The phone connected swiftly.
“Pete, is the information you sent me on about Leo accurate or not?” Lawrence’s mood was far from pleasant.
“Mr. Lytton, do you doubt my capabilities? I’ve conducted a thorough investigation. That guy, Leo, is nothing but a freeloader. His wife, Sophia, is incredibly beautiful…” The voice on the other end of the phone turned somewhat lewd.
“Damn it! I asked you to investigate Leo, so why are you looking into his wife? Let me ask you again, are you certain you’ve uncovered everything about him?” Lawrence was highly displeased.
“Everything is clear. He has no background, just a useless son-in-law. He’s nothing compared to Mr. Lytton, that’s for sure,” the guy named Pete assured.
Upon hearing this, Lawrence was perplexed. If Leo had no background, why were Godfery Dan, Ronald Timothy, and Noel all treating him so kindly? But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. He had to ruin Leo today, whether or not he had hidden connections, as long as he did it discreetly.
Lawrence growled, “Pete, are you ready for what I asked you to prepare?”
“Everything is ready. As soon as you give the order, we can take action,” Pete replied.
Lawrence continued, “Let me explain again. After the exchange meeting ends, if Leo leaves in Rosemary’s car, you’ll receive my message to act. First, intercept Rosemary where there are no witnesses. Then, incapacitate Leo. As for Rosemary, you can give her a scare, but you must not harm her. Do you understand?”
“We understand, Mr. Lytton. We know Miss Fanny is your woman. We wouldn’t dare lay a finger on her,” Pete promptly responded.
“After you’ve dealt with Leo, I’ll arrive and rescue Rosemary from your hands. Got it?” Lawrence was getting excited as he imagined the scene of playing the hero and comforting her.
In a woman’s eyes, saving her from villains was quite romantic, and while Rosemary wasn’t fond of men, she couldn’t resist such a romantic gesture.
“Mr. Lytton, my guys are professional actors. We’ll work well with you. Also, about the money…” Pete chuckled slyly.
Lawrence declared, “Rest assured, when this is over, you won’t be left unrewarded. If you help me successfully capture Rosemary, I’ll give you an additional twenty thousand.”
Lawrence would be willing to spend even a million or ten million if it meant obtaining Rosemary.
After ending the call, Lawrence returned to the banquet hall. Looking at Rosemary sitting at her table, he could almost picture her later, clinging to him in fear, with him soothing her.
On Leo’s side, after another round of drinks, he bid his farewell. He felt it inappropriate to stay in the same spot all this time, and he had no interest in the conversations these people were having; it was all rather dull.
Noel and the others tried to keep Leo for a bit, but he decided to leave.
Leo returned to his previous spot but didn’t sit down. Instead, he greeted Rosemary and then headed out of the banquet hall.
Due to Noel toasting him earlier, Leo had noticed that several people were approaching him, carrying their wine glasses, clearly trying to curry favor.
Leo was naturally averse to such situations, so he chose to leave.
Rosemary also rose from her seat, grabbed her bag, and followed Leo out of the banquet hall.
“Leo, wait, I’ll walk with you,” Rosemary called out to Leo from behind.
Leo turned around, puzzled. “Aren’t you staying a bit longer?”
“I have nothing to chat about with those people, and I’d like to leave as well,” Rosemary’s attitude toward Leo had softened considerably. “By the way, what were you discussing with Noel and the others earlier?”
“We didn’t talk about much, just medical matters,” Leo casually brushed it off.
Rosemary raised her eyebrows. “Oh, really? You guys didn’t talk about the Golden Garden Residence fire incident?”
Leo didn’t understand Rosemary’s question and asked, “Why would we randomly discuss a fire incident?”
“How could it be random? If it weren’t for your intervention, both Noel and Mayor’s careers would have definitely been affected,” Rosemary wore a sly smile.
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything,” Leo pretended not to understand.
Rosemary scoffed, “Don’t bother pretending. When Mayor whispered to you, I couldn’t hear what he said, but I’ve learned lip-reading. I could tell from his lip movements that you were the one who saved people at the fire scene that day.”
“How is that possible?” Leo certainly didn’t want to admit it. “You must have seen it wrong. Mayor clearly said that Noel wanted me to join their table.”
“I just don’t understand. You did a great deed, so why won’t you admit it?” Rosemary’s tone was full of disbelief. “You don’t need to argue. Even though the news photos didn’t show your face clearly, your height and physique are unmistakable; it was you.”
“Well, believe what you want. If you think it was me, then it was me,” Leo shrugged helplessly.
After driving for a while, Rosemary suddenly said, “Um, you’re probably not in a hurry to get home, right? My place is just up ahead. How about… coming over for a cup of coffee?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Rosemary felt her cheeks burning, wondering how she could have said something like that. It was so embarrassing!
What had come over her today? She had always despised men, so why had she lost her mind and invited Leo to her place?
After saying this, Rosemary, blushing with embarrassment, didn’t receive a response from Leo for quite some time. She glared at Leo, ready to regain a bit of dignity after her previous words.
But Leo finally spoke. “At the upcoming intersection, take a left, then pull over to the side.” Leo’s attention was focused entirely on the rearview mirror. He hadn’t heard Rosemary’s previous words.
“Is your house around here?” Somehow, Rosemary felt a bit disappointed.
Leo’s expression turned somewhat serious. “The minivan behind us has been tailing us for a while.”
Rosemary glanced at the rearview mirror and indeed spotted a minivan following them. She immediately understood Leo’s meaning, becoming somewhat nervous. “What’s that car up to? Should we call the police?”
“No need to call the police. If they are indeed after us, I need to give them a proper reception.”
“Reception… for them?” Rosemary wasn’t entirely sure what Leo meant.
After the left turn, following Leo’s instructions, Rosemary pulled over to the side.