Chapter 10 Deadlock

• YENEFER
• After a day of work, I walked home under the glow of the setting sun. I was physically and mentally exhausted. All I wanted now was to go home, take a warm shower, and sleep.
• As I made my way home, a Bentley pulled up next to me. A middle-aged man with a big belly stepped out and approached me.
• "Hello, Miss Riley," he greeted with a friendly smile.
• "Hello. Um... who are you?" I racked my brains trying to figure out who he was.
• "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you, Miss Riley, are free now. Our boss is inviting you to dinner," the man explained.
• I glanced at the black Bentley in confusion. The car window was rolled down. Inside the car, a handsome man in his thirties was looking at me with a sweet smile.
• He seemed to be a powerful man and had a solid background. I couldn't help but wonder why he suddenly took an interest in someone like me. He must have his reasons for doing this.
• "Hello," I greeted him back. Just as I was about to decline, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
• "Hello, Mr. Walker."
• I turned around and saw Sophia and Franco standing a few meters away from me. She was wearing a yellow V-neck dress and holding Franco's right arm. Honestly, she looked like a happily in love lady.
• Meanwhile, Franco was dressed in a black suit, exuding nobility and elegance. He had his usual imposing attitude, and his icy expression seemed to be warning everyone to stay away from him. As I looked at him, I realized that he was also looking at me.
• When I saw him, I felt nothing, not even longing or regret. Maybe it was because I had already given up on him.
• Mr. Walker looked at Sophia and Franco.
• "What a coincidence, Miss Lively. I didn't expect to see you here." Judging by his words, he and Sophia knew each other well.
• "Mr. Walker, this is Franco, my fiance. Actually, we were about to invite Yenefer to dinner. Is that okay with you?"
• Although the man seemed reluctant, he replied, "Of course." With that, he signaled the driver to get in the car and leave.
• I watched in astonishment as the black Bentley sped away. All I could think of was the bad luck I had in getting involved with these people on my first day of work. I just wanted to work hard. Why was it so difficult?
• Suddenly, Sophia let go of Franco's hand and then took mine.
• "Hello, Yenefer! Today is your first day of work, right? Well, Franco and I wanted to celebrate such a wonderful occasion. Can we go now?"
• "No, thank you. I want to go home now. You and Franco can go to your place," I politely declined as I let go of her hand. I didn't want to see them display their affection. To me, it was offensive to the eyes.
• "Yenefer, people should eat something. You'll eat later anyway. Why don't you join us now?" Sophia was still not willing to give up.
• "No..."
• Abner Todd, the department head of the television station, approached me just as I was about to decline Sophia's invitation once again.
• "Hello, Yenefer. No wonder I didn't see you at the company. You must have left in a hurry," he said.
• "I wanted to go home early, so I left as soon as I could," I explained with a smile. I didn't want to openly show my true emotions in front of other people, especially them.
• "I see," Abner looked at Franco and Sophia and added, "Are these your friends?"
• "This is Sophia Lively, and this is her fiance, Franco River. This is Mr. Abner Todd, a colleague of mine at the television station," I introduced them to each other.
• As soon as I finished speaking, Sophia stepped forward and shook hands with Abner.
• "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Todd. By the way, did our Yenefer do well at the company? I hope she didn't cause any trouble," she said.
• "Actually, Yenefer is an excellent host. Everyone in the department likes her. As soon as she arrived at the company, she took on a difficult task on her own. She has been very helpful. How could she cause us any trouble?" Abner replied.
• "That's good to hear. I was worried that she hadn't settled into the company yet. Mr. Todd, she is new to this industry, so forgive her if she makes a mistake in the future," Sophia pretended to be concerned about me causing problems for the company on my first day. How pretentious. People who didn't know us would think we had a good relationship.
• "Yenefer, I envy you for having such a caring friend," Abner said with a smile. Suddenly, his face lit up as if he had just remembered something. "By the way, since today is your first day of work, as the leader of our department, I would like to invite you to a congratulatory dinner tonight. Would you like to come?"
• "I appreciate your kindness, but I don't want to take up your time with your family," I politely declined.
• "There's nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm single and don't actually have a family to accompany at the moment."
• The atmosphere became ambiguous the moment Abner declared that he was single. A single man had invited a woman to dinner. What an excellent topic for conversation after dinner. Surely, rumors that I hooked up with my boss as soon as I arrived at the television station would spread like wildfire. Well, I didn't want to get into any trouble, so I would have to decline. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good excuse to reject his invitation.
• "Yenefer, are you going to eat with us or with him?" Franco unexpectedly asked. His tone was dominant, and it sounded like he was forcing me to make a decision quickly.
• At that moment, I lowered my eyes and thought long and hard about how I would reject both sides.
• "If that's the case, why don't we all eat together? After all, we all want to celebrate Yenefer's first day of work," Sophia suggested with a cunning look in her eyes.
• Was this woman playing a trick on me again?
• Well, it didn't matter. Whether she was playing a trick or not, I couldn't say no anymore. If I offended the leader of the television station, it would be difficult for me to work there in the future.
• So, in the end, the four of us went to dinner together.
• We went to a fancy restaurant. Sophia and Franco sat next to each other while Abner and I sat across from them. The sunset outside the French window tinted the surrounding landscape red. It was breathtaking. Not long after we sat down, Sophia took out her phone and showed me a photo.
• "Yenefer, what do you think of this wedding dress?" she asked, all puffed up.
• I looked at the photo and casually replied, "It's not bad."
• "Not bad? It's too expensive, isn't it? Honestly, I don't think it's worth spending a hundred thousand dollars on a wedding dress that I can only wear once in my life," Sophia hesitated.
• I looked at Franco and assured him, "As long as you like it, Franco will buy it for you."
• As soon as I said that, he looked at me, without a hint of emotion on his face. Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck like a snake and kissed him on the cheek.
• "Franco, really? Can I buy this wedding dress?" she asked with puppy eyes.
• Franco nodded with a smile. At that moment, Sophia smiled triumphantly at me in secret.
• My wedding with Franco was small and private. On the other hand, Sophia's wedding dress alone cost a hundred thousand dollars. Of course, she felt obligated to show off in front of me.
• No wonder she insisted on inviting me to dinner. She wanted to rub it in my face.
• The dishes were served a few minutes later. Abner and I focused on our food and simply ignored Sophia, who was touchy the whole time.
• Just as I picked up my knife and fork, Abner turned to me and asked, "Yenefer, what do you think of your new job?"
• I nodded with a smile.
• "It's good."
• "If you ever feel lost, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'll assist you anytime, otherwise, others will say that I don't care about my subordinates."
• "Then I won't stand on ceremony," I assured him.
• Abner Todd was a great leader. Unlike other bosses, he wasn't disconnected from his subordinates and was willing to lend a hand. Because of this, I immediately got along well with him. We had a great conversation about work during the meal.
• Except for Franco's killer eyes, it was a perfect meal. The dinner came to an end after a long while. Just as Abner was about to offer me a ride home, Franco stood up and said to me coldly, "Yenefer, I would like to talk to you outside."
• I saw from the corner of my eye that Sophia was holding her phone tighter and looking at me with daggers. She must be going crazy.
• However, I couldn't blame her. Franco wanted to talk to me privately. I guessed that he had been suspecting for a long time that we had something to hide from him. If Franco didn't want to include Sophia in the conversation, she would continue to suspect us and their relationship could be in danger.
• I didn't want to go at first. However, I realized that Sophia would feel unhappy if I agreed to Franco's request.
• "Yenefer..." Abner called out worriedly as I finished speaking, he saw Franco walking out with a gloomy expression on his face, and he smiled reassuringly.
• "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
• Franco stood under a maple tree outside the restaurant. The glow of the setting sun fell on him through the leaves, making him appear more mysterious. I doubted that anyone could read his thoughts at this moment.
• Her beautiful face could captivate any woman. No wonder I fell in love with her back then. Unfortunately, she broke my heart without any remorse.
• I stopped a few meters away from her and asked:
• "What's wrong?"
• "Quit your job," Franco turned around and looked at me with an intense gaze. The expression on his face told me that he wouldn't take no for an answer.