Chapter 5 Come Sit Next to Me

Several high-end hotels in New York City are concentrated in the downtown area, and Linda's small apartment is located in this prime, expensive spot. It's not very large, under seventy square meters. Her father bought the apartment twenty years ago when it was much cheaper. The building is over twenty-five years old, and after Linda graduated from college, her father renovated the apartment to make it more comfortable for her to live in and commute to work.

The hotel for tonight's dinner is less than two kilometers from her apartment, giving her enough time to do her makeup.

Half of her wardrobe is empty now, as she got rid of all the dresses and clothes Bert had given her. Some she passed on, others she threw away.

Now, there isn't a single evening gown in her wardrobe, except for a brownish coffee-colored long dress, which is suitable for tonight's occasion. She had bought this dress with difficulty for Bert's birthday.

After some hesitation, Linda finally reached for the long dress.

She changed into the dress, did her makeup appropriately, and called a cab before heading out. With such an occasion tonight, she knew she couldn't avoid drinking, and taking a taxi was cheaper than using a designated driver.

[I'm on my way, what about you?] Helen sent a message.

Linda, [Just left, I should arrive before you.]

Helen was attending the event with her boss and had taken the opportunity to bring Linda along. She had previously asked her boss if she could bring someone extra, and once her boss knew it was Linda, he had no objections.

Linda is strikingly beautiful and socially skilled; with her around, things often go more smoothly, and her boss enjoys bringing someone like her to these events.

"There are quite a few people tonight," her boss said as they entered the hotel elevator.

He asked again, "Why hasn't your sister arrived yet?"

"She said she should be ahead of me. Let me check." Helen messaged Linda, but by the time she got off the elevator, Linda still hadn't replied.

Her boss said, "Go in first and send her the room number."

Helen had already given Linda the address earlier.

As they spoke, they reached the door of the private room, and the waiter opened it, leading them inside.

This was the hotel's largest private room, easily accommodating twenty-five to twenty-six people for a meal. Helen hadn't expected most of the guests to already be there; the large dining table was almost fully seated.

There were so many people that she didn't immediately notice everything.

Hazel greeted her boss and Helen and they took their seats. Their company had a project collaboration with Hazel, and they had met often recently, which was why Hazel had invited them.

Her boss, the last to arrive, apologized to Hazel and then said, "Someone else is on the way."

Hazel wasn't bothered and smiled warmly, "It's fine, I know you had a meeting this afternoon. The project is important. Tonight, we're just gathering for a meal, not a business discussion."

In the world of big shots, a meal might indeed just be a casual get-together, but for them, it was a rare opportunity to seize a chance. Helen couldn't afford to be lax.

She placed her bag behind her, feeling a gaze fixed on her. Following her intuition, she looked up and locked eyes with the person. For a moment, she froze.

She never expected Bert to be there.

And sitting next to him was none other than Linda's former boss, Jamie.

Helen quickly regained her composure, grabbed her bag, and pulled out her phone to message Linda, [Where are you? Bert and Jamie are here. Don't come.]

Linda, waiting for the elevator in the hotel lobby, [I'm almost there.]

Helen, feeling guilty, replied, [It's my fault, I didn't know they were here. They're sitting together. Are you sure you still want to come?]

Linda, [Does Hazel know your boss brought an extra person?]

Helen truthfully replied, [Yes.]

Linda, [Then it's fine. I'm going, even if it's the worst.]

Helen had worked hard to secure this opportunity for Linda with her boss. If Linda suddenly canceled, her boss would lose face with Hazel, and she couldn't afford to be ungrateful.

Linda looked down at her dress, feeling the irony.

But there was no time to change now, so she tried to comfort herself, just go with the flow.

When Linda entered the private room, she realized she was the last one to arrive. Dozens of eyes turned to her, and to have so many people waiting for her was undoubtedly the brightest moment of her 25 years of life, especially with business tycoons among them.

Fortunately, she had been used to being the center of attention since she was young, or else the pressure from such a situation would be hard to handle for most people.

Helen's superior waved at her, "Linda, over here. We're just waiting for you."

Linda walked calmly toward the empty seat next to Helen. She had met Hazel once at a finance event in New York City before; Hazel was in her fifties, elegant and refined.

Among the people at the table, Linda looked toward the host's seat to greet Hazel.

However, her gaze landed on a young man with a powerful presence sitting in the main seat. He had sharp features and was slightly lowering his head while replying to messages.

Without thinking much, Linda quickly averted her gaze and looked at the seat next to the man, smiling at Hazel, saying, "President Hazel, it's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for being late; I'll make up for it with three drinks later."

"You're not late," Hazel said politely. "Linda, right? Please, sit."

The richest man in the room wouldn't make things difficult for someone like her, so Linda sat down comfortably.

From the moment she entered the room until she sat down, she didn't glance around carelessly. She wasn't curious about where Bert and Jamie were sitting. Fortunately, the table was large, and there were enough people, so there was no need to greet each person individually.

At that point, the focus shifted to the main seat. Helen leaned over and whispered to her, "Do you have a new boyfriend?"

Linda looked confused. "Huh?"

Helen, already knowing the rumors were unreliable, continued whispering to her, "Before you came in, someone asked me about you. They wanted to know the name of your big-shot boyfriend."

Linda spoke softly to Helen, "What did that person say exactly? What were the exact words?"

It was too long to remember, so Helen typed it on her phone and summarized, "[They said everyone in the circle is talking about you and some big shot from London. They even saw you two on a date.]"

The rumors were getting more ridiculous.

Since finishing work, Linda had basically stayed home every day, except for a few outings during the time she was selling her property. Tonight was the first time in a while that she dressed up for an appointment.

"Who spread the rumor? I don't even know any big shot from London. I haven't been out to date anyone..."

She suddenly remembered that some of the clients looking at the properties she was selling were from London, and some had invested in the New York City projects. She had been in flashy cars a few times.

Curious people had tried to dig deeper, wanting to know which big shot she was involved with, but unfortunately, they couldn't trace the real owner of the car.

The fact that they couldn't figure it out made the rumors about her dating a London big shot even more intense.

Bert believed it after hearing part of the story. Having been together for over two years, he still found her face charming. If she were dating some London big shot, it wouldn't be a surprise to him.

From the moment Linda entered the room until she sat down, Bert only glanced at her once. She was wearing the same dress she had worn on the night they celebrated his birthday. When he broke up with his previous girlfriends, he never felt he owed them anything-except for Linda. Even if he tried to make it up to her, he still felt like he owed her.

She was the only one he had ever cared about and the only one he still thought about after they broke up.

The drinking began at the table. Bert raised his glass and toasted the person at the main seat, "President Thompson, let's play ball sometime."

Rex nodded and drank the entire glass, giving Bert face.

Bert then noticed the watch on Rex's wrist. When he had shaken hands with Rex upon entering the room, he had found it strange-this watch didn't seem to fit Rex's status.

He had heard that Rex was a collector of watches, so it didn't make sense for him to wear a watch with no collectible value.

After toasting Rex, Bert also toasted Hazel. His parents were close friends with Hazel, and today he was just here to show support. He didn't need to suck up to anyone. After toasting the two most important people at the table, he put down his glass.

He had lost interest in everything after Linda's unexpected appearance. He wasn't in the mood to socialize with anyone.

"Linda, let's have a drink. What have you been up to lately?" Jamie asked in a familiar tone, raising his glass.

In this setting, no one could ignore a toast.

Linda returned the toast, barely touching the edge of the glass with her lips. She made a swallowing motion and then casually replied to Jamie's question, "Just keeping busy."

Bert didn't expect Jamie to ask Linda for a drink. Given their past relationship, the best thing to do would have been to stay silent, as if they had never met.

At least five or six people at the table knew about their past relationship and were waiting for the drama to unfold.

And Bert hated being the subject of gossip.

He casually picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and placed it on Jamie's plate, "Eat some vegetables." At the same time, he subtly signaled Linda to end the conversation.

Jamie smiled but didn't say anything. He picked up the piece of meat with his own chopsticks and ate it, tasteless. His heart was still on Linda, concerned that she might be embarrassed in front of everyone.

Bert raised his glass, now able to look at Linda openly. When they broke up, he didn't give her any explanation. He never said a single word of apology to her face.

Today, he took the initiative to toast her. "I heard you're in a relationship now. Congratulations."

His thinking was simple. He and Jamie were engaged and would be getting married soon, and Linda had a new boyfriend too. They would both move on and be happy.

However, when Linda heard this, she interpreted it differently, given the different positions they were in.

She really couldn't understand why, after breaking up and leaving her job, they wouldn't leave her alone. They had to publicly provoke her, not letting her move on.

Why couldn't they just pretend they were dead to each other?

She started to seriously question her judgment in choosing people. How did she end up dating such a narrow-minded man for two years?

He wore a ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

Before the breakup, she had naively looked at wedding rings when they were shopping for jewelry. She thought they would get married, and even imagined which matching wedding rings would look good on them.

Linda forcibly stopped her thoughts, raised her glass from across the table, and forced a smile.

"What are you two talking about?" Hazel asked, having just finished speaking to someone else. "Who's in a relationship?"

Helen's superior quickly came to Linda's rescue, "It's our Linda."

Hazel didn't know Linda's name, so as the host, he kindly said, "Come, Linda, let's drink a toast to you. Congratulations."

He casually added, "Next time, bring your boyfriend along."

"Thank you, President Hazel." Linda drank the entire glass of wine in one go.

She thought the topic of her relationship was finished, but there were some people at the table who were eager to gossip. The person who had asked Helen about her new boyfriend earlier didn't manage to find out anything, so now curiosity took over, and they asked her directly, "Who's your boyfriend? Which big shot from London is he? Several friends asked me about it. I told them I didn't know, so I'm asking you today."

Linda, "..."

Really, people just can't help themselves.

Earlier, when Hazel toasted her, congratulating her on having a boyfriend, she had tacitly accepted the rumor. Now, if she denied it, she would be laughed at. Everyone would mock her for never being able to find a better boyfriend than Bert.

Only if she was doing better than before would they be unhappy.

She admitted her vanity. She didn't want to lose to Bert and Jamie. At least tonight, in front of them, she didn't want to lose and wanted to get back at them.

But the London big shot? She didn't know anyone like that.

Just as she was wondering how to continue the charade, a name flashed in her mind-the person who bought the watch from her.

She clearly remembered the store manager saying that he was unmarried and had no girlfriend.

There was no more time for her to weigh the consequences. Linda smiled, and without thinking, said, "It's Rex."

Her words dropped, and the room went silent.

Everyone at the table, including Hazel, looked in shock at the man in the main seat. Bert almost knocked over the glass of wine next to him in surprise but quickly caught it, instinctively gripping it tightly.

Linda was stunned and looked toward the main seat, meeting the man's cold yet intriguing gaze. She finally saw his face. The man leaned back in his chair, relaxed yet exuding a powerful aura, watching her intently.

Anyone who could sit in the host's seat, taking Hazel's place, was not someone ordinary.

With all her attention drawn to Bert's wedding ring and Jamie's toast, Linda hadn't bothered to ask who the man at the main seat was. This was a social faux pas, and she had made it. Now, she started to regret why she had even come here.

For the opportunity that Helen had arranged for her.

For the connections she could make.

But now?

The man was still looking at her, and Linda had a strong gut feeling that something wasn't right. Was he a friend of Rex's? A relative? Or...?

She didn't dare think further.

Helen sitting next to her quietly took a deep breath. The mess was bigger than she had imagined tonight.

She regretted it. She shouldn't have let Linda attend this dinner. Not only did she lose face in front of Bert, but now she had also offended Rex. By showing up as someone pretending to be his girlfriend, she had crossed a line.

"He's the one," Helen whispered in Linda's ear.

The president of Global Group was Rex. Linda might not have noticed when they mentioned Global earlier, but Helen had just realized that the watch Rex was wearing was the same one Linda had sold.

At that moment, Hazel smiled and raised his glass. "Come, come, come. We must drink to this. I heard the New York City project has been handed over to Bernie. I wondered why you suddenly came to New York City; turns out you came to see your girlfriend."

Rex smiled faintly but didn't explain.

He had come to New York City for business, dealing with a project that had been handed over to Bernie. But Bernie wasn't experienced enough, and some things hadn't been handled properly, so Rex had come to fix it.

As for seeing his girlfriend?

He didn't even know when he had one.

Hazel raised his glass, and Rex clinked his with Hazel's. As he tilted his head back to drink, his eyes flicked toward Linda.

Linda had never made such a big mistake before, nor had she ever done something so absurd. She didn't know how to react. She had wanted to show off and get back at Bert and Jamie, but instead, she had landed herself in front of Rex himself.

She looked back at Rex, who remained unreadable, neither showing joy nor anger. She could only wait for the outcome.

Rex turned to the person next to him and said, "Please change seats." Then, looking at Linda, his first words to her were, "Since it's already public, come sit next to me."