Lucia took a deep breath and turned to look at Emma who was beside her.
"This really has nothing to do with Mr.Adams."
Emma sighed.
"Then you need to find a way to explain.
After all, everyone now thinks you’re head over heels in love with Mr.Adams to the point of badgering
him."
Explain? No one would listen even if she tried to explain.
"Ding-dong."
The door of the lift opened.
Lucia and Emma stepped out side by side and walked to the front door.
ima Suddenly, a man came up towards them.
"Lucia!"
Lucia turned to see that it was Baron, a male colleague from the finance department.
"Baron, you just got off work too?"
Baron smiled at her and nodded.
"What a coincidence."
He paused, said hello to Emma, and then looked back at Lucia.
"Where are you going? Do you want me to take you home?"
A little uncomfortable with Barons enthusiasm and attention, Lucia reached out to hook her arm around
Emma’s and declined with a smile.
"I’ve got a dinner date with Emma."
At that, Baron smiled and scratched his head.
"Well then, you two go for dinner and I’ll take you home next time when I get a chance."
"Okay, bye."
After saying goodbye to Baron, Lucia pulled Emma with her and left the lobby of the company quickly.
When they were far away from the company, Emma smiled and asked, "Lucia, everyone can see that
Baron likes you! And I think he’s nice.
Why do you keep rejecting him?"
Lucia had mixed feelings.
She looked down at the wedding ring on her finger and had no idea how to explain it to Emma.
Seeing that Lucia didn’t answer, Emma didn’t get angry and said, holding Lucia’s hand, "Actually, I do
have an idea that will help you to stop the rumors in the company."
Lucia asked promptly, "What is it?"
1 "Well, they say that you are crazy about Mr.Adams, right? If you get closer to another man, like
Baron, that will effectively disprove those rumors, won’t it?"
Lucia thought what Lucia said made some sense, but she felt something strange at the same time.
"To prove that I’m not interested in Mr.Adams, I should get closer to another man.
Is that what you mean?"
Emma nodded.
"Yes.
When the time comes, you can explain and those rumors will be gone."
Lucia hesitated.
"But wouldn’t that be taking advantage of Baron?"
"Of course not.
Baron likes you, and you are just trying to get closer to him.
It doesn’t mean that you have to be his girlfriend.
You only need to prove that you are not interested in Mr.Adams and that’s enough.
Don’t you think so?"
Lucia nodded doubtfully.
She was still hesitant.
After parting from Emma, Lucia kept thinking about it, but she couldn’t think of a better way.
Before she knew it, two days had passed.
Lucia thought that the rumors in the company would die down within these days, only to find that they
were getting worse instead of dying down.
Wherever she went now, everyone was looking at her with suspicion, judgment, and sarcasm, which
were like a huge mountain weighing her down.
If this went on August would surely hear about all this when he came back from abroad.
What should she do then? The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became.
In the end, Lucia ran out of ideas.
She was at her wit’s end when she suddenly thought of what Emma had said to her the other day.
In this desperate situation, she had no other choice.
Her first priority was to silence the rumors.
The fewer people talked about them, the better.
They used this trick a lot in showbiz.
To squash one rumor, they would use another one to divert attention.
At this point, Lucia was willing to draw attention to her and Baron so that August would not be affected.
Having made up her mind, she summoned up the courage and went to see Baron, but her courage
failed her when she arrived at the door of the finance department Just as she was wondering if she
should go inside, someone came out and, coincidentally, it was Baron.
With a stack of papers in his hand, Baron seemed to be on his way to the Archives.
He was surprised to see Lucia.
"What are you doing here, Lucia? Are you here to hand in the financial statements?"
2 "No."
Lucia suddenly got nervous, not knowing where to begin with the words she had already prepared.
Baron smiled patiently at her.
"So, what are you doing here?"
Lucia gathered her courage.
"I’m..
here to see you."
"Me?"
Baron felt extremely flattered.
Lucia took a deep breath.
"I have time tonight.
Why don’t we have dinner together?"
Baron agreed without hesitation.
"Sure!"
They were standing right outside the finance department and quite a few people were coming and
going.
Because of those pictures, Lucia had become known in the company and everyone recognized her
now.
As a result, when they saw her with another man, they couldn’t help giving her a few extra glances.
Baron smiled and asked, "What would you like to eat, Lucia? Fondue, beef or fish?"
Lucia was so uncomfortable being stared at that she said softly, "Anything you like."
She was simply asking Baron out on a date to divert attention away from August to her and Baron.
’Okay, then I’ll meet you in your department after work."
’Okay."
Having talked to Baron, Lucia turned and hurried away.
ucia couldn’t focus on her work in the afternoon, wondering if she had made the right choice.
However, the afternoon had gone by before she figured it out.
Nithin minutes after work, there was a knock on the door.
Emma pushed the door open and came in with excitement on her face.
She looked at Lucia and said in a low voice, "Lucia, guess who’s here?"
Lucia wasn’t interested and said casually, "Who is it?"
’It’s Baron! He’s waiting for you at the door!"
At her words, Lucia suddenly got nervous and nodded.
"I’m going."
Taking a deep breath, Lucia grabbed her bag and stepped towards the door.
When she passed by the desk area, she noticed that some of her gossipy colleagues in the department
were laughing and discussing something.
Lucia just overheard a few words as she passed by, but she could tell that they were talking about her.
She clenched her fists and walked quickly towards the door.
Baron was standing there in a light blue shirt with a hint of anxiety and anticipation on his face.
His eyes shone brightly the minute he saw Lucia.
’Lucia, here!"
3 Lucia knew that her colleagues were staring at them from a short distance away.
She curled her lips into a smile at Baron and asked, "Why are you here so early?"
"I finished my work early, so I came to wait for you.
I’ve booked a table and the restaurant is a nice place… Lucia nodded and walked side by side with
Baron as they left together.
No sooner had they left than a gossipy colleague in the department waved her phone excitedly."Hey,
what do you think will happen if I post this picture in the group?"
"Just try it!"
That colleague started to work on her phone and without hesitation, she sent the picture she had just
taken of Lucia and Baron into their WeChat group.
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