The suspicious look on Summer got deeper.
“What’s up?”
However, she knew it was the right place to talk, pulling “Douglas” to get outside. His tall build meant he had long legs; he only had to walk one step while she made two. This gave him an unflurried bearing.
“Is there anything you are looking for me?” Out of the building, she asked again. She knew “Douglas” would not come without a good reason.
“Douglas” did not answer her right away. He was measuring her.
She had cried before. Although it left little signs showing so, Leonardo could still make out her slightly swollen eyes and abnormal red in her eyes. Had she cried? He squinted; he could not imagine how he could link crying with Summer. What was more, she was in Jarrett Group; she would not have cried in front of Lynn. Or had she? The thought just took Leonardo a few seconds before he said, “I was passing by. You buy me lunch.”
He should deserve a good smack for his sense of entitlement, she thought to himself. But “Douglas” had saved her. So long as his requests were not too outrageous, she would try to fulfill them.
Summer brought him to a restaurant fairly distant from her office. Here, the chances of bumping into her coworkers would be low, less trouble for her.
They found a table and sat down. “Douglas” had said nothing, but she could feel he did not like this place. It was easy to understand why. He was a wealthy young master, his usual dining places were in spots like the Golden Cauldron, where he almost treated it as his private kitchen. But it was he who asked her to treat him for lunch. Even at a place like this, it would cost a few hundred dollars for a simple lunch for two, which was expensive for her standard.
Upon thinking of this, she could not help but reach for her wallet, reluctance written on her face. Leonardo had noticed that the corners of his lips curling up. He knew how poor she was. But he could not help himself. He just enjoyed bullying her. It was fun.
When the waiter came to take their orders, Summer pushed the menu across the table in front of “Douglas”. “You first.”
He opened the menu, helping himself order three dishes, which Summer knew were signature dishes, and they were expensive. He flipped to the through the menu, ordering a soup, only then he looked up Summer, face grave. “Did I order too many dishes?”
“Not at all…” Summer shook her head. She still remembered the last time they were dining at the Golden Cauldron. There were four or five of them and a tableful of food that looked like it was enough to feed a village.
“Then I will order one or two more.”
Summer looked at him, struck dumb. He looked at the menu for a while, frowning. He said, “I think that’s all about it.” And he passed the menu back to Summer.
Summer’s life had been very simple; three dishes and a soup were perfectly fine for two. But thinking it was the young master, “Douglas” she was talking about, she ordered two more dishes and a dessert. She did not want to slight him. That done, she got to her feet and went to the washroom.
As Summer disappeared before his field of vision, Leonardo asked for the waiter, waving his card. “Bill, please.”
…
When Summer came back out from the washroom, she saw Vicky, whose back was to her, walking toward the entrance. She slowed down, deliberately keeping a distance behind Vicky; she did not want Vicky to see her dining with “Douglas” and create more trouble for herself. But it seemed Vicky was going in the same direction as she was. She had to slow down even further until Vicky went into a private room.
She walked past the private, slowing down. She could hear voices inside as the sound insulation of the private dining room was not great. It seemed there was a quarrel. Vicky was heard shouting, despite it sounding somewhat muted on the outside.
“You mustn’t return the Black Card to her!”
“No… Jarrett Group… What do you want…”
Lynn’s voice was less perceptible. She could not make out what he was saying. So were the father and daughter quarreling over the Black Card? From the moment of the toxic factory exposure until now, it was less than 24 hours, but she had heard Lynn and Vicky arguing twice.
Lynn loved Vicky to the point of spoiling her. Now with Jarrett Group facing a crisis, not only did Vicky not help him defuse the crisis, she was kissing up a fuss for her self-interest. If Vicky could treat Lynn like this, how heartless could she treat Karen more?
Summer already had a hard time sorting out herself; she did not want to bring herself worrying about Karen. It did not matter anymore how Vicky would treat Karen; it was Karen’s own choice. Karen did not even feel the slightest touched when she traded the Black Card for her. She instead tried to brown-nose her so she could make use of her more…
Summer took a deep breath, calming herself down and coming back to her table. The food had been served, but “Douglas” had touched nothing yet, seemingly fidgeting with his phone. He looked up as Summer came back, eyes stopping on her face a second. He put down his phone.
“I was thinking of calling Tim.”
“What for?” Summer was puzzled.
“Ask him to bring men here to fish you out of the toilet.”
OK, she knew her toilet trip had taken over 20 minutes. She did not talk back. Perhaps “Douglas” was feeling bored; he did not say another word again, just nibbling the food, but not much. When they finished, Summer asked for the bill. The waiter came up and handed her a card.
“Your husband has taken care of it. The amount is six hundred eighty.”
“My husband?”
Not knowing that the waiter was referring to “Douglas”, Summer thought it was Leonardo. She turned to look at “Douglas”.
“Your cousin is having lunch here too?”
“Douglas’s” expressionless face darkened. He shot her a cold glance before striding out of the restaurant as if in a hurry. If he did not leave now, he was afraid he was going to give Summer the good news.
The waiter realized he had made a blunder, quickly explaining, “I’m sorry for the messing up. I meant it was that earlier gentleman.”
Summer was transfixed for a second. She took the card and followed him out of the restaurant. “Douglas” had not gone far. By the time she caught up with him, he was answering a call.