Chapter 48
Oscar brought me to the car dealership. The salesperson quickly came over with a car key and led us to the VIP showroom on the other side.
The car cover was removed, revealing a brand-new Lamborghini supercar in dazzling red.
"Do you like it? I waited over a month for it to finally arrive." Oscar tilted his head and smiled at me, as if waiting for praise.
Looking at that flashy sports car, all I could say was that his taste was quite unique. "Don't you think this color is too bright? Why be so showy? If you got a different color, couldn't you drive it too?"
Oscar looked at me with a smile. "I bought it specifically for you. Don't you like it?"
At this point, saying I didn't like it would be rude. "How much was it? I'll transfer you the money."
Oscar sighed and looked at me helplessly. "What am I, a middleman making a profit? Can't I even afford to give you one car? Come on, let's go try it out and see how it feels."
He placed the keys in my hand and, very gentlemanly, opened the car door for me.
I eventually drove the car back. As he put it, it's merely a car - a small matter for him, and not beyond my means to reciprocate. So I accepted it. There was no need to be overly scrupulous about it.
We had originally planned to go out for dinner that evening, but on the way, I got a call from Nina. "What are you doing? If you're free, come out. I'll treat you to dinner."
I glanced at Oscar in the passenger seat and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm actually on my way to eat now."
"With who?" Sensing the hesitation in my tone, Nina immediately asked.
"With... Oscar. He's treating me to dinner." I smiled at Oscar and gripped the steering wheel tighter, not even knowing myself what I felt guilty about.
Nina got interested. "Why are you having dinner with him? You don't need to build a relationship with him; what's there to treat? Jeremy called me this afternoon. He said he ruined your dress and wants to discuss compensation. He asked for your number, and I was planning to talk to you about it over dinner."
She's only here to watch the show.
Before I could say anything, Oscar shouted, "Focus on driving."
I nodded. "Let's leave it for now. I'll contact you later."
Before I could move, Oscar beat me to it and pressed the hang-up button on the car phone, moving quickly.
"Emily, last time when Sophia stole your hair for a DNA test, it must have been because they noticed you and Nina were getting too close. Don't forget you just returned to the country. According to your records, you grew up in Solstice. If she helps you this much right after you come back, it'll definitely raise suspicions. Last time they dropped their suspicions because you discovered and switched the hair, but what if they notice something again? Won't you be exposed then?" Oscar analyzed seriously.
I found it a bit funny. "What are you trying to say?"
He brushed his bangs aside with his fingers, habitually touched his nose, and cleared his throat before saying, "What I mean is, you should at least keep some distance from her in public. Even if you work together, you should still maintain proper boundaries."
I said, "Oscar, you need to pick your moments to be jealous. Are you really jealous of Nina too?"
He said all that, but the main point was just to get me to keep my distance from Nina?
Oscar's eyes flickered. "How is that possible? I'm just telling it like it is. She's your friend, sure, but you're Emily now. You two haven't had enough time to be this close, you know? You'll get exposed."
He looked so serious that if I didn't know him somewhat better by now, I would have believed him.
"Right, right, right, you're absolutely right. So I shouldn't have dinner with her, shouldn't have contact with her outside of work." I said with a smile.
Oscar nodded very solemnly. "Being careful won't hurt. It's fine to be close in private, just don't show it."
"Then shouldn't we two just act close when there are people around, and in private, have no real friendship? Isn't that right?" I reasoned, holding back a smile.
Oscar quickly said, "We're different."
"How are we different? The truth is, we just have a business relationship. When there's no one around, we're not even friends. Isn't that right?" I threw his own words back at him.
Oscar frowned. "What I meant is... fine, you can have dinner with her, but don't accept compensation from other people. It's just one dress. I'll buy you ten."
He seemed unable to keep up the act.
I really couldn't help it. I turned and rolled my eyes at him. "What would I do with that many dresses?"
While driving, I sent Nina a voice message. "Let's skip tonight. I'll come find you tomorrow, and we can talk about work stuff too."
Hearing the message I sent, Oscar smiled. "If we finish dinner early enough, want to catch a movie? I saw there's a new film out recently with pretty good reviews."
"I don't like watching movies." Without thinking, the words had already left my mouth.
Oscar seemed surprised. "Why not? If you think it's too noisy, we can book the whole theater."
I shook my head lightly, smiled self-mockingly, then nodded. "Well, I'm bored anyway. If you want to watch it, let's go."
When it comes to movies, anyone who's been rejected enough times wouldn't like them anymore, right?
I should have stopped caring long ago. Gregory means nothing to me now.
Oscar didn't ask more questions. He seemed to notice my mood wasn't great and quickly changed the subject. "Have you noticed that the Lopez family members' suggestion that they wait a year before discussing the two of them is actually intentionally stalling?"
I raised an eyebrow with a mocking smile. "I noticed. They look down on Sophia now, or rather, they look down on the Brown Group. They just can't say it outright because of their dignity, so who knows what will happen in a year."
"So I'm giving them a little help. You probably didn't notice, but they've already started looking for other marriage prospects for Gregory. With The Novagen Group's reputation now, they might actually find a girl from a pretty good family. Wouldn't that be unfair to her? I'm doing a good deed here." Oscar's smile deepened, quite pleased with his handiwork.
I snorted. "Men are all like that. No matter how devoted they seem on the surface, they're all jerks at heart."
Oscar quickly distanced himself. "You can't generalize like that. I'm not the same as him."
I pressed my lips together, holding back a smile. "Right, you're very different. So Mr. Lopez, before we eat, could you please help me look at some documents? The HR person you recommended has already interviewed some people. I'll probably review them more carefully in the next couple of days."
Oscar nodded with a smile. "My pleasure."