Chapter 6

Whitney froze for a moment, but she made no move to push Jude away.

"Ms. Lovell, when are you going to break up with Neil? I can't wait to be with you. Do you know how much it hurts to see you with him every day? Do you still like Neil more than me?" Jude asked in a hurt tone.

Whitney parted her lips as if she wanted to say something.

In the end, she wrapped her arms around Jude and gently patted his back, as if she were comforting a child.

"How could Neil ever compare to you? It's just that the company has grown so much. If I break up with him and get together with you, people might start talking. That could hurt your reputation.

"Just wait a little longer. It won't be too long."

"I see. I knew you loved me most, Ms. Lovell."

I was speechless.

The two of them held each other close, looking just like a couple.

I scoffed and looked away.

After I returned to the private room, Dylan and I had a few more drinks and talked about old times. We didn't leave until the early hours of the morning.

As we entered the underground parking garage, Dylan suddenly led me over to a fully loaded Porsche and asked if I liked it.

Not knowing what he meant, I nodded.

I thought he had just bought it. I was about to compliment the car when he suddenly shoved a set of car keys into my hand.

"It's yours." He winked at me. "Your old car is in terrible shape. I've wanted to see it gone for ages, so I'm getting you a new one."

I was about to refuse, but he seemed to know what I was going to say.

Dylan went on, "I heard Whitney bought a car for the new guy at her company. If someone with such poor skills can drive a luxury car, you should have one too.

"Speaking of which, I've seen the work Jude produces. The style is different every time. He's clearly copying other people. I don't know how he managed to keep this job."

Maybe it was the alcohol, but Dylan didn't hold back. He kept complaining about Jude.

I stayed silent.

Dylan was right. I had worked on those projects with the other members of my team.

Almost every time, Whitney had us hand the work over to Jude just before it was finished. That was why Jude's work never had a consistent style.

Even Dylan, who didn't work at Whitney's company, could see what was going on.

Yet Whitney was blind to it.

I tried to refuse the car again, but Dylan pretended to be annoyed. "I'm not giving it to you for free. I'll deduct the cost from your future paychecks. Don't make my kindness go to waste."

I couldn't help but laugh.

At this rate, if he really deducted the cost of the car from my salary, it would take at least several years to pay it off.

I knew Dylan was just making an excuse, so I didn't refuse again. I thanked him.

After chatting with him a little longer, we each arranged for someone to drive us home.

I assumed Whitney wouldn't be home yet. But when I opened the door, I found her sitting on the living room couch.

"Where have you been? Didn't we agree to meet? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?"

As soon as I walked in, Whitney demanded an answer.

I was a little surprised. She usually didn't come home until three or four in the morning when she went out with Jude.

It was extremely rare for her to come home this early.

Then the image of her wrapped in Jude's arms at the restaurant suddenly flashed through my mind again. I felt sick.

"I went out for dinner with a friend," I said calmly. Then I walked into the living room and took the authorization letter out of my bag.

After I took a few steps, Whitney stopped me and frowned. "You drank? Didn't I tell you not to drink when I'm not around?"

I couldn't help but scoff.

What she meant was that I was only allowed to drink when I was accompanying her at business dinners.

I said nothing.

Then Whitney seemed to realize something. She suddenly smiled, looking rather pleased with herself.

"You're still upset because I went out with Jude, aren't you? If you didn't want me to have dinner alone with him, you should have said so. Did you really have to drink this much?"

"You're reading too much into it. My drinking had nothing to do with either of you."

I steadied myself against a chair and sat down. Then I handed her the authorization letter for the sale of the apartment.

"Take a look."