"Sorry about that." Laila returned to the sofa apologetically.
Wen Jun was understanding and quickly said, "It's alright, we've discussed almost everything. If you have something to attend to, go ahead."
At that moment, Demi entered with Louise.
Laila called Louise over and introduced them, "This is Louise, she'll be responsible for the upcoming contract. If you need to know anything, you can ask her."
"Of course." They exchanged pleasantries.
Laila realized that Zeni was probably getting impatient downstairs, so she left the matters here to Louise. "After you've signed the contract, give her the script. If there's nothing else, I'll head back. I have a friend waiting for me downstairs."
"No problem, I'll take care of it," Louise agreed readily.
Laila apologized again, grabbed her jacket, and hurriedly left the office.
Downstairs, she didn't spot Zeni's impatient and fiery demeanor as she expected. Instead, Zeni, with his handsome appearance and witty manner, had the receptionists laughing and joking around him, enjoying the company of the beauties.
Laila's steps slowed down abruptly, and a twitch appeared at the corner of her mouth. How could she forget? This guy could charm a corpse to life during an autopsy.
"Zeni." Seeing him once again amusing the front desk girls, she finally walked over.
"Laila, my dear, I've missed you so much!" Upon seeing her, Zeni immediately put on an "I need comfort" act, opening his arms and walking towards her.
Laila unceremoniously pushed him away. "Come on, don't damage our company's image here."
"I'm damaging your company's image?" Zeni sniffed dramatically, a look of almost tears in his eyes. "I'm heartbroken, and you want to crush my hopes of survival?"
"Great acting." Laila clapped for him sarcastically. "Just a bit too exaggerated. Forget our company, you might be more suitable for the opera stage." Heartbroken? Upset? After seeing him joking around with the receptionists earlier, who would believe he had those feelings?
Zeni let out a sigh. "It hasn't been that long since we last met, and you've already been tainted by Hollywood. How am I going to explain to Janet and Grandpa Oswald?"
"What do I need to explain to them?" Laila kicked his leg, sending him toward the entrance. "Let's go, I'll take you shopping."
As they left, the office started buzzing with discussions about their interaction.
"Who is that guy? Could he be the boss's boyfriend?"
"They seem pretty familiar!"
"I never thought the boss had this side to her. Feels much closer now, doesn't it?"
News of the boss having a boyfriend spread through the company like wildfire.
Everyone knew Laila had spent her youth devoted to work and had never been associated with any scandals. Not just without a boyfriend, she hadn't even been seen with any close female friends. This kind of image gave people the impression of high and unattainable beauty.
Now, her boyfriend had appeared – a handsome and witty man. Their interactions were full of affection. They were the perfect match!
Of course, Laila had no idea that Zeni's arrival had sparked such wild speculations among the company's employees. If she knew, she would have laughed herself to death. Laila and Zeni? Come on, that's a joke, right? It wasn't that she had any opinions about him, or that she had any aversion to his hands that were used to dealing with corpses. It was just that they were too familiar. Even rabbits don't eat at their warrens, let alone her?
"Where are we going to buy clothes?"
While they were waiting at a red light, Laila turned to Zeni. He had a quirk – he always insisted on sitting in the back seat if he wasn't driving. According to him, he had performed post-mortems on enough people who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, and he didn't want to be like them.
It was said that in car accidents, the highest mortality rate was for people in the front passenger seat. Who knew if that was true?
Zeni shrugged nonchalantly. "Anywhere is fine, I'm not picky."
This brazen statement left Laila staring at him with wide eyes for quite a while before she managed to say a word. A man who wouldn't wear anything except pure cashmere socks dared to say he wasn't picky about clothes?
Zeni let out a sigh as if he was resigned to his fate. "I'm serious. Occasionally, I want to be thrifty too, you know? I've realized that some cheap products can be quite comfortable to wear. Besides, a handsome man like me will still stand out in a crowd even if I'm draped in curtains. Why insist on buying things that are all show and no substance?"
Laila looked at him, nodded slowly, and said, "Now I believe you are heartbroken." At the very least, his mind had gone bad.
Zeni shot her an annoyed look and then leaned dejectedly against the car window.
Seeing his dispirited appearance, Laila didn't bother asking for his opinion anymore. She simply brought him to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
This was the most luxurious fashion avenue in Los Angeles. Perhaps it wasn't as famous as Sunset Boulevard, but it was certainly a haven for luxury brands. One could say that nearly every luxury brand had a flagship store here. There was a saying that went well with this place: "When shopping here, don't ask about prices, because asking means you can't afford it."
That's right, this place was that dazzling.
Don't be fooled by Zeni's position as the Chief Medical Examiner, coming here was nothing for him. But who asked him to come from a good family? The money he received from sitting at home was enough for him to live a life of luxury.
Parking the car, Laila took Zeni into a random store. "Is this okay?"
"Armani? Sure," he said casually as if to prove that he wasn't picky. He grabbed a few items and followed the shop assistant into the fitting room.
And then...
"How does this look on me?"
"Oh, it's fine."
A few minutes later.
"Is this one more suitable for me?"
"Not bad."
And then, a few minutes later.
"Or is this one easier to match?"
"...Whatever you like."
And then...
"Laila! Look at this! Huh? Where is she?" Zeni emerged from the fitting room excitedly, only to find that Laila was gone.
He looked at his watch, shrugged in boredom, and muttered, "Even more impatient than I thought, how boring. I thought she could hold out a bit longer."
If Laila were still here, she might have punched him on the spot. She didn't know whose nasty temperament this was, but clearly, it wasn't inherited from his family. After all, nobody in his family had such a jerk-like character.
She had no interest in watching a Zeni Rose fashion show. After all, he had the store clerks who were already charmed by him to play the dress-up game. She didn't need to subject herself to that torture.
Walking out of the store, the street was lined with luxurious brand displays. Many tourists strolled along the sidewalks, gathering excitedly at shop windows from time to time to discuss things. They couldn't afford the items inside, but that didn't stop them from admiring the beauty.