Chapter 68
I saved the video and said cheerfully, "Let's go, time to head home from work."
"Didn't you say you still had to work overtime? Are you done with everything?" Oscar asked with a smile as he stood up.
I waved my phone. "I'm in a pretty good mood today, not suitable for overtime. But let's skip going out to eat—I've been too tired lately. Let's just go home."
"That works. We can get some proper rest at home. I've been seriously sleep-deprived these past few days. Oh, by the way, I went to observe at The Novagen Group a few days ago. If you have any questions, you can ask me—no need to go looking for other people." Oscar kept chatting away as we walked.
I just responded vaguely. Before we even left the office, I saw an unknown number calling me.
Thinking it might be business-related, I answered. A low, magnetic male voice came through: "Emily, it's me, Jeremy."
Jeremy? Which Jeremy?
I hesitated for a second, then remembered that no-name celebrity from the private room at Silver Haven Hotel that day. Nina had mentioned he was getting popular lately. "What do you want?"
Probably sensing the coldness in my tone, he quickly explained: "I'm downstairs at your company right now. Remember last time I told Nina I wanted to compensate you for a dress? The custom dress I ordered is finally ready. Could you come down and get it? It's not convenient for me to come up."
I walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down. Sure enough, there was a black business van parked at the entrance of Lumina Trade Center. The car window slowly rolled down halfway, revealing a face wearing sunglasses looking up. When he saw me, he waved.
"It's just a dress. I told you there's no need to compensate me. Give it to someone else." I refused outright.
He quickly called out, his voice carrying a hint of laughter. "Don't hang up yet. It's not that I'm not sincere—I'm just afraid it wouldn't look good if someone photographed me. Since you won't come down, I can come up to find you."
"No, I told you I don't want it." I quickly tried to stop him. He was afraid of the trouble of being photographed, and I was afraid of being misinterpreted.
"I'll be right there, Emily. Won't take much of your time." He hung up right after saying this.
I instinctively looked at Oscar. "I said I don't want—"
Oscar's smile deepened. He walked over and put his arm around my waist. "If he's compensating you, just take it. Save yourself from being bothered about it."
I rolled my eyes and turned to pull away from his embrace. "What are you doing?"
Oscar raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't forget you're my fiancée. Can't I show our affection a little?"
I looked at him with disgust, really wanting to punch him far away, when I heard a commotion downstairs.
The girls downstairs were practically screaming: "Are you Jeremy? Really? Hi, I'm your fan. Can you sign something for me?"
Looking down from upstairs, I could see Jeremy wearing dark casual clothes, a black baseball cap, and large sunglasses with a face mask. I really didn't understand—he was already covered up like that, so how did the receptionist recognize him as Jeremy?
He said something quietly to the receptionist, who looked up toward us. Through the glass window, my figure was already visible, but she still followed protocol and called my assistant, who came over to ask.
What could I say in this situation?
After the receptionist's scream just now, several figures pretending to be busy had already appeared in the lobby downstairs. If I let him stay down there any longer, everyone in the company would recognize him. "Let him come up."
When Jeremy walked in, Oscar was already standing beside me, looking at the person at the door with a scrutinizing gaze and a mocking smile. "It's just a dress. You're so thoughtful to insist on compensating. Just put it there."
Jeremy looked at me, then at Oscar, took off his mask to reveal a somewhat cool smile. "This is what I should compensate. It doesn't have much to do with whether you need it. That dress that day was beautiful and suited Emily's temperament well. I hope she'll like the one I chose too."
"She has a closet full of clothes and won't wear them to other occasions again anyway. Whether you compensate or not doesn't really matter." Oscar spoke deliberately, completely indifferent to the dress he'd placed on the table.
Jeremy nodded with a smile. "That was my mistake, and I must take responsibility. By the way, I also have two fan meeting tickets here. If Emily is interested, she can come with a friend."
He handed over the tickets with a very sincere expression.
Oscar intercepted the tickets halfway, glanced at them carelessly, and put his arm around my shoulder, looking at me with a domineering air. "Jeremy, right? A fan meeting? Which entertainment company are you with?"
Jeremy smiled at Oscar. "I'm with Phoenix Entertainment. My name is Jeremy. Nice to meet you, Mr. Lopez."
I glanced at Jeremy casually—he knew Oscar was a member of the Lopez family. I didn't want to waste time on a stranger, so I smiled and linked arms with Oscar to thank him: "I'll accept the dress, but I've been too busy lately and probably won't have time to attend the fan meeting. But thank you anyway."
My refusal was obvious.
Jeremy nodded at me with a smile. "I understand. You're busy with work right now. You can throw away the tickets or give them to friends—either way. Whether I can see you or not, I sincerely extend the invitation."
Saying this made my earlier refusal seem a bit rude.
Oscar smiled politely, but his eyes seemed cold. "You've given the dress and the tickets. Is there anything else? If not, we need to go home."
Jeremy politely stepped back. "Sorry to bother you. Since you have other things to do, let's chat another time. Goodbye."
Oscar's hand pressed hard against my waist, pressing my whole body against his. "Goodbye."
His words came out cold. After watching Jeremy go downstairs, he snorted coldly and turned to warn me: "Anyone can call themselves a celebrity these days? He's obviously just someone the company is promoting. He dared to talk to you like that with me standing right beside you. If I weren't here, do you think he would've tried to hook up with you? Which number did he call you from just now? Give it to me, I'll block him."
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Don't talk nonsense. He didn't mean that."
"You think I'm blind? He was practically all over you. Phoenix Entertainment, right?" Oscar spoke through gritted teeth.
His reaction made me worry about Jeremy a bit. "What are you planning to do? Don't do anything crazy." With that expression, he was clearly brewing something.
Oscar didn't answer me. He casually tossed the tickets in the trash and pulled me away by the hand.