Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Playing with Men

But there was always one who seemed to be completely clueless.

“Not at all. I just thought it’d be nice for everyone to hang out. It must be fate that we met, right? Are you on social media? Want to follow each other? I’m Liam Lawson, and my handle is the same.” Liam Lawson wore a perfectly calibrated smile.

He was handsome, and under normal circumstances, few people out for a good time would turn him down.

But some people weren’t falling for it.

Jessie Sterling frowned. “Sorry, I don’t use it.” After saying that, she stood up, planning to go to the restroom and message Victor Morgan to come pick her up.

She’d had enough of the excitement anyway.

But Jessie Sterling never expected that in the short time it took to go to the restroom, Liam Lawson would actually follow her.

“Miss Sterling.” Liam Lawson still wore the same seemingly harmless smile as before. “Was I too forward just now? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to be friends.”

Jessie Sterling’s brow furrowed. She took a small step back and was about to say something when her gaze suddenly shot toward a dark area, but she didn’t see anything around the corner.

Jessie Sterling wasn’t sure if it was her imagination. ’I thought someone was hiding over there.’

Just as she was about to go take a look, Liam Lawson suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance between them by two steps.

Jessie Sterling disliked being in such close proximity to strangers. Before she could even take two steps back, she saw Liam Lawson being restrained by the bodyguards behind her.

Ever since the incident with Shawn Stuart, Victor Morgan had not only assigned more bodyguards to Jessie Sterling but had also personally briefed both of them.

This time, the bodyguards reacted quickly. Liam Lawson was subdued before he could even get close to Jessie Sterling.

As he was being pinned down, Liam Lawson couldn’t believe it. He never thought Jessie Sterling would have bodyguards with her for a casual get-together with friends.

The sharp pain shooting from his shoulder blade made him lose control of his expression.

“Miss Sterling, I really didn’t mean anything by it…” Liam Lawson said through gritted teeth.

Jessie Sterling glanced at his build, then raised a hand, signaling for the bodyguards to release him.

Liam Lawson thanked her profusely. This time, he didn’t dare follow Jessie Sterling again and quickly turned to leave.

When Jessie Sterling saw Victor Morgan later, she told him about the incident, which made him frown.

“I’ll look into it for you,” Victor Morgan said.

Jessie Sterling didn’t think it was necessary. She assumed it was just some guy hitting on her.

But when she woke up the next day, Jessie Sterling realized she had seriously underestimated that “pass.”

Wendy Lawson was still awake late into the night. She was organizing the photos on her phone, about to post a status update, but when she went online, she felt like the sky was falling.

It was two or three in the morning in Paris, which meant it was around nine or ten AM back in the country.

It was the time when everyone had just gotten to work and was sitting in their offices, scrolling through their phones and slacking off.

That’s when they saw the latest breaking news online.

Liam Lawson’s Late-Night Tryst with Apex’s Chairwoman.

That was one of the more “tame” headlines. The more sensational ones went straight for the clickbait—

“Female Boss Keeping Male Influencer Liam Lawson as a Boy Toy”

“Apex Boss Playing Around with Male Models”

And other such explosive phrases appeared in the headlines.

In this society, any story involving a woman and a man could grab the public’s attention. What’s more, this wasn’t the traditional case of a sleazy old man keeping a young starlet, but a woman “playing around with men.”

When Wendy Lawson saw the news, she felt like she’d been struck by lightning.

Especially when she clicked on the photos and realized the ones leaked by the gossip accounts were from the very party she had taken Jessie Sterling to that night. A sense of doom washed over her.

’I didn’t set a trap and invite Jessie Sterling to the party on purpose!’

Wendy Lawson immediately sent Jessie Sterling a message, but she didn’t get a reply. She figured Jessie must have already gone to bed.

Wendy Lawson’s face darkened. With this suddenly happening, she couldn’t help but suspect someone was deliberately trying to sabotage her.

Liam Lawson and Daisy Woods came from the same company, and Daisy was the only person she had recently talked to about her new connection with Jessie Sterling.

Right then and there, Wendy Lawson called Daisy Woods.

Luckily, Daisy Woods was also a night owl and hadn’t gone to sleep yet. When she answered Wendy Lawson’s call, she was taken aback, completely stunned by the earful Wendy gave her.

“…Wait, what are you talking about?” Daisy Woods frowned. “Do I have a death wish? Why would I set her up? I learned my lesson from what happened to you. It’s not like I want to lose my job…”

Daisy Woods’s head was spinning with Wendy Lawson’s voice.

Wendy Lawson had just demanded to know what she was playing at, telling her not to drag her down even if she was courting disaster. She’d thought they were good friends, only to get stabbed in the back.

Daisy Woods felt she was being framed for a crime she didn’t commit.

When she pulled out another phone to check the gossip news, Daisy Woods’s face went pale.

“I really didn’t try to set her up…” Daisy Woods wished she could appear in front of Wendy Lawson right now and swear to the heavens.

Wendy Lawson wasn’t convinced so easily. Who could possibly predict what people were capable of doing for personal gain?

“Of everyone in our group, only Liam Lawson is from the same company as you. And you’re the only one I told about me knowing the ’heiress.’ Everyone else at dinner tonight only knew she was some rich girl I’d just met. Who else would know she’s the boss of Apex Films? Who but you?” Wendy Lawson was so angry she paced around her room.

Daisy Woods retorted, “I’d have to be crazy to team up with him against someone from the Sterling family! Just wait a second, I’ll call Liam Lawson and ask him what’s going on.”

Wendy Lawson agreed for the moment, but after hanging up, she hailed a cab and went straight to the hotel where Daisy Woods was staying, preparing to confront her in person.

When Jessie Sterling woke up, she was surprised to find that Victor Morgan hadn’t left yet. Instead, he was sitting nearby, working on his laptop.

“Why are you still home?” Jessie Sterling asked, pushing herself halfway up.

Victor Morgan had learned about the online news first thing in the morning.

His people in the country had already deleted most of the photos from the internet. However, this time was different from last year. The gossip account that first broke the story had clearly identified the people in the photos. Furthermore, on Liam Lawson’s own social media profile, while he hadn’t posted any of the deceptively angled photos with Jessie Sterling, he had changed his bio.

“In a relationship. Don’t bother.”

These four words were ambiguous, but they made it seem even more like he was responding to the leaked gossip.

With the person involved seemingly confirming the story himself, it served as an indirect admission of the online rumors. For a moment, even without the photos, the internet was in a complete firestorm.

And what made Victor Morgan frown was that Jessie Sterling’s name had not appeared anywhere, neither in the gossip headlines nor in Liam Lawson’s response.

That was quite intriguing.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep