Half an hour later, the car stopped outside an inconspicuous hotel.
Peering out, Emily asked, "We're going this far for breakfast?"
"Mhm." Murray slapped her bottom. "Get out."
She was exasperated with him.
Entering the hotel hand in hand, she shook his off. "Aren't you afraid of being seen?"
"Members only. No random riffraff. No need to worry." Murray slipped his arm around Emily's neck. Unable to break free, she was dragged into the elevator.
After eating in the room, Murray insisted on bathing together.
"Mr. Gibson, shouldn't you pace yourself? I'm afraid you'll be drained lifeless."
"I never realized you were this kind of person; all you think about is sex. Simply frightening." Murray hugged himself in mock fear as if Emily was some perverted woman.
Emily couldn't help but laugh at his reversal of roles. "Fine, if you dare touch me today, you're a dog."
"Less nonsense, get in here."
Murray Gibson called Cornelius, quickly relayed a few instructions, and then returned to his downtown apartment.Settling into his study, he spent some time with a book until around seven. Then, he changed into a simple yet comfortable casual outfit and drove out.Sandviken was home to many exclusive clubs catering to the wealthy.The one Murray Gibson was now heading to was the Mellow Mirror Hotel, where his childhood friend Ronald Richardson was a major shareholder.Caught at a red light, he texted Stacey, "I'll be passing South Street soon. Fancy some coconut tarts?"Stacey responded promptly, "Went there with Jean yesterday. The shop's moved ages ago."Murray felt a bit embarrassed. He only remembered Stacey loving those pastries as a kid, but her mom Rita considered the ingredients at those street stalls low quality and wouldn't let her eat them. So, he would secretly buy them on his way home from school and bring them to her the next day. After Stacey went abroad for high schoo
Finally surrounded by peace, the two walked in silence, perfectly in sync, savoring this tranquil moment."Are you cold?" Murray asked, noticing her only in a coat, and began to remove his down jacket to drape over her.But Stacey stopped his hand, smiling. "I've endured all kinds of harsh environments these years. My body's made of iron now, and this is nothing."Knowing her blunt nature, Murray knew if she said she didn't need it, then she really didn't. So he let it go."Not leaving again this time, are you?" "Nope, Dad said if I leave again, he'll break my legs." Murray chuckled softly, "Uncle's still got his sense of humor.""What humor? My free spirit's been shackled! Shouldn't you feel sorry for me?" Stacey huffed, folding her arms and glaring at him in pretend anger.Murray, hands in his pockets, idly kicked at the pebbles on the ground. "You've seen enough of the world. It's time to experience our ordinar
Jean and Stacey, sitting on a swing not far away, looked over in Murray's direction."You know, they say women change a lot as they grow up, but I think it applies to men too. I saw Murray in a finance magazine last year and thought, 'Wow, this guy has become so handsome.' Seeing him in person today, he's even more striking," Jean remarked, genuinely impressed by Murray's transformation.Stacey laughed softly, "Murray has always been good-looking. I remember saying as a kid that I wanted to marry him, but my mom said handsome men aren't reliable and strictly opposed the idea."Jean burst into laughter, "All these years, you've been traveling around, and Murray has become one of Sandviken's top figures without a hint of scandal. Seems your mom's judgment wasn't that accurate.""Who knows? But I feel something different about him this time," Stacey mused.Jean suggested, "He's been in the business world for a while now. Some change is natural."
"What?" Murray quickly withdrew his hand, causing Ronald to fall headfirst on the floor. Despite the pain, Ronald's curiosity was undiminished."Stop pretending. Look at the bite mark on your hand. Don't tell me a dog bit you."Murray glanced at his hand, noticing a neat row of bruise-like teeth marks on the base of his thumb.Ronald leaned in, "That bite, definitely from a sexy lady.""Fuck off!" Murray kicked him playfully and stood up to leave, then paused and turned back, squatting in front of Ronald. "If you dare say anything nonsensical to Stacey, I'll castrate you.""I'm naturally curious. If you don't tell me if there's a woman or not, I might just go around asking..."Murray sighed, sat down, and lit another cigarette, taking a deep drag. "Yeah.""Who is she? Do I know her? Seems like a fiery one, even daring to bite the great Mr. Gibson's hand.""Someone introduced her, you don't know her." Murray extinguished his hal
Emily, somewhat perplexed and anxious, pulled out her phone and called Murray. After a long wait, the call connected, and his deep voice came through."What's up?""What's with the house?" Emily cut straight to the point."Just accept it if I'm giving it to you. Why ask so many questions?" Murray's tone was indifferent, revealing no particular emotion.After some thought, Emily probed, "Coming over tonight for dinner? Haven't seen you in ages; I miss you." Her voice was soft and airy, stirring an itch in Murray's heart. He instantly agreed, "Yeah, I've got some things to handle first, so I'll see you later.""See you tonight." Emily hung up, pressing a hand against her rapidly beating heart. His willingness to come over suggested he wasn't planning to break up with her.She must seize tonight's chance. Even if he did want to split, she'd crush any such intention! After an hour of workout in the gym to stay sharp a
Arriving at the apartment, Genevieve meticulously arranged Emily's bedding and thoroughly cleaned the dorm room, sparing no corner.The four-person apartment currently housed only two occupants besides Emily: Sandy Melville and Lydia Sander, who was from a less affluent family and hadn't returned from her part-time job yet.The butler placed two gift boxes on Sandy's and Lydia's desks. Meanwhile, Genevieve produced a thermos container Like magic, revealing a steaming tomato and mushroom soup enriched with matsutake mushrooms and sea cucumber."Dinner, Miss Rockefeller." Having already made dinner plans with Sandy, Emily took the soup to eat at the cafeteria. “Okay, Genevieve, Malcolm, you can go back now. I’ll call if I need anything.”"Take care, Miss," Genevieve replied, reluctantly following Malcolm out of the dorm.Finally, alone, Emily washed up and changed into casual wear, bunching her hair loosely. She
"How much in there would make me 'retire' of this?" Sandy, with a playful twirled Emily's card between her fingers, which had been casually tossed on the table.Head tilted thoughtfully, Emily mused, "...Over 50 million?""What the fuck?!" Originally sitting with her legs crossed and awful posture, Sandy nearly toppled forward in shock. Her usual skimming modest sums from corrupt officials, nothing more than tens of thousands at best. Now, confronted with a staggering fifty million, she exclaimed, "Murray Gibson is obscenely wealthy!"Having dried her hair, Emily tossed a damp towel at Sandy's face. "Wipe your face and calm down. I haven't finished talking."Sandy, seemingly stunned, smeared her face with the towel.Emily slipped into a pink cotton pajama set, its ordinary coral fleece material adorned with cute bunny ears, giving her an irresistibly soft and adorable appearance.Seated at her desk, wiping her face, she casuall
Emily set her phone aside, pondering for a moment before forwarding Elton's message to Murray without alteration.His swift reply came back. 【Up to you.】Halfway through typing a reply, Emily switched to a voice message, "So, will you be at Fiduinvest tomorrow? I haven't seen you in a while, and, well, I kind of miss you."But, that moment, Lydia emerged from the bathroom, catching a snippet of the conversation. "Shameless!" she scoffed.Deep breaths...as long as I'm not embarrassed, others will be. Instead, Emily told herself while clutching her phone for Murray's response, but her phone remained silent. Unsure how much time had passed, she'd fallen asleep waiting. The next morning, Emily awoke to the loud slamming of the door by an angry Lydia. Checking her phone, she saw no reply from Murray.What was his deal, coming or not? No definite answer left her quite annoyed.Emily had planned to use the dinner with Elton as