Ch. 1221..1230

Chapter 1221 Forgetting About the Date

On top of that, the fact that her bloating tummy was relieved became the biggest surprise to Sonia. Otherwise, it would not only be weird to have a swollen tummy, but create the misconception that she was with child. The thought of getting pregnant quelled the glint in her eyes.

Toby’s gentle gaze morphed into a concerned one when he noticed the nuance. “What’s the matter? Why are you down so suddenly?”

Her hand on her belly slightly curled as she forced a smile. “Nothing. I just thought of something. It’s not that important. We should be off to work now. It should be 10.00AM soon.”

Great. We’re late. However, the man shook his head suddenly. “It’s not 10.00AM.” “Is it not? Is it nine something?” Her eyes lit up. If so, it’s a relief that we won’t be that late to work.

Just as that thought flashed across her mind, Toby displayed his phone before her. When she was questioning what he meant by that, the phone screen brightened, only to reveal the hugely written time right in front of her eyes.

‘11.20AM’ She inhaled a sharp breath and was riveted on the spot. I must be seeing things. It has to be an illusion! How can it already be so late?!

It was only 8.30AM when she had breakfast after which she lay on the couch because of her swollen belly to receive a massage from Toby.

It didn’t feel that long, though. How is it already past 11.00AM? Did I travel through time? Or is the clock malfunctioning?

Sonia found it hard to believe that it was so late. Telling herself that she had seen it wrongly, she quickly rubbed her eyes to take a closer look at the time.

It showed the same numbers and there was no change. At that moment, she had to face the fact that the time had struck past 11.30AM no matter how much she wished to deny it.

Looking at her pouty lips on her downcast face, Toby kept his phone and the smile on his face deepened. “So, do you believe it now?”

She raised her gaze onto him while stretching a smile across her lips. “It’s already past 11.00AM. It’ll be lunchtime when we arrive.”

Half of the day had passed and yet, she did nothing. Toby nodded in agreement. “True.” “So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up.” After saying that, Sonia set her feet on the ground to rise from the couch.

Her rushing figure amused Toby, who held her hand to pull her back onto the couch. “There’s nothing to rush about. Since the time has passed, why don’t we have lunch before heading to the office? I’ve informed your secretary to rearrange your schedule. The important tasks will be put off until afternoon and the trivial matters are canceled.”

She blinked her eyes upon hearing that. “You settled everything for me? When?”

“When I was massaging your tummy. You were about to fall asleep, so you didn’t know.” He pointed at her phone atop the table.

Sonia cast her gaze at the pointed direction and was at a loss for words.

Can I even blame him for handling things on his own? But nothing will come good from that. We are late and we can’t turn back time, can we?

Thus, the man’s arrangement was for the best and the only person she could blame was herself. She should not have been so greedy and ate too much, which resulted in a bulging tummy and her difficulties in moving around. Otherwise, she would not be late for work.

Sighing, she finally gave in and agreed on his suggestion. She sat on the couch with a peace of mind before looking at him resentfully. “What’s for lunch?”

He stroked her hair and questioned back gently, “I’ll make you anything you want.”

“No!” Sonia made a cross with her arms instantly with a solemn expression. “You don’t have to do it. Leave it to me.”

“Why not?” Toby could not comprehend why she was so worked up by that. Is it because I’m bad at it? So, she doesn’t want me to cook?

While the questions ran in his head, she explained, “This all happened because you’re good at cooking. I’m afraid that the exact same thing will happen again. What if I eat too much and can’t leave for work? Work will pile up until tomorrow morning.”

It was not until he heard of her displeased complaint that the doubts vanished from his head as a soft chuckle escaped from his lips.

So, that was it. I was worried for nothing.

He kept smiling without uttering a word, so Sonia thought he did not believe it. Her cheeks puffed up as she added, “Be serious, Toby Fuller. I’m telling the truth. Anyways, you don’t have to cook for the rest of the day. I’ll do it.”

Then, she rose to her feet and headed to the kitchen to think about what she should make for lunch.

Due to her determination to make lunch, Toby figured that he should go along with her will as it would upset her otherwise.

Still, he did not stay in the living room like a master when she was in the kitchen concocting meals. While she was busy preparing the food, he was leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen and that gaze of his was so affectionate when he had his eyes zeroed in on her.

When she needed help, his body moved on its own accord without her behest. No one would expect less from that ideal man.

Meanwhile, Sonia’s cooking appeared to be not as good as Toby’s. The dishes she made were tasty, but the man’s cooking surpassed hers.

Had she not tried his cooking, she would be content with her cooking skills and might even be proud of it.

After all, Sonia was a fast learner when she first learned it. She applied for online cooking classes and the teachers showered her with compliments.

Now that she compared her dishes with Toby’s, that smidgen of pride dissipated. However, she could take advantage of the situation, albeit jealous. This was because she would not need to suffer from a bloating tummy as a result of overeating.

After comforting her little soul, she felt a little better now.

Once they finished lunch, Toby cleaned up the table before making a glass of pineapple juice for Sonia. When she downed it all, they left the house and headed toward the elevator.225555

The moment the elevator door closed, she heaved a deep breath all of the sudden.

“What’s wrong?” asked the man curiously.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just happy that I finally stepped out of the house.”

A smiling Toby patted on her shoulder. Soon, the elevator door opened and they strode toward the car.

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Just as she was about to get into the vehicle, she suddenly thought of something and her hand froze before the door handle. Lifting her head, she looked at Toby, who was entering the car. “Hold on.”0

He withdrew his leg that had stepped into the car almost instantly. With a pair of dubious gaze on her, he questioned, What’s wrong?

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“Is the mall’s party tonight?” inquired Sonia.

Many things happened during the past few days and she almost forgot about that. If it had not slipped into her mind for a fleeting second, she would have completely forgotten about it.

Toby was stunned momentarily at her question as his expression turned awkward. “Sounds like it.”

The corner of her lips twitched. “You don’t know either? Did you forget about it too?”

Staring at her quietly, he pursed his lips without giving her an answer, but that gaze said it all—he really forgot about it.

After all, that kind of party was not important to him, as it did not matter if he joined or not. Besides, he had no intention of going either. He agreed on going just to accompany her from the start.

Many days had passed since then and the topic of that party gradually slipped out of their minds.

Chapter 1222 Sonia’s Mischief

At that moment, the duo exchanged gazes in silence as the atmosphere around them was filled with awkwardness. Meanwhile, Sonia couldn’t help but imagine a dramatic scene in which a flock of birds flew across their heads in a humorous manner.

“Ahem.” Sonia was the first among them to snap out of her trance as she faked a cough. “Well, I suppose that isn’t going to be a big deal either. At least, we both thought about the banquet a few hours before it’s too late. So, now that we’re aware of the occasion, we’re not going to miss it.

We’re going to be there and show the host our respect and support,” explained Sonia in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. After all, she saw the event as an opportunity for her to get to know the host, which was why she wanted to be there, otherwise she wouldn’t have spent so much time and money on a custom-made dress for herself.

Everything I’ve done so far is for me to gain the favor of the host’s wife even easier. The reason Sonia had that thought was because she wanted Paradigm Co. to have a counter in every company under the banquet’s host, which was why the occasion was so important to her.

Therefore, she found it ironic to nearly let such an important occasion slip her mind, thinking her forgetfulness could have mistakenly upset the host at the cost of Paradigm Co’s reputation. Fortunately, I remembered it at the last minute. At the thought of that, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief and said, “No way. I need to bring my dress along so that I can change in the office and set off from there later.”

“There’s no need for that.” Toby stopped her. “We’ll return to the company while you tell your secretary to fetch you your dress later. Once she arrives with your dress, she will wait for my make-up artist, who will give you a makeover downstairs at your company.”

Finding the man’s suggestion a good idea, Sonia nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea.” “Get in the car, then.” Toby jutted his chin at the lady.

Sonia responded with an affirmative hum, but just when she was about to enter the vehicle, something sprang to her mind. She then gazed at the man and asked, “By the way, what about your own suit? Is it ready?”

“Tom already got it for me from Sophia a few days ago.” The man chuckled. In fact, he didn’t just have his suit with him but had also gotten the wedding dress design from Sophia. Although he was happy with the designs, he was not satisfied with several details, so he sent them back to Sophia for further amendment.

I believe the amended design is going to be done in another two days. The moment the design is finished, they will proceed to make the wedding dress. When it’s done, it’ll be time for our wedding. Toby could not wait to see the moment in which Sonia was approaching him with that wedding dress on. She is going to look so pretty.

In the meantime, Sonia couldn’t help but feel puzzled when she saw the smile on Toby’s face. Thus, she waved her hand in front of him and asked, “Hello, are you okay? What’s on your mind?” she asked in confusion.

Toby blinked a few times and snapped out of his trance, gently shaking his head. “Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s get into the car now.” As soon as he finished his words, he immediately got into the car before Sonia did.

Sonia blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of the man’s reaction. Why does this seem so strange to me? Is he hiding something from me? Despite the thought of that, she decided not to continue dwelling on her puzzlement and sat in the front passenger seat. As soon as she was seated, Toby, who was in the driver’s seat, leaned closer and extended his arm for the seatbelt beside her, rubbing her body with his.

As he fastened the seatbelt for Sonia, she remained still and watched the man in silence until he returned to his seat. It was then that she rolled her eyes upward and said, “Come on, Toby. You got into the car earlier than I did, but you didn’t even bother to buckle up. Were you waiting to fasten my seatbelt for me?”

In response to Sonia’s question, Toby wasn’t panicky at all. Instead, he admitted it with grace. “Of course.” “You didn’t have to act like a pervert, did you?” Sonia was amused yet helpless.

“What makes you think I was acting like one?” Toby responded by gazing at the lady innocently as if he had been framed for a crime he didn’t commit.

Nevertheless, Sonia knew Toby was putting on a show as she decided to silently watch how long he could keep up with his pretense. “How dare you ask me that question? What kind of gentleman rubs his body against a lady whom he’s trying to fasten the seatbelt for?

There was so much space for you to move your arms around, and you didn’t have to lean so close to me, but instead, you did. You even leaned against me with your body. Don’t think you can fool me because I know what’s on your mind.” Sonia stared at Toby with her piercing gaze as if she could read his mind.

Meanwhile, Toby was beginning to feel embarrassed despite his lack of shame. He then avoided her gaze by looking elsewhere guiltily. “N-No, I didn’t mean to do that. It was just an accident.”

“Hmph! Fine, if you won’t admit it.” Sonia waved her hand in an amused manner. “It’s not like I don’t know you for who you are. Now, drive.” Despite her slight frustration, she wasn’t going to berate the man for what he did. After all, she was used to Toby’s mischief, which she had somehow found a way to make peace with.

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In the meantime, Toby realized he couldn’t talk his way out and decided to hit the road right away, rubbing his nose in a guilty manner. An hour later, they arrived at Paradigm Co., but Toby didn’t drive into the car park. Instead, he pulled up right outside the building.

Since everyone else in the company could recognize Toby’s car, they had gotten the space in front of the entrance cleared so that he could pull over conveniently. When his car came to a stop, Sonia unbuckled and looked at the man beside her. “Alright, I’ve got to go. See you tonight.”

“I’ll come over and pick you up in the evening.” Toby nodded in response.

Sonia replied, thinking Toby’s intention to attend the function with her was to cement her status among the socialites. Even though Toby had his own reason to attend the function, she reckoned they should not arrive separately, or it would lead to misleading rumors that might appear on the news the next day.

“Come upstairs right away when you’re here later. I may be busy with my makeover, so don’t bother calling me. I may not be available to pick up your call either.”0

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Sonia added before she got out of the car while Toby rubbed her head and replied affirmatively. “Alright, catch you later.” Sonia waved her hand at Toby, but the latter responded by grabbing her wrist without letting her go. “What’s wrong?” Sonia blinked.

Toby let go one hand from the steering and pointed at his cheek. In that instant, Sonia immediately understood what he meant, knowing he wanted her to kiss him. Thus, she shook her head helplessly and pecked the man’s cheek, leaving a hickey on it. While an expression of excitement flashed across the man’s face, she asked, “Satisfied?”0

“Alright, you may go now.” Toby replied with an affirmative hum and finally let go of Sonia’s wrist. The next second, Sonia quickly sprang out of the car and scurried off like she was scared that the man would discover the hickey on his cheek and pull her back into the vehicle. If Toby knows that I intentionally left a hickey on his face, he might ‘punish’ me later.

In the meantime, Sonia gently closed the car door and waved at Toby through the window before she strode toward the entrance. At the same time, Toby, who was watching her inside the car, felt slightly confused to see Sonia running away hastily, curiously wondering why she was in such a hurry. What’s going on? Why does it seem to me as if she is running away because she did something wrong?

Chapter 1223 Her Lipstick Stain

It almost looks like Sonia wants nobody to find out what she just did, but she didn’t do anything wrong in the car, did she? At the thought of that, Toby raised his eyebrows, thinking he should put it behind him and drive off after failing to figure out the reason behind Sonia’s strange reaction. However, little did he know that the lipstick print was still clearly noticeable on his cheek, if only he would look in the rear mirror.

Nevertheless, Toby was too engrossed with his eyes fixed upon the road. Furthermore, since there were no other cars behind, there was really no reason for him to look at his rear mirror, which was why the lipstick mark had remained unnoticed even until he arrived at the Fuller Group.

After parking his car, he unbuckled himself just as the valet came to open the car door. “President Fuller.” The valet bowed to Toby politely and greeted him, one hand on the door with the other one on the edge of the door frame.

Toby replied with a grunt and bent over to step out of the vehicle, whereupon he tossed his car keys to the valet for him to park his car. As soon as the valet got the keys, he immediately sat in the driver’s seat, but when he straightened his body, the lipstick kiss mark on Toby’s cheek immediately caught his attention. “President Fuller, your…” The valet was stunned.

“What’s the matter? “Toby’s brows furrowed.

Intimidated by the indifferent man, the valet had no idea what to say as he only shook his head and said, “N-Nothing.”

“Go ahead and park my car then.” Toby fixed his suit and demanded.

The valet responded affirmatively while peeping at the mark on Toby’s face. At the same time, he pursed his lips in an attempt to keep a straight face without laughing. Afraid that Toby would see through him, he quickly kept his head down and closed the car door before driving off. On the other hand, Toby, who was standing in place, stepped forward to the building’s entrance after he fixed his suit.

“Greetings, President Fuller.”

“Good day, President Fuller.” The employees, whom Toby came across, stopped by to greet him.

Despite Toby’s indifference toward his employees, he wouldn’t usually leave them in the cold and ignore their greetings. Instead, he would either respond with a nod or a grunt to signify his respect for them. Hearing his response, his employees would usually walk away and attend to their work without sticking around him for too long. Nonetheless, they somehow stayed behind this time, even after hearing Toby’s response, looking at him with surprised looks on their faces, as if there was something strange about him.

Soon, Toby began to feel puzzled when he noticed the reaction from the employees around him. Thinking about the valet’s similar reaction he had met earlier, he couldn’t help but wonder what was going wrong. I might be overthinking if only one or two of them acted strangely, but why is everybody reacting like I’m some alien that doesn’t belong to this planet?

At the thought of that, he squinted, growing curious to find out what was wrong with him. However, he didn’t give in to his curiosity and ask them, but he decided to find out by himself when he returned to the office instead.

After all, Toby wanted to protect his reputation by playing it cool without showing his curiosity, thinking he would no longer be the calm superior he had always been to his employees should he do the opposite. Therefore, the man quickly scurried toward the elevator without saying anything and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Little did Toby know that those employees immediately gathered around as soon as he was gone. The female employees were especially agitated as their cheeks flustered, their eyes filled with excitement. “Did you see that? Did you see that?”

“Yeah, I did. I did. There’s a hint of lipstick stain on President Fuller’s cheek. Oh my God! I can’t believe a nonchalant man like President Fuller would come to work with a lipstick mark on his cheek. You guys have no idea how hilarious it is to me to see that on President Fuller’s face. Oh my god! He is so adorable.”

“Exactly! I felt the same way when I saw President Fuller with a lipstick stain on his face. Despite his usual indifference, he seems a lot less intimidating to me. Instead, he seems a lot more approachable. Do you all think he purposely left that mark on his face before he came here? I bet he wanted to show everyone the lipstick stain Miss Reed left on his cheek.”

“Well, I don’t think so. President Fuller isn’t the kind of person who likes showing off. Furthermore, it’s just a lipstick mark. What’s there to show off? A lot of people in our company are pretty much spoken for. President Fuller is just simply not the kind of person you all think he is. Furthermore, it seemed that he didn’t know that there was a stain on his face, judging from his hasty reaction. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left so nervously.”

“You have a point, I guess. Did Miss Reed intentionally leave the lipstick stain behind to assert her dominance and warn us ladies not to get close to President Fuller?”225557

The female employee shook her head in denial. “Nah. The whole nation knows that Miss Reed and President Fuller are an item, so it wasn’t really necessary for her to do that. In fact, if she had wanted to do that, she would have done it when she rekindled the old flames with President Fuller. She didn’t have to wait until now. Therefore, I believe the lipstick stain on President Fuller’s face is a result of their lovey-dovey intimacy.”

“Come on. It doesn’t matter how the mark was left on President Fuller’s face. What matters is that we just had the opportunity to see how much Miss Reed loves President Fuller.”

“I guess you have a point there.”

Soon, the news about the lipstick mark on Toby’s face started spreading among the employees throughout the company like wildfire before it slowly reached the other subsidiaries under the Fuller Group. Not long after that, several members of the press in the chat group saw the news and began to spread it further online, whereupon the news began to take over the Internet.

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Needless to say, Toby wasn’t aware of the dissemination of the news at all. When he arrived at his office, Tom was already waiting for him there with a file in his hand. As Tom was about to greet him, he spotted the bright red lipstick stain on his cheek and was seen with his mouth left wide agape. However, Toby wasn’t surprised by his assistant’s reaction at all, considering how every other employee reacted similarly in the lobby earlier. Therefore, he became even more convinced that there was something on his face.0

“Tell me. Is there something on my face?” Toby asked. Unlike the other employees, Tom was someone in front of whom Toby reckoned he could comfortably be himself. After all, Tom was one of the few people who knew him well.

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When he heard Toby’s question, Tom immediately realized his superior had no idea about the mark on his cheek. Thus, he sniggered in amusement, much to Toby’s frustration. With a pair of furrowed brows, the annoyed man asked, “What’s so funny? I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“Sorry, President Fuller. Here is your answer.” Tom waved his hand while taking a deep breath to calm himself down. He then replied, “There is a lipstick stain on your face, President Fuller.” He pointed at his superior’s right cheek.

When Toby heard Tom’s words, he was stunned shortly before he reached for his right cheek and rubbed it. Then, he rested his gaze on his fingertip, seeing red stains on it and instantly realizing it was lipstick. It was then that he was reminded of the moment Sonia pecked his cheek. This must have been left on my cheek when she kissed me.

“That’s it?” Toby rubbed his cheek after he saw the lipstick stains on his fingertips while chuckling in a soft voice. I thought the strange look on everyone’s face was because there was something else on my face. Guess they all overreacted, didn’t they?

Chapter 1224 She Did It on Purpose

At that moment, Toby finally understood why Sonia would run so hastily toward the building as soon as she stepped out of the car. She ran off like she was trying to get away from something wrong she did, but it turned out I was right. She ran off because she had done something wrong. After all, she intentionally left a lipstick mark on my face to make me look like a clown in front of my employees.

The reason Toby could tell that Sonia did that on purpose was that she had never left any mark on his cheek before every time they parted in the past. Every time she pecked his face, she only pecked his cheek gently without leaving any mark behind, but unlike she usually did, she kissed his face a lot harder than usual that day.

I thought she only kissed me so hard because she was starting to miss me already. Thinking Sonia loved him more, Toby was initially happy until that moment when he found out she was just pulling a prank on him. Of course, she would leave a lipstick stain on my cheek with that kind of pressure. What a naughty girl! Toby shook his head helplessly, chuckling without feeling mad at Sonia. Instead, his heart was melted by her lovely mischief. Soon, he produced a handkerchief out of his left breast pocket and wiped off the lipstick stain on his fingertip.

Noticing Toby’s reaction, Tom couldn’t help but feel annoyed with his superior. Come on, Mr. Fuller. Can’t you stop flexing about your girlfriend in front of a bachelor like me? What are you trying to prove? You both spend most of your time together, yet that is still not enough. Miss Reed made you carry her lipstick mark to work so that you could make me feel bad. Please cut me some slack, Mr. Fuller. Despite Tom’s frustration, he continued to keep a brittle smile on his face while forcing himself to see if the hickey on Toby’s cheek had been wiped off.

Upon putting away his handkerchief, Toby finally laid eyes on his assistant. “What are you holding?”

Tom then pulled himself together and handed the document over to Toby. “Mr. Fuller, these are the findings that I have gathered about all the properties under the Salzburg Family, as you instructed earlier. However, the info available here is nothing too specific or classified, as Connor is a shareholder in some of these companies. I have yet to dig deep enough to find out any insider info, so there are some other companies in which I’m not sure whether Connor is involved.”

“Alright, I heard you. Open the door now, would you?” Toby replied with an affirmative hum and took the document, skimming through the papers while telling Tom to do as he said. Tom replied affirmatively and opened the door, whereupon he followed Toby out of the office.

Meanwhile, Sonia was sitting in her office at Paradigm Co., holding a pen in her hand while skimming through a file on the desk. Although she appeared to be going through her documents, she had been looking at the same page for quite a few moments without flipping it. Instead, she was propping her face with one hand and spinning her pen with the other, caught up in her train of thought. Deep down, she was wondering whether Toby had already arrived at the Fuller Group, thinking the kiss mark on his cheek must have been discovered by that time. For that, she couldn’t stop asking herself how Toby reacted upon finding out about the lipstick stain on his face. His employees must have laughed at him, and even if they didn’t, their snigger would probably give them away. When Toby noticed their reactions, it wouldn’t take him long until he noticed the mark on his cheek.

At the thought of that, Sonia was disturbed by the question of whether Toby was mad about what she had done. After all, she put herself in the man’s shoes and realized it might have been embarrassing for him to walk around with a hickey on his cheek. Oh, man! When he finds out about it, he is going to blame me for humiliating him. Then, he is going to retaliate against me. Alas! Sonia let out a sigh and adjusted her sitting posture. At that moment, she began to regret letting her impulse take over her because she merely wanted to teach Toby a lesson for always taking advantage of her. Thus, when she kissed him on the cheek, she felt her adrenaline rush through her veins and decided to leave a lipstick mark on his cheek.

Nevertheless, Sonia later realized she neglected Toby’s egoistic nature, berating herself for selfishly disregarding his status due to her recklessness. Oh my gosh! Those veterans in the Fuller Group are going to criticize Toby and give him a hard time. What am I going to do? Sonia rubbed her cheeks in frustration, beating herself up once again for her selfishness and lack of sensibility. Ugh! Dang it! I can’t help but feel worried for Toby. He is probably going to be so mad at me now. Overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, Sonia struggled to muster the courage to give the man a call and asked whether he was angry with her. However, her train of thought was interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. Therefore, she pulled herself together and took a deep breath, shouting at the door. “Come in.”

When the door was open, Rita, who had been appointed to fill in for Daphne, stepped into the room. “President Reed, I’m here to deliver you Miss Daphne’s resignation letter.” The secretary walked closer to Sonia’s desk, handing the document over to her.

Sonia put down her pen and took the document. “Alright, I got you. I’ll sign the papers later. Thanks.” While Rita shook her head and swallowed the words she was about to say, Sonia seemingly sensed that and asked with a chuckle, “What’s the matter? Do you have something to say?”

“President Reed, is Miss Daphne really going to quit? Have you really thought twice before deciding to let her go?” Rita bit her lower lip and hesitated for a while before she spoke her mind.

Sonia nodded. “Why not? We were wrong about her back then. Daphne didn’t quit because of health issues but because she got an offer to study abroad.”

“An offer to study abroad?” Rita was stunned.

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Sonia signed her name on Daphne’s resignation letter and explained, “That’s right. Daphne has always wanted to study abroad to enrich her career profile. Do you know why Charles and I never appointed her as the company secretary even though she is efficient and reliable?”

Rita shook her head, suddenly catching on to what Sonia was trying to imply. “Miss Daphne isn’t certified to take up the role.”

“Exactly.” Sonia signed the paper and closed the file. “When Charles graduated from university, he joined Lane Corporation right away without furthering his studies. Nevertheless, Daphne, his best friend, decided to leave school with him and join the same company as Charles did in order to help him. Because of that, she gave up on her chance to further her studies, which later hindered her from undertaking any advanced examinations or certifications. Therefore, Daphne could only work as an ordinary secretary despite her years of working experience. She may be doing the job of a company secretary, but she is never one. That’s the reason she left.”

“I see. No wonder Miss Daphne wants to study abroad now and enrich her career profile. That is so that she can return and assume the role of the company secretary.” Rita chuckled.

Sonia gave the documents to the lady and said, “That’s right, which was why I approved her resignation after finding out the reason behind it. After all, she is the one who is in control of her own future, and I cannot stop her from reaching her destiny. But what about you? Are you sad that Daphne is leaving?”0

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“Of course not. I’m so happy for her,” Rita answered, shaking her head with a smile.

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Chapter 1225 Sonia’s Attempt to Sound Toby Out

Sonia smiled gently at the young lady. “Of course. In fact, I will always support any one of you as long as you’re working hard for your future. Therefore, I want you to know that there is nothing you should worry about besides working toward your goal.”

Rita was touched upon hearing Sonia’s words. She then wrapped her arms around the document and nodded with a bashful smile on her face. “Loud and clear, President Reed. You’re such a kind employer.”

“Thanks for the endorsement. Is there anything else?” Sonia was happy to hear her subordinate’s compliment. “Actually… yes. The departmental managers wanted me to ask you and see if you’re done with the document they submitted earlier so they can proceed further.”

Sonia’s smile immediately stiffened when she heard Rita’s words. The next second, she quickly shifted her gaze back to the document she was reading while awkwardly glimpsing the pile of files beside her. Oh my god! This is awkward. She then looked at Rita with a brittle smile. “Nope, I’m not done here. I wasn’t in the right state of mind earlier, so I’m going to need more time. Please tell the departmental managers that I’ll have the documents sent to them in an hour.” In response, Rita smiled and nodded without asking Sonia why she was distracted before she excused herself.

As soon as Rita left, Sonia heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back on her chair, fixing her eyes on the ceiling. Now, pulling a prank on Toby is one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made today. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been bothered by the thought that Toby might be mad. It’s taken a toll on my productivity. I guess that’s why we shouldn’t do anything against our conscience because what goes around comes around.

At the thought of that, Sonia smiled helplessly and reached for her cell phone to send Toby a text message in an attempt to sound him out and see whether he was furious. However, instead of sending him a text message, she sent him an emoji and spent the next few moments staring at her phone, her heart beating like a jackhammer.

Oh dear, will he reply? Will Toby reply? If he does reply, that means things are not as bad as I think, and all I have to do is make him happy again; but if he doesn’t, then I guess I’m screwed. That probably means he is mad.

Disturbed by the thought of the worst-case scenario, Sonia could not get over her anxiety as she kept praying for Toby to reply. Please! I hope Toby isn’t too busy at the moment. If he is, he is probably going to miss my message for a while. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t be able to know whether he is really mad or not.

While Sonia was overwhelmed by her anxiety, Toby was talking to someone else over the phone in front of the window. “Alright, I heard you…” Before he could finish his sentence, he felt the vibration from his phone and frowned. Thus, he took a look at his phone and realized it was a message from Sonia. With a pair of knitted eyebrows, he lightened up and chuckled. “Haha.” I bet she is sending this message to admit her mistake. However, the person on the other side of the phone had no idea what was going on. Thus, he couldn’t help but feel worried when he heard Toby’s chuckle.

“M-Mr. Fuller, did I say anything wrong?” the person nervously asked, wondering why Toby would suddenly chuckle. Did I say anything funny?

Meanwhile, Toby decided to check out Sonia’s message later and resumed his tele-conversation, putting his phone back to his ear. “No, it has nothing to do with what you said. It was my kitty, actually.”

“Your kitty?” The person was puzzled.

As Toby replied with an affirmative hum, the person on the other side of the phone laughed out loud in relief. “I didn’t know you had a pet cat.”

In response, Toby only chuckled without saying a single word. Yeah, she is a kitty, isn’t she? Temperamental yet clingy and playful, just like a cat. At the thought of that, he couldn’t help but feel his cheek with a pair of smiling eyes that showed on his face.

In the meantime, the person on the other side of the phone felt goosebumps running all over his skin when he heard Toby’s chuckle once again, finding it hard to believe his ears. Already surprised by the fact that Toby had a pet ‘cat’, he was even more stunned to hear his tender chuckle. After all, Toby had always seemed like an indifferent man who barely smiled, as neither of them had actually witnessed that before. Therefore, the person to whom Toby was speaking couldn’t believe that he had just heard Toby’s chuckle. Although he couldn’t see Toby’s reaction when he was chuckling, he was able to imagine it, thanks to the stimulation of what he heard. However, what surprised him the most was not Toby’s chuckle but instead the fact that he had a pet ‘cat’.

A pet cat? Only a kind-hearted man would own a pet cat, but a nonchalant man like Mr. Fuller is far from that kind of person. Where did an impatient man like him find kindness and love for small animals? Well, I’m sure Mr. Fuller has an absolute love for the cat he owns, or he wouldn’t have chuckled so obviously. No one is going to believe what I just heard anyway because no one has ever seen or heard a chuckle like that from Mr. Fuller.

At that moment, the person on the other side of the phone couldn’t help but imagine the face of a gentle giant, thinking Toby had a loving nature despite his glacial and unapproachable exterior. He then went on to justify the reason Toby’s hidden nature was not seen by himself, deeming that was because the latter didn’t want the others to find it out. Because of that, he was touched by the thought that Toby trusted him enough to reveal his hidden nature to him.

That means I hold an important place in Mr. Fuller’s heart besides Tom. I’m one of his trusted subordinates, or he wouldn’t have shown me his hidden nature. This is so touching! At the thought of that, the person’s eyes were filled with tears as he felt a lump in his throat and said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Fuller. I’m going to keep my lips sealed and let no one know about your secret.”

Upon hearing his subordinate’s words, Toby raised his eyebrows, confused about what the other person was referring to. What’s going on here? What kind of secret do I have that I can’t afford to tell people about? Nonetheless, Toby didn’t dwell on his question and walked toward his desk, saying, “Alright, I have no questions about what you just told me, so prepare a proposal and submit it to me. If nothing goes wrong, I’ll approve it soon.”

“Alright, Mr. Fuller.” The person on the other side of the phone nodded.

“Hmm. If there is nothing else, we’ll talk again soon,” Toby replied.

“Oh, sure. I’m going to leave you and your little kitty to it, Mr. Fuller.”

Toby raised his eyebrows, finding his subordinate amusing. After hanging up the call, he sat down in his chair and viewed the message that Sonia had sent him earlier. Unlike what he had expected, Sonia’s message turned out to be an emoji of a big blue cat in a GIF format instead of her apology. The blue cat was seen with its paw on top of the wall as it stuck its head out to peek before it tucked its head back as if it had just done something wrong. At the sight of the emoji, Toby curled his lips upward, seemingly understanding the meaning behind that expression.

I guess she probably knew her mistake of leaving a lipstick mark on my cheek, yet she was too afraid to ask if I was angry, so she sent me this cute emoji to sound me out. What a cheeky little girl! Toby shook his head and smiled while giving Sonia a video call.

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Chapter 1226 Toby Wasn’t Angry

Meanwhile, Sonia, who was grabbing onto her mobile phone, stared at the screen without looking away as she waited for his reply. She was so fixated on it that she was caught off guard when she received a video call from him. Thus, the moment her phone rang, she was so frightened that she almost flung her phone out.

Luckily, she was able to calm herself down in time and grabbed onto the phone tightly, which prevented her phone from being damaged. From the looks of it, it seemed like Toby wasn’t ignoring her text message. However, she felt unease underneath the gladness. Did he want to have a video call with me just to scold me? With that thought in mind, she clicked on the answer call button with trembling fingers.

The next moment, Toby’s face appeared on the phone screen. Sonia grinned and waved at him as she said hi to him without first observing his mood. She was so enthusiastic that it frightened him.

That was because Sonia was normally calm when they had a video call and wouldn’t show a hint of passion. He wasn’t used to her unusual enthusiastic reaction this time round. Of course, he was well aware that she was trying to please him after what she had done. Ahh, women!

With that thought in mind, he looked at her with a straight face and asked impassively, “So are you admitting to your mistake?” Upon hearing that, she stared at his face and noticed that the lipstick stain that was on his face had been wiped off. Her observation, paired with his question, made her think that he was mad because of her prank.

Realizing that, she looked down guiltily and didn’t dare to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I did it without giving much thought to it, and I was trying to have some fun, so…” She swore that she merely wanted to play a prank on him because he was always the one who ‘bullied’ her. She never thought that it would put him in trouble. She just realized the consequences, which made her feel bad.

Noticing her pitiful expression, he softened up and almost stopped pretending to be mad to comfort her. However, he managed to hold it out and let out a cough before asking calmly, “Have you really realized what you’ve done?”

“Yes, I’ll admit to my mistake. I’m sorry. It will not happen again.” She looked up and stared at him earnestly as she spoke. However, in her heart, she thought that it would be fine as long as she didn’t leave anything on his face that would make him look funny in the future. There was a glint in her eyes as she thought about it.

He instantly knew what was in her mind when he noticed the glint in her eyes. He finally couldn’t put up with the pretense anymore and nodded with a smile. “Since you’ve realized what you’ve done, I’ll forgive you this time around.”

“You’ll forgive me?” She looked at him wide-eyed.

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Really?” She placed the phone nearer to her face and asked again. With that, her beautiful face filled his phone screen, and he could see every detail on her face and crystal-clear skin.

Seeing that, he couldn’t help but stick out the thumb of the hand which was grabbing onto the phone and caressing her face on the phone screen.

“Really.” He nodded and gave her a certain reply.

“That’s great. So you’re really not mad at me anymore?” She let out a smile.

He leaned back on his chair lazily and supported his head with one of his hands as if he was a king on the throne who was looking over at his people with a smirk on his face.

“I was never mad about it,” he replied gently.

“You were never mad about it.” She was surprised at his reaction.

“Never. Why would I be angry at you when you’ve not done something to hurt me?” Since it was just a prank, he would be a petty man if he couldn’t accept it. As a man, he should be tolerant, especially toward his partner. Most importantly, he actually liked the prank where she left a lipstick mark on his cheek, as it seemed like she was announcing to everyone that both of them were together. Of course, he knew that it wasn’t her intention, but it didn’t mean that he couldn’t think of it that way.

She didn’t know what he was thinking, but one thing she was sure of was that the prank was just a small issue to him, and he wasn’t furious about it. She felt all warm and fuzzy inside as she heaved a sigh of relief since not all men could be as tolerant as him.

A lot of men nowadays were petty, and she had heard one of her female staff speaking of her own experience. That staff bought a cup of coffee for her boyfriend and tried to tease him when he was trying to grab the coffee from her. She pretended that she didn’t want him to have it and was planning to give it to him after he coaxed her into doing so. It was a trivial matter and could be regarded as a cute interaction between the couple. However, the man felt embarrassed being teased in public. In the end, he let his ego get the best of him and slapped her in the face before leaving. Because of this, the female staff couldn’t stop crying in the office yesterday.

It would be petty for a man to feel ashamed over such a trivial matter and even beat his girlfriend because of it. Moreover, the man who did it was an ordinary man. If that man had Toby’s status, he would be put in a more embarrassing position. If that were the case, would he have to kill her to vent his anger? That was why when she thought of how a man like Toby could endure her pranks and not feel humiliated in public, it meant that he was a very generous man. She felt very fortunate that the unhypnotized Toby was a man with good values, not missing his hypnotized self at all.

“Thank you for not being mad at me after what I’ve done to you.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked at him apologetically. Although he didn’t argue with her over it, it doesn’t mean that he should just accept that and pretend that nothing happened. Instead, she should apologize since she was the one at fault.

“Silly girl, why would I argue with you over such a trivial matter? Don’t take it to heart. Moreover, rather than it being a prank, isn’t this the pleasure of being in love?” He couldn’t help but smirk.

His smile was so charmingly sexy that it made her blush. He was so handsome that she wouldn’t be able to handle it if he tried to tease her even though they saw each other daily.

With that, she immediately tried to change the topic. “Right, so did anyone make fun of you at Fuller Group? You really weren’t mad about it?”

“Some of them did laugh at me, but I don’t care as long as I feel happy.”

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Moreover, they weren’t ridiculing him but were happy for him since they knew who had left the lipstick mark on his cheek. Those people laughed when they thought of how in love both of them were. Since that was the case, he didn’t feel bothered about being laughed at.

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Chapter 1227 Most Searched Because of Love

Hearing about Toby’s outlook on the matter, Sonia finally felt relaxed and at ease as she smiled at him. “In the beginning, I thought that you would be mad at me, so I was worried that you wouldn’t reply to my message earlier on.”

“Why would I?.” He shook his head and continued, “I wouldn’t give you the silent treatment.” How would I have the heart to do this to you, my love?

Moreover, a man who would rather give his loved one the silent treatment just meant that he was a coward who didn’t love his partner. Thus, he didn’t want to do that to her.

Previously when Sonia didn’t tell him anything and would rather get Charles’ help instead, it made him mad because he thought he meant nothing to her. Even so, he didn’t just give her the silent treatment but suggested talking about it. In short, if conflict were to happen between them, he hoped that they could resolve it by communicating with each other instead of giving each other the silent treatment as it would just make matters worse rather than solving the issue, so why bother?

“I’m sorry for thinking that you were a narrow-minded person.” She rubbed the tip of her nose apologetically.

Seeing that made him want to pinch her cheek, but alas, she wasn’t standing in front of him.

The disappointed Toby sighed before comforting her gently, explaining, “It’s alright. It’s normal for you to think that since we’ve yet to experience life together long enough. You couldn’t have known my reaction toward this matter. It’s understandable that you would think this way because I would do so too if I were in your position.”

“Mm.” She nodded with a smile.

At the same time, Toby’s eyes flickered as he put the phone closer to him and said seductively, “Since you like to leave lipstick marks on my face, I shall let you leave a few more when I get home tonight. What do you think?”

Hearing that, she stared at him wide-eyed and replied to him shyly yet angrily, “Don’t you dare think about it. Don’t think that I don’t know what you mean. Hmph! I’m busy so let’s end the call first.”

With that, she immediately ended the video call and placed the phone down before touching her face. It felt warm because she got shy after hearing what he had just said. He was clearly hinting that he wanted to sleep with her tonight. She sighed when she thought of how that was all he could think of every day. Isn’t he worried that he might overdo it and his body wouldn’t be able to take it anymore?

On the other hand, Toby was in a good mood and couldn’t help but chuckle when she saw how Sonia’s face was flushed red when she rushed to end the video call. His attractive laugh filled the whole room. He knew very well that she was startled by his words which was why she rushed to end the call. However, in actual fact, he didn’t have the intention of sleeping with her that night.

Not to mention that they were going to attend a banquet tonight. God knew what time the banquet would be over. By that time, they would be so exhausted that they wouldn’t be able to do anything else. Even if the banquet ended early and he wasn’t tired, he didn’t plan to do it as they had been doing it for two consecutive nights.

Although it wasn’t an issue for him, and he could still do it tonight, she couldn’t since a woman’s physical strength was always inferior to that of men, and he should be more considerate toward her. Instead, he merely wanted to tease her and see her cute reaction earlier when he said those words.

Of course, his thoughts were unknown to her, and she didn’t know that he was teasing her. She would be mad if she found out that he was just pulling her leg. After a while, she finally managed to calm herself down, and the uneasiness and shyness that she had been experiencing dissipated. Since her concern had been resolved, she could finally focus all her attention on work.

Soon, she was immersed in her work and started going through some urgent documents sent in by different departments. She was able to complete them smoothly since they weren’t complicated. After that, she dialed Rita’s extension number and asked for her.225561

Upon entering the room, Rita looked at her excitedly, which made her feel uncomfortable. She asked as she squeezed out a smile,”Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Chairman Reed, didn’t know that both you and President Reed are trending on the Internet again?” Rita grinned like a happy child.

“Huh?” Sonia was first surprised by it but then started looking nervous. “What did you just say? We are trending on the Internet again?”

“Yup.” Rita nodded.

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“What is it about this time?” She clenched her fists nervously, as she was worried that someone was stirring things up behind them and tried to frame her and Toby for it.0

Just as she was consumed by such thoughts, Rita once again smiled. “This time, it’s about how lovely of a couple you guys are!”

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Hearing that, it took a while for Sonia to make sense of what she had just heard before answering, “Huh? What do you mean we’re trending on the Internet because we’re a lovely couple?”

“Yeah.”

Sonia’s lips twitched, and she was speechless about it. After calming herself down, she heaved a sigh of relief and said, “For a moment, I thought someone was trying to get at us. I almost got my wits scared out.”

“Chairman Reed, you’re overthinking.” Rita comforted her.

Sonia massaged her temples as she leaned against her chair and answered, “I can’t help it. President Fuller is so handsome and wealthy that a lot of women are attracted to him. Some of them even tried to make advances on him. I’m sure that you’re aware of the one from the Lore Family.”

“Even so, Chairman Reed, you’re an outstanding woman on par with President Fuller,” Rita replied with a smile. She stood with Sonia since she was a woman too. Moreover, she was willing to lie through her teeth even if Toby was, in fact, more outstanding than Sonia.

“After the incident with the Lore Family, I’m sure that even if some of them still harbored ulterior motives, none of them would dare to do anything, at least for now, ” Rita replied logically.

“You’re right. I guess I’m too paranoid about it.” Sonia took a sip of her coffee and let out a smile. She then continued, “Right, you mentioned that Toby and I are trending online because of love or something. What is it about?”

She had no idea what was happening as she recalled that both of them rarely acted all lovey-dovey in public. The only few times they did it was just online. Hearing that, Rita didn’t answer her immediately but took her phone out. After unlocking the screen, she passed it to Sonia, which made Sonia laugh upon seeing it.

“So it’s about this.” Sonia laughed when she saw Toby’s picture.

Although it was a blurry picture, the lipstick mark on Toby’s cheek was eye-catching. The picture seemed to be taken in secret while in a rush. From the picture, one could tell that Toby was almost at the main entrance of Fuller Group, and if the photographer had been a few seconds slow, they’d have missed the shot.

It could be the paparazzi who were camping outside Fuller Group that took the picture hastily upon noticing the lipstick mark. Initially, they weren’t interested in taking Toby’s picture when he got down from the car but immediately snapped a picture when they noticed the lipstick mark. Well, that was the reason why the paparazzi were camping there, hoping to get some big news.

Taking a picture of Toby entering Fuller Group was nothing out of the ordinary, and it would just grab his fans’ attention if they posted it online. It would not be big news. Moreover, Toby would most probably make them take it down if it was brought to his attention. Pictures like these weren’t worth much and might even offend Toby, so they’d rather not take such pictures.

However, it was a different story when there was a lipstick mark on his cheek. Not only would it be a hot topic, but they would also be able to fulfill their KPI. Thus, it was worth the risk, even if they might offend Toby.

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Chapter 1228 Won’t Get Mad

The question of why there were paparazzi around the Fuller Group could be easily explained as celebrities and the rich were darlings of the media. To put it bluntly, they were simply the source of their income as they depended on getting scoops about them to earn a living. As long as the paparazzi get a scoop, they wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry. Besides camping out around the Fuller Group, the paparazzi even did so around Paradigm Co..

It wasn’t the case for Paradigm Co. previously, given their situation. The media would probably only pay attention to them if they had gone bankrupt. Ever since Sonia reconciled with Toby, she had garnered the media’s attention. However, the paparazzi couldn’t get much news on them as all they did was get to work and get off work. If not, they would have been on the news 24/7. The content would be along the lines of Toby fetching her off work, sending her to work or both of them hugging outside of Paradigm Co….

Anyhow, when Toby’s and Sonia’s relationship was known by the public, both of them going to work and getting off work together wasn’t news anymore, as those were what normal couples would do. Even if news like that were posted online, it would just create more shippers for them, and that’s that. The media wouldn’t want to take pictures that wouldn’t bring them income.0

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Pictures of Toby and Sonia showing affection toward each other would be worth more in the beginning, but it would lose its allure after a while as only their shippers would read news like that. The other netizens wouldn’t be bothered by it, which meant that pictures of that nature weren’t worth much. The paparazzi rather put more effort into camping out and trying to get scoops on both of them being in an argument, Fuller Group facing financial difficulties, or Paradigm Co. going bankrupt.

Also, due to Toby’s status, the paparazzi might have had concerns about releasing the pictures even if they got an exclusive picture, fearing that they would offend him. One way to go around it was to contact Fuller Group’s PR department or Toby and sell the news to them. That way, the paparazzi could earn big bucks.0

That was all the more reason for them to keep camping outside. The only thing was that they didn’t manage to get anything after stationing there for a few months. Even so, the paparazzi would still reach Fuller Group on time, hoping that they could get something good that would cause a buzz on the Internet. Sonia was actually impressed at their perseverance. It could be because the heavens were touched by their spirit of perseverance that it gave them the opportunity to get a shot of Toby with a lipstick mark on his cheek.

Although Sonia didn’t really read the news, she knew that the picture would cause a frenzy on the Internet since the image that Toby had had always been cool, and he had always put on a poker face. Because of that, the people in the business world nicknamed him the grim demon king. The impression that he gave others would be a well-dressed elite who always had a straight face. No one could ever imagine that he would walk around with a lipstick mark on his face.

This time around, the unimaginable had happened as he walked around with a lipstick mark on his face. Even though he was unaware of it, it had caused an unnecessary stir of excitement. It was almost impossible for them to capture a picture of Toby, which was completely different from what they had imagined, and it could possibly be the last time for it. Thus, the paparazzi had to grasp the opportunity and take a picture of it. The netizens were equally surprised when they saw a picture of the superior Toby walking around in public with his girlfriend’s lipstick mark on his face, like an average Joe.

Besides being surprised, they were excited to find out that the superior Toby wasn’t that much different from ordinary people. As Sonia read the comments section, she couldn’t help but laugh because a lot of netizens found him adorable. Their public display of affection was well-received by most people. Even though there were some nasty comments, most of them were positive ones, and some even praised them for being a fun couple. This was why Sonia was relieved that they were trending on the Internet for a cheeky reason.

“Chairman Reed, were you the one who left the lipstick mark on his face?” Rita took her phone from Sonia and asked with a smile.

Hearing that, Sonia let out a cough and replied, “Duh? It couldn’t be someone else, could it?”

“You’re right. I’m asking the obvious.” Rita laughed before saying, “Chairman Reed, it seems like the both of you were pretty open-minded since you let him leave the house with a lipstick mark on his face. It’s like you’re using this opportunity to tell the world that he’s yours.”

“Nah, I was just playing a prank on him and nothing else. I wouldn’t want to purposely announce that he is my boyfriend. If he truly belonged with me, then he wouldn’t cheat on me. If he doesn’t belong with me, there’s no point for me to announce to the world that we are together.” Following that, she put her hands out and explained, “As for the lipstick mark, I was just trying to embarrass him since he’s been picking on me. He didn’t even know when I planted the lipstick mark on his face.”

“Does it mean that President Fuller was unaware that there was something on his face before he was photographed?” Rita’s eyes lit up.

“That’s right. If he knew about it, this picture wouldn’t have existed.” Sonia nodded.

“I see.” Rita was surprised at the revelation. After that, she looked at Sonia concernedly and asked, “Chairman Reed, would President Fuller be mad at you? Although you didn’t mean it, he is still a man, and men are all about their reputation. Would he be mad at you since he was pictured with the lipstick mark on his face, which was your doing, and now everyone on the Internet is seeing it?”

“Initially, I was worried about this, but he didn’t seem mad about it and was actually pleased as he thought that I was announcing to everyone that we are together.” Sonia shook her head with a smile on her face.

Hearing that, Rita patted her chest. “Then, I’m relieved. President Fuller is such a generous man. If it was any other men, they would have made a big fuss about it, like my husband. If I dared to do that to him, he would flip.”

Rita pursed her lips and had a look of disdain in her eyes when she thought of her husband. This showed that there was a stark difference between the upbringing of men from wealthy families compared to normal families, as men from wealthy families had a better upbringing.

She sighed at the thought of it. “Let’s not talk about my husband. It just ruins my mood. Let’s talk about the paparazzi. How could they get so lucky and manage to get that picture? Even if they managed to snap that picture, aren’t they worried that President Fuller will be furious about it since they posted it without his consent?” She was actually impressed at how ballsy the media was.

“Toby wouldn’t be angry this time round. If this was about something else, then he might probably be.” Sonia chuckled.

Toby was dying to let the whole world know that both of them were a loving couple and the paparazzi were actually doing him a favor, so why would he be mad at them?

Chapter 1229 The Hysterical Lynette

Of course, Rita was unaware of that, feeling relieved after hearing that Toby wasn’t mad at Sonia. After chatting for a while, Sonia asked her to take the signed documents out. Soon after that, Sonia leaned against her chair as she grabbed the mouse and started searching for the trending news of her and Toby that Rita just showed her online. Since she was reading it off Rita’s phone earlier, she didn’t want to hog Rita’s phone for too long, so she didn’t get to read the messages properly and just briefly browsed through them. Because she was done with her work, she could take her time to read the comments.

Meanwhile, at Fuller Group, Toby found out from Tom about the incident where he came to work with a lipstick mark on his face. It was captured by the paparazzi and uploaded online by them, which caused a frenzy.

When Tom noticed that the expressionless Toby was reading about it online as he sat in front of the computer, Tom asked nervously, “Should I get PR to take care of this?”

“There’s no need to.” Toby raised his gaze and looked at Tom.

“Are you sure?” Tom was startled by his answer.

“Yes. Just let it be. It’s nothing big.” Toby nodded. He would be out of his mind to ask PR to clarify it since it actually showed everyone how close he and Sonia were and how much Sonia truly cared about him. He was dying to let everyone see that. Moreover, He was especially pleased to receive well wishes from the netizens. Tom instantly felt relaxed after hearing what Toby said.

When Tom first found out about it, he worried that Toby would be furious since no one would be happy if their private life was displayed online. Thus, he purposely rushed over to tell Toby about it and cautiously asked whether they should get the staff from PR to clarify it. However, he never expected that not only Toby didn’t get mad, he didn’t request to take the news down but instead said that it was a small matter.

So, what had happened to President Fuller? Tom shrugged as he secretly thought Toby was a changed man after being in a relationship.

“Do you need me to send someone over to the paparazzi’s office to teach them a lesson?” Tom asked again.225563

“There’s no need to. They are smart people. If they had taken some other pictures, they would never have posted them directly on the Internet. Unlike their usual practice, they were quick to post it online this time round. This only showed that they were positive that they wouldn’t get into trouble because of it.”

“Why would that be?” Tom asked curiously.

“Because they knew that both Sonia and I loved each other a lot. If I was annoyed by them for posting the picture and asked them to take it down, I’d be sending a message to the world and telling everyone that I didn’t love Sonia. If not, I wouldn’t be rushing to clarify it or try to find trouble with the media. If I did that, it just showed that my feelings toward Sonia weren’t genuine,” Toby explained as he looked at Tom displeasedly.

“Oh, I see.” Tom nodded after hearing that

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“You have been working with me for quite some time now, but the paparazzi could assess such a situation better than you do. Is it because you are still single?”0

At that moment, Tom felt like his heart had been shot by an arrow that was being aimed at him, and it pained his heart.

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“President Fuller, you shouldn’t be name-calling,” Tom said as he tried to squeeze out a smile.

What’s wrong with being single? Is it against the law?

“Was I name-calling?” Toby crossed his legs and looked at Tom coldly with a hint of contempt. “I was just speaking the truth. Aren’t you single?”

Hearing that, Tom was speechless, and he twitched his lips before making himself reply to Toby’s remarks. “Yes.”

“There you go. Since you are indeed single, then I wasn’t name-calling you. You’re probably too sensitive about it and feel ashamed for being single. If not, why would you be so worked up about my remarks?”

After hearing that, Tom didn’t know how to respond as what Toby said seemed valid.

“Alright, stop feeling embarrassed for being single. Go find some time to get yourself a girlfriend so that your understanding of these matters would be better than the paparazzi.” As Toby spoke, he waved his hand, signaling Tom to leave the room.

Noticing that, Tom turned around and walked toward the door while scolding Toby in his heart. Huh? What do you mean look for a girlfriend when I have the time? That’s easy for you to say! Do I even have time to look for a girlfriend? Did you give me time to do so? I’m so busy every day, and sometimes I have to wake up in the middle of the night just to work. And you were asking me to get myself a girlfriend.

Even if he managed to get a girlfriend, it wouldn’t be long before they broke up since no woman would be able to accept that her boyfriend had to work for eighteen hours per day and wouldn’t have time to go on dates. Which woman can take the humiliation of her boyfriend being called to work in the middle of the night while they were in the middle of something else? Because of this, he never thought of getting a girlfriend.

However, he should really start looking for a girlfriend soon so that Toby wouldn’t tease him for being a singleton. Of course, before he could do so, he should first delegate his work. He planned to complete Toby’s evaluation by next year and, after that, seek Toby’s permission to let him overlook one of the subsidiary companies. That was the only way that he could have time to get himself a girlfriend. On the other hand, both Sonia and Toby were pretty happy when they read about the comments, thinking it was an amazing feeling to have people rooting for them.

Meanwhile, in the Lore Residence, Lynette was throwing a fit and was smashing her computer on the ground. The keyboard, PC, and desktop had broken into pieces while their parts were scattered all over the ground.

Lynette, however, was sitting on the bed, and her face was contorted with rage as she was overwhelmed with jealousy. She slammed on the sheets incessantly while screaming hysterically, giving everyone goosebumps.

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and it was followed by Amelia’s voice of concern. “Lynette, what’s wrong?”

Hearing that, Lynette didn’t respond to her mother but continued hitting on the blanket while screaming. Her whole body was rocking back and forth as she was hitting with all her might. Her hair was messy, and it made her look like she was on the brink of going insane.

“Lynette, please open the door. You’re scaring me. Please open the door for me.” Amelia was so anxious that she cried when Lynette refused to open the door and was screaming nonstop. Lynette wouldn’t budge no matter how hard Amelia knocked on the door while asking her to open it. In the end, she had no choice but to get the maid over to open the door with a spare key. Upon stepping into the room, Amelia was startled by all the mess Lynette had caused.

Amelia immediately looked around and found Lynette sitting on the end of the bed. She was sitting there with a lowered gaze, and her face was covered by hair, making her look like a lunatic.

“Lynette.” Amelia avoided the mess on the ground and swiftly walked over before taking Lynette into her arms. “Lynette, are you alright? Were you the one who threw all these things on the ground? All these items are so heavy and bulky. Did you hurt yourself?”

As she spoke, she tried to check on Lynette’s condition, but Lynette pushed her hand away and responded, “I’m fine.”

Chapter 1230 Reaction of Two Women

Lynette’s unfriendly reply hurt Amelia since she was so concerned and worried about Amelia. Anyone would have felt the same way as Amelia did.

However, Amelia, as a mother, chose to put that aside and not argue with her daughter. “That’s good. I was so worried about you. I heard from the caregiver that you were screaming and smashing things in the room. On top of that, your room door was locked. I was so afraid that something had happened to you, and I immediately rushed over. I’m relieved that you are fine.” Amelia smiled as she patted her chest. However, Lynette just glanced at her without saying a word.

“Amelia, what exactly happened that made you act like that? Did someone bully you? You should tell me about it. I’ll help you out,” Amelia asked again.

Hearing that, Lynette scoffed, as if she had heard the biggest joke. “You’ll help me out? How are you going to do that? Toby and that woman, Sonia, are the ones who pissed me off! Do you dare to confront them?” Lynette looked at her mother with disdain, as if she was looking at a useless person. Amelia was lost for words after hearing that and merely kept quiet as words got stuck in her throat.

“Don’t simply make promises if you can’t keep them.” Lynette pushed her away and stood up.

“I didn’t know it was both of them.” Amelia looked at her dejectedly. If it was someone else, Amelia could have been able to help her. Lynette couldn’t be bothered to reply to her and started kicking at the mess on the ground. Noticing that she was doing that while barefooted, Amelia immediately tried to stop her. “Lynette, what are you doing? Don’t get yourself hurt.”

“You don’t have to care about me. I’ll take care of my own matters,” Lynette replied impatiently.

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“How can I not care about you when I’m your mother? I know you’re mad at me and your father for not being able to help you out, but we can lend an ear when you’re feeling down. Please tell me what actually happened earlier. What have they done to make you so furious? Even though I won’t be much help, I can convey it to your Grandpa, and he will find a way around it.” Amelia pulled her to the side of the bed, and both of them sat on it.

Lynette, who was struggling to get up, suddenly stopped after hearing Amelia’s words. Seeing that, Amelia knew that she had said the right thing. She let go of Lynette’s arms and comforted her, saying, “Tell me about it, Lynette. Don’t keep everything to yourself, as it won’t be good for your mental health.” With that, Lynette turned to look at her and nodded before finally revealing the reason she was throwing a fit. Amelia sighed after finding out that Toby went to work with Sonia’s lipstick mark on his cheek.

Amelia could now understand why Lynette was so furious about it, as she knew how much Lynette loved Toby. She would be mad too if she saw the man whom she loved being kissed by another woman. On top of that, the lipstick mark was left on his face for everyone to see. She couldn’t stand how Sonia snatched Toby from Lynette and even left her lipstick mark on his face for Lynette to see. She felt sorry for Lynette as she looked at her and, at the same time, felt strong dislike and disgust toward Sonia for hurting her daughter.

“Sonia must have been the one who forced Toby into it,” Lynette suddenly blurted as she gritted her teeth.

“What?” Amelia was confused by her words.0

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The next moment, Lynette leaned in closer to her and spoke as her face contorted with anger. “I was saying that Sonia purposely left the lipstick mark on Toby’s face and forced him to go out in public with it and show it to me. I embarrassed her two days ago and revealed my feelings toward Toby in front of her, and now, she is getting back at me using this way as she tries to tell me that Toby belonged to her. She was the one who paid the paparazzi to take these pictures and post them online. What a b*tch!”

“Is that really so?” Amelia asked cautiously.0

Hearing that, Lynette grimaced and uttered, “Then what do you think it is? She hadn’t done something like this before, and she’s doing it now after I had embarrassed her. She is purposely coming at me.”

Although Lynette’s rationale seemed off, Amelia chose to believe in her words. “She’s indeed a vicious woman.” She then clenched her fists and chided, “Even though we had embarrassed her before, we were victims of cyberbullying too, as our company’s share price had dropped because of her, and it hasn’t recovered. It’s a price that we had to pay, but she still thinks that it wasn’t enough and used such nasty tactics to come at us. She is so petty.”

“Not only she’s petty, she even stepped on Toby’s dignity,” Lynette fumed, gritting her teeth non-stop.

“You’re right. She’s having her way with him because she has a hold on him. If she had lost it, Toby would definitely give her a taste of her own medicine.” Amelia felt the same way too.

“I wasn’t talking about this.” Lynette looked at her with bloodshot eyes. “I was saying that doesn’t she know that given Toby’s status, he should maintain his reputation at all times? How could she let him walk around in public with the lipstick mark on his face? She’s doing it just to ruin the image that he had been building all this while. She had also made him into a laughingstock. It’s obvious that she doesn’t love him! She is just after his money!” Lynette was so furious that her body trembled as she spoke, and her face blushed red.

Noticing that, Amelia immediately patted her back to calm her down. “You’re right. That woman sure is conniving.”

“Oh, right!” Lynette suddenly recalled something and stared at her mother with her bloodshot eyes. “Didn’t you say that you’ll try to get your hands on the invitation for the banquet?”

“Yeah.” Amelia nodded.

“Did you manage to get it?”

“Of course, the man whom your Grandpa had saved back then happens to have the invitation. He willingly gave us the card, no questions asked.”

“That’s great! Sonia had done so many nasty things toward Toby that I’ll make sure to get Toby back from her tonight. I’ll get rid of the information that she had been holding against him and make sure that she paid for everything that she had done.” As she spoke, she got to her feet and exclaimed, “I’ll go look for Grandpa and have him move the plan forward instead of waiting till my banquet.”

She couldn’t wait any longer. With that, she dashed out of the room barefoot while ignoring her mother’s words. Amelia couldn’t do anything about it and put on a pair of slippers she found on the other side of the bed and followed behind her.

Not only was Lynette worked up about the trending news, Anya, who was lying in a private hospital ward, was triggered by it as well. However, compared to the hysterical Lynette, Anya’s reaction toward it was relatively calmer. However, the grimace and her fierce glare showed how triggered she was by it.

How could Toby walk in public with that thing on his face? Doesn’t he feel embarrassed? Anya bit her bottom lip as she tried to figure it out while staring at Toby’s picture from the tablet. However, the way she perceived the situation was different from Lynette’s. She didn’t think that Toby was threatened. She knew very well what kind of person he was. No one could force him into doing something that he refused to do. Even if that person had a hold on him, he would get that person killed to prevent that person from threatening him again. Thus, it seemed to her that he had done it willingly.