Although there weren’t many cars on the road, they were still stopped at the intersection by a red light.
The car halted with the guidance of the GPS voice, and the atmosphere inside the car beca awkward by several degrees all of a sudden.
Flora Lane couldn’t help but twiddle her fingers, feeling uncomfortable all over.
"Did you not receive the ssage I sent you?" Lucian Quinn suddenly spoke, his tone carrying no accusation or reproach, as if he simply wanted to know why she hadn’t replied.
Flora was startled to hear his voice, hurriedly fished out her phone from her bag, and awkwardly smiled as she said, "...Oh, I just saw it now."
Lucian unceremoniously exposed her lie, saying, "There’s no new ssage notification on the screen, aning you already saw it just now."
Flora: "..."
Lucian: "Was it that you couldn’t decide how to reply or that you didn’t want to reply?"
Flora felt that whichever option she chose, it would dig her into a pit that Lucian could continue questioning.
So Flora replied, "...It’s not that, it was just that when you sent the ssage, I was discussing the late-night snack plan with them, and then you said in the afternoon that you had sothing to discuss with tonight, so I was undecided about my plans. I was intending to reply to you once we had our plans sorted... but then, chatting and chatting, I forgot."
After explaining, Flora felt that saying so much only made her seem more guilty.
As if afraid Lucian would ask further questions, Flora swiftly changed the topic, asking him next, "...So, boss, what was the matter you wanted to discuss with tonight?"
Lucian: "Let’s discuss it after dinner."
The green light turned on, and the car started again.
The late-night snack spot was a barbecue stall by the riverbank. On this street, the later it gets, the livelier it becos. At this mont, it was quite crowded.
Flora and Lucian arrived at the destination one after the other, and the others had already reserved a spot.
Because there were quite a few people, one table wasn’t enough, so square tables were joined together, n on one side and won on the other. Flora was quite familiar with Lynn, who had saved her a spot, so Flora naturally sat beside her.
The focus and conversation naturally centered on Lucian, being the rare guest, allowing Flora to catch her breath slightly, but she didn’t expect Lynn to lean over and whisper, "Hey, Flora, is there sothing going on between you and the boss?"
Flora’s back went stiff, and she blinked nervously, quickly saying, "How could that be? Lynn, don’t say that."
Lynn: "The boss personally drove you over. I was waiting for you with the car parked by the roadside just now and had saved you a spot in the car. But the boss told us to go ahead, saying he’d wait for you. Doesn’t that clearly show he thinks sothing of you?"
Flora forced a laugh and could only say, "...I have a bit of a friendly relationship with the boss, not what you’re thinking. You know Audrey is my friend, and our boss is a friend of the Third Young Master. Because of this connection, I’ve t the boss before, but we aren’t actually friends, just acquaintances, and not close."
Lynn looked at Flora with a completely disbelieving look: "Your sister Lynn has a keen eye—I see the boss dropping by our departnt every so often, just to check on you. Today, he even exceptionally ca out with us for a late-night snack. If there’s no motive, that’s absolutely impossible."
Flora hastily clarified, "Even if there’s a motive, it’s not about . With a table full of beauties, it’s not my turn."
Lynn smiled knowingly, picked up a bottle of wine, and poured it into Flora’s glass while saying, "We’ll see. When you get promoted and make a fortune, don’t forget about your sister Lynn."
Flora laughed and said, "I’m counting on you, Lynn, to help with that promotion and fortune."
Lucian, who usually seed reserved and laconic, was surprisingly approachable now, perfectly blending in with his employees.
The other girls at the table naturally wouldn’t miss this rare opportunity to have so fun with Lucian, seeing his good temperant.
One of the girls asked, "President Quinn, I have a question for you that I’m sure all the ladies here are curious about."
Lucian smiled lightly, nodded gently, and signaled for her to continue.
"President Quinn, do you have a girlfriend?"
The question drew excitent from everyone, with all eyes focused on Lucian, except for Flora, who didn’t dare look at him, fearing a gaze encounter.
Lucian’s voice was gentle, accompanied by the river breeze, reminiscent of the soothing tone of a midday radio host, with a hint of a smile, he replied, "Not yet."
Quickly, soone else asked, "So, President Quinn, do you have soone you like?"
Lucian paused, then smiled and nodded, "Yes, I do."
The girls initially expressed disappointnt but swiftly followed up with questions, "What kind of girl is she?"
"Haven’t confessed, or were you rejected?"
"Co on, with President Quinn being handso, smart, and successful, how could he possibly get rejected?"
"Then why did President Quinn say he doesn’t have a girlfriend but has soone he likes?"
Lucian patiently answered their questions, "She’s very pretty, smart, and successful too, so I’m actually quite afraid she might reject ."
Flora felt the description didn’t fit her since she didn’t consider herself successful; after all, she was still pretty broke. So she surreptitiously glanced at Lucian, only to catch his gaze. However, it was just a split-second interaction before he diverted his attention.
The gaze lasted so briefly that even Flora felt it might have been a fignt of her imagination, and naturally, none of the others at the table noticed it.
"Alright, alright, stop probing the boss’s private matters, or else he’ll never dare to join us for dinner again."
Afterwards, the n delved into work topics and the recent stock market trends, while the won indulged in gossip.
Flora ate a few skewers, drank two beers, and chatted with everyone until it was nearly midnight.
She got up and said to Lynn, "Lynn, I have to go now; I have an early class tomorrow."
"Want to drive you?"
Flora waved her hand, "No, no, my rented place is just across the bridge. I’ll just walk over, consider it a night stroll. Everyone, enjoy your al; I can’t join you for the whole evening."
A male colleague, known for his lively personality and love for jokes, stood up and said, "Flora, it’s too dangerous for a girl to walk ho alone at night. Let take you?"
Another guy beside him tugged at him, "Sit down, you. You’re the one who’s actually dangerous to Flora."
Flora slung her bag over her shoulder, smiling, "The lights are bright, lots of people on the bridge, no need to worry about . You all continue, see you tomorrow afternoon."
Lynn: "Alright, send a ssage when you get ho, okay?"
Flora nodded, and as she left, she quickly glanced at Lucian, fearing he might stand up and say, "I’m leaving too," which would be hard to explain.
But fortunately, Lucian didn’t follow, simply watching Flora leave.
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