Booth turned and came face-to-face with Lillian, so close that his pupils actually shook a little before he recoiled in disgust. “What do you want?”
Though he couldn’t help but avoid looking at her for too long. Her neck was covered in a trail of hickeys-obviously from what she’d been up to the night before. He’d seen plenty of things at home, but this level of… visual evidence? That was new.
Lillian wasn’t phased by his reaction. “You want to start a film company? Give me 2 million dollars, and I’ll talk to Conrad for you.”
Booth sneered, “You? Really?”
Even when he’d used Evelyn as an excuse, it didn’t work. And now this shameless gold digger thought she could do better?
Lillian raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it’s gotta be me. Men will agree to a lot of things in the bed…”
She shot him a look. “Unless… you’re still a virgin?”
Booth practically jumped. “You don’t know anything! I’ve got women all over!”
“Wow, lots of women, huh?” She chuckled, pretending to back off. “Guess you don’t need my help, then.”
Booth clenched his teeth. “I don’t, and don’t even think about trying to seduce me.”
She’d been about to leave, but turned back, leaning in to look him up and down.
Booth’s face went red. “Wh-what are you doing?!”
Lillian scoffed. “Please, I’m not interested in a kid like you who hasn’t even hit puberty yet. I don’t even want Conrad, so there’s no way I’d want you.”
“And if the cash in your pockets matched your ego, maybe then you’d be worth something.” She tossed her hair and, spotting Conrad still on the phone, slammed the car door shut.
Booth angrily kicked his own car-only to regret it immediately, bending down to polish the dented spot on his precious limited-edition ride.
Stupid Lillian. She was such a witch.
“Where did you go?” Conrad asked after ending his call.
“Just grabbed a toy ball for Ada.”
He nodded. “Go change; we’ve got a business meeting today.”
Lillian had accompanied him to business meetings plenty of times before, but now she was in this odd “employee” role, which felt a little strange.
When they got to the office, Conrad’s client was already there. Lillian had nothing much to do, so she used the time to call the hospital.
“Miss Lillian, your grandmother’s stable today. A Mr. Frank came by earlier, asking about you.”
“Alright… thanks.”
When she got back to her desk, everyone was staring at her.
“What?” she asked.
One of the other interns in the CEO’s office looked at her with a mix of awe and amusement. “Lillian, your suitor is waiting downstairs, and you’re up here, calm as can be. Were you on the phone with him just now?”
Lillian raised an eyebrow. “Suitor?”
“And not just any suitor… it’s Mr. Martin from the White family…”
Surprised, she walked over to the window and looked down. Sure enough, Martin was parked outside in his red sports car, the back seat overflowing with red roses, even trailing a floral garland behind it. Two huge pink heart balloons held a banner with her name written on it.
Lillian felt a wave of panic.
What was Martin up to?
She’d turned him down so many times, and he’d only backed off when he went abroad. Now, after all these years, he was back for round two.
Thanks to the loud, over-the-top display outside, everyone at the Brown Family Group now knew there was an employee named Lillian.
Alice stood beside her, sneering. “Nice move, Lillian. Couldn’t marry into the Brown family, so now you’re switching to the White family? But let me tell you, Mrs. White doesn’t tolerate any nonsense. If you keep this up, she’ll tear you to pieces. Trying to gain something and ending up with nothing-you’ll see just how ugly this ends for you.”
Lillian never held back in an argument, especially since she’d already fallen out with Alice ages ago. “Instead of getting all jealous, you might want to think about why, even after I handed you the perfect chance, you still couldn’t keep Conrad. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even need to be here asking him for favors. I’d have all the time in the world to string him along.”
Lillian wasn’t dumb. She knew exactly who had sent her that news about Conrad’s engagement. Ever since her family went bankrupt, there were very few people who even had her personal number. Alice was the only one who’d betray Conrad like that, making sure that news landed right in her lap.
“The perfect chance?” Alice almost choked; Lillian had just voiced her greatest humiliation.
With all the colleagues subtly watching, Alice didn’t dare to cause a scene-anyone finding out how she went from being Conrad’s assistant to a sidelined nobody would be too embarrassed. Without the support of her family, she wouldn’t last a day in the CEO’s office. The second someone’s pushed out, there’s always a line waiting to take their place.
“You did this on purpose,” Alice hissed. “You knew Conrad only wanted you, and you told me to lay on the bed just to get me thrown aside, didn’t you?”
Lillian rolled her eyes. “If that’s what you want to believe, go ahead. After all, it’s your brain that’s not working well. But honestly, if you couldn’t even keep him in a room alone, that’s on you. It’s not like Conrad’s exactly some chaste monk.”
She meant, of course, that he wasn’t all that hard to catch.
Alice was shaking with anger, her gaze fixed on the window. “Don’t get too full of yourself, Lillian. He’s only interested in you for now, but once he gets bored, it’ll be over. Just a body-three years, tops, and he’ll toss you aside. When you’re no longer young and pretty, you’ll be worse off than me.”
“Did you really think I needed you to tell me that? Conrad and I have always been in it for what we can each get.”
It’s not like he actually loved her.
Just then, Lillian sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere. Turning stiffly, she found Conrad standing just a few steps away, watching her. With him this close, he must’ve heard every word she’d said.
Expressionless, he fixed his gaze on her. “I pay you to stand here and chat? To flirt?”
“Sorry, Mr. Conrad.”
He spun on his heel and walked off, and judging by his look, he was definitely mad.
The whole office felt the tension. After seeing Conrad smile just yesterday, it seemed like they were in for a storm today.
Ford gave Lillian a meaningful look, subtly urging her to go after him.
Honestly, if she didn’t feel like her neck was on the line, she’d rather not walk into the lion’s den. But with no other choice, she had to march into the fire.
Inside his office, the guest he’d been meeting with had already left at some point. Outside, Martin was still stubbornly waiting, refusing to give up.
Conrad stood by the window, tall and imposing, his back to her.
She knew he was watching the little fool down there who had no idea what he was up against.
Lillian knew he was watching that reckless man downstairs.
She walked up to the door, and the next second, the coffee in her hand was thrown to the floor as Conrad yanked her into his arms and pinned her against the window.
She struggled, but couldn’t resist his strength.