Blind date turned proposal (Josie and Dexter)

"What do you want me to clarify?" Dexter asked, a cigarette clamped between his teeth, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

In just a few minutes, the overwhelming pain he had been experiencing vanished without a trace, and he regained control.

"Russell Group was established by my father, with the initial capital accumulated by him," Dexter said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Of course, my grandfather also played a part. Beyond that, there's not much else to say." He paused, his eyes cold. "They're both gone now. If you don't believe me, feel free to dig deeper."

"You... So, what about Mandarin Oriental Hotel? We've found that since its inception, it has been involved in quite a few shady businesses. Do you have anything to say about that?"

The staff's imposing presence remained undiminished. After all, they had tackled tough opposition before.

Dexter actually gave it some thought and replied, "Mandarin Oriental Hotel is a landmark of Wavery, so everything is done legally. It has generated quite a bit of tax revenue for Wavery's tourism industry. If there were any issues, it would have been investigated by the higher-ups long ago."

"Dexter, stop playing dumb. Everyone knows that Mandarin Oriental Hotel's existence isn't entirely legitimate."

"Is there any evidence?"

"There's a difference between the information you tell us honestly and the information we find out ourselves."

Dexter flashed another smile. "Paper and pen."

The other party assumed he had come around and promptly handed pen and paper over to him.

Unexpectedly, he casually wrote a name on it. "If you want to investigate, I can provide a lead for you. You can look for this person. He approved Mandarin Oriental Hotel's paperwork back in the day." The other party immediately took it. Upon recognizing the name, the other party stood up abruptly, flustered. "Dexter! Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm lying to you. It was him."

Although Dexter dared to write the person's name, the other party didn't have the authority to investigate the person.

After leaving the hotel, Josie returned to Russell Mansion. It was late at night, and Grape was sound asleep.

Marilyn gently placed the tender child into the car, lowering her voice as she said, "His spirits have been low these past few days, crying himself to sleep every night, calling out for his father." Under the faint glow of the car's headlights, traces of tears could still be discerned at the corners of Grape's eyes.

Josie was filled with immense

heartache. "Thank you, Ms. Marilyn. Dexter m-might not be back for a while. Please, take good care of Russell Mansion for me. I'll take the child with me now."

With Dexter not around, leaving Grape there on her own was something Josie absolutely couldn't be at ease with.

Marilyn then said, "I will."

Unexpectedly, Claudia had not yet fallen asleep when the sound of a vehicle echoed. She was the first to step forward and open the gate.

Josie was slightly taken aback and asked in a hushed tone, "You haven't gone to bed yet?"

"You were out for a long time, and I was anxious."

Hearing all the commotion, Grape woke up in Josie's arms. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. "Mommy? Where are we?"

"It's your grandparents' place. Your daddy's away on a business trip, so I brought you here," Josie said.

Naturally, Grape was delighted, but she was somewhat shy and nestled into Josie's arms.

Seeing the situation, Claudia said, "It's quite late. You must be hungry. I'll head to the kitchen and whip up some late-night snacks. You can eat before heading to bed."

Claudia made ricotta-filled ravioli.

เอน 9,

Under the warm glow of the light, Claudia placed a bowl in front Grape. With a gentle and soft

she said, "I added extra sugan Give it a try and see if it tastes good."

Upon seeing the bowl, unmistakably one meant for a child, Josie understood and couldn't help but chuckle. "I recall someone once said

she wasn't particularly fond of

children."

It was clear that Claudia cared about Grape.

Claudia clicked her tongue, instinctively tapping her on the head. "Must you really bring up the shortcomings?"

Josie dodged away with a laugh.

Laura and Zach emerged from the backyard, only to be greeted by this sight.