Chapter 12

"Hello, Kelly." Kelly's voice came through. She sounded urgent. "Tiffany, where are you and Mr. Lewis now?" "Did something happen?" "There's an urgent document here that needs Mr. Lewis' signature." Kelly's tone sounded serious. Tiffany glanced at the door. "Do you want me to inform Mr. Lewis about it now then?" "No." Kelly said, "I know Mr. Lewis is negotiating an important business deal today, so I wouldn't want him to get distracted. Send me the address, and I'll head over to meet you guys. I'll hand the document over to him to sign." Considering the fact that this deal involved billions of dollars, it was indeed extremely important. Without hesitation, Tiffany sent their location to Kelly. After that, she lay down on the bed and fell asleep. … The sky had already turned dark by the time Tiffany woke up. Vincent and Alex were about to leave the suite when Tiffany came out of the room. After tidying herself up, Tiffany followed them. Vincent stopped and turned to her. "You don't have to come." Tiffany was confused. "There will only be men during the dinner. There's bound to be some drunken debauchery." Alex explained what Vincent meant,saying, "Mr. Lewis is worried that you might be taken advantage of." Tiffany felt warmth spread through her heart. At the same time, she was also concerned. "But Mr. Wilson said he would see me tonight. Wouldn't it be rude if I don't go?" Her main concern was how it might affect the billion-dollar deal. "It wouldn't," Vincent said confidently. He always seemed to be so sure and in control of everything. Although his words were gentle, they were reassuring. … After they got into the elevator, Alex couldn't help but comment, "How is it possible for someone as innocent as Tiffany to exist at all? She actually wanted to come just because Mr. Wilson said he would see her tonight. Won't she be an easy target for scammers?" Vincent shot a glance at her. "She just has a sense of responsibility. She's worried that she might offend Mr. Wilson, which could bring losses to the company." "I know." Alex nodded. "I just think that she's too innocent and naive." These days, people could be very cunning. Many of the young women new to the workforce tended to have ulterior motives. They would do anything and even go as far as using their bodies to get ahead. After seeing many such cases, nobody would be surprised anymore if something corrupt like that happened. It was quite refreshing to encounter a pure-hearted woman like Tiffany. It would make anyone's heart soften. Vincent was silent for a moment. After heading out of the elevator, he suddenly turned around and said to Alex, "You're right." Alex was caught off guard. "What?" "She's too naive." After Vincent said that, he smiled a little. Alex stared at Vincent's face. There seemed to be a hint of it in his smile. … Henry and his team were already sitting inside. When they saw Vincent come in, they got up to welcome him. But Henry remained seated. Glancing behind Vincent, Henry appeared bored. "Why isn't Ms. Lloyd here?" Alex answered, "Tiffany isn't feeling well. Mr. Lewis was considerate enough to tell her to get some rest in her room." "Not feeling well?" Henry snickered. "She seemed perfectly fine to me earlier this afternoon. Is she actually not well, or is she just being disrespectful toward me?" Vincent pulled a chair out to sit down. "This is a misunderstanding, Mr. Wilson. She's merely one of the many regular employees of my company. She doesn't deserve your attention." As he spoke, he poured two full glasses of wine. "Let me show my respect for you instead." Vincent downed both glasses of white wine. Everyone applauded. But Henry wouldn't let it go. "Since you've gone this far, I have nothing more to say. It's just rare to see you being so protective of a woman. "I was just curious about how important Ms. Lloyd is to you. Word has it that you don't usually associate yourself with women. "So, I couldn't help wondering if you're hiding some beautiful women all to yourself!" He burst out laughing then. "That's not true; Mr. Lewis has always been considerate of his employees," Alex said. Henry gave him a cold glare. "Mr. Zander, I'm speaking to Mr. Lewis here. Stop interfering." Alex nodded as he fell silent. Sitting there, Vincent stroked his glass with a dark look. Henry and his team had fake smiles on their faces. The tension in the private room was too much. Right then, someone pushed the door open. A woman's voice sounded as she called out, "Excuse me." "Kelly?" Alex was a little shocked. "Why did you come here?" "There's an urgent document that needs Mr. Lewis' signature. Then, she Kelly went over to Vincent. All the men in the room had their eyes on Kelly, who was the only female there. Kelly was dressed in business attire. She wore a white shirt and a tight-fitted black skirt. When she bent a little, her curves were accentuated. Henry narrowed his eyes a little. Instantly, he was intrigued. "And who could this be?" "She's Kelly Harrison, an employee in our company." Alex introduced them. "Kelly, this is Mr. Henry Wilson." Kelly smiled and nodded at Henry. "Hello, Mr. Wilson." "You're very pretty, Ms. Harrison. Are you one of Mr. Lewis' assistants as well?" Henry put on a suggestive smile. His eyes were fixated on her waist and bottom for a long time. "Mr. Lewis, you're such a lucky man. You have such beautiful assistants working for you." Vincent did not reply to that. After signing the document, he passed it back to Kelly. "You can go now." "Alright, Mr. Lewis." Just after Kelly got up, Henry spoke, "Since Ms. Lloyd is sick, why don't we get Ms. Harrison here to have a few drinks with us instead?" As he spoke, he held his glass and stood up. He walked over to Kelly. "Would you care to join us, Ms. Harrison?" As he extended the wine glass toward Kelly, she looked at Vincent. Vincent got up, slightly shielding her from Henry. "Mr. Wilson, I'll drink with you." "You're being too formal, Mr. Lewis. We're about to sign a business deal now. Surely you'd let your assistant keep me company for a few drinks?" Vincent stared at him. "What do you mean by that?" "It means that I'll sign the contract with you if Ms. Harrison drinks with us. If not, I'll take it that Lewis Group isn't being sincere enough about this, and there would be no need for us to proceed with the deal." Vincent let out a snort. "So, in your view, closing the deal requires me to provide you with women as well?" "Mr. Lewis, you're still young. You don't understand that this is simply part of the culture of business partnerships." Henry laughed. "Mr. Wilson," Kelly interjected smoothly. She took the glass from Henry. "Mr. Lewis was just joking. Don't take any offense. I don't have any problem drinking you at all. In fact, I'm quite good at it." Being an experienced employee, Kelly managed to calm Henry down with just a few words. As the tension dissipated, the atmosphere in the room became lively again. After a few rounds of drinks, Kelly went to the washroom and threw up violently. When she emerged from the washroom, Vincent and Alex were waiting outside. "Mr. Lewis…" As Kelly called out, she stumbled toward them. Vincent reached out to steady her. He told Alex, "Take her back to the suite." "Sure, Mr. Lewis." "Don't drag me away. I'm not leaving." Kelly struggled against Alex's grip. "I'm not drunk, Mr. Lewis. I can keep drinking. Let me go back and have more drinks with Mr. Wilson and the others…" As Kelly protested and struggled against Alex, a few buttons of her shirt popped open. With her collar wide open, part of her chest was exposed. Vincent glanced over inadvertently. He froze. He yanked Kelly over. Pressing her against the wall, he inspected the marks around her collarbone.