“All right, I know. Thanks, you’re the best.”
Taking off her shoes, Vivian leaned on the sofa smilingly. Suddenly, her face turned dim, “Oh yeah, I
want to ask you something.”
“…”
“You told me Joseph had a new girlfriend. Is she the hall manager called Hayden?”
“…”
“Nothing. I saw her today, she’s quite pretty. Well, I still have things to do, catch up with you next time.
Let me treat you to a meal when I’m done with this project.”
Hanging up the phone, Vivian put down the phone and went into a daze while lying against the pillow.
She reminisced about the woman she saw this morning. She was young but not as beautiful as she
was. And she seemed like the meek type who didn’t have much temper. Nothing was special about her.
She didn’t seem like someone Joseph would fall for at all.
Was it because he was getting old so he just randomly chose someone as his partner? Vivian
pondered.
Well, no matter what kind of woman she was, she was an enemy as long as she was close to Joseph.
The reason Vivian came back this time was to get back together with Joseph.
…
The next afternoon, when Hayden was on her duty at the hall as usual, she saw a familiar car pulled up
at the doorway. Her eyes lit up and she walked over with long strides.
Before she got to the car, she saw two people alighted. It was Joseph and Vivian.
“Take me to lunch later, Joseph. I only give your company this huge contract because of you. From now
on, your hotels in East China don’t have to worry about customer stream anymore regardless of peak
or low season.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Chinese food. I had been staying abroad for so long that I didn’t have the chance to taste authentic
Chinese food.”
While they were talking, they notice someone was looking at them in a distance.
“It’s you again?” Vivian frowned, “Didn’t I mention it? Even though I have no right to interfere your
employer’s management system, I don’t want to see your irresponsible face while I’m still here.”
Hayden’s face turned pale and her hands clenched into fists. She wanted to greet Joseph, but at this
moment she would be doing him a disservice by greeting him. She lowered her head in
embarrassment.
“Got it. I’m sorry.”
With that said, she turned around and left.
Frowning, Joseph asked while looking at Hayden’s back, “What’s going on?”
“Well,” Vivian explained what happened the day before nonchalantly, “Pollen allergies can cause
suffocation, and there are cases in the other countries. Isn’t she the hall manager? Why did you hire
someone like that as your hall manager? You should really be talking to your HR department.”
“Just a small matter.” Joseph shot her a glimpse, “I never saw you care about such petty stuff.”
“I didn’t use to manage a huge company.” Vivian blinked, “It’s a cruel world out there, I’ve got to know
better after striving for my career abroad for so many years.”
Speechless, Joseph looked at the doorway where Hayden had left and felt bad, “All right. But let’s let
this one slide.”
“Let it slide? This is not your style, Joseph. You used to fire an employee immediately if you catch them
being irresponsible. What, are you mesmerized by that girl’s beauty?”
“She’s my fiancée.”
Upon hearing that, Vivian’s smile froze and her eyes instantly went dim.
The night that day, the inspection team from SG Travel Agency had dinner with personnel from ST
Group at the hotel, as a pre-celebration that they passed the inspection. Hayden was invited and sat
beside Joseph. Sitting beside Joseph, she felt awkward because of what happened in the afternoon.
Vivian raised her glass, “Cheers to Manager Downey. I didn’t know you’re Joseph’s fiancée. Do excuse
my ignorance.”
There was implication in this remark. Explicitly it seemed she apologized with class, but implicitly she
implied that she only apologized because of Joseph, and Hayden was just a good-for-nothing woman
who got where she was with connections.
“It was my own fault. I’m glad you don’t mind it. I should drink this as a punishment.”
Hayden raised her glass while her heart was filled with grievance.
When she was about to drink it, Joseph grabbed her hand while looking at Vivian.
“She’s bad with alcohol. I’ll drink this for her.”
After saying that, he took the glass from her hand and finished it in one gulp.
Staring at his rolling Adam’s apple, Hayden felt better than before. She comforted herself that even
though she was mistreated at work, she was still being treasured in her love life.
No one notice how twisted Vivian’s face was when Joseph said he would drink the wine for Hayden.
During the dinner, unlike his usual behavior, Joseph drank quite a lot with the crowd, which some of it
was for Hayden’s sake. By the end of the dinner, he went to the washroom.
Hayden waited for him in the lounge. After a long while and Joseph still hadn’t come back, she went to
the front desk to get some antidotes just in case he vomited in the washroom. Then she grabbed a hot
towel and went to find him at the washroom.
Just as she reached the washroom, she heard a woman’s voice and halted at the doorway.
She subconsciously lifted her head to look at the sign. It was the male washroom all right.
She immediately stunned when she heard what was going on inside.
“Joseph, it was my fault six years ago. I was just a teenager, I don’t know what is love. I simple tried to
run away from the marriage that my family arranged for me. I didn’t even ask myself whether I love
you.”
Standing at the washroom’s doorway, Hayden saw clearly Joseph standing with his side facing her, and
Vivian was leaning against his chest, sobbing gravely.
“Joseph, I know you love me, I know you won’t leave me. Kevin told me you made a necklace out of
the emerald your grandma left you, and your grandma told you to give it to your wife. I understand
everything now.”
In that moment, Hayden felt her head exploded, nothing was left but ruins. She had completely lost the
ability to process any thoughts. She wanted to run away from the scene but her legs weren’t
responding to her command.
It was until he saw Joseph raised his arms and hugged Vivian. His deep low voice lingered in the
washroom clearly, carrying a hint of grievance, “Addison, I lost the necklace.”
Hayden couldn’t take it anymore. A sudden spurt of strength came. She turned around and ran away.
She kept running away from the hotel until she was in the middle of a junction, streams of cars passing
by around her.
She stood against the fence, bent down holding her knee and gasped furiously. Only then she realized
in her hands were the antidotes and a cold towel.
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