Chapter 408 This Woman Has a Problem
Margaret glanced at Anna and quickly responded with a similar smile.
"Hey, Anna! What a surprise! What brings you here?"
Anna instinctively looked outside and replied, "I have a dinner date. Didn't expect to see you. Are you here with friends?"
Margaret shook her head. "Nah, it's a company dinner. As the boss, I gotta treat everyone."
"That's impressive," Anna said with a smile. She looked at Margaret, then reached into her bag and pulled out a beautifully packaged lipstick, handing it to Margaret.
"Since we bumped into each other, I thought I'd give this to you now. Hope you don't mind."
Margaret looked at the lipstick, a bit puzzled. "What's this?"
"It's a lipstick I love from abroad. It's a plum color that should suit your skin tone and really brighten you up. Consider it a thank-you for taking me to the hospital last time. I was planning to give it to you when we met again, and here we are."
Anna winked playfully.
"This is just..."
Margaret looked at the lipstick, feeling it was a bit odd to accept such a gift out of the blue. She reached out to refuse, but Anna pushed it back into her hand.
"Take it. I consider you a friend, that's why I'm giving it to you. Anyway, I gotta go now; my friends are waiting."
Anna smiled and turned to leave.
Margaret watched her go, slightly frowning. She couldn't shake the feeling that Anna's friendliness was a bit over the top. Even if she had just returned from abroad, there was no need to be so generous to someone she barely knew.
On impulse, Margaret unwrapped the lipstick and twisted off the cap.
The red lipstick emerged, and as she brought it closer, she noticed a strange scent, different from typical perfumes or the fragrances some brands add to their lipsticks.
Margaret hesitated, sniffed again, and frowned. She scraped a bit of the lipstick with her nail and rubbed it on the silver necklace around her neck.
She washed the residue off her hand.
"Margaret, why did you take so long in the restroom? The director's game has already gone through two rounds."
Margaret returned to her seat in the hall, and her colleague started chatting cheerfully. Half an hour later, her colleague noticed her necklace and exclaimed.
"Margaret, did your necklace get something on it? Why is it turning black?"
Margaret looked down and saw a section of her silver necklace had indeed turned black. Her heart sank.
It seemed the lipstick was problematic after all.
Margaret smiled and brushed it off. "It probably got dirty earlier. No worries, I'll clean it later. Excuse me, I need to send a message to a friend."
When no one was looking, Margaret took out her phone and messaged Anthony, [I recently met a woman named Anna who just returned from Valeria. Can you look into her for me?]
The reply came quickly: [Got it.]
The dinner lasted until nine in the evening. Despite the doctor's warnings for Lyle to avoid drinking too much after his illness, he couldn't hold his liquor and ended up drunk, leaning heavily on Margaret.
"You guys go ahead. I'll drive him home."
After saying goodbye to her colleagues, Margaret managed to get Lyle into the passenger seat and drove him back to his villa. She took the keys from his jacket pocket, opened the door, and half-dragged him to the bedroom.
"Lyle," he mumbled, his face flushed from the alcohol, nearly unconscious. The strong smell of alcohol hit Margaret, but she still managed to get him onto the bed.
She felt a wave of relief and was about to check the fridge for some yogurt to help Lyle sober up when he suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Margaret."
In his drunken haze, Lyle saw Margaret and held onto her hand, placing it on his chest, mumbling incoherently.
"Margaret, I really like you. Please don't leave me. I like you so much. Can you be with me? William... he doesn't deserve you."
His words were muddled and disjointed, but Margaret could understand.
She frowned and tried to pull her hand away, but Lyle's grip tightened, and his words became more brazen.
Margaret gritted her teeth and forcefully freed her hand, then grabbed a nearby blanket and covered him, speaking in a calm tone.
"You've had too much to drink. Go to sleep."
Lyle mumbled a few more words, but Margaret didn't pay attention. She felt increasingly awkward and realized Lyle's feelings for her were becoming a troublesome issue.
Margaret sighed in relief and glanced at the bed. Lyle had fallen silent, likely asleep.
She finally relaxed and left the bedroom, only to hear her phone ringing in her pocket.
Margaret checked the caller ID. It was William.
"William, what's up?"
William's voice was unusually serious, almost stern. "Where are you? Why aren't you home?"
Margaret lowered her voice deliberately.
"Lyle was discharged today. I took him to the filming set, and we had dinner at Wisteria Restaurant to celebrate. Are you home?"
"Yeah."
William frowned at the news broadcast on TV, showing footage of Margaret and Lyle leaving the hospital together. The scrolling headline suggested they were dating, which made William uncomfortable.
Margaret sensed something was off in his tone and covered the phone's microphone, lowering her voice further to avoid disturbing Lyle.
"Wait for me at home. I'll be back soon."
Lyle's unconscious mumbling came from the bedroom, prompting Margaret to hang up quickly and leave the villa quietly.
William put down his phone, his fingers interlaced, resting his arms on his knees in a defensive posture.
The sound of the key turning in the lock echoed.
Margaret entered and saw William staring at her.
She paused, smiled slightly, and placed the keys on the shoe cabinet by the entrance, hanging her coat.
"William, why are you here? Does Angel know?"
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