“Don’t worry. I won’t be fooled again.”
Having been deceived once, Serena wasn’t about to fall for it a second time. Especially when she knew Sebastian had simply offered to drive her home out of courtesy and propriety.
The next day at the firm, Eugene didn’t bring up last night’s dinner, and Serena, in silent agreement, didn’t mention it either.
Lily, brimming with curiosity, leaned over. “Hey, how did it go yesterday?”
Serena stayed quiet.
Shawn, naturally carefree, hadn’t taken Sebastian’s offer to escort Serena seriously at all. “Pretty well, I guess,” he said with a grin. “Boss is meeting Mr. Hart this afternoon. It should be good.”
Lily’s eyes went wide, and she drew in a sharp breath. “You mean… we’re about to get the contract?”
In their line of work, celebrating too early was a sure way to jinx things.
Serena frowned slightly. “Lily, keep your voice down.”
Lily covered her mouth but couldn’t hide her excitement. If Eugene landed the Levine Group’s deal, their team would finally have the upper hand over Chris’.
…
But by afternoon, when Eugene returned, his expression was far from pleased. He stopped at Serena’s desk and knocked lightly. “Come to my office.”
Serena walked over with a light step and closed the office door behind her.
“What happened, Boss? The meeting didn’t go well?”
He nodded. “Yeah… I happened to see Chris waiting in their reception area when I stopped by.”
Serena’s expression darkened. “No way… Mr. Lopez is trying to steal it?”
Eugene raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “If he dares…”
Yesterday, he had thought the contract was within reach, but this afternoon, Daniel hadn’t even mentioned it. Worse, he deflected responsibility with that classic line, “I can’t decide this on my own.”
“This contract can go to anyone… just not Chris.”
Chris and Eugene had clashed openly and covertly at the firm before. Snatching clients from each other wasn’t new.
Serena pressed her lips together. “Boss, you’ve got seniority and experience on your side. If the Levine Group picks Beaumont Legal, they’ll naturally favor you. Don’t worry.”
She didn’t say it because she knew Sebastian would hand them the contract, but because she believed in her boss’ abilities.
“Alright,” Eugene said. “I’ll check in with the Levine Group in a few days. For now, let’s get back to work.”
The afternoon flew by.
Serena glanced at the clock and realized it was already ten minutes past quitting time.
She had promised Deanna, so she wouldn’t bail today. She even planned to take this chance to finally clarify the broken engagement with the elders of the Levine family. With the wedding coming up, waiting any longer wouldn’t be acceptable.
…
Trevor stood with a rigid, stern expression, glancing repeatedly toward the mansion’s front gate.
“Mr. Trevor… are you waiting for someone?” a servant asked.
Trevor didn’t answer, just shook his head, leaving the staff confused.
If he wasn’t waiting for anyone, why was he staring so intently at the gate?
What they didn’t know was how terrible his mood had been since learning yesterday that his fiancee had blocked him.
…
When Serena’s red car finally pulled into the Levine Residence, Trevor shot to his feet. He straightened up, then realized he looked too deliberate and, turning his back, walked inside at a slower, calmer pace.
Serena got out of the car and spotted Trevor’s back. She didn’t want to walk in with him, so she slowed her pace as well.
He kept moving toward the door, nearly there, when he realized the woman wasn’t behind him. He spun around in anger. “Where is she?”
A passing servant spoke up helpfully. “Mr. Trevor, is Ms. Steele the one you’re waiting for? She just went back to the car to get something.”
Trevor’s expression darkened. “Who said I’m waiting for her?”
He strode into the foyer, each step sharp with irritation.
The servant sighed silently and shook her head before walking away.
Serena lingered for a moment before getting out of the car. As expected, she didn’t see Trevor anywhere.
Just as the corner of her lips lifted slightly, a voice suddenly sounded beside her.
“Rena, are you purposely waiting for me so we can go in together?”
When Serena heard Sebastian’s voice, she was instantly filled with regret and felt that she should have gone in first. Compared to Trevor, the person she feared seeing the most right now was Sebastian.
Still, she forced a smile and said, “You are a funny man, Uncle Sebastian.”
Sebastian hummed with a smile. “Let’s go. They’re probably getting impatient.”
As soon as Serena stepped inside, Deanna greeted her with a bright smile and said, “Rena, you’re finally here.”
She pulled Serena over and sat warmly beside her. The intimacy made Serena feel somewhat uncomfortable since although Deanna had always been polite with her, she was ever this attentive.
Hearing Serena’s voice, Bryce also came downstairs from the study room.
“Rena, did you just get off work? How’s work been lately? You look like you’ve lost weight.”
Faced with everyone’s concern, Serena felt a little uneasy. “Old Mr. Levine, work has been a bit busy lately, but I can handle it.”
“That’s good to hear. You are always a capable girl. Has the burn on your neck recovered?”
Hearing his question, Serena froze slightly. She didn’t expect them to know about her injury.
Instinctively, she reached up to touch her neck and smiled faintly. “It’s fine now. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
As Bryce glanced at Trevor, who was standing off to the side, he immediately felt annoyed.
“Trevor, what are you standing there for? Come over here and apologize to Rena!”
Serena raised her brows slightly and watched as Trevor reluctantly shuffled forward.
She smiled casually and said, “You don’t have to do this, Old Mr. Levine. He wasn’t the one who did this.”
She didn’t need anyone’s apology. After all, it wasn’t sincere anyway, so it didn’t matter whether they apologized or not.
“He should apologize,” Deanna chimed in. “Trevor is a careless person. It’s not that he doesn’t care about you. He is just too busy. Please don’t be mad at him about this, Rena.”
Trevor took a deep breath and lowered his head as he said, “I’m sorry.”
“Louder!” Bryce snapped, growing even angrier at his attitude.
A vein throbbed on Trevor’s forehead, and he raised his voice several notches. “I’m sorry that I didn’t know you were burned.”
Serena smirked coldly in her heart.
She didn’t think anything would change even if he knew about it. After all, there was no way he would leave his beloved Amber alone and care about her.
Sebastian lounged with his long legs crossed, his deep gaze settling briefly on the man.
“How about the other one?”
Hearing his words, Trevor frowned deeply and said, “Uncle Sebastian, this had nothing to do with Amber in the first place. She was also innocent. She didn’t know that Kyana would suddenly go crazy.”
“Oh?” Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps Amber can explain why she went to look for Rena.”
At that moment, Amber’s face turned pale. She bit her lip and said, “Uncle Sebastian, I…”
“Shut up, Trevor! That’s enough!” Bryce swung his cane at him. Then, his sharp gaze turned toward Amber, who shared no blood relation with the Levine family. “Amber, apologize.”
Hearing this, Trevor looked at Amber with concern. However, he knew she would only be targeted even more than if he said another word in her defense.
Amber clenched the hem of her clothes, as if making up her mind, and said, “Serena, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Kyana would suddenly splash you.”
“It’s fine. I understand.” Serena smiled faintly.
In that split second, a glint flashed through Amber’s eyes as she said, “Serena, you’ll forgive me, right?”
“Oh?” Serena cast her a cold glance. “Are you trying to force me to forgive you, Amber? Since we have already come to this point, there’s also something I want to say. I already told Trevor about it long ago, but I don’t know whether he had mentioned it to you or not, Grandpa.”
Trevor’s heart suddenly lurched in panic.
What is that crazy girl going to say? Is she actually planning to tell Grandpa that she wanted to call off the engagement?! he thought.
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