Chapter 25 Pretend to be My Girlfriend
Payne was furious with himself. He didn't care about his relationship with Colin, but he kicked himself for creating an opportunity for Sophia to marry Colin!
"The contract is screwed. What should we do?" Dorothy was still stunned by Colin. She couldn't understand how he could protect Sophia and even break Payne's arm! She needed to tell her father. Her father could talked to some of his connections, and maybe they could get Colin out of SL group.
Payne was still thinking about the contract. Now that it was in shreds, he had no choice but to stand still with the Lian Family.
"I'll talk to Sophia. Maybe she can talk some sense into Colin."
Dorothy glared at him. "Talk to Sophia?"
Payne normally admitted that he was the dumb one in their relationship. But now, Dorothy was acting like a fool. Was his stupidity contagious?
"Dear, didn't you see how Colin held Sophia? There's something going on between them!" Payne was trying to get Dorothy on the same page.
If it hadn't been for Colin's warning, he would have told her about the marriage.
Before the incident in the conference room, Payne had thought that Colin hated Sophia. Now, he wasn't so sure.
Listening carefully to Payne, Dorothy grit her teeth in anger.
The couple left SL, got into a car and headed to a hospital.
Sophia walked back to her desk. Looking at the reflection from her phone's display, she was shocked at the mess of makeup.
The ruins of her makeup looked horrible on her face.
She quickly cleaned her face before going back to her desk.
Sophia was completely absorbed by the events from the conference room. Considering that Dorothy had lied to her, she still had no idea who the killer was. She had been duped by Dorothy's show of kneeling. Dorothy, go ahead and kneel to me. I'll watch as you bow ten times!' Sophia had thought to herself.
But... However, thinking back to all of the time spent working at SL company in Z Country, Dorothy suddenly had a feeling of great waste.
Would it be best for her to head back to A Country now? Even though she would have to start from the bottom again, she would happily take any job there. It would be a fresh start.
Or would leaving SL completely be even better?
She pulled out her phone and looked at the bank message from earlier. He balance had a measly four digits.. She certainly didn't have the money to start her own business.
What should I do?' Sophia thought to herself.
Sophia gently knocked on her head with her knuckles, but still couldn't think of anything. Well, I guess I'll just focus on my work for today.' After all that happened today, I need to be strong. I'll need it for my revenge against Dorothy.'
Just as she was finishing up, she felt Herring's hand on her shoulder. He had reappeared after disappearing for the better part of the day.
"Where are we going, Herring?"
Herring winked. "You'll know when we get there."
She resisted. "Herring, I still have work to do. If it's not important, I'd rather not.." Sophia wanted to bury herself in her work to forget everything. "I promise it's important!"
As they walked down the hallways, Sophia noticed that Colin was not in his office. Without punching her time card, Herring led her out of the office.
He gestured for her to get into his red Lamborghini. She obliged.
They sped away quickly.
"Herring, I didn't have a chance to punch my timecard. Can I go back..." Herring interrupted her. "Let it go.. It doesn't matter. I was late this morning too. I'm not getting paid at all for the day. Let's just take the day off!"
Knowing of her financial concerns, Herring grabbed a pre-paid card from his wallet and handed it to her. "There's $100, 000 on it. That's way more than you wage for the week!"
Sophia rolled her eyes. She handed the card back to him and crossed her arms. "Please don't, thanks to Mr. Li, I'm happy to spend time with you.."
If anyone is going to give me a handout, it'll be Colin,' she thought to herself.
Herring refused the card and pushed it back towards her. "I'm not kidding, take it. Let's get you dressed up. I want to take you out!"
Herring was being sincere. He knew that Sophia needed money and had work to do. He really wanted to help her.
Sophia, however, thought the amount was too high. She forced a smile on her face. It was clearly fake.
Still refusing to take the card, she squinted at her dress. "Am I really that pathetic?"
A womanizer, Herring spent most of his time with women. He liked to think he could understand their thinking. He thought he understood why Sophia was refusing him.
He picked up his wallet as if to put the card away. "Well, if you don't want it, I won't force you to take it. Little Sophia, don't get angry," said he.
Sophia shook her head slightly, "You think too much. I'm not angry."
Neither Colin nor Herring could really understand her.
Sophia thought about what would happen if she went through with the divorce.
Maybe she really would leave SL Company. She could go back to A Country, find a decent job and look after her father and brother..
"Sophia? Sophia!?" Herring's voice brought an end to Sophia's day dreaming.
Embarrassed, Sophia looked at Herring. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"
Herring was speechless. He ran his hands through his hair. This was the first time a woman had showed such little interest in him. "OK, so here it is.. I need to go to a party tonight. Can you pretend to be my girlfriend?"
What? A party? Pretend to be your girlfriend?
"I... don't think that's a good idea." For starters, she was Colin's wife! Though in name only, it was a strange favor to ask.
Herring smiled, "Don't worry about Colin. He won't care, rest assured. He'll be there with his own date!"
What? Colin's going too? With a date?
"OK, I'll do it." Without further ado, she promised Herring.
Herring pulled the car to the entrance to a modeling company. He led Sophia to the third floor.
What Sophia saw shocked her.
It was a massive room, stuffed from corner to corner with evening dresses. There were thousands of dresses from every designer imaginable.
Herring took his time finding the perfect dress. After much effort he pulled out a red dress and handed it to Sophia. Though she disliked red, Sophia went to the dressing room to try it on. When she emerged, Herring was sitting on a sofa reading a magazine.
Usually dressed in neutral colors, the red dress brought a new life and energy to Sophia.
Herring couldn't help himself and let out a low whistle. Sophia was a beautiful woman. She just had no idea how to dress herself up.
Likewise with her cheap makeup. If only she put a little effort into it, she could be a truly stunning woman. Herring felt a renewed interest in the marital affairs of Colin...☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐