Chapter 21
With butterflies in her stomach, Dorothy hailed a cab right after work and headed straight to Bay Residence.
She was halfway through punching in the door code when she suddenly thought better of it. What if she walked in on something awkward? So, she quickly rang the doorbell instead.
In no time, the door was opened.
Everett had already changed out of his daytime suit. His usually immaculate hair was slightly disheveled. Dressed in white lounge wear, his tall figure no longer carried the aura of a business elite. Instead, he gave off a lazy, boyish vibe.
He looked like he had just finished playing basketball at the gym, like a student who was a little tired and ready to head back to his
dorm for a rest.
Fearing he might be in the company of his “true love,” Dorothy didn’t go in. She stood where she was, all business. “Mr. Lopez, about the SinoSuccess Enterprises project you mentioned…”
“Dorothy.”
He cut her off, calling her by her first name with his brows furrowed in a frown. “I’m off work now
Dorothy was taken aback, not understanding what he meant. Wasn’t it him who texted her to come over?
“So, should I leave?”
Before she could finish her sentence, Everett had already pulled her into the house. His towering figure pressed Dorothy against the wall and started kissing her.
“Mr. Lopez!”
What the heck was going on?
She could even feel a certain part of Everett stirring.
Wasn’t she here to discuss the termination of their contract?
In a blink of an eye, she had been relocated from the foyer to the bed.
“Everett, you, uh……..”
Dorothy was cut off again. In her ear, his voice sounded strained. “Dorothy. I’ll try to be gentle.”
She didn’t know when she fell asleep. She only remembered his countless kisses and his reassurances of trying to be gentle, but he ended up being much rougher than the previous times.
When she woke up, it was already morning.
Dorothy instinctively reached out to the side. As expected, Everett didn’t have a habit of sleeping in.
Feeling somewhat regretful, she took a shower, got dressed, and walked out. A ready-made breakfast was on the dining table, along with his bold handwriting.
“The list of companies taking on third-party loans has been sent to your email. Add me back on WhatsApp when you wake up. It’s
inconvenient”
The signature was his usual one-word signature.
Dorothy really didn’t get what Everett meant. It seemed like he didn’t plan on terminating the contract.
Wasn’t he afraid of his “true love” finding out about her existence? Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
This question troubled her until the morning meeting ended at the company.
Karen came to Dorothy’s office to get some documents photocopied.
“Karen, can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot”
“I have a friend who… got into a contract marriage with a guy for money. But the guy has someone he deeply loves, who went back to her home country recently. But the guy doesn’t seem to want to divorce my friend. Why do you think that is?”
Karen thought for a moment, trying hard to analyze. “I guess maybe his true love already has a boyfriend. Or something else, anyway, they can’t be together for some reason. But guys, you know, they have needs. If he divorces your friend and his true love is out of reach, then he’d be left high and dry.”
Dorothy was taken aback. This reasoning, although crude, seemed to make sense.
After thinking of Everett’s relentless demands in bed last night, she realized that it might be as Karen described.
“So do you think ‘my friend’ should take the initiative to bring up divorce?”
“That depends on whether your friend has feelings for him. If there’s no emotional attachment, then both are getting what they need. They’re physically compatible, and there’s money to be made. So why divorce?” Suddenly, Karen raised her eyebrows suspiciously.
“Wait a minute, this ‘friend’ you’re talking about isn’t you, is it?”