140
On the way back, I unexpectedly ran into someone I hadn't anticipated, Layla Scott.
Layla was equally surprised to see me.
"Kathie! What are you doing here?"
Then she seemed to think of something, and her eyes widened in even greater surprise.
"Could it be that you are Mrs. Wilson?"
I blinked and didn't answer directly.
Seeing that I didn't respond, Layla became more certain of her guess.
"I thought it was just a coincidence with the same name, but it's actually true! Oh my god, darling, do I have a powerful backer now?"
I felt a bit uncomfortable with Layla's enthusiasm.
We were college roommates and got along well back then, but after graduation, I never contacted her again, not even when my parents passed away, she didn't offer any condolences.
I nodded casually.
"Yes, just lucky. I have something to do, so I won't keep you from your work."
With that, I turned and left.
On the way back, my phone kept ringing, half of the messages were from Howard thanking me for bringing him lunch, and the other half were from Layla, mostly flattering me.
Looking at the messages, I felt a mix of emotions.
Back when I was down and out, she never showed up. Now that I've finally made some progress, she's eager to get close to me, which makes me very uncomfortable.
But out of consideration for our old friendship, I selectively replied to her a couple of times.
In the end, Layla invited me to dinner, scheduled for eight o'clock tomorrow night.
"If possible, you should bring your husband along!"
Layla didn't just want to invite me, she wanted to invite my husband too, which made me feel a bit annoyed, so I asked Felicity about Layla's situation.
"You mean her? She's an intern in the business department now. To be honest, her performance is quite average, and by the end of this month, she'll basically be let go."
I was a bit surprised. Layla is good-looking and sweet-talking. The business department handles various deals, and with her eloquence, how could she be at the bottom?
I voiced my doubts to Felicity and got a particularly disdainful response.
"You don't know, this Layla relies on her looks to bully other interns in the company. She thinks she can stand out just with her face, but our company's clients have always had a good reputation and look down on such behavior."
"She's been complained about many times in just a few months. Normally, she should have been fired long ago, but she managed to stay until now. I don't believe she can pass the end-of-month assessment!"
I could feel Felicity's indignation even through the screen. Using looks to seduce men to achieve certain goals is indeed despicable in the workplace, but Layla does have that advantage, and you can't stop her from using it.
I didn't take Layla's invitation to heart and didn't plan to bring Howard along. I was curious to see what Layla was up to.
The next evening, I informed Howard of my plans, put on light makeup, and headed to the restaurant.
When I arrived at the private room, Layla was already there waiting, with a pot-bellied man beside her. I recognized him as the manager of the business department.
Seeing me enter, Layla looked around.
"Kathie, where's Mr. Wilson?"
I smirked and put down my bag.
"My husband has something to do today, so he didn't come. What, you don't welcome me alone?"