Victor didn't like people who were slow, just like Sophia. Seeing her standing still, he directly lifted Sophia's long hair, scaring her into wanting to move away.
"Why are your ears so red?" Victor was surprised to see that not only were Sophia's ears red, but her face and neck were as well.
The store manager on the side chuckled and said, "She's probably just shy."
Victor couldn't help but look at Sophia a bit more. She was taken aback and quickly avoided Victor's intense gaze with her clear eyes. Victor thought to himself, 'She really is shy, but she looks kind of cute.'
His gaze softened a bit, although he himself didn't realize the change. After putting up Sophia's hair, he hung the ruby pendant around her neck. The chain was long, and the pendant hung directly on Sophia's fair chest. Victor noticed that her chest seemed quite large and furrowed his brow.
The store manager hadn't expected the chain to be like that and said, "Let me adjust the length of the chain."
Victor took off the pendant and handed it to the store manager.
While the store manager adjusted the chain, Sophia said to Victor in a low voice that she didn't like pendant, deliberately lowering it. However, the store manager still heard and said with a smile, "If you don't like the pendant, we can make it into a ring. This gemstone has excellent quality, comparable to a diamond. It would be even more beautiful as a ring."
Sophia's beautiful face creased, and she couldn't help but say, "Mr. Hastings and I just have a superior-subordinate relationship. It's not appropriate to give each other rings."
"Even if you have a superior-subordinate relationship, a ring can still be a gift. Nowadays, every girl has one or two accessories on her hand." The store manager smiled as he put the adjusted ruby pendant on Sophia and specially had a staff member bring out a ring that suited her skin tone to show to Victor. "Mr. Hastings, what do you think of this ring?"
Victor glanced lightly at the ring and, after taking it, ordered Sophia, "Extend your hand."
"Mr. Hastings, this is inappropriate. I don't want it." It felt strange to Sophia that a stranger would put a ring on her!
For Sophia, something as sacred and pure as a ring should not be tainted by other interests. She could only hold onto the pendant on her neck and say, "Just buy it. I don't want the ring."
Then, she walked ten feet away from Victor, distancing herself from the ring in his hand.
Victor was somewhat puzzled and thought, 'Since Sophia can be with Paul for money, she should be more proactive now. The prices of everything here are over a hundred thousand dollars. She could easily get a few things from me and then sell them for a lot of money.'
Victor had the store manager wrap up the pendant. After paying the bill, he handed the pendant to Sophia. She didn't want it, but after being coldly stared at by Victor, she could only reluctantly accept it.
Inside the packaging box was also a receipt. Out of curiosity, Sophia took it out and was shocked to see the amount. The pendant was worth two hundred ninety-nine thousand nine US dollars. Victor had actually bought it so easily!
This small gift box was so valuable that Sophia wanted to find a place to throw it away!
"Wear it to work tomorrow," the clever Victor ordered suddenly, sensing Sophia's thoughts.
Sophia said, "Mr. Hastings, can I refuse?"
"No, you can't," Victor stopped and told her, "Zach won't give up easily. Since you have to pretend, pretend a little. Be my woman, no one has been as poor as you."
Sophia's delicate face stiffened slightly. "Can I assume you are humiliating me?"
"Yes," Victor didn't hesitate at all.
Sophia's already distressed face became even more distressed! She never thought of becoming Victor's woman. She just wanted to find Liam's heartless father and then leave Woerek!
She reluctantly accepted Victor's gift. "I will take good care of it and return it to you after everything is over."
Victor didn't say anything, his eyes filled with indifference. This amount of money meant nothing to him.
It was already late. Victor had no intention of going back to the company, so he asked Sophia to drive him home.
As soon as Sophia heard that she could go to Victor's house, her distressed face suddenly became excited, and her clear eyes became very bright. She exclaimed, "Now? Let's hurry then."
She quickened her pace towards the parking lot, even faster than Victor. Her sudden change made Victor suspicious, so he asked, "Why are you so happy? Is there something you want in my house?"
Sophia paused for a moment, shook her head, and explained, "No, I was just thinking it's almost the end of the workday, so I'm happy."
Seeing Victor's sharp gaze, Sophia felt uncomfortable all over. She quickly ran to Victor's side, sweetly smiling, "Mr. Hastings, your house is far from mine, and it's already dark..."
"It's only 7 o'clock. After you drop me off, you can walk home. It shouldn't be too late," Victor casually replied. He had already seen through Sophia's intentions.
Sophia's sweet smile froze on her face. After a few seconds, she snapped back and followed behind Victor, saying, "Mr. Hastings, it will take at least an hour to drive to your house. By then, if I walk to find a taxi, it will be very late. It's not safe for a girl to walk alone at night. If I encounter any danger on the way, it will be Mr. Hastings' responsibility. Can you bear to see me in such a situation immediately after using me?"
Victor, who had already walked ten feet away, stopped in his tracks. Sophia was so eager to catch up that she didn't even react and bumped into Victor's back. She winced in pain, covering her forehead and taking a few steps back.
Hearing Sophia's voice, Victor felt a fire in his chest. He asked coldly, "What do you want to say?"
Realizing that there might be a chance to negotiate, Sophia immediately dropped her hand from her forehead and smiled submissively. She said, "Mr. Hastings, it will be very late if I send you home. It's not safe for a girl like me to walk alone at night. Mr. Hastings, could you lend me a bed?"
"A bed?" Victor's eyes suddenly became sharper. "You just want to borrow a bed?"
Sophia didn't expect Victor to be so kind. She couldn't suppress the joy in her heart at the thought of seeing Liam soon, so she continued, "If you have any extra towels or toothbrushes at home, you can lend them to me too."
Victor laughed. His hearty laughter was pleasant to hear.
Sophia didn't understand what Victor meant and asked with wide eyes, "Is it not allowed?"
Victor didn't know whether to laugh at her innocence or her foolishness. He chuckled meaningfully and said, "Sure. But you have to tell me first, what do you want to do? Do you want to come to my house to brush your teeth, then undress and take a bath, and climb into my bed to please me or something?"
Sophia's delicate face froze for a moment, and she kept shaking her head, saying, "That's not what I mean."
"You don't mean that?" Victor sneered.
He thought, 'If a woman asks a grown man for such a thing at night, it means she wants to do it. I just gave Sophia a gemstone pendant, and she couldn't wait. It's really ridiculous.'