Chapter 336
"Layla is in love!"
This sentence stirred up the whole office. Just when the colleagues had finally dispersed, they gathered around Layla like a flock of pigeons.
"In love?"
"Who's the lucky guy?"
"Is he handsome? Is he rich?" They gossiped.
"No, you've misunderstood." Layla couldn't stand their enthusiasm.
"That's not a misunderstanding. You just took a photo. Were you planning to send it to him?" one said.
"Definitely, we're all women here. We understand!"
"Being in love makes you want to share everything you see and like with your partner."
"I'm the same way. Even the bread I eat in the morning, I want to show it to my boyfriend." Another colleague added.
Layla felt helpless with their words. She wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
"Layla, you're blushing!"
"Wow! It's true. She's really in the honeymoon phase."
Layla had no choice but to pick up her cup and hide in the tea room, grumbling about Samuel, the one who caused all this trouble.
She picked up her phone and sent a message. [You're annoying.]
At noon, Layla intentionally left the office fifteen minutes early for lunch, choosing a restaurant two streets away from the office.
She preferred to eat alone rather than with her colleagues. But at times like this, she missed Alice very much, even though Alice always took her beef from her bowl.
Before she could even put the forkful of food into her mouth, she heard the voices of her colleagues.
"Layla, you're here."
"What a coincidence!"
Layla's heart sank. The flattering smiles gave her a headache. 'This couldn't be a coincidence, could it?'
'They can't even let me eat in peace, following me for two streets. It was unnecessary. Truly unnecessary!' She thought.
She forced a smile and was surrounded by four girls.
"Layla, do you like to eat beef? Is it delicious?"
'I haven't started to eat!' She murmured underneath.
"It looks delicious, Layla. I also love beef. We like the same things. What a coincidence."
"I just ordered randomly."
"Layla has good taste, then I'll have beef too."
"I want one too."
Then the five people all ordered beef.
Layla was helpless. 'I just want to eat quietly. Couldn't you leave me alone?' she thought.
"Layla, you haven't told us yet. Who is your mysterious boyfriend?"
"Yeah, spill the beans. Good friends should share their love experiences."
'When did we become good friends? We are just colleagues.' She thought.
"It was crowded earlier. It's normal to feel awkward. You could share it with us secretly. We won't tell anyone." Then they began to talk about their respective boyfriends.
"Sure, let me spill first. My boyfriend likes to play with whips."
"How exciting! My boyfriend is uninteresting. We were intimate in the car yesterday, and he was shy."
Layla swallowed hard, losing her appetite. She had no interest in their private lives and even felt a bit nauseous.
Her phone vibrated, and she absentmindedly checked it. By the time she realized it was a mistake, it was too late. A female colleague next to her, named Cassandra Fitzgerald, grabbed her phone. "Wow! The profile picture is of you two. He must be your boyfriend."
"He sent a [miss you]. So sweet!"
"Let me have a look."
"I can't see clearly like this. Zoom in!" They snatched her phone, but Layla managed to pull it back with force.
"Layla, why are you so stingy? Having a boyfriend is normal. Why hide it from us like we're thieves?"
"Yeah, it's so hurtful that you hide it from us."
"Your boyfriend seems very handsome, with such sharp features. Is he a foreigner?"
"Wow, Layla likes foreigners! You're so charming that even foreign men are captivated by you. I truly envy you."
"Envy is useless. You don't have Layla's beauty and talent."
"Can we not talk about this?" Layla was annoyed by their rude behavior of snatching her phone earlier, her face darkening a bit.
They were quite tactful, laughing it off. "Okay, okay, let's not talk about it. Layla is shy. Let's not embarrass her."
"Layla, it's my birthday today. Let's have dinner together tonight."
"I won't go."
"Don't be like this. Can you bear to refuse the birthday girl? It's my birthday wish. Please say yes."
"Yeah, Layla, come on. Cassandra's family is quite wealthy. The minimum spending per person at tonight's restaurant is a hundred dollars. Why not go?"
"Yeah, you must come, or I'll keep bothering you until you agree."
This Cassandra really kept pestering her, and Layla finally agreed under duress.
Layla finally found a moment of peace in the tea room. She took out her phone and found that the message Samuel sent her at noon was [miss you.] Layla pursed her lips and replied, [Don't text me again.]
As soon as she sent it, her phone rang.
It was Samuel calling.
Layla wanted to hang up, but her body did the opposite, walking over to close the tea room door while Cassandra smiled at her ambiguously outside.
"What's up?" Layla's tone was a bit displeased.
"You told me not to text you, so I'm calling you."
"You know I didn't mean that." Layla was speechless.
"Oh, really? I thought that's what you meant."
Layla rolled her eyes. 'He wasn't that dumb. He was doing it on purpose.' She thought.
"Samuel, is playing dumb funny to you?"
"Love can make people act foolish, don't you know?"
"You're experienced. No need to be modest."
"Just experienced in bed." Samuel was indeed humble.
His sentence made Layla blush. 'How dare he call himself foolish? He is quite a charmer!' She thought.
"Dinner tonight?"
"I'll be eating with my colleagues."
"I thought you didn't get along with your colleagues."
"We don't, but it's her birthday. I can't refuse."
"Okay, go ahead. Call me when you get home. Or if you need a driver, I'll come pick you up after dinner."
"No. Absolutely not!" Layla insisted, "Don't show up in front of my colleagues."
"Do I embarrass you?"
Layla wanted to say quite the opposite. He was making her feel honored.
"I'm hanging up."
At seven o'clock in the evening, Layla arrived at the Harmony Bistro.
"Layla, sit next to me."
"I want Layla on my right side." They argued and caused quite a commotion.
"Wow, this restaurant is so upscale. Cassandra, you're going to spend a lot tonight."
"As long as Layla is happy."
"Hurry. Take a picture for me."
The four women kept taking selfies from various angles. They insisted on including Layla in every photo, but she couldn't even force a smile anymore, feeling the mocking glances from other diners.
"No more photos. Let's just eat."
"Layla, are you hungry? Okay, let's order. We'll take more photos when the food arrives."
"Photos look better that way."
Layla ordered a steak, thinking that she always ate steak with Samuel at Western restaurants.
Just as she thought of Samuel, he walked into the restaurant with a tall, beautiful woman on his arm.