Chapter 297 Pretend to Be My Girlfriend
"Just toss it in the participation prize box," Daphne suggested thoughtfully. "After the raffle, we can announce there's a mystery gift in there and see who gets it."
This way, it wouldn't cause too much of a stir; she could openly give it to Benjamin.
Jesse nodded. "Okay."
"You coming to this year's annual meeting?" Jesse asked. Daphne usually skipped these; it was always him handling everything.
Daphne shook her head. "Nope, I'm heading to the masquerade party on the eighth floor."
Whether it was HorizonTech Group or the Murphy Group, she never attended. Had Benjamin not mentioned the masquerade party a few days ago, she probably wouldn't have bothered with these events.
Since HorizonTech Group started, Jesse had been managing most of the time.
"You..." Jesse paused, then said, "Alright."
Daphne called out, "Jesse."
"What's up?" he asked.
"You should go to the singles masquerade party tomorrow night." Daphne didn't want him to spend all his prime years tied to the company. "After your speech at the annual meeting, leave the rest to the secretarial department. Don't stress too much."
Jesse caught the underlying meaning in Daphne's words. "I don't want to get married."
"It's just a social event," Daphne said.
"It doesn't mean anything to me," Jesse replied.
"Don't you want to date?" Daphne was curious.
Jesse didn't seem like the type to be entirely focused on his career; why was he so against it?
Thinking about the future, Jesse simply replied, "No."
Daphne wanted to say more but remembered what Mark had said about Jesse's breakup. Although Jesse had explained it was a lie to get information from Mark, it now seemed it wasn't a lie.
"Alright." Daphne wouldn't force him. "Whenever you want to date or have someone you like, you can take a vacation anytime."
"Okay," Jesse's response was very perfunctory.
After the video conference ended, Daphne got busy with other things.
During this time, Gavin called to ask if she wanted to attend the Murphy Group's annual meeting. Daphne declined, saying Lydia would be enough.
In the blink of an eye, it was six in the evening.
When Daphne came out, she saw Lydia and Charles sitting on the sofa. Lydia was eating snacks and watching TV while Charles sat quietly beside her.
Just as Daphne was about to ask what they planned to eat, Benjamin arrived.
Benjamin knocked and entered, greeting the three like an adult, his words brief but steady. "Come over for dinner."
"Coming!" Lydia turned off the TV and went over.
Charles didn't move.
Daphne was puzzled. She grabbed Lydia by the collar as she ran out. "Since when are you so familiar with him?"
Given Lydia's personality, even if she wanted to find out about Daphne and Benjamin, she would agree to dinner but wouldn't rush out like this.
It was a bit too unusual.
"Two hours ago." Lydia blinked. "When Benjamin came to ask what we wanted for dinner."
Daphne wondered why she didn't know about this.
"I was going to refuse, but Benjamin said he promised you to help take care of Charles, so I agreed," Lydia explained, "Isn't that true?"
Daphne pursed her lips, feeling things were getting complicated.
"Come over for dinner; we can talk after eating," Benjamin said, glancing at Charles, who hadn't moved. "Otherwise, the food will get cold."
They all went over.
Lydia couldn't stop praising Benjamin's cooking. Throughout the meal, everyone ate quietly without speaking.
After dinner, they all cleaned up together.
Benjamin glanced at Charles, who was sitting silently on the sofa, and said to Daphne, "I need your help with something."
"Go ahead," Daphne responded calmly.
"I want you to come home with me for New Year's." Benjamin's thin lips parted slightly, his long eyes revealing an inscrutable look. "Pretend to be my girlfriend."
Daphne paused. "Me?"
Benjamin nodded. "Yes."
"Why not ask Zoey or Emma?" Daphne gave a similar response as last time, not considering that Benjamin might have feelings for her. "I'm not very good at this."
When meeting the parents, first impressions were crucial.
Daphne had a reserved personality. When she married Charles, she only got to know his family gradually.
"Being too good at this kind of thing isn't necessarily a good thing." Lydia, who had been listening, was very much in favor of Benjamin and Daphne being together. "It's better if you're not good at it."
"You don't need to stay overnight or talk for long." Benjamin's tone was casual. "Just meet them."
Daphne was still hesitant. She felt that meeting the parents shouldn't be taken lightly.
"Or are you scared?" Benjamin raised an eyebrow.
"If you're really scared, I won't force you," Benjamin continued, "At most, I'll just go back and get scolded. It's no big deal."
"I can go with you at noon." Daphne finally decided. "I have to have dinner with my family in the evening."
Daphne's thoughts were simple.
Benjamin was a good person and treated them well. It didn't seem right for him to get scolded during the New Year.
After all, it was just pretending to be a couple, not the real thing.
"Agreed?" Benjamin's tone lifted.
Daphne said, "Yes."
Benjamin smiled, his eyes filled with light-hearted joy. "Thanks."
Charles, sitting nearby, watched them chatting and laughing and frowned slightly. Summoning some unknown courage, he stood up. "Daphne."
"What's wrong?" Daphne turned to look.
Charles clutched his stomach and started to pretend. "My stomach hurts."
Daphne stood up and checked him over. Finding nothing visibly wrong, she considered it might be an internal issue. "Does it hurt a lot?" she asked.
"Yes." Charles's face scrunched up.
"I'll take you to the hospital," Daphne blurted out.
Charles's heart skipped a beat.
If they went to the hospital, Daphne would find out he was faking it.
What to do?
"No need for the hospital." Benjamin stood up and walked over. "It's probably just some gas from overeating. Resting for a while should help."
"I checked; it's not gas," Daphne was concerned about Charles's health.
Hayden had entrusted Charles to her care; if anything went wrong, she wouldn't know how to explain it to Hayden.
Benjamin saw through it immediately and pressed a spot on Charles's abdomen. "Does it hurt here?"
"If you don't say it hurts, Daphne's gonna take you to the hospital,"Benjamin whispered in his ear, so softly only Charles could hear.
Charles looked at Daphne with a pitiful expression, then pretended to be in pain. "Yes."
"It's just gas." Benjamin concluded. "I'll take him out for a walk."
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