Chapter 237 Neglecting Mr. Brown
"Gregory called, are you taking it or not?"
Thalia glanced at the number above: "You take it."
"Thalia, when it comes to romance, you really haven't learned even one ten-thousandth of your dad's skills. That's not how you turn down a man. The more you act like this, the more interested he'll be. Gregory's the kind of guy who's seen all types of women. He's been in the industry all this time without any scandals, never showed interest in any female celebrity - you're the first."
"Should I feel honored?"
"Thalia, men usually have special feelings for their first love. Take Mr. Brown, for example - you dumped him, played with him, and he still married you," John, being the only man in the car, explained: "Men have a desire to conquer women they can't have."
Thalia: .........
Just then Layla answered the phone: "Gregory's asking if we can have dinner together."
"Ask him if he'll eat snake meat. If yes, we'll meet. If not, forget it."
Layla laughed in disbelief: "Do you believe that if you tell Gregory to eat snake meat today, his fans will show up at your door tomorrow ready to kill you?"
Knowing full well Gregory's afraid of snakes and still pushing him to eat snake meat - isn't that deliberate?
Back in the city around ten, everyone found a decent barbecue restaurant. Since they'd just finished recording the show, it was just a casual get-together, nothing fancy.
When Thalia walked in, she was surprised to see Gregory's manager - Remy Donovan.
Remy was heavyset, wearing a loose Chinese-style shirt, looking quite prosperous.
This was Thalia's second time seeing him. The first was on set.
As soon as Layla and the others entered, Remy rushed over warmly, shaking Layla's hand with enthusiastic greetings. Finally his eyes landed on Thalia. Before he could speak, his gesture came first: "Ms. Smith is bold! A real heroine among women."
"Facebook is blowing up over you catching that snake with your bare hands."
"The production team is thinking about inviting you to be a regular guest."
Thalia smiled awkwardly: "Just normal stuff."
Remy glanced at Gregory and couldn't help laughing: "This is normal?"
"Your 'normal' scared our Gregory half to death. If this is normal, wouldn't something abnormal scare people out of their souls?"
The group sat down and ordered food. To keep the conversation going, Remy initiated a topic: "Ms. Smith, why aren't you afraid of snakes? Don't most girls fear these things?"
"When I was in school, I liked this boy. He coldly rejected me. I knew he was afraid of snakes, so I'd catch these things and stuff them in his backpack," Thalia said while eating barbecue, completely ignoring the fear on Gregory's face.
Remy followed up on Thalia's story: "What happened after that?"
"After that, I told him to stay away from me."
"Afraid of even snakes - how could I like such a cowardly man?"
Layla: ....... That's harsh.
Acting like Gregory can't understand, huh?
Remy picked up his glass and silently took a sip of beer. Gregory remained speechless the whole time.
Layla enjoyed the show.
Thalia kept going on about stuffing snakes, lizards, and frogs in people's backpacks.
Meanwhile, William returned to Maple Grove Villas. When Fallon told him Thalia hadn't come back yet, William took out his phone and dialed while heading upstairs.
The ringtone just started when Thalia quickly hung up.
William paused on the stairs, his brow furrowing slightly. What did that mean?
Just as William was about to call back, a Messenger notification came in. Thalia's brief reply: 「Having dinner」
「With who?」
「The boy who's afraid of snakes」
William laughed: 「Can't you just say Gregory?」
「What time are you coming home?」
「About to wrap up, wait for me after your shower」
William: ........
Thalia had William figured out long ago. She knew exactly what worked on him. Dealing with this type of man - rational on the surface but actually reserved - she had plenty of experience.
Wasn't William, in a way, the same type as Hayden?
........
"Going home?"
"Want to do a spa," At midnight, instead of going home, Thalia wanted to do a spa. She was really sticking to her principle of spending less time together.
Layla was curious - just how disobedient was William to make Thalia do something like distancing herself from him?
Layla leaned closer, speaking almost earnestly: "Aren't you worried Mr. Brown will figure out your tactics and never let it go?"
"Worried!"
"If you're worried, why do it?"
"I can't stop living just because I'm afraid of dying!"
At 1:30 AM, Thalia, who said she'd be done, still hadn't come back.
William checked the time and made a call. Thalia answered quickly, and her first words were that she was doing a spa.
"Not coming home in the middle of the night, out doing spa? Looking to get punished?"
"Tired! Mr. Brown."
William: .........
Honestly telling William her whereabouts without seeming suspicious - Thalia's preemptive strike was really effective.
That one word "tired" from Thalia blocked all of William's questions.
At 3 AM, Thalia finally strolled home. As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw William sitting on the sofa with the ragdoll cat sleeping on his lap, holding an iPad looking at documents.
A floor lamp behind him cast a warm yellow glow, creating an atmosphere both cozy and cool.
William's white t-shirt was tinged with a pale cold yellow.
"It's so late, why aren't you sleeping?"
"I'm not you," William's chilly tone made Thalia's hair stand on end.
"Did I break the law?"
"If making someone who cares about you stay up alone at night worrying counts as breaking the law, then yes, you're already guilty."
"Mr. Brown, adults can't just go between work and home. Spa for women is like mistresses for you men. Besides, spas are legal - more respectable than mistresses."
Thalia casually tossed her bag on the sofa, walked up to William and pulled away his iPad. She hooked her arm around his neck and sat on his lap, rolling up her sleeve and bringing her wrist to him: "Smell this, I tried a new essential oil today. Doesn't it smell nice?"
William's hand rested on her lower back, lightly supporting her: "Mrs. Brown, isn't it a bit inappropriate to use generalizations on me?"
"Just an analogy," Thalia tilted her head looking at William.
The ragdoll cat woke up and licked her leg. Thalia instinctively pulled her leg back.
Seeing this, William reached out and pushed the cat away.