Chapter 60
Daniel cursed, "Come on, man. If you like someone, just say it. Why are you beating around the bush? We're all old classmates here."
Lewis curved his lips into a mysterious smile.
At that moment, Ava went to get some snacks. Since getting pregnant, she was like a hungry wolf - if she didn't eat something every two hours, she'd feel absolutely miserable.
Emily walked over, holding two drinks with a standard fake smile plastered on her face.
"Ava, Grandpa says he misses you. You should come back to the Morgan Mansion when you have time these next few days."
She handed over the grape juice as she spoke.
Ava quietly ate her little cake and nodded at her without emotion.
Emily was coming over on her own initiative, and being this polite? Ava could figure out with her toes that something was up. Ava would just wait and see what act she was putting on.
She thought Emily was coming to ask for jewelry or limited-edition handbags. She always had this same expression when she came asking for things before. Thanks to Emily's consumption, otherwise the bags William bought would have filled up the entire walk-in closet.
"Ava, Grandpa's been doing yoga lately. He keeps nagging me at home to join him, saying you would do it with him. I told him there's no way I could learn that stuff. I'd be better off going clubbing."
Ava didn't respond, just listened to her talk the whole time. Emily couldn't possibly be coming just to chat about family matters. She was waiting for her to ask for something, and had even thought up how to refuse.
After talking for a while, Emily got thirsty. She picked up the juice and drank half of it in a few gulps, then pushed the other glass toward Ava.
"Ava, you drink too. I'm going to take a call."
She walked away with her phone.
Ava stared in the direction she had left for a few seconds, dazed. For that crazy woman Emily to speak to her so respectfully - either she herself had gone stupid or Emily had been struck by lightning. Since neither was the case, there must be something fishy going on.
Being pregnant made her extra careful and cautious.
Ava was carefully reviewing every sentence Emily had said when she came over, lost in thought. Lucas came over and snapped his fingers in front of her.
"Ava, I saw Michael. Do you want to go say hi?"
Ava's thoughts were pulled back. She looked in the direction Lucas was pointing. Michael was talking with a rich, glamorously dressed young lady.
The rich young lady was talking a mile a minute about something. Michael nodded occasionally and glanced into the distance from time to time, rarely responding. You could tell he was being perfunctory - his good manners just kept him from turning around and walking away. While they were talking, the young lady took out her phone, as if asking to add him on Facebook.
When Michael's gaze fell on Ava's side, Ava saw a signal for help in his eyes.
"Let's go, let's go say hi."
Ava stood up, and Lucas eagerly followed behind her.
"Mr. Morgan, so this is where you are. I've been looking all over for you."
Michael looked relieved and asked casually, "Did you need something?"
Ava thought for a moment. "Mr. Howard Morgan called and said he wanted to ask you about something. Your phone wouldn't go through - did it die?"
Ava almost said "Grandpa," but remembering that she and William had always kept their marriage secret and he didn't want to make it public, she changed it to Mr. Howard Morgan. She almost let it slip.
Michael grinned, showing eight white teeth.
He shrugged at the young lady. "Sorry, my phone really is dead."
The young lady still wouldn't give up and took out a pen, leaving her phone number for Michael.
Michael took her sticky note, finally escaping this useless social interaction.
That left three people.
"Ava, thanks for getting me out of that. I'll treat you to dinner another day."
Ava waved her hand. "Oh come on, we're all family - no need to thank me. Michael, you already treated me to dinner last time. Next time it should be my treat."
Michael didn't insist. "Alright, you can treat next time. How about next Monday? Want to have dinner together after work?"
Ava was stunned for a moment.
That kind of polite talk was usually just talk. She did want to return the favor, but hadn't actually thought about when to make good on the promise. She never expected Michael to be so direct about it.
She felt embarrassed by her own hesitation. She was the one who offered to treat, but when it came down to it, she was overthinking it - like she wasn't being sincere.
"Okay, next Monday then."
As the two were chatting, Lucas, on the side, kept giving Ava meaningful looks.
"Ava, didn't we already plan to have dinner together next Monday evening?"
Ava immediately caught on. "Michael, you don't mind if I bring a friend, do you?"
Michael coughed. "I don't mind. Want to have a drink?"
He asked.
Ava smiled. Michael knew she was pregnant, so naturally, he wouldn't make her drink alcohol. She looked at the noisy environment - having just filled her stomach, she kind of wanted to leave. But she could spare the time for one glass of water.
The three of them went back to where Ava had been sitting. Michael came over with a glass. She thought Michael would give her fruit juice, but it turned out to be plain water.
"Ava, you can't drink too much fruit juice either - you need to control your sugar intake."
Ava's face turned slightly red. Michael knew quite a lot - he knew pregnant women couldn't eat too much sugar.
The three of them sat around the table. Michael also poured himself a glass of plain water. Ava guessed he was drinking water to keep her company - she had just seen him holding a wine glass.
"Come on, let's toast!"
Lucas suggested.
This small table seemed particularly peaceful in the noisy environment.
After sitting for a bit, Ava said it was getting late and she wanted to go home.
"Michael, I'm a bit tired. I want to go back and rest."
Today, she'd spent so much of William's money buying back all her precious treasures, which fulfilled her wish from the past few days. With nothing to worry about anymore, she felt relaxed and at ease. She figured she'd definitely sleep well tonight.
Michael called his driver over.
"Ava, take my car back."
It would be rude to refuse such kindness. Ava politely said goodbye to Michael and was escorted out by his driver.
This scene was completely caught by William, standing on the second floor.
James, who was reporting work beside him, noticed the CEO was distracted. Following his line of sight, he discovered that Mrs. Ava Morgan was dressed like an elegant black swan today. Even though he knew Ava was beautiful, he was still amazed by her look today.
"Mr. Morgan, all the female guests here today combined don't have half the beauty of Mrs. Ava Morgan."
James only said that because he saw Sarah. As a shrewd person, how would he dare to directly mention Sarah's name? But saying this also implied that Sarah was far inferior to Ava.
Even though Sarah and Ava looked similar, Sarah was shorter than Ava by quite a bit. In terms of temperament, Sarah was that delicate, homey type - she couldn't compare to Ava, who was way taller. Only Ava could completely pull off this Hepburn look.
William's eyes were still fixed on the entrance, even though Ava had already disappeared from view. He coldly replied, "You think I need you to tell me that?"
James was taken aback, only then realizing William's expression was off. Combined with the scene just now, he was probably jealous.
"Mr. Morgan, should we go see Mrs. Ava Morgan off?"
"No need."
James had been by his side long enough to naturally know how to read his expressions. He knew that when William stubbornly said "no need," he was actually bothered inside.
He was just stubborn and proud. Often, when he was worried sick about something, the words that came out were harsher than anything. Even he, a grown man, couldn't stand listening to it, let alone a woman with delicate feelings.
James coughed. "Then, Mr. Morgan, should I continue reporting?"
William didn't say otherwise, so James took it as permission.
"Mr. Morgan, two people appear on both our charity auction guest list and the jewelry exhibition list from last time."
William raised an eyebrow, indicating he should continue.
"One is Nicholas, who sold the treasured emerald ring to Lolly at a low price. The other is Alexander Garcia, CEO of our rival company, the Garcia Group."
William narrowed his eyes, thinking neither of these two was possible. That Nicholas was nearly eighty and needed reading glasses as thick as bottle bottoms just to look at jewelry - there was no way he could do design work. And Alexander was even less likely - if he understood design, he wouldn't have become William's defeated opponent.
"Are you sure no one was missed?"
James's eyes rolled around. "Mr. Morgan, actually, we've overlooked one person. Haven't you noticed that Mrs. Ava Morgan was present both times? And at the hotel that time, Mrs. Ava Morgan was there too."