“Shut up! Look at you, all appearances but no heart,” Lawrence’s face had darkened completely, glaring at Leo. “Rosemary, this guy is the kind who messes things up and takes no responsibility!”
Rosemary’s face turned somber, and she said sadly, “He used to be good to me; I never thought he’d be like this.”
Rosemary’s statement ignited a glimmer of hope in Lawrence, and he hurriedly said, “Rosemary, if you break up with him right now, I won’t mind your past. I’ll love you forever.”
Rosemary looked at Leo, then back at Lawrence, her face filled with a conflicted expression. She sighed and said, “Right now… I don’t know what to do. Why don’t you two compete fairly?”
“No problem!” Lawrence still glared at Leo. “You don’t deserve Rosemary.”
Leo was reluctant to explain further; he wished he hadn’t come here once he realized Rosemary had used him as a shield.
Clearing his throat, Lawrence turned to Rosemary and said, “I know about the conference; I’ll go for now. I have another meeting to attend later.”
Lawrence nodded, shot one final angry glance at Leo, and then left the office.
Once Lawrence was gone, Leo had no desire to stay any longer and turned to leave.
“Leo, wait a moment,” Rosemary suddenly said.
Leo turned back with an unwilling expression and asked, “What now?”
“At 5 o’clock, there’s a conference. Will you accompany me?” Rosemary asked straightforwardly.
Leo shook his head decisively. “I need to pick up my wife at 5:30. I can’t make it.”
“Come on, help a friend out, will you?” Rosemary suddenly adopted a playful tone.
However, Leo wasn’t buying it. He asked, “Why me?”
“Two reasons. First, there are too many ‘mosquitoes’, and they’re annoying. Second, in my circle, you’re considered an outsider, and you have a high credibility level,” Rosemary explained.
“So you want me to be your mosquito repellent?”
“If that’s how you want to interpret it, then why not?” Rosemary had a mischievous expression on her face.
“I’m not going.”
Rosemary’s lips curled up prettily. “I think you don’t want your wife to know about our relationship, do you?”
Leo was briefly taken aback and retorted angrily, “Don’t make things up. There’s nothing between us.”
“Right, there’s nothing between us, but who knows what others might think,” Rosemary said with a smile that left Leo feeling cornered.
“Rosemary, I can’t believe you’re like this!”
“So, does that mean you agree?”
“Only this time!”
Leo was now regretting agreeing to help Dr. Rudolph with his precious granddaughter’s medical issue. After a few rounds of Rosemary’s games, he wasn’t sure if her illness would get better, but he was certain that she would drive him to sickness.
The conference was taking place at the Hilton Hotel in the Blue Bay New District, and the ambiance was quite impressive.
On the way to the Hilton, Leo sent a message to Sophia on Whatsapp, letting her know he had an emergency and couldn’t pick her up after work. He had already arranged for his Audi to be parked in the underground parking lot.
Sophia replied to Leo’s message, telling him that she would be going out for dinner and shopping with Karen after work today. She suggested that if Leo was done with his business, he should message her, and she would pick him up to drive him home.
Arriving at the Hilton Hotel with Rosemary, it was evident from the variety of luxury cars in the parking lot that this was an upscale event.
In the past, Leo might have felt somewhat out of place at such gatherings, but not anymore. He was now a resident of Cloud Dream Mountain’s mansion and had ample money, which gave him the confidence to attend with ease.
As they entered the lobby, a greeter immediately approached. Rosemary presented her invitation card, and the greeter respectfully escorted them to the banquet hall on the sixth floor.
The banquet hall had been meticulously decorated, radiating an air of luxury and grandeur. On both sides were long buffet tables, displaying an array of exquisite foods. In the middle were round tables adorned with high-end tableware. Additionally, there was a row of liquor cabinets in the southeast corner of the hall, filled with various premium spirits.
The hall had already seen the arrival of many guests. They were mingling in small groups, holding glasses of red wine and engaging in conversations.
After a few questions from the welcoming hostess, she led they to a spot in the hall, furthest from the front, and informed them they could choose any available seats.
Leo quickly understood from her actions that the seating arrangements here were quite formal, with the more distinguished individuals occupying seats closer to the front stage. Leo gathered that Rosemary was merely a peripheral guest, which explained their seating at the far end of the hall.
After about twenty minutes, most of the guests for the conference had arrived. While Leo didn’t recognize many of them, he spotted familiar faces, including Dr. Rudolph, Harry Toby, Devin Becky, Arthur Wilde, Darren Hansom, and others.
Leo also noticed that Director-General Lynd’s father, Old Lynd, was present, but Eric Lynd was not with him.
Sitting beside Rosemary, Leo felt quite uncomfortable. This table was full of people Rosemary knew, both men and women, who clearly came from affluent backgrounds and were likely attending with their elder family members.
Leo didn’t know them, and they didn’t know him. No one approached Leo, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.
“When is Mr. Lytton coming?” a young man raised his wrist to check the time.
“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear,” a young woman pointed at Lawrence.
The young man waved to Lawrence, saying, “Mr. Lytton, come sit here.”
Upon seeing Rosemary and Leo together, Lawrence approached and greeted Rosemary, “Rosemary, when did you arrive?”
Rosemary glanced at him but didn’t respond. Lawrence didn’t seem fazed and took a seat with the young man.
When Lawrence saw that Leo was sitting next to Rosemary, a fire lit in his eyes.
After some initial small talk, they began chatting. A young woman asked, “Does anyone know the purpose of this conference?”
A man in a suit immediately responded, “I do. The primary focus of this conference is to listen to the mayor’s speech, discussing recent issues in Langstel’s medical industry, as well as the fire in the Golden Gardens residential building. Today, prominent figures from various industries have gathered here. If anyone wants to make connections, now is the time.”
The man in the suit’s father held a significant position in the city government, so he had done thorough research about the conference before attending.