced at the photo and casually replied, "Not bad."

"Not bad? It's too expensive, isn't it? Honestly, I don't think it's worth spending one hundred thousand
dollars on a wedding dress that I can only wear once in my life, " Rita said hesitantly.

I looked at Charles and reassured her, "As long as you like it, Charles will buy it for you."

As soon as I said that, he looked at me, not a hint of emotion on his face.

Rita wrapped her arms around his neck like a snake and kissed him on the cheek.

"Charles, really? Can I buy this wedding dress?" she asked with puppy eyes.

Charles nodded at her with a smile.

At that moment, Rita smiled at me triumphantly in secret.

My wedding with Charles was small and private.

On the other hand, Rita's wedding dress alone cost a hundred thousand dollars.

Of course, she felt compelled to show off in front of me.

No wonder she was adamant in inviting me to dinner.



She wanted to rub that into my face.

The dishes were served a few minutes later.

Abner and I focused on our food and just ignored Rita, who was touchy-feely the entire time.

Just as I picked up my knife and fork, Abner turned to me and asked, "Scarlett, what do you think of
your new job?"

I nodded with a smile.

"It's good."

"If you ever feel at a loss, don't be shy to ask me for help.I'll help you anytime; otherwise, others will
say that I don't care about my subordinates."

"I won't stand on ceremony then," I reassured.

Abner Todd was a great leader.

Unlike other bosses, he was not out of touch with his subordinates and was willing to lend a hand.

Because of this, I immediately got along with him.

We had a great chat about work during the meal.

Except for Charles's murderous eyes, it was an otherwise perfect meal.

The dinner came to an end after a long while.

Just as Abner was about to offer me a ride home, Charles stood up and coldly said to me, "Scarlett, I'd
like to talk to you outside."



I saw from the corner of my eye that Rita held her phone tighter and was staring daggers at me.

She must be going crazy.

I could not blame her, though.

Charles wanted to talk to me in private.

I guessed she had been suspecting for a long time that we had something to hide from her.

If Charles did not want to include Rita in the conversation, she would keep suspecting us, and their
relationship might end up in peril.

I did not want to go at first.

However, I realized that it would make Rita unhappy if I agreed to Charles's request.

"Scarlett..."

Abner called worriedly as he just saw Charles go out with a grim expression on his face.

I smiled reassuringly at him.

"Don't worry.I'll be back soon."

Charles was standing under a maple tree outside the restaurant.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on him through the leaves, which made him seem more
mysterious.

I doubted that anyone could read his thoughts right now.

His handsome face could captivate any woman.



No wonder I fell in love with him back then.

Sadly, he just broke my heart without remorse.

I stopped a few feet away from him and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Quit your job."

Charles turned around and looked at me with an intense gaze.

The look on his face told me that he would not take no for an answer.


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