Chapter 18

This was Vincent's first time attending a farewell dinner. Tiffany was having cake in a corner. She heard a few women gossiping at the side. "I couldn't tell that Mr. Lewis actually valued Kelly this much. He was invited to other employees' farewell dinners in the past, which were even more lavish. But he always refused to go. How did Kelly get him to come?" "That's right, it is strange. Kelly wasn't highly regarded at work either." "Hey, did you guys notice? Kelly keeps looking at Mr. Lewis tonight. I have a feeling that there's something going on between them." "No way! Kelly is decent-looking, but she's pretty average. She wouldn't be a good match for Mr. Lewis at all." "I don't think so either. A man like Mr. Lewis could have any kind of woman he wanted. How would he possibly settle for Kelly?" "Tiffany, don't you agree?" Tiffany had only been listening to them when a question was suddenly thrown her way. The women looked at her, as if they were hoping she would come up with some guesses too. Tiffany did not know what to say. Before she could answer, Kelly suddenly called her out. "Tiffany!" Kelly walked over and pulled Tiffany up from her seat. "We're playing Truth or Dare. We need one more player. Why don't you join us?" It sounded like a question, but Kelly didn't give Tiffany a chance to decline. She dragged Tiffany to the table. "I don't know the rules." Tiffany wanted to escape. Kelly pressed her down again. "That's exactly why you should play, Tiffany. You shouldn't be hiding in a corner alone all the time. You should learn to be a team player and join everyone." Tiffany said nothing. During their camping trip back then, Kelly had said the same thing to coax her into drinking. In the end, Tiffany had gotten drunk, stumbled into the wrong tent, and slept with the wrong man. Once bitten, twice shy. Tiffany wouldn't repeat the same mistake. But right then, someone pulled out the chair next to her. Vincent sat down. There was a hushed murmur amidst the crowd. Kelly was a little surprised too. Smiling, she said, "Even Mr. Lewis is joining. You wouldn't want to be rude, would you, Tiffany?" Tiffany was speechless. Kelly really knew how to apply pressure. She was aware of Tiffany's meek nature and that she would not dare offend her boss. "Alright, take a seat, everyone." Kelly pulled out the chair on Tiffany's open side, sandwiching Tiffany between herself and Vincent. Tiffany felt like a third wheel. Apart from those three, people who had joined the game included Ivy, Jensen, and two other female and male colleagues. At first, they'd had an equal number of women and men in the game. But Tiffany's presence threw it off kilter. After two rounds of the game, Tiffany had understood the basic rules. The chosen person had to pick truth or dare. For truth, others would ask her a question that she had to answer honestly. She would have to drink as a penalty if she did not want to answer. For dare, others would give her an instruction to do a certain action on the spot, with the same drinking penalty if she refused. All in all, this was meant to create a fun atmosphere. During the first two rounds, a male and female colleague were chosen. One asked for truth, and another one asked for dare. The question for the truth was how many boyfriends she'd had in the past, to which the female colleague shyly admitted that it was one. The one who had chosen dare was the male colleague. He was asked to sing a song, so he sang one graciously. Although he sounded a bit off-key, he was enthusiastic. After his performance, everyone applauded and praised him. Tiffany clapped as well. "Do you all usually play in such a boring way?" Someone spoke up. His voice sounded out-of-place and playful. Everyone turned and looked at Jenson. Smirking, Jenson gave them a bored look. "It's my first time seeing people play Truth or Dare this way. You might as well just sit and play cards." Vincent nudged him lightly with her elbow. "These are my colleagues. Do you think they're the same as your friends?" Jenson shrugged and said nothing more. The game went on. Nobody paid his words any mind. This time, Jenson was the one who got the golden card. That meant he would have the chance to tell the truths and dares. The first recipient of his "truth" question happened to be Ivy. Ivy looked at him sweetly. "I'll take the truth. Ask away." Jenson smirked as he drummed his fingers lightly on the table. He asked, "How many times have you done it before?" Ivy's smile instantly dropped. Silence fell over the room. Nobody could believe that Jenson had actually asked such a crude question in front of everyone! Tiffany lowered her head. She recalled how she had seen Jenson making out with another woman in the backseat after she had pulled the door of the car open. That had been even more shocking than this, so her reaction was relatively neutral in comparison. Vincent frowned. "What kind of question is that?" Jenson raised an eyebrow. After looking around, he wrapped his arm around Ivy's waist. He spoke flippantly, "If you can't handle this question, just drink up, babe." Staring at him, Ivy bit her lip hard. "Who says I can't? Let me answer you! Three times." "Oh." Jenson looked unimpressed. He added, "I meant surgical abortions. How many times have you done it before?" Ivy froze. Her face flushed with anger. She was used to being arrogant in the office. Seeing how Jenson humiliated her like that, she surely would not let him off later. But strangely enough, she did not slap him, though she was enraged. Instead, she demanded with a cold face, "Jenson, what are you trying to do here?" Jenson smiled. "Nothing. Isn't the point of this game to be provocative?" Everyone was speechless. That was beyond provocative. It was downright shocking—more shocking than a horror movie! When Ivy didn't reply, Jenson handed a glass of alcohol to her. "Drink up." This time, Ivy decided to take the drink. Tiffany felt that Ivy would have stomped off in anger if it were not for the fact that Vincent was there. But after drinking her glass, she sat down again. "More!" The new round began. Tiffany got the truth card. Her heart sank. Instinctively, she looked over at Jenson. She just hoped that he would not draw the golden card. Catching Tiffany's gaze, it was as if he read her mind. He flipped his card over to show everyone. Tiffany's heart plummeted. He had the golden card again. She saw him smiling at her. There was evilness in his smile. "Show me your cards." Everyone revealed their cards. Kelly had drawn the dare card. Jenson told Kelly, "You have to kiss any guy here." Everyone became silent. As expected, none of the tasks Jenson gave out were normal. Glancing at Jenson, Kelly raised her glass. "I'll take the penalty drink." After downing a full glass of alcohol, Kelly's eyes reddened. Watching nervously beside her, Tiffany could not help but clench her waists hard. Suddenly, Vincent nudged her hand gently. Tiffany looked down. She was surprised to see him pass her his card.