Actually, I knew it was just like when he promised me countless times that he wouldn’t let Lila sit in the front passenger seat. His words about not seeing Lila again were just empty promises, completely unreliable.
Lila’s face broke as she called out to him, “Laurence, did I make Kiki misunderstand?”
“Sorry.”
I couldn’t stand her retreat-to-advance tactic anymore. Being entangled in this kind of relationship was utterly exhausting. I decided to completely remove them from my life.
I made an excuse about needing to discuss business and left the company.
Laurence glanced at Lila but still chased after me.
I ignored him and hailed a cab directly.
In the days that followed, I deliberately avoided Laurence. Whenever he came to my company, I would go out on business trips, ensuring we never met.
Since focusing all my energy on work, I realized how foolish I had been before. Love was not a necessity in life; there was no need to be so anxious and desperate over unattainable affection.
Work, on the other hand, never disappointed me. The more effort I put in, the more rewards I received.
This month, my performance ranked first in the team, and I earned the highest bonus. Even my boss started to see me differently and promised that if I could secure this big deal, I would get a promotion and a raise.
The boss valued this big deal highly and accompanied me to the meeting.
In fact, he didn’t need to be so nervous; the person we were meeting was my childhood friend George.
However, the boss said he had received insider information that someone else had stepped in, trying to snatch the deal away.
When we arrived at the private room, we were surprised to see Laurence there.
George stood up and introduced us, “Mr. Wilson, Kiki, this is Mr. Shen. Our boss introduced him. Today is our first meeting; let’s discuss which conditions are more suitable for cooperation.”
I was stunned for a moment. The person trying to snatch the deal was Laurence.
The boss reacted quickly and smiled, “Old friends. Our company has many business collaborations with Mr. Shen. No matter who secures this order, it’s all the same.”
During the discussion, Laurence barely spoke, only watching coldly as George and I discussed cooperation directions.
George and I got along well and even envisioned the future success of our collaboration. We laughed several times during our conversation.
Laurence’s face grew darker and darker.
After drinking a bit too much, I excused myself to George and my boss and went to the restroom.
I can handle alcohol fairly well but tend to blush when drinking due to an allergic reaction. My face was burning now as I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on it to cool down.
“Is he your childhood friend?” Laurence’s displeased voice came from behind me. “So excited you need cold water to cool down?”
I grabbed a paper towel to dry my face and turned to see him leaning against the hallway wall, his stern face half-hidden in dim light.
Not wanting to get entangled with him, I tried to walk past him back to the private room.
He grabbed my arm and forcefully pinned me against the hallway corner wall with an unreadable expression in his eyes.
“I’ve given you plenty of business opportunities for your performance,” he said coldly. “And you don’t want them? Just so you can chat happily with your childhood friend?”
I looked at him until he calmed down before speaking calmly, “We broke up already. We have no relationship anymore. Who I chat happily with or who I’m close with has nothing to do with you.”