"Dominic." Kenneth turned his head to look at Dominic Thorne. The look in Yates's eyes was no joke. Dominic exchanged a few words with the beautiful woman beside him, then sent her away.
"Ronan, have you found any trace of Thea?"
"Not yet, Boss," Ronan Jenkins replied. He was baffled himself. Thea Shaw had vanished two years ago, and despite searching practically the entire world, they still couldn't find her. Dominic Thorne sat down across from Kenneth.
"Yates, what's really going on?" Other than when Thea Shaw left two years ago, he had never seen Kenneth like this. As far as he could remember, Kenneth would only ever drink himself into a stupor over Thea; only for her would he show such a heartbroken expression.
"Dominic, do you think Thea will ever come back?" Kenneth asked, his eyes hazy. Dominic didn't answer, merely lowering his head.
Kenneth downed the whiskey in his hand. "Dominic, I think I'm falling for someone else. What am I going to do?"
Dominic's head snapped up, his eyes shining. "Yates, falling for someone else is a good thing! You can't just wait for Thea forever. If there's someone you like, you should go after her." Dominic was ecstatic. 'Thea Shaw really put Kenneth through hell. When she first left, he was on the verge of a complete breakdown, spending all his days in bars. He was even hospitalized for alcohol poisoning once. Afterward, even though he wasn't drowning in booze anymore, he started chasing women like a madman, treating love like a game and never getting serious. If Yates has really fallen for someone else, he should finally be able to move on from Thea's shadow, right?'
Just then, a woman came over and sat down. Dominic recognized her—the international supermodel, Becky. 'A woman like her is the epitome of glamour—alluring eyes, a killer body... what man could possibly resist? But I know Yates won't be interested in her at all. She's clearly just asking for a snub.'
"Young Master Yates, all alone?" she cooed, swaying her hips as she sat down beside Kenneth. After all, he was Kenneth Yates—every woman at the Ayers Group was under his spell.
Kenneth was in a foul mood and had no patience for these kinds of women.
"Get lost," Kenneth said, his eyes turning vicious. Just then, a camera flash from nearby captured the moment. Becky simply raised an eyebrow and walked away. Tomorrow's front-page story was practically written. They stayed at the bar drinking until dawn before heading back. When Kenneth went to work, he looked exhausted and hungover. He hadn't been at the company for long when Zane Fletcher came to the president's office.
"President, this is today's entertainment headline. Please take a look."
"I'm not interested in celebrity gossip. You've been my assistant for more than a day or two; why do you need me to look at everything?" Kenneth didn't look up, keeping his eyes on the file in front of him.
"President, you're featured in this one." Kenneth was surprised. In the past, any gossip about him had been intentionally leaked by him. He knew nothing about this. 'Who's taking secret pictures of me?'
Kenneth took the newspaper. It was a photo from his moment with Becky at the bar yesterday; someone had snapped a picture. 'So what if they took a picture?' he thought. 'It's not like I'm a stranger to gossip.'
Summer Lancaster saw the top online headline as soon as she woke up. It was about Kenneth Yates and Becky. 'So he didn't go to Audrey's place yesterday? He was at a bar instead. Maybe Audrey is already history. And once she's history, someone else will just take her place. It's a vicious, never-ending cycle.'
Summer was coming down with a cold today and had a splitting headache, so she decided to call in sick and rest at home.
「Yates Group」
Audrey arrived in a huff, but the receptionist stopped her at the front desk. 'Things are different now,' the receptionist thought. 'The president has a new favorite. Why would he bother with her anymore?'
"Who the hell do you think you are, stopping me? Do you have any idea who I am? I'll have President Yates fire you!"
"I'm sorry, Miss Roya, but you can't see the president without an appointment. Miss Roya! Miss Roya!"
"Kenneth, I'm sorry, I have something I need to talk to you about." Audrey burst through the door into the president's office.
"Secretary Scott, you can go," Kenneth said. The secretary exited, leaving the two of them alone in the office.
"Kenneth, the stuff online is just a lie, right? It's all a misunderstanding with Becky, isn't it?" Audrey's smile was strained; she didn't want to lose Kenneth.
"Audrey, name your price." Kenneth set down his pen, stood up, and slipped his hands into his suit pockets.
"Kenneth, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Audrey's smile grew even more forced.
"I know exactly what kind of person you are. Fifty million. That should be enough, right?" He picked up the checkbook. Audrey grabbed his pen hand. Kenneth shot her a glare, and she immediately let go. With a detached flourish, Kenneth wrote out the numbers on the check—each digit numb and cold. Audrey felt a surge of resentment. 'I really do like him. Am I just supposed to back out like this? I can't stand it.' Then, she glanced at the check. To her shock, it was for one hundred million.
Audrey left, becoming a laughingstock throughout the entire company. The woman was too arrogant and brazen; no one, from the top floor to the bottom, had liked her. With Audrey having fallen from grace, it seemed to confirm the rumors about Kenneth Yates and Becky's relationship.