Chapter 162 The Drunken Man's Intent Is Not on the Wine
It was Briar's birthday. They sat at a large round table with over a dozen people, all close friends of Briar's.
Some Scarlett knew well, some not so much. Finnian was a familiar friend, so she sat next to him, and also beside Briar. Briar was quite unhappy about Scarlett being late.
As soon as she sat down, Briar leaned close to Scarlett's ear and asked, "You're late tonight. Think about how you're going to make up for it!"
"Sorry, I forgot today was your birthday. On my way here, I remembered I needed to get you a gift, so I went to buy one. All that running around made me late. Won't happen again," Scarlett said.
Briar turned to stare at her with sharp eyes. Scarlett thought she didn't believe her. "Then you tell me what to do!"
"Why is your voice hoarse?" Briar suddenly asked.
Scarlett froze. Hoarse voice?
She instantly understood, she and Ambrose had been having sex all afternoon, and she'd screamed herself hoarse. She wanted to crawl into a hole from embarrassment.
"Maybe I'm catching a cold," she said guiltily.
"Remember to take cold medicine when you get home. Don't drink tonight," Briar reminded her with concern.
Scarlett felt a bit ashamed. She'd lied to Briar, yet Briar still cared about her so much.
Briar then went to greet the other guests. Scarlett picked up the water in front of her and took a small sip to ease her guilt.
"Scarlett, after dinner, don't rush off. I have something to give you," Finnian leaned over and said quietly.
Only then did Scarlett remember Finnian. She turned her head and smiled slightly.
"What do you have to give me?"
"Keeping it a secret for now." Finnian raised his eyebrows mysteriously.
Scarlett smiled. Just as they were talking, the private room door opened,, and a server walked in.
"Ms. Reed, Mr. Ruben Lawson sent you a bottle of Romanée-Conti and wishes you a happy birthday."
"That's some good wine!" someone exclaimed.
Briar was stunned. She and Ruben only knew each other casually, not well enough for him to send such expensive wine. Why would he send her wine for her birthday?
"Are you sure it's for me? Could there be a mistake?" Briar asked in disbelief.
The server nodded. "I'm sure. If you don't believe me, you can go to room 1307 to find him."
After speaking, the server placed the wine in front of her and left the room. Briar looked at the expensive wine, frowning, and decided to go ask about it.
"Everyone keep eating. I'll be right back." With that, she took the wine and headed for the door.
Scarlett watched Briar's figure thoughtfully. Finnian, beside her said, "Ruben's an interesting guy. Last time, he kept pestering me to do a network security system project for him. He wouldn't let up, so I finally took it."
Scarlett laughed. "He really is interesting. The first time I got rear-ended, he also asked if I needed help."
They both laughed, talking about Ruben.
While they talked about Ruben here, over there, Briar looked at the people in the room, her heart trembling, especially seeing Ambrose. She couldn't help but suspect that Ruben sent the wine because of Ambrose.
She was Scarlett's best friend, so she was getting benefits too.
But this bottle of wine was really too expensive. She couldn't just accept it.
"Mr. Lawson, this wine is too expensive. I appreciate the thought, but I can't accept the wine," Briar said with a smile.
Ruben was slouched back in his chair, looking casual. "Ms. Reed, I don't have a habit of taking back wine I've given. If you won't drink it, then just throw it away!"
Briar was in a difficult position. What did Ruben mean by this? Was he trying to make things hard for her?
Perhaps seeing Briar's confusion, he smiled. "How about this, if you think it's too expensive, then invite us all to join your birthday dinner. Problem solved."
Briar's eyes widened. That was an option?
What did Ruben mean? She really didn't know him well. Did he have a thing for her?
She thought about it and decided that was unlikely. Besides, everyone present was someone important. If they showed up at her birthday party, it would definitely help her career a lot.
So she went along with it. "Since Mr. Lawson thinks so highly of me, if you don't mind, then please, everyone move to my private room to join the birthday party."
After getting the invitation, Ruben gave Ambrose a look, then everyone got up and headed for the door.
Briar pushed open her private room door and led the three men in. The noisy room instantly fell silent.
Everyone's mouths dropped open seeing the big shots at the door. Oh my god, Briar had actually invited all the important people from Silverlight City.
Some immediately stood up to greet them, all wanting to meet these people, especially Ambrose—most of them had never seen him in person.
And Felix, the star lawyer in the legal world, someone you couldn't necessarily hire even with money. And Ruben—all of them were famous.
Everyone made room for them to sit. Only Scarlett and Finnian didn't move.
Ruben walked over with a smile. "Ms. Mellon, we meet again."
Scarlett smiled. "Mr. Lawson, hello."
"Calling me Mr. Lawson is so formal. Just call me Ruben, as Ambrose does." Ruben's naturally friendly personality made him seem approachable.
Scarlett smiled without answering.
"Ambrose, sit here." Ruben turned to call Ambrose. Ambrose actually walked over and sat down right next to Scarlett.
Then Felix and Ruben sat down in that order.
Fortunately, this table could seat twenty people. With Briar's group plus the three of them, there was just enough room.
After everyone was seated, the atmosphere became a bit quiet. Seeing this, Briar showed off her strong social skills.
"Thank you, Mr. Lawson, for my birthday gift, and welcome Mr. Boleyn and Mr. Evans to my birthday party. I'll drink up, everyone else as you please."
Briar boldly downed her glass in one go.
Everyone applauded.
Scarlett had water. Ambrose glanced at it, saw she wasn't drinking alcohol, and said nothing. Then he saw Finnian turn a dish toward her, saying quietly.
"Scarlett, try this dish, it's pretty good."
Scarlett was about to taste it, but before she could eat it, the dish was turned away. She turned to look at Ambrose beside her.
"I haven't eaten yet."
"That dish doesn't taste good. Eat this one instead." Ambrose said, serving her food and putting it in her bowl.
Scarlett glanced at it, it was something she usually liked to eat, but right now she was a bit annoyed. She turned to look at him. "I want to eat that dish."
Ambrose raised his eyebrows, turned the lazy Susan toward him, and served that dish into her bowl with his hand.
"Eat."
Scarlett fell silent.
Finnian, beside her, had a sarcastic smile on his lips, but didn't say much.
But Briar saw everything clearly. Now she understood—this wine wasn't from Ruben at all. Ambrose sent it through Ruben's hands, just wanting to come here and watch over Scarlett.
Was Ambrose falling for Scarlett?
Everyone at the table saw it too, but no one said anything. They just kept their heads down eating.
Briar's birthday dinner was quite intense. Because of Ambrose and the others joining, everyone became reserved and ate quietly until the end.
When it was time to leave, Ambrose stayed right by Scarlett's side. Finnian had no chance to talk to her at all.
So after getting in the car, Scarlett's face darkened.
"Ambrose, what are you trying to do?"