shuhaige
Chapter 5
The tattoo looked kind of old. It was sunk deep into his skin; it didn’t look like it was freshly inked. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
If what Karen said was true, then 0825 must be the birthday of his sweetheart, right?
After all, she knew Everett’s birthday was in April, and the birthdays of Everett’s parents, the chairman and his wife, were in July.
Certainly, it had nothing to do with her either.
Her birthday was November 14th.
None of those four digits matched up.
What could possibly drive a guy like Everett, who was cold to the bone, to do something as crazy and a bit childish as getting a tattoo? He must have seriously fallen for the person.
Dorothy suddenly regretted her impulsive behavior last night. Why didn’t she think to ask if Mr. Lopez was single?
Even though Everett was handsome, fit, and capable, she still had morals. No matter how good other people’s men were, she couldn’t just make a move on them.
“Karen, do you know anyone close to Mr. Lopez who has a birthday on August 25th?”
“How would I know?! The Prosperity Consortium is just a branch of the Lopez Corporation, and we’re already dominating 70% of the domestic hot investment market. Everett is the CEO of the entire Lopez Corporation. I’m not worthy enough to know his gossip.”
Really Karen?
She wasn’t worthy enough to know, yet she seemed to know quite a bit.
Suddenly, Karen remembered something. “Wait, I think the chief lawyer of the Lopez Corporation, Heather Garcia, has a birthday in August. I’ve seen her resume before. She’s a total, rich beauty. She even made it to the trending list when she attended an event with Mr. Lopez. I’ll find a picture for you.”
“No need.” Dorothy cut her off.
With just that, she could already imagine a whole soap opera unfolding.
No wonder Everett was so harsh today. He was all business, not giving her any dignity. He must have been worried that she would spill the beans, so he intentionally gave others the impression that he was not close with her to distance himself. That way, even if she did spill something, no one would believe her.
Ha!
To sit in the CEO’s position, indeed, one must be cunning.
After hanging up the phone, Dorothy went back to her room to wash up, changed into a loose outfit, and started working on new project materials on her computer.
Lately, her mom’s hefty medical bills every month left her no time to think about love and relationships.
She was typing away on her keyboard, totally oblivious to the silent phone next to her, which had lit up several times.
When Dorothy was too tired to keep going and decided to finish the rest tomorrow, she noticed that Everett had sent her three voice call requests four hours ago and a message on WhatsApp.
“Call me when you wake up.”
What could he possibly want from her?
It was probably just a warning not to blab, or maybe he was offering some hush money. If she took that money, it would be no different from selling herself.
Dorothy paused for a moment and typed, “Let’s pretend last night never happened. I won’t tell anyone.”
But at the moment she was about to send it, she changed her mind and deleted Everett’s contact altogether.
That should put him at ease.
She put down her phone and went to sleep.
Until Mr. Percy’s call woke her up. “Hand over the project contract to Anna.”
“Mr. Percy, L… Before she could finish, he hung up. Not giving her a chance to speak.
Dorothy had no choice but to get up to look for the contract, but after rummaging through her luggage, she couldn’t find the folder.
She clearly remembered checking it when she first checked into the hotel.
Suddenly, Dorothy froze.
Oh no….
She must have left the contract in room 1501 in her hurry to escape that morning. Everett must have picked it up.