“Are you saying LMH Group has invited me to a banquet?” Peter asked, barely able to believe it.
“Yes, Mr. Scott.”
Peter’s excitement was evident. “That’s fantastic! My family and I will be there.”
After ending the call, Peter’s earlier gloom disappeared. He was excited at the thought of LMH Group’s interest in him, feeling they must have noticed his company.
Perhaps LMH Group was interested in investing in his company!
Securing an investment from them could be exactly what his company needed to recover. It might even put an end to Bianca’s irritating behavior.
Peter was in high spirits as he drove away in his Benz.
Around noon, as Bianca got ready to go out for lunch, she noticed Reese was still focused on her work.
Bianca approached Reese with a smile and asked, “Did you take the medicine I gave you? How are you feeling? Any side effects?”
Reese, noticing Bianca, paused her work and stood up. “Yes, I took the medicine as planned and haven’t had any side effects.”
Bianca nodded. “This medicine usually doesn’t cause many side effects, which is why I brought it for you. But if you start feeling unwell, stop using it and let me know.”
“Got it,” Reese replied. Bianca liked her for being thoughtful and cooperative.
Seeing Reese’s face, Bianca smiled and said, “It looks like you’ve lost a lot of weight in the past few days.”
“Really?” Reese asked, touching her cheeks and looking pleased.
“Just keep it up!” Bianca encouraged her.
After encouraging Reese, Bianca was about to leave when she saw Blake coming out of the practice room. He was the last artist to break for lunch, as the others had already left.
Reese tensed at the sight of Blake and peeked behind Bianca.
“Wow, what a coincidence, Bianc! How about we have lunch together?” Blake asked with a friendly smile.
Even though Blake and Bianca worked at the same company, they usually stuck to their own tasks and rarely interacted.
Bianca was careful not to give Blake any special attention.
When he invited her to lunch, she hesitated, clearly unsure.
Blake noticed her hesitation and guessed that she might worry about how it looked if they were seen alone together. So, he looked at Reese behind Bianca and thought that if he invited her too, Bianca would be more likely to agree.
He turned to Reese and said, “You should come with us.”
Reese looked surprised and asked, “Me? Are you talking about me?”
“Well, there are only three of us left in the company. Who else could it be but you?” Blake’s gentle words made Reese’s heart race.
Reese glanced at Bianca, her face slightly flushed. “Bianca…”
Noticing something was off, Bianca smiled and said, “How about we all go together?”
The three of them then headed to a nearby restaurant.
During lunch, Bianca talked about Blake’s career goals and suggested he join the talent show, which was a great way for newcomers to build their reputation.
Blake listened carefully, ready to follow Bianca’s advice.
He wasn’t looking for fame in the entertainment industry, though.
Reese sat next to them, picking at her food and occasionally glancing at Blake. Whenever he looked her way, she quickly turned her head and pretended not to be interested.
Bianca sensed that something was off with Reese.
A guy like Blake had a way of capturing a girl’s heart.
Bianca suddenly thought that if she could set up a match between Blake and Reese, maybe her mother would reconsider her decision about Blake’s engagement to her.
After lunch, they returned to work as usual.
Back at her desk, Reese took out her medication from a drawer and swallowed a few more pills.
Reese wanted to lose weight, believing that with a slimmer figure, she would feel more confident around Blake. Otherwise, she would always feel inadequate in his presence.
“Reese, that medicine looks interesting. Can I take a look?” a colleague sitting next to her asked suddenly.
Reese jumped, surprised. She took a moment to compose herself and said, “Um…”
“Come on, we’re colleagues. Why not let me see it?” the colleague insisted.
Feeling pressured, Reese handed over the medicine, saying, “Okay, here.”
The colleague took a quick look and then returned it, saying, “It doesn’t seem like anything special. Good luck with it.”
The woman returned to her work, but Reese didn’t notice the sly grin on her face.
****
That evening, Bianca went home, changed her clothes, and then took a taxi to Madison’s place.
Lately, Bianca had been visiting her mother more often.
After dinner, Madison and Bianca relaxed on the sofa, chatting.
Madison pulled an invitation from her bag and handed it to Bianca.
“Our company is hosting a banquet this weekend. Be sure to bring your boyfriend. I’m looking forward to meeting him,” Madison said.
Bianca was surprised when she looked at the invitation and saw the gold-plated lettering.
“LMH Group?”
Bianca had heard of the LMH Group before, but she never thought she’d have any connection with them. They seemed to be in a completely different league from her world.
Noticing Bianca’s astonishment, Madison smiled and said, “Yes, Cherish is a brand under LMH Group, and I’m actually one of the directors there.”
Bianca’s eyes widened in surprise. She suddenly felt that her mother was operating on a whole different level.
“Mom, how many sides of you do I still not know about?” Bianca asked, looking at Madison with curiosity.
Madison laughed softly and ran her fingers through Bianca’s hair.
“Let’s not change the subject. Honestly, I really want to know more about the man who has my daughter’s heart. You once said I didn’t know anything about him, so I want to get to know him better. I want to make sure he truly cares for you.”
Even though Madison’s words seemed to accept Dave, her real goal was to put him in a tough spot during the LMH banquet.
She wanted to show the difference between him and Bianca, hoping he would back away from the challenge.
At the same time, Madison wanted to show Bianca that Dave wasn’t good enough for her. She hoped that once Bianca met the real high society elite, she’d see Dave in a different light and lose her infatuation.
Unaware of her mother’s intentions, Bianca was happy that the engagement wasn’t brought up and appreciated that her mom wanted to understand the man she loved.
“Okay, I’ll check if he’s free this weekend. If he is, I’ll bring him to the event,” Bianca said.
After talking with Madison, Bianca realized it was late and decided to go to bed.
Leonel had been busy at the research institute, often coming home late or staying there. Because of this, Bianca didn’t see him much.
When Bianca got to her room, she picked up her phone and called Dave.