Chapter 23 Don't Use It Again Next Time
"Bella..." Samantha looked very aggrieved, as if Isabella was the one who had done something wrong and Samantha was the one who had been hurt.
But Isabella would not be deceived. She said, "Matthew isn’t here, so you don't have to pretend in front of me. And don't say you can’t control your feelings. If you really can’t, there’d be no difference between you two and animals."
Samantha hadn't expect her to be so sharp. Her face turned pale. "You can judge me however you want, Bella, but don't say that about Matthew..."
"I'm not interested in judging you, and I'm even less interested in judging Matthew." Isabella looked away. "I hope you won't disturb me anymore, and please address me by my full name in the future. We are not friends."
Ding.
The elevator arrived.
Isabella didn't even look at Samantha and walked straight into the elevator.
Samantha watched as the elevator doors closed, biting her lip in frustration. Instead of leaving immediately, she stared at the numbers on the elevator panel as it continued to go up, until it reached the top floor of the building.
She hurried back to the front desk and asked, "What department is on the highest floor?"
The front desk girl glanced at her. "That's the CEO's office. Do you have any business there?"
"Okay." Samantha handed over her resume. "I'm here for an interview."
"Interviews are on the third floor," the front desk girl said.
"Okay, thank you." Samantha asked, "Do you know which department Isabella works in?"
"Isabella?" The front desk girl shook her head.
There were too many people in the company, so she couldn't remember who Isabella was.
Samantha reminded her, "She's the girl I was talking to just now."
The girl at the front desk was cautious. "Why are you asking?"
"We used to be good friends, but we had a small disagreement which caused our relationship to suffer. I was glad to run into her here, and I just want to know if we’ll become colleagues in the same department."
"Oh. That girl’s probably from the CEO's office."
"The CEO's office?" Samantha pursed her lips. She hadn’t expected Isabella to be in the CEO's office at the Landon Group.
Zaire had just driven onto the overpass when Kelsey called.
"Hey, Zaire, how did it go? Did you succeed?" Kelsey stood in front of a large mirror, holding her phone in one hand and gesturing with the other as she adjusted her dress.
"I didn’t..." Zaire didn't finish his sentence before Kelsey screamed, interrupting him. "Zaire! I don't want to hear that, it's not good!"
Zaire was speechless.
"Use any means necessary! I have to have dinner with Sebastian tonight!"
Zaire lamented, "Please stop torturing me! I really did my best..."
"No, I don't want to hear it! I don't care! I just want to have dinner with Sebastian! If I can't have dinner with him tonight, if I can't see him, you can start getting ready for my funeral!"
Zaire squeezed his temples tightly. When Kelsey stopped screaming, he said, "Do you mind if I invite someone else to dinner with us?"
"Who?"
"Sebastian's girlfriend."
After work, Isabella received a call from Nina, inviting her to dinner at a restaurant near the company.
Isabella knew that restaurant was quite expensive. As she thought about how Nina was usually reluctant to spend even on a buffet, Isabella suggested, "I know a small restaurant nearby that has good food and reasonable prices. Should we go there?"
Nina hesitated for a moment before saying, "Charlie’s buying tonight. He just received a bonus, so you don't have to worry about money. Let's go there, and take care on your way."
"Okay." Isabella was confused, but she agreed.
Isabella knew what kind of person Charlie was. If he was willing to spend so much money on her, he probably had something in mind.
Isabella took a taxi to the restaurant, but Nina and Charlie hadn't arrived yet. She informed the waiter that she was waiting for someone, and the waiter led her to the reserved table, poured her a glass of juice, and asked her to wait.
Isabella gazed at the bustling street and bright lights outside the glass window, lost in thought.
Her eyes followed a black car as it parked at the entrance of the restaurant. The car door opened, and a man and a woman got out. The woman was wearing a red dress and delicate makeup. They walked into the restaurant together, smiling and holding each other.
The waiter guided the two of them toward Isabella.
Isabella wanted to hide, but she couldn't do it in time.
The man and the woman's gaze landed on her almost at the same time.
"Isabella?" Vanessa looked surprised and turned to Sebastian. "Did you invite Isabella to dinner too? Why didn't you tell me?"
Isabella stood up and awkwardly said, “Mr. Landon.”
Then she explained to Vanessa, "Mr. Landon didn't invite me here."
Vanessa looked at the table number and her smile grew even brighter. "My mistake. So, you made plans to eat here with someone else, Isabella."
"Yes."
"Are you having dinner with your boyfriend?"
Isabella hesitated, and Sebastian frowned slightly. He felt that Vanessa was asking that on purpose.
Isabella shook her head. "I’m having dinner with my sister and brother-in-law."
"Okay." A trace of disappointment flashed in Vanessa's eyes, but she quickly smiled and said, "This is a nice place. You should come here with your boyfriend next time."
As they spoke, Vanessa linked arms with Sebastian and moved closer to him.
Sebastian suddenly turned his head and glanced at her. "What perfume are you wearing tonight?"
"It’s orange perfume. I just bought it, does it smell good?" Vanessa had done some research to please him and knew that he liked fruity scents, so she had deliberately chosen an orange perfume to wear tonight.
But Sebastian didn't seem to like it and casually said, "Don't use it next time."
Vanessa felt a bit awkward in front of Isabella and forced a smile.
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Sebastian and Vanessa walked inside and sat in their designated seats.
After a while, Zaire and Kelsey arrived.
"Sebastian." Kelsey sat down next to Sebastian and completely ignored Vanessa's presence, her eyes fixed on Sebastian. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other. You've become even more handsome."
Sebastian remained expressionless, "Let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend, Vanessa."
Vanessa immediately stood up, holding a glass of juice, and greeted Kelsey. "It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Jose."
"Her?" Kelsey stared at Vanessa, stunned. "Isn't she your former assistant? She was the one who received me the last time I went to the Landon Group. How is she your girlfriend? Sebastian, even if you want to get rid of me, you should find a prettier actress."
Was Kelsey implying that she was ugly?
