Leonardo stared long and hard at her, not letting the slightest expression escape his scrutiny. As he did so, Summer also did the same to him. Two pairs of eyes met in a silent staring match.
In the end, it was Summer who looked away first. “Douglas” was Leonardo? It was ridiculous to even think about it.
Leonardo continued to observe her as her expressions changed, knowing that what he told her was really out of the blue. He looked away, taking a sip of water before slowly saying, “If I told you no, would you believe me?”
Sensing the facetiousness in his voice, Summer breathed a sigh of relief. “Of course, I wouldn’t. Do you think I’m that easily fooled?”
“Not at all,” Leonardo said. He never thought that she was easily fooled. Instead, he thought that she was a fool.
After dinner, Summer was back in her room, her mind still thinking about what “Douglas” said earlier. She had only known him for a brief period, but his arrogance was plain to see.
He was not someone who could be manipulated into marrying someone he did not love. It did not matter whether it was her or Vicky, he could find out who they were and their past.
Back then, she was ugly and dumb while Vicky was leading a promiscuous life. Neither of them was a good match for him. If “Douglas” was Leonardo, why did he force himself into marrying her or Vicky? Besides, Leonardo was physically disfigured, and his cold attitude toward Summer made the whole thing look more convincing.
With that in mind, Summer calmed down. She took her clothes and went into the bathroom. When she got out of the shower, her phone rang. She picked up without even looking at the screen.
“You skipped work today?”
Lynn’s voice stunned her. Turning on the phone’s speaker and placing it on the bed, Summer dried her hair while she said, “It looks like you’ve just found out that I skipped work. I went home right after I left the office this morning. Dad, you really need to keep your finger on the pulse.”
The man, whom she went out to do a marketing survey with this morning must have been an avenger sent by Stone.
Otherwise, Vicky would have pounced on the first opportunity to tell Lynn about it. Nonetheless, it was possible that Vicky was involved in the plan. Perhaps she just learned that the man had failed and told Lynn about it. Vicky would definitely not want to miss an opportunity to cause her trouble.
Summer had not forgotten what Vicky did to her in the Violet Gold Club the last time. When she was in Lynn’s office, she had purposely told Lynn that Vicky had gone to the Violet Gold Club again.
That way, she could find out if Vicky was really there that day. Although no one else except Vicky was the mastermind behind the trap, she wanted solid confirmation.
At first, Lynn had no idea what happened to Summer during the day, but her arrogance pissed him off big time.
He roared over the phone, “Summer! Do you really think I can’t do anything to you just because you’ve married into the Emerson family?”
“Of course, you can. Any time, it’s up to you.”
Lynn had never given her any attention since she was little-except when he wanted to make use of her.
Since Lynn could not find the words to respond, he stammered, “Fi-Fi-Fine! Come to my office on Monday!” After he said that, he slammed the phone and hung up.
Vicky handed him a glass of water. “Dad, what did Summer say to make you so angry?”
“She thinks that no one can rein her in. She’s become haughty now!” Lynn blew a gasket and banged his hand on the table.
Vicky patted him on the chest, trying to calm him down. “Daddy, Summer has gone overboard this time. You’ve been so nice to her, but she’s so disrespectful to you. I think you should teach her a lesson.”
Lynn thought for a moment, then nodded.
…
Summer knew that the matter was not over when Lynn told her to meet him on Monday. Since she had the guts to work in the Jarrett Group, there was no reason for her to be scared anymore.
Jessica was out of town, shooting a movie, and Summer had few friends in Hoover City. So, she stayed home, watching dramas and writing screenplays. She knew that she was not going to stay in the Jarrett Group for long and she had to sharpen her skills in her profession.
“Douglas” had been busy for the past two days, and he was rarely at home, even on Saturday. But to Summer, that was a good thing-less trouble for her, at least.
On Monday morning, she made breakfast for two. She had heard a car pulling into the garage last night around 12. 00 am, so she thought it had to be “Douglas”.
When she took her breakfast to the dining hall, “Douglas” was already sitting at the dining table in a perfectly pressed suit. It was their first time meeting after that dinner on Friday. Summer thought that he was probably still not too happy about what she said the other day. Carrying her breakfast, she sat down and glanced at him.
“Get yourself breakfast from the kitchen.”
Leonardo said nothing. His eyes were fixated on her breakfast, which was porridge and egg cakes.
Summer sensed his stare, and she had a feeling that he was after her breakfast. So, she took a bite of the egg cake to mark her “territory”. Then she realized how naive her reaction was.
However, what “Douglas” did next was even more naive. He got to his feet, and taking advantage of his long hands, he took her breakfast for himself. Not only that, but he also took a bite of the egg cake she had chomped on as a show of force.
“You… You’re shameless!” Summer was smitten. She had never been so close and intimate with a man before as far as sharing food was concerned.
Leonardo put down his chopsticks, then looked at her with a calm and serious expression. “I didn’t molest you. Why are you scolding me?”
Summer did not know how to respond. She got to her feet, got the other set of breakfast, and wolfed it down in the kitchen before she came back out.
As she emerged from the kitchen, Leonardo glanced at her in surprise.
She picked up her pace and left the dining hall. Leonardo looked on as she disappeared from his sight, a smile forming on his lips. Sometimes, it was good that she did not know he was Leonardo. At least, it was fun.
Despite how busy he was, Leonardo was still concerned about what happened last Friday when Summer came back early.
Like the Evil Queen to Snow White, Vicky would somehow find a way to get to Summer. He was not going to intervene unless it was necessary. For the time being, he enjoyed watching Summer and the Evil Queen in a battle of wits.
Yet, somehow, his actions contradicted his thoughts. As though it was a reflexive reaction, he got to his feet and headed out.