Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Perhaps they were too invested in the conversation, but Margaret and Colin lost track of time. In the blink of an eye, lunchbreak was almost over. If Margaret hadn’t inadvertently seen the annoyance on Delilah’s face and her eyes darting away from time to time, she would’ve talked- with Colin until work let off.
Meeting one’s match was the most pleasant thing.
Margaret smiled and changed the topic. “Look at me. I didn’t pay attention to the time. Today’s the first day of our group’s establishment, so I’d like to treat you all to lunch. I hope that this investigation will go smoothly.” Then Margaret stood up and walked out.
“How can I let Margaret spend money? Let me treat you guys instead.” A smile appeared on Delilah’s face. She was obviously satisfied with Margaret’s move.
Margaret didn’t take Delilah’s words seriously, but she still replied respectfully, “You just started working. How much could you have? Let me, this time.”
Delilah looked embarrassed and said, “Thank you then, Margaret.” All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.
Colin followed them and looked at Delilah’s back. He thought, “Hypocritical. If it weren’t for Raymond’s ties, Delilah wouldn’t even be able to pass the internship. Everyone knows that her draft was ghostwritten. It’s only that everyone chose to keep silent for the sake of their careers.”
After entering society, “relationship” also became a kind of ability. Delilah had a good uncle, Raymond. They were all earning a living under him, so they had to accept some unspoken rules.
“You’re too kind,” Colin complimented..
Margaret chose a steakhouse near the news agency. Even though it was past lunchtime, there were still many people in the restaurant. Margaret thought that this restaurant should be good. After sitting down and seeing the prices on the menu, Margaret was very certain that it was a great place.
After everyone sat down, Margaret was too embarrassed to leave again. She could only pretend to be calm and act like this place wouldn’t hurt her pocket. She said generously, “Everyone, please, see what you like, and feel free to order anything.”
Delilah didn’t know how to be courteous, so the dishes she ordered were all expensive. Now Margaret’s heart ached more than her pocket did. After this meal, she’d probably be scrimping for a week.
Colin ordered a few reasonably priced things and looked at Margaret with sympathy.
When they would get to know each other more in the future, Margaret would find that Delilah was very much like how she was named. She really used the ‘delicate‘ meaning of her name to the extreme.
When Colin first heard Delilah’s name among the collaborators, he wanted to break the folder. Colin understood what Raymond was thinking, but he had mixed too many personal feelings in his work. Colin hoped that this investigation wouldn’t be screwed up by Delilah.
Otherwise, Raymond would not only lose a very well–written report but also the position of chief editor.
“Margaret, do you come here often?” Delilah asked casually as if she were talking about something very common with a new colleague.
However, Margaret was even more uncomfortable. Delilah’s words very obviously pried into her privacy, so Margaret disliked them. How often she came to this restaurant seemed unrelated to Delilah.
“No. It’s my first time here.” Margaret was an honest person but not many wanted to hear truthful words.
The enthusiasm on Delilah’s face disappeared, and Margaret could roughly guess what she thought. Margaret analyzed internally, ‘Delilah must think I’m rich and worthy of flattery. It was probably pretty embarrassing that I destroyed her hope of that by answering her question.
“I’m worried something unpleasant will happen when I work with Delilah. She has almost all the flaws I hate. The only good thing she brings to the table is probably being an additional person to complain about together with Luciana at night‘
“The food here is good. I’ve been here twice before.” Seeing how the atmosphere was becoming a little strange, Colin didn’t want the relationship between Margaret and Delilah to begin turning sour so early. No matter how he looked at it, it wouldn’t benefit Margaret in any
way.
“In that case, I’m excited to try it later.” Margaret understood Colin’s kindness. Although she was unwilling to, she still played along.
Delilah didn’t join in their conversation. She simply drank her warm coffee and looked around.
Two men just sat at the dining table not far away. One of them was extraordinarily handsome and Delilah’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him. When he stole a casual glance, she even deliberately adjusted her hair for fear that the stray hairs would affect his impression of her.
Ethan didn’t expect to meet Margaret when he was having dinner with his friends, but the whole time, she was focused on chatting and didn’t notice him coming in at all.
Margaret looked charming when she was serious. Although he approached her with a purpose, he had to admit that Margaret was like an interesting game of chess. After only one interaction, Ethan was already incredibly interested in her.
Ethan’s friend had originally booked a private room, but he chose to sit in the public area. He thought that he’d also try out the life of a regular civilian person for Margaret.
His friend asked curiously, “Ethan, which girl are you looking at?” He and Ethan grew up together. If he couldn’t see that Ethan was acting differently because of a woman, he’d probably feel very ashamed.
“An interesting woman.” Ethan smiled subconsciously.
many years that Ethan had
As soon as Ethan’s friend, Frederick Zanders, saw this, he instantly became interested. It was the first time in so many y such an expression on his face because of a woman other than Roxanne.
Frederick thought, ‘Every woman in the world is better than Roxanne. At first glance, I already knew she was a pretentious bitch. I truly don’t understand why Ethan likes her! Then, he said, “Okay, as long as you’re happy.”
Delilah found that the handsome man who just walked in would look at their table from time to time. She was overjoyed. That handsome man must also be interested in me! Otherwise, he wouldn’t keep looking over here, she thought.
Delilah waited wholeheartedly for the handsome man to come over and ask for her WhatsApp number, but she didn’t expect that he’d walk over and look for someone other than her.
Margaret didn’t pay attention to the movement behind her. Even if there were footsteps, it was a normal thing in restaurants so Margaret wouldn’t be curious and look back anyway.
Until Ethan stood beside her and whispered, “What a coincidence.” Only then did Margaret look up at him.
A surprised smile appeared on Margaret’s face. She replied enthusiastically, “This is our third chance encounter, right?”
18:10 Mon, 1 Jul
“So, it looks like we’re fated. Why don’t we meet up someday for a meal together to talk about this fate of ours?” Ethan was rather straightforward and didn’t beat about the bush with Margaret.
Under Delilah’s jealous gaze, Margaret nodded and agreed, “Sure.”
“Then, I’ll go back to have lunch with my friends. Talk to you later.” After saying that, Ethan politely nodded to Colin and Delilah and then left without looking back.
Ethan was really serious when he wanted to pretend to be. Frederick looked at him and felt that he’d fallen into a pool of ice. Ethan’s presence now would make anyone nervous.
Delilah couldn’t wait for Ethan to return to his seat. She wasn’t afraid that Ethan would hear her and asked Margaret directly, “Margaret, is he your friend? He’s so handsome! What does he do?” Delilah’s eyes were full of hearts. She was clearly interested in him.
“Well, we’re not exactly friends. I don’t know much about him, but we just know each other.” Margaret was honest. What she said was true, but Delilah didn’t think so.
Delilah thought Margaret was just being pretentious. She thought that Margaret wanted to have such a great man like Ethan all to herself.
Since Margaret was unwilling to help her, she could find a way to help herself.
“All the dishes are served. Let’s eat.” Colin n called to them. The atmosphere was rather odd and he didn’t want to witness Margaret and Delilah fighting and pulling at each other’s hair.
Colin hoped that Delilah could quickly understand what Raymond had done for her and not cause any trouble in the next month.
The food filled their mouths. Delilah finally stopped her questions, and Margaret was finally happy and relaxed. Now that Margaret knew she was destined to spend a lot of money on this meal, she chose to let herself enjoy it to the fullest.
When the attendant was settling their payment, Margaret almost put on a look of pained heroic sacrifice and went to get her wallet, but he told her that someone had already paid for her.
low is that
“How is that possible?” Margaret asked in disbelief, thinking that the attendant had made a mistake.
“It was settled by the man sitting over there just now.” The waiter pointed to the seat where Ethan had sat.
Margaret turned around and found that the seat was already empty. She frowned, not liking Ethan’s behavior. She thought, “I must quickly find a time and chance to pay Ethan back!
www
Delilah didn’t see Margaret’s dissatisfaction. Instead, she was immersed in the joy of discovering something new and amazing. At first, Delilah was just attracted by Ethan’s outstanding appearance. However, she didn’t expect that be was also a rich man. He paid for such an expensive meal without even thinking about it. Delilah felt like she couldn’t let go of this blue chip.”
It was extremely rare for such a thing to occur. The first thing Margaret did when she returned to her office was not work but open WhatsApp. She started the chat with Ethan.
[Did you just pay the bill for me?) Margaret was almost certain about the answer to this question, but she had to make sure again. It would be embarrassing if she got the wrong person.
[Yeah, I was paying my bill anyway so I thought, you know, might as well.] Ethan had expected this message from her. Since he left the steakhouse, his hands and eyes never left his phone. It was as if he were waiting for his lover’s message.
18:10 Mon, 1 Jul
Frederick couldn’t bear to see how stupid Ethan looked anymore. He just left him behind, but Ethan could still keep staring at the phone and enjoy himself.
In the past hour, Ethan also found Margaret’s account on Twitter and followed it secretly.
Before Margaret’s message arrived, Ethan looked at her tweets one by one. She didn’t tweet much, and her tweets rarely touched on her life. or emotions. Each tweet only consisted of a few scenic photos. Only then did Ethan know that Margaret had actually traveled to so many places. She’d traveled to the desert, lake, and snowfield. She’d left her footprints halfway around the world.
At that moment, Ethan suddenly felt like it was a pity. If it weren’t for the relationship between Roxanne and Gideon, he and Margaret might
have a chance to become good friends.