Chapter 141 Brothers Are There for the Teasing
When she said that, Jesse fell silent for a while, then replied, "Give me ten minutes."
Daphne, though puzzled, agreed. "Okay."
The call ended.
Daphne pondered over the matter, trying to figure out the best approach. If Charles were in Ivrea City, she wouldn't bother with any of this, nor would she care. But since he had come to Gedser and was planning to work there long-term, even visiting her home today. The string of events tied together forced her to think of countermeasures; she genuinely disliked having her life disrupted and did not want any further association with him.
Time slipped by unnoticed. Ten minutes passed.
Jesse sent over a photo, accompanied by a voice message, "Boss, here's the plan I've made. Take a look."
Daphne opened the image. She was taken aback by the contents.
"We're just pretending, do we need to be this meticulous?" Daphne sent back a voice message.
Jesse had shared a screenshot of a document with bullet points detailing how he would pursue her, what steps to take, and how long it should take before she agreed, orchestrating the entire charade with great care.
To any outsider. It would seem wholly authentic.
"You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend, presumably to get Mr. Lancelot to give up," Jesse said.
Daphne admitted, "Yes."
In front of him, there was nothing worth hiding.
"Charles is a deep thinker; if we don't follow these steps, he'll be suspicious," Jesse thought everything through thoroughly, adding: "Tomorrow, I'll ask you out for soup, and I'll make sure he sees us."
Daphne was loss for words as she mused, 'Sees us?'
"How are you going to make him see us?"
"Mark, who's with Charles, is a friend of mine," Jesse said earnestly, his tone serious as ever, "Letting him know is as good as letting Charles know."
He knew Mark's character like the back of his hand. Every resource had to be utilized. Daphne paused, marveling at how small the world was.
After hanging up, she went through the plan once again and suddenly felt that having Jesse play her "pretend boyfriend" was a waste of his talents; with his skills, he should be running his own show.
On the other hand, as soon as they call ended, Jesse called Mark. A performance had to be convincing through and through. Otherwise, it was all too easy to arouse suspicion.
"Pursuing her?" Mark was stunned upon hearing the words, a look of disbelief painting his face, "You? Are you sure you're not pulling my leg?"
"It's no joke," Jesse assured him, setting him up for the ruse, "I've liked her for a long time, but she was married before, so I never expressed my feelings."
Mark's heart skipped a beat, "What about now?"
"She's divorced." Jesse stated the fact simply.
In that moment, Mark instinctively thought of Daphne. To make sure Jesse wasn't after Daphne, he even went as far as to ask, "What was your relationship with her?"
"She was my boss," Jesse amended his statement.
He originally wanted to say 'employer,' but then he remembered that his employer, Frontier Capital Group, was still a secret, so he switched terms. After all, he was still working part-time at Murphy Group, so it wasn't a lie.
Hearing this, Mark immediately felt relieved and started offering all kinds of dating advice, chatting with palpable joy.
At the end of the conversation, indulging in some gossip, he even offered, "I'll prepare some flowers for you to give to her when you two have soup tomorrow."
"Okay," Jesse agreed.
Mark, wanting to support his buddy, even went as far as taking a day off.
The next afternoon, after work, it was according to Jesse's script that Daphne would have to go on a date with him. When they arrived at the restaurant Jesse had booked, he ushered Daphne inside.
It was a place specifically designed for romantic dates, with a lot of style and a decor that was very comfortable and mood-lifting.
While having soup, Jesse looked at Daphne and mentioned, "Mark will come by later."
Daphne was puzzled, "What's he coming for?"
"To deliver flowers," Jesse replied succinctly.
No sooner had he finished speaking; Mark had walked in with a bouquet of fresh flowers. Entering from his angle, he could only see Jesse's face, not Daphne's.
He could've ordered the flowers in advance, but he delayed them to catch a glimpse of the face of the woman Jesse was interested in during their soup date.
Seeing that the person seated opposite Jesse was dressed in a professional outfit, the corners of his mouth turned up with knowing amusement.
So, this guy had a thing for mature professional women. Tsk, tsk, tsk. He hadn't seen that coming.
Mark straightened his tie, walked over holding the flowers, and with a smile edging his lips, said to Jesse, "Mr. Jesse, these are the flowers you ordered..." He forced out the last two words with sheer willpower.
At that moment, he had seen Daphne's face. When he recognized her, his entire body froze, and his mind went blank.
'Holy cow! Ms. Murphy? How could it be Ms. Murphy?'
"Ms. Murphy, what, what are you doing here..." his mind buzzed, completely stunned.
Daphne pretended to be a bit surprised as well, but her tone remained as unaffected as usual, "Jesse invited me for soup, do you know him?"
Mark suddenly turned to stone.
"We've been friends since childhood," Mark's mind was in turmoil, filled with thoughts of "what do I do, what do I do?"
Daphne nodded, "Mhm."
Mark was at a loss for words. He glanced at Daphne, who continued sipping her soup, and pretending as if nothing had happened, he said to Jesse, "I need to talk to you about something. Come with me for a minute."
"Let's talk later," Jesse rejected the invitation outright, "I'm here with Daphne for soup."
Mark's breathing quickened. If the boss heard this nickname, he'd blow his top!
"It's fine, go with him," Daphne spoke slowly, ever calm and casual, "Mark must have something urgent to discuss."
"All right," Jesse nodded.
He followed Mark to the hallway, still concerned about Daphne, "Make it quick, Daphne is waiting for me." Jesse said.
"Just give up," said Mark.
"What?!" Jesse exclaimed, pretending to be shocked.
"I'm telling you to give up on Ms. Murphy," Mark advised seriously.
"I've been meaning to ask, do you two know each other?" Jesse behaved normally, not giving anything away.
"Before I answer that, you have to answer a question for me," Mark was serious about wanting him to back off, his boss was formidable when it came to settling scores, "Do you know who she was married to before?"
"No clue," Jesse said bluntly, "I didn't ask."
Mark pushed up his glasses, revealing his trademark smile, "My boss, Charles."
"Oh," Jesse responded.
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