Janice thought in her heart. "What else? My ex-boyfriend happened to become my boss."

But she never said it out loud to Christopher. She replied, "Nothing."

"Really?"

Christopher frowned.

Janice nodded. "Of course. By the way, I received a phone call from Dad. Things didn’t end well the last time we went home so he wanted to invite us for dinner again in a hotel."

Christopher replied," Let’s buy him dinner instead."

He had the same thought as Janice. She nodded and continued, "Okay, you can make the reservations. I’ll give you the credit card when we get home."

Christopher didn’t take her answer seriously. Unexpectedly, Janice gave him her credit card when they reached home. She said," Take it, you can decide on a hotel. An average hotel will do."

Christopher stared at the credit card and chuckled," I thought you budget your expenses every month. How could you pay for it?"

Janice was embarrassed. She had allocated it for the psychiatrist visit. Since he’s healthy, there was no need for the treatment.

She wouldn’t tell him that.

"Just take it. Stop asking questions."

Christopher frowned. "Keep it for yourself. I still have the money to treat my father-in-law to a meal."

Janice stopped insisting.

"Okay, if it’s not enough, let me know."

The next day, Janice left the office to report on the news. Just as she was about to return to the TV station, she received a call from Christopher.

"I’ve booked the hotel. I’ll pick you up after work."

Janice agreed and hung up without asking him further questions.

She returned to the TV station. As soon as she sat down in her chair, Lucy came over to her table.

"Janice, have you heard the news? There will be a promotional cocktail party organized by a TV station tomorrow night. Our station was invited as well."

"Really?" Janice never had any interest in those matters so she didn’t pay any attention to it.

"Guess who the director will send as our representative."

Lucy asked in a low voice.

Janice shook her head and replied, "I don’t know."

Lucy looked around and said, "I think he will pick Linda."

"I think so too." Janice nodded. After all, only Linda was qualified.

After work, Janice was walking out of the elevator when she met Benjamin at the door. He seemed to have waited for a long time. He quickly went up to her when he saw her.

Janice wanted to avoid him once she saw him but she was stopped by Benjamin’s voice.

"Janice."

They were at the building lobby, where people come and go. It was rude for Janice to ignore him so she stopped in her tracks.

"Director Taylor, what can I do for you?"

Benjamin was surprised when she greeted him. He asked," Janice, do you have time after work? Can you do me a favor?"

As she was looking at her watch, he quickly added, "It won’t be long."

Janice frowned. "Is it a business matter or a private matter?"

Benjamin paused for a moment. "Both."

Janice frowned. "What exactly is it?"

Benjamin said, "Well, there is a promotional cocktail party tomorrow. You know that I’m not good at dressing up so I thought you could help."

Janice frowned after listening to Benjamin. "Director Taylor, you must have found the wrong person. I’m not good at it. Why don’t you find someone else?"

She looked at the time on her watch. Christopher must have arrived. Just as she was about to leave, she was stopped by Benjamin.

"Janice, can you help me as a friend?" Benjamin looked at her with pleading eyes. Janice was about to refuse. "Janice."

...

"Janice."

Lucy’s voice could be heard. Janice turned around and saw Lucy walking towards her. Suddenly, an idea struck her.

"Lucy, you came at the right time. Director Taylor said that he needed someone to help him dress up for the party tomorrow. I think you have good taste. Why don’t you help Director Taylor?"

Lucy blushed when she heard Janice. "Of course."

She couldn’t be happier at the thought of being closer to Benjamin.

"Ok, you two can continue."

Before Benjamin could reject, Janice left in a hurry.

Benjamin stood there and stared at Janice. He could not hide his disappointment. He intended to ask Janice out by using the party as an excuse but he never expected that his plan would fail.

"Director Taylor?"

Lucy pulled him back from his thoughts. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Only then, Benjamin looked over and met Lucy’s gaze. He replied against his will, "Thanks, Lucy."

Janice left the station hurriedly. She couldn’t help but turned and look back. She let out a sigh of relief once she realized that Benjamin didn’t follow her.

Such an annoyance!

She was about to search for Christopher’s car until she saw him waving at her.

She walked over to the car.

Christopher opened the door for her and waited for Janice to get in the car before he returned to the driver’s seat.

"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

He put on his seat belt and asked.

Janice was surprised. She never thought that Christopher would see her. He shouldn’t have seen Benjamin, right?

Janice couldn’t help but felt guilty at that thought. "Nothing. I’m just afraid that you will be waiting for me." Christopher drove the car in silence.

"By the way, which hotel did you book? I’ll tell my dad."

Janice was about to call her dad but she was stopped by Christopher. "Don’t worry, I’ve told him."

"Really?" Janice never expected Christopher to be so considerate. She was grateful for his actions.

Janice got out of the car at the entrance of the hotel. She was stunned when she saw that the hotel was the one where she had invited Daniel Pattinson a while ago.

"No way. You actually booked such a great hotel."

Christopher knew that she would question him for his choice. He prepared an excuse in advance. "Have you forgotten that I have a discount because I know someone inside?"

"But, even if there is a discount, the meal won’t be cheap."

Janice replied.

"Don’t worry, I can bear the cost."

"But..."

Janice wanted to continue but she was dragged into the hotel by Christopher.

Janice still felt awkward even after she was seated at the table in a private room. After all, the hotel was famous for being expensive. Even her middle-class father won’t be willing to eat here.

At that moment, Malcolm came.

Janice and Christopher stood up to welcome them. However, Janice’s face fell instantly when she saw Gladys and Vanessa with him.

"Dad, I thought you’re alone."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Malcolm’s face. "Gladys and Vanessa were sorry for what happened last time. They are here to apologize to you."

Janice did not believe his excuse.

After so many years, how could she not know what kind of person Gladys was? It was impossible for her to apologize for anything.

As expected, Gladys, who had been silent for a long time, opened her mouth and said, "Janice, I’m sorry for blaming you. After you left, Vanessa and I regretted our actions so much. Please forgive me for your dad’s sake. We are family, right?"