Chapter 240: Chapter 240

Chapter 240:

“Which could be helpful to us. Once Eileen is out of the picture and more of Bryan’s admirers show up, his engagement to another woman will likely be arranged by the Dawson family soon,” Kian said. Then Zola would be free.

Kian took Zola’s hand and murmured, “Zola, about that day…” As Kian brought up that day, Zola’s expression turned pale and she quickly pulled her hand back. “Let’s not talk about it. Just forget that day ever happened,” she said.

Upon hearing that, Kian appeared slightly frustrated. “I’m sorry. I acted too impulsively that day. I’ll be sure to make preparations before doing anything like that again.” His apology didn’t seem to matter to Zola, but she felt obliged to acknowledge it.

The banquet continued. Ryan seldom joined Denzel at such gatherings, especially in high heels, which were starting to make her uncomfortable.

Denzel turned to Eileen and said, “Ms. Curtis, could you perhaps take my wife upstairs to the lounge? I’m concerned about her.”

“Of course.” Eileen withdrew her hand from Bryan’s arm and took Ryan’s.

Bryan noticed and frowned, his eyes falling on Eileen. He said, “Call me if anything happens.”

“Nothing bad will happen,” Ryan joked. “It’s your party. Who would dare cause trouble for Eileen here?”

As they walked away, Ryan whispered to Eileen, “Mr. Dawson is so attentive to you. I was hoping to ask you to show me around Onaland sometime since I hardly know it here. But I bet Mr. Dawson wouldn’t be too happy about it. He seems really protective of you.”

She playfully nudged Eileen’s shoulder, causing Eileen to lose her balance. Ryan quickly held Eileen’s waist to steady her and gasped in astonishment. “Oh my God! Ms. Curtis, you’re so slim. How do you maintain such a great figure? No wonder Mr. Dawson can’t get enough of you.”

Dive into tales at gαℓ ησ ν𝒆 𝓁s, com Although Ryan was making a joke, her words were quite forward, making Eileen blush. However, Ryan remained quite earnest. She looked at Eileen’s chest and even lifted the hem of her dress to check on her legs. “Wow, that mark on your neck is from Mr. Dawson.”

Despite Eileen’s high-necked dress, a hickey was still slightly visible.

“Mrs. Vance!” Overwhelmed, Eileen ushered Ryan into the elevator and quickly pressed the button for the lounge floor. “There are so many people around. This is really embarrassing!”

Ryan blinked and said seriously, “We’re all adults here, and it’s obvious to everyone. Just look at how the men are staring at you. You’ve completely captivated them.”

After a brief pause, she added, “If you become more open about this kind of stuff, no other woman will stand a chance to compete with you. Soon, Mr. Dawson might want to keep you hidden in his home and never let you out!”

Ryan’s blunt remarks left Eileen at a loss for words. Eileen coughed and watched the elevator numbers climb. Finally, the elevator doors opened.

“Let’s go.” Eileen stepped out first, hoping to leave the awkward conversation behind.

But Ryan quickly caught up and whispered, “Ms. Curtis, could you tell me how you keep in such great shape? Have you ever had plastic surgery on your breasts?”

Her inquiry was startling. As Eileen turned red and was about to respond that she hadn’t had any plastic surgery, she collided with someone around the corner.

“Sorry.” Eileen had moved too quickly, trying to escape Ryan’s embarrassing words.

That was why she had bumped into the person. After apologizing, she raised her head and saw Benita. Benita’s purse had fallen, its contents scattered on the floor.

Benita looked at Eileen from head to toe, finally focusing on her chest. “You have a good figure.”

It was clear Benita had overheard Ryan’s previous comments.

Benita continued, “But that’s no excuse for colliding with me. Pick up my things, will you? It’s the least you can do.”

“I’ll help her,” Ryan said, somewhat embarrassed. If she hadn’t been following Eileen so closely, the mishap wouldn’t have occurred.

But before Ryan could finish speaking, Eileen interjected, “No, thank you. I can handle it.”

She then bent down and gathered the scattered expensive cosmetics from the floor back into Benita’s handbag. Two items had rolled further away, and Ryan retrieved them for Eileen.

“Thank you.” Eileen expressed her gratitude to Ryan and placed everything back into Benita’s bag. She straightened up, smoothing the hem of her dress, and handed the bag back to Benita.

“Miss Ferguson, please check if anything’s broken. I’ll compensate you.”

Benita accepted the bag, unzipped it, and peered inside. “Can you really afford it? Any item in this bag is worth over a hundred thousand dollars.”

After her remark, Benita zipped up her bag. Then, she seemed somewhat astonished as if a thought had just struck her and said, “Oh, I apologize! I forgot you’re Bryan’s girlfriend. You must be very wealthy now. If anything’s broken, I’ll just ask Bryan for the compensation later.”

“You…” Ryan couldn’t stand Benita’s sarcastic tone and aimed to say something.

But Benita had already walked away.

“Mrs. Vance, let’s go.” Eileen took Ryan’s hand and led her towards the lounge. She knew Ryan was treated like a spoiled child by Denzel and couldn’t stand any humiliation.

If she quickly moved Ryan away, Ryan would likely confront Benita. Eileen didn’t let go of Ryan’s hand until they reached the lounge to the left. Ryan was still visibly upset.

“Why didn’t you say anything? She went too far!” Ryan exclaimed.

Eileen settled onto the plush sofa and rubbed her ankles. It had been a while since she last wore high heels, and she was feeling the strain.

Noticing Ryan standing before her with arms crossed, she smiled and asked Ryan to sit.

“Why let it bother you? She said those things deliberately. She knows things between Bryan and me are going well, so she tried to provoke me on purpose. If I get upset, she will win,” Eileen said.

Ryan settled down on the sofa, but she wasn’t convinced by Eileen’s words. Leaning back with her arms crossed, she voiced her concerns.

“What if she really causes trouble for Mr. Dawson over this? What if she demands compensation from him? Doesn’t that make you angry?”

“I’ll be less bothered if Bryan helps me compensate her,” Eileen replied.

Eileen wasn’t worried about Benita approaching Bryan. Even if Benita did seek him out, she was confident that it wouldn’t benefit Benita.

Ryan watched her for a few seconds, then couldn’t help but smile. “You’re really spoiled by Mr. Dawson. I’m even starting to feel a bit envious. The women who like Mr. Dawson must be incredibly jealous of you. Maybe a lot of people will see you as an enemy.”

Her point was valid, and Eileen began to feel slightly uneasy. That was exactly what Bryan aimed to achieve.

The people who wanted to get close to him would likely try to make things difficult for Eileen.

“Don’t worry. Mr. Dawson will look out for you,” Ryan reassured Eileen, patting her on the shoulder. “Mr. Dawson is genuinely a good man!”

Hearing that, Eileen smiled. “Mrs. Vance, you have a very happy family too.”

“Of course, a lot of women are envious of me,” Ryan said proudly. “Denzel has assured me that I needn’t worry about finances. He will always take care of me and my daughter.”

Eileen listened intently, her thoughts drifting. Could Bryan also be such a steadfast support for her and their future children?

Eileen and Ryan rested for a while; by the time they left the lounge, the party had ended.

Some guests approached to bid farewell to Bryan and Denzel. “Ladies and gentlemen, there’s much left to discuss from today’s business meeting. Let’s pick this up another day. But truly, today’s meeting had the charming presence of ‘lighten’,” Denzel teased, expressing his dissatisfaction at the same time.

Today, it seemed every man who had approached Bryan had brought a female companion to cozy up to him.

Everyone understood the meaning of Denzel’s words, but they didn’t say anything about it.

As people moved toward the banquet exit, the doors swung open.

“Hold on! Don’t leave yet!” Suddenly, a dark figure appeared at the entrance.

Benita walked in slowly, clutching a bag, with Megan trailing behind her with a smirk.

Upon spotting Eileen and Ryan, Megan went straight to them. “Eileen, you got my cousin locked up. Now, it’s time for me to settle the score with you!” Megan said.

As Eileen stepped out of the elevator, Megan charged toward her before she could figure out what was going on.

Eileen instinctively dodged Megan’s hand. Megan missed and ended up knocking Eileen’s and Ryan’s bags to the floor. “Have you lost your mind? Do you realize whose party this is? How dare you cause a commotion here!” Ryan pointed at the bags on the floor and said angrily, “Pick the bags up.”

Megan glared at Ryan. She then glanced at the bags and reluctantly picked them up, handing them back to Eileen before she dashed off.

Confused, Eileen gave Ryan’s bag back to her. Their situation had gone unnoticed by others.

All eyes were on Benita, who had halted everyone’s departure and approached Bryan.

“Mr. Dawson, it seems you have lost something at your party,” Benita said.

As she spoke, her perfume wafted toward Bryan, causing him to frown involuntarily. “If you’ve lost something, please speak to the staff. They’ll review the surveillance footage,” Bryan replied.

He had already spoken to the staff, but they informed him the security cameras weren’t working here. “I’ve only been in this lobby and the lounge area. There are no staff on these floors during the party; only invited guests have been there,” Benita said confidently.

She was implying it was Bryan’s responsibility to address the issue. If the hotel failed to resolve it, Bryan, as the host, was expected to assist Benita.

“She’s just trying to find any excuse to get close to Mr. Dawson! Eileen, you need to set her straight!” Ryan urged Eileen, nudging her towards Bryan.

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