I was in a real pickle, wondering if I should hand over the USB stick to Damon.
Nicole, the smart cookie, gathered a lot of dirt on Ariel. What intrigued the most was a conversation between Ariel and Karen she stumbled upon, hinting at money laundering involving Soul Enterprises.
The conversation wasn’t crystal clear, but it was a smoking gun which proved their knowledge and involvent.
After stewing over it for a bit, I finally copied all the evidence from the USB stick and shot it over to Damon.
About half an hour later, Damon rang up and asked, "Where did this co from?"
"Nicole gave it to ," I confessed, "Nicole approached once before and gave this stuff. I’ve been covering for her this whole ti. If Ariel knew, she’d be in hot water."
"Alright, I got it," Damon sounded serious, "When did she give this to you?"
I thought for a mont and then spilled the beans.
Damon went silent for a bit, then chuckled, "Didn’t want to tell earlier, huh? Keeping at arm’s length?"
That question was a bit awkward because I was indeed keeping him at bay. Only after all we’ve been through those days did I decide to hand over the docunt. It was the last piece of the puzzle between us.
Seeing silent, Damon probably figured out my answer. He didn’t bla or mock ; he just sighed lightly.
"I’m not keeping anything from you anymore!"
Instead of grilling , Damon’s soft sigh made feel even guiltier.
"Okay, I trust you," Damon’s voice softened a bit, "You must rember, I’ll always have your back."
Damon was being overly understanding. I was not quite used to it, but deep down, I was pleased.
I yearned for that feeling for a long ti, and then I finally felt it. No matter how much I had been through, I was still moved.
I responded lightly, then ended the call.
Work was hectic and ti flew by. The biggest deal on my plate at the ti was a business collaboration with Ethan’s FarHorizon Group. It was definitely a top priority.
After work, I gave Luna a shout about Scarlett’s dinner invitation.
"Just go. What’s there to be scared of?" Luna didn’t hesitate, "If she pulls anything, I’ll give her a piece of my mind!"
"You’re that tough?" I chuckled, "Alright then, you pick the spot. Co with when it’s ti."
"No problem, I promise to pick the best place in the city for you," Luna was confident.
But we didn’t know that this dinner would leave an indelible scar in our minds.
Luna picked the restaurant, and I texted the address and ti to Scarlett. She replied quickly, "Okay, see you then."
When the ti ca, Luna and I headed to the rendezvous. On the way there, I got a text from Jones, warning not to accept any invitations from Scarlett.
The text made jittery.
But Luna and I were already at the rendezvous.
"My husband will be dining here too. Relax. If Scarlett pulls anything, we’ve got enough manpower!" Luna gave a pat on the back.
It felt like we were not there for dinner but to face potential conflict.
But her words did soothe a bit. With her husband, Mitch around, at least soone could step in if anything went south.
Luna was very thoughtful. She picked a private room next to Mitch’s. When Mitch saw , his eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but take a –peek at the door of his room.
That glance told Damon was definitely there.
Otherwise, Mitch wouldn’t have had that excited look.
"Ms. Eliana, you’re here already?" Scarlett arrived fashionably late. She was all dolled up, looking gorgeous. Her worn-out look from our previous encounter was gone.
Following Scarlett were her parents.
After we exchanged greetings, we entered the private room. Scarlett ordered a ton of fancy dishes and two bottles of high-end wine.
I had a bad feeling, and Scarlett’s constant smile made uneasy.
Throughout the dinner, nothing went wrong. Scarlett’s parents expressed their gratitude, and I responded politely.
As the dinner was about to wrap up, Scarlett suddenly smiled at , "Ms. Brooks, Jones called , asking not to commit suicide because you promised to have dinner with him, right?"
Everyone’s face changed as soon as she said that.
Luna quickly ca to my defense, "Eliana and Jones are done. She only agreed to stop you from doing sothing stupid. What are you implying?"
Scarlett’s parents also looked serious.
"I ant nothing. I was just asking," Scarlett didn’t get mad; instead, she smiled even more. She stood up and said, "You guys can go ahead. I’ll take care of the bill."
I didn’t want to co to dinner in the first place, so I was glad to leave early. I grabbed Luna, and we headed out.
Downstairs in the hotel, I ran into Mitch. He was saying goodbye to a man who seed to be his business partner.
"Sweetheart, how did I do today? I got the contract signed." Mitch quickly buttered up Luna.
"Absolutely fantastic!" Luna didn’t hold back her praise.
Mitch took another look at , then said sowhat shyly, "But I can’t take all the credit. I invited Damon today. Without him, I couldn’t have pulled it off!"
As soon as he finished, Damon walked out of the hotel entrance. He was there to accompany Mitch for business, so he was dressed to the nines. His perfect figure was tightly wrapped in a finely tailored, handmade suit, attracting many gazes. When he looked at with those deep eyes, I was deeply struck.
Seeing , Damon raised an eyebrow, then looked away.
I pretended not to know him and deliberately didn’t react.
Mitch watched our reactions, and a disappointed look crossed his face.
"Damon, I didn’t expect to bump into Eliana here. She’s dining with my wife," Mitch could totally consider a career in matchmaking if he wasn’t already busy with his own company.
Damon gave a brief response. His deanor was chilly.
I didn’t say much either and just headed towards my car. Luna never liked Damon, so she followed close behind .
I had only walked a few steps when suddenly there was a scream, "Ah!"
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