Chapter 13 Intimate with Another Man
After hearing Lisa's words, Lillian nearly passed out from anger. Gripping her arm tightly, Lillian warned, "Don't come looking for him at the company again. And don't go to his house!"
"Lillian, gratitude is a virtue. You marry a rich guy and forget all about us?" Lisa rolled her eyes. "Would you and Oscar have grown up without me and Harry?"
"Don't you dare leave! This $660,000 is your compensation for raising me for twenty years!" Lillian shouted angrily, on the verge of tears.
Seeing her anger, Lisa didn't dare to argue because she was afraid of offending Lillian, her lucky star, so she had no choice but to pretend to compromise. "Fine. I won't see him! Happy now? We're family. Let's not ruin that."
Lillian took a deep breath and instructed her, "Don't waste the money. Take Harry with you to the bank to cash this check."
"I got it," Lisa said happily, "Go back to work. I'll take a cab home; it's safer. I'll call you if I need anything."
"By the way," Lillian added, "I'm really busy with Alexander, so we'll not be coming back in three days. Let's plan some other time."
"Sure! I understand you both are swamped with work. You can officially come back after the wedding. Goodbye." Lisa was no longer as insistent as she had been the day before.
Watching Lisa hail a cab and leave, Lillian managed a wistful smile and thought, "Lisa's got the money now, so she could care less about my coming back or not."
With Alexander not coming home all afternoon, Lillian was anxious, making several mistakes at work. Fortunately, Taylor was out, or else she would have certainly scolded Lillian.
At six o'clock, Lillian clocked out on time.
Joining her colleagues in the elevator, Lillian suddenly received a text message.
Leo: [Lillian, I'm waiting for you at the company's main entrance.]
Kayla, standing beside Lillian, caught a glimpse of the sender's name.
"Leo?" Kayla asked with a smirk, "Ms. Hill, do you have a boyfriend?"
Lillian blushed and quickly sent a reply before locking her phone. She clarified, "No. Leo's my neighbor."
However, Kayla wasn't convinced and kept teasing. "He might not be your boyfriend now, but he could be in the future. You're on a date now, aren't you?"
Lillian was surprised at Kayla's interest in gossip but didn't want to elaborate, knowing no matter what she said, Kayla wouldn't believe her, so Lillian just kept smiling.
Outside the Sinclair Group, Leo spotted Lillian exiting with her colleagues, waved, and gave her a beaming smile.
"Lillian!"
"Oh? Leo Wilson from Marketing?" Kayla recognized Leo and inquired, "You two are neighbors?"
Lillian calmly replied, "Yes, he works in Marketing."
Kayla politely stopped probing and took a cab to leave.
"Lillian," Leo's eyes were bright, and his face was slightly flushed as he handed her a sandwich. He said bashfully, "I got out early, so I picked up a sandwich for you. You must be starving, right?"
Indeed, because of Lisa, Lillian had hardly eaten at lunch and felt very hungry.
Smiling as she took the sandwich, Lillian looked down to open the wrapper and said, "Leo, you're always so thoughtful. The woman who marries you is going to be one lucky lady."
Leo tenderly ruffled her hair and laughed resignedly. "Nonsense. Eat up!"
Lillian had grown up with Leo since they were kids. As a child, she often brought her brother Oscar over to Leo's house for meals. Leo's mother, Debra, liked her very much and jokingly asked if she wanted to marry Leo.
Even though Lillian and Leo grew up understanding the complexities of relationships between men and women, they were only focused on their studies. After they graduated from college, they both started working at Sinclair Group. Lillian saw Leo as an older brother.
"Come over for dinner tonight. My mom's been asking about you," Leo said as he stood with Lillian on the sidewalk, waiting for a taxi.
"I can't tonight. Oscar is being discharged from the hospital today, so I need to go there and take care of the paperwork. Plus, you just got back from a business trip, so you've got a lot of work to handle. Let's plan for another day."
"Oscar is getting discharged today? That's great!" Leo exclaimed. "Let's go! I'll come with you to the hospital."
Just then, a taxi pulled up in front of them. Leo quickly opened the door before Lillian could refuse, and they got into the car together.
From inside a black car at the company's entrance, Alexander had witnessed the entire exchange between Leo and Lillian.
"Which department is that guy from?" Alexander asked coldly.
Kevin replied hesitantly, "I think that's Leo Wilson from Marketing. I've seen him there a few times. He's really hardworking."
"Huh," Alexander snorted abruptly but said nothing more.
Glancing at Alexander in the rearview mirror, Kevin asked with confusion, "Mr. Sinclair, why did you let Lisa get into the car today? Don't you dislike her family intensely?"
"People like her can be dealt with money. Besides, they all designed this drama together. If I didn't let them finish their performance, their efforts would be wasted."
"Are you saying Ms. Hill orchestrated having her uncle's wife come to ask for money?"
"It's the whole family that wants money." Alexander finished with a sneer.
Kevin blinked but didn't continue the questioning—although he felt that Lillian didn't seem like someone who was greedy for wealth. Lisa, on the other hand, seemed quite covetous.
"Call Ms. Reed. Why hasn't she come down yet after fetching something? When did she become so inefficient?"
As soon as Alexander finished speaking, Taylor pulled open the car door and got in.
Lillian had completed the hospital discharge procedures. After Leo helped Oscar pack up his things, the trio happily left the hospital.
"Oscar, you've been eating bland food for over half a month you were in the hospital, right? What would you like to eat?" Leo asked with a smile.
Oscar was in good spirits. He thought for a moment and said, "Right now, I just want to eat the spicy food from that place behind the school. Drop me off at school on the way."
"Let's go."
"No," both Lillian and Leo said at the same time.
"Oscar, your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so you can't eat spicy food. Stick to something light," Lillian said seriously.
"Lillian!" Oscar shouted in dissatisfaction and complained to Leo, "Lillian is such a wet blanket."
Leo said to Lillian, "Eating it just once should be fine. Oscar hasn't had the chance to enjoy his favorite foods while he was hospitalized. Don't be so strict. Just this one time, please!"
Seeing the two of them, Lillian finally shook her head helplessly and smiled, "You two win! If you want to eat that badly, then go ahead!"
