Chapter 328 Taking Another Man to My Turf and Using My Card
"If it were Thalia who got kidnapped today, would you still be able to leisurely finish your breakfast upstairs before dealing with it?" Angelina walked in with documents and threw a couple of jabs at William.
The man didn't even look up. "She wouldn't let anyone control her."
Angelina rolled her eyes. "Documents. The Lowe Group's finances are problematic. Their statements are fake - our numbers don't match up."
"This is huge. The finance department is waiting for your response."
...
"The variety show has started editing. Here's the sample footage, take a look." Layla handed her the materials. Thalia curled up on the couch in her office with the iPad.
"What's this supposed to mean?"
Thalia looked at the clips, staring at the painting on the iPad that Layla was pointing to. "Saying I'm showing off my wealth?"
"Isn't that exactly what you're doing? Show off all you want - that's always been your persona anyway."
Thalia shrugged indifferently.
"Gregory finishes recording this episode, and his work here is done. He'll probably leave in the next couple of days."
"So soon?" She still had some things she hadn't figured out yet, and he was leaving already?
"Can't bear to see him go?" Layla asked, seeing Thalia bristle like an angry cat.
Thalia nodded. "A little."
She felt the situation between the Jimenez family and William wasn't as simple as it seemed. While Gregory was still here, she needed to get to the bottom of it.
Seeing Thalia pull out her phone to message Gregory, Layla warned, "Be careful or William will kill you."
"It's just dinner. I'm not cheating."
Gregory was packing to leave when he got Thalia's call.
He was a bit surprised - he hadn't expected Thalia to invite him to dinner.
"Well, you're leaving, right?"
"It's rare to meet someone in the entertainment industry I click with. Shouldn't we get together?"
"Tonight then?"
"Sure." Thalia agreed immediately.
What Emerald City didn't lack was luxury restaurants and highly private clubs. This time, Thalia picked a great spot - a private floating restaurant she'd been to with William became her dinner venue with Gregory.
She had William to thank for opening her eyes to such places.
Gregory was amazed when he first saw the place. "Emerald City really is... full of hidden gems. How did you find this place?"
"A friend brought me here. I was blown away the first time too."
They took their seats, and the server handed them menus.
Gregory said outright it was his first time and he'd follow Thalia's lead.
"Same as last time."
The manager paused, wanting to say something, but held back.
First time seeing someone bring different men here and order the same thing!
"Heading back to Regal City?" Thalia asked.
"How'd you hear so fast?" Gregory smiled.
Thalia poured Gregory a cup of coffee. "I'm not that well-connected - Layla told me!"
"Between managers, the circles all overlap."
"You asked me to dinner because of William, right?" Though Gregory hadn't spent much time with Thalia, he'd figured out her habits - she didn't like socializing, didn't waste time on useless connections. They'd been filming together all this time, but had shared meals only a handful of times.
Suddenly asking him out to dinner when she heard he was leaving really wasn't Thalia's style.
"If I invited you to dinner for someone else's sake, would you come?"
"No, and I wouldn't want to. But I came anyway."
Thalia's heart skipped a beat. The adult world was full of unspoken understanding.
"Good thing you came. I just wanted to treat you to a meal." Thalia was self-aware - ask for too many favors and she'd be the one at a loss.
Emotional entanglements were far scarier than business ones.
The two emerged from the private estate and stood under the plane trees, waiting for the driver to bring the car around.
Thalia's gaze swept across the plane trees at the street corner opposite. In the distance, she saw someone lying on the ground struggling. Late summer, early autumn - not cold enough to freeze anyone, but inexplicably, she found herself walking over as if possessed.
"Raymond? What are you doing here?"
The person on the ground slowly lifted his eyelids. The light fell from above Thalia's head, flickering between bright and dim.
"Thalia! I thought I was seeing an angel."
"What happened to you?" Thalia glanced at the blood all over him and took a disgusted step back.
"Got beat up!"
"Ending up like this is just pathetic. Just go home!"
Why leave Regal City to come to Emerald City and get beaten up every day? What's the point?
"Can't face them!" Raymond held out his hand. "Help me up."
Thalia took another disgusted step back. Raymond's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
Just as he was about to lower it, a warm palm appeared before him.
Raymond's eyes swept over, and when he saw Gregory, he scoffed. "I'll just keep lying here. Don't trouble yourself."
Thalia raised an eyebrow. Drama to watch?
William said Regal City's relationships were deeply intertwined - seemed it was true.
Someone like Raymond actually had beef with Gregory?
Gregory withdrew his hand and looked at Thalia. "Let's go, the car's here."
"Oh!"
"We're not helping him?"
"Not helping. If he wants to fend for himself, that's his business."
"Get it straight - I don't want to fend for myself, I just won't accept your petty charity." Raymond scoffed at him. Gregory wasn't bothered.
"Let's go!"
Thalia asked, "You two have a grudge?"
Gregory shrugged indifferently. "I don't think so."
"So it's a one-sided grudge then!"
"Can you tell me about it?"
...
"You're back?" As soon as Thalia entered, William's chilly tone came through, making her pause mid-step.
"What's wrong? Did I upset you?"
The man set down his phone and looked at her seriously. "Taking another man to my place, using my card, eating my exclusive custom menu - shouldn't I be angry?"
Hearing this, Thalia's mouth twitched. No wonder when she told the server to bring the same meal as last time, they looked so troubled. Turns out it was William's exclusive menu.
"It was just a normal dinner. Nothing happened."
Thalia shuffled over to William in her slippers. "Aren't you curious what Gregory and I talked about tonight? What I found out?"
"Not curious."
"Why not? Aren't you curious about your real mom?"
"My mom is in the Brown family."
Harper? Thalia froze, her slender fingers resting on the edge of the couch. "You mean Harper? I've never heard you call her mom to her face!"