Meanwhile, over by the cigar lounge, a group of people sit around a vintage wood table discussing their careers while sipping whiskey and enjoying cigars.
A woman says, "Daniel, I heard you just became a partner at BM! That's awesome! Thirty and already a partner at Wall Street? Major props to you."
Daniel smiles humbly, adjusting his well-groomed hair. "Eh, it's all luck. Came across some good projects and had an amazing team."
Henry Taylor, adjusting his glasses, chimes in, "Don't be modest, Daniel. You brought in GrowThrive as a major LP, and that's a game-changer. GrowThrive's huge in private equity. When they get involved, projects just come back to life."
John Lewis, curious, asks, "Which LP is that?"
"GrowThrive, based in Europe. They're involved in everything from tech startups to energy companies. They've got their fingers in all kinds of pies," Henry explains.
"That's definitely a cash cow," the group agrees.
Ever since Daniel Chou became a partner, his relationship with Henry Taylor has gotten a little complicated. Daniel knows full well that he used to report to Henry, but now he's the partner and Henry's just a VP. Despite that, Daniel doesn't let it affect their work. "Honestly, I owe so much to Henry. When I first joined BM, I knew nothing. He walked me through my first financial report, my first project. He's like a mentor to me. Without him, I wouldn't be here."
Henry smiles. "Well, now you've surpassed me. I'm the old guy getting left behind, but I'm genuinely happy for you."
Daniel laughs. "Don't say that, Henry. You've been in the game for years—your experience, connections, I'm still learning from you."
At that moment, Eleanor Jackson asks, "Daniel, I heard you just got married?"
Daniel adjusts his glasses, smiling. "Yeah, got married in Hawaii last month. Next month, I'm hosting a thank-you dinner in New York on the 8th. You all should come."
"Definitely! Can't miss it," everyone agrees.
John Lewis, grinning mischievously, asks, "Wait, your wife's not Grace Li, is she?"
Daniel Chou hesitates for a second, looking slightly awkward. "No."
Henry Taylor jumps in to clarify. "John, you're way behind the times. Daniel's wife is Mia Wen's daughter. Her dad, Mr. Wen, is a big player in the industry. GrowThrive wouldn't be where it is without him."
John Lewis slaps his mouth. "Oh, my bad. I always thought you and Grace Li were an item. Back in school, you two were inseparable."
Eleanor Jackson, who knows Grace Li, asks, "Daniel, did you ever date Grace Li?"
Daniel Chou quickly shakes his head. "No way. We're just good friends. We worked together on a few projects in college, so we're close, but nothing more."
John Lewis laughs. "Come on, you're telling me there was never anything between you two? I remember at a school party, you two looked like a couple."
Daniel laughs, shaking his head. "No, we're just friends, seriously."
John Lewis presses on. "But I heard Grace Li say her boyfriend was studying in Europe. Is that just a lie?"
Grace Li, who had no idea they were talking about her, walks over. Eleanor Jackson spots her and waves excitedly. "Grace, over here!"
Grace didn't realize they were talking about her. She hadn't seen Daniel yet. When she heard Eleanor's call, she quickly walked over. As she approached, she noticed Daniel and the somewhat unwelcome John Lewis.
Eleanor moved aside to make room. "Grace, sit here."
Grace, knowing Daniel was there, didn't want to stay any longer. She quickly made an excuse. "No thanks, I'm meeting a friend. She's waiting for me in the private wine cellar over there. We're gonna check out some new Bordeaux wines."
Just then, John Lewis, with a mischievous smile, said, "Grace, didn't you say Daniel was your boyfriend? Well, Daniel's right here. Where exactly do you think you're going?"
Grace Li's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected John Lewis to bring this up right now. Daniel Chou was already married, and John was clearly trying to embarrass her, making a spectacle out of her. Surrounded by colleagues and friends, she felt like she was being put on public display.
She forced a smile and explained, "You've got it all wrong. I never said Daniel was my boyfriend. We've always been good friends. After graduation, we went our separate ways with our careers, and we hardly keep in touch."
Daniel Chou chuckled and played along. "Yeah, Grace Li and I are just old pals. We've both been busy with our careers, haven't seen each other much."
But John Lewis wasn't letting it go. "So, Grace Li, when you told everyone your boyfriend was studying in Europe, you were just messing with us, huh?"
Grace Li gritted her teeth, cursing under her breath. She hated how John Lewis had this way of pushing her buttons. She'd never been good at lying, but back then, to get him off her back, she'd told him a little white lie about having a boyfriend. She thought it was harmless at the time. Now, with Daniel standing right there, she didn't want to look like a joke in front of everyone. She needed to find a way to cover her tracks.
Just as she was racking her brain for an explanation, a familiar voice cut through the tension. "She's not lying. The guy she was talking about, that was probably me."
Grace's heart raced as she turned to see Aiden Thompson entering the room, dressed in a custom black Ermenegildo Zegna suit, with a white Turnbull & Asser shirt and a Hermes tie. His tall, handsome figure immediately drew everyone's attention.
Aiden flashed a slight smile, his eyes softening as he looked at Grace. "Grace, looks like your friends didn't know about me. Am I that embarrassing to talk about? I flew in from London just for tonight's event."
Though Aiden was clearly stepping in to help her, Grace's heart skipped. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't leave you on your own," Aiden said gently. "I know you don't like these kinds of places, but with me here, you've got nothing to worry about."
Daniel Chou noticed the flirting between them and instinctively looked away, his gaze settling on the drink in front of him.
One of the girls at the table asked, "Grace, is this your boyfriend? Aren't you gonna introduce him?"
Henry Taylor chimed in, "Yeah, Grace, introduce us!"
Grace Li didn't know how to introduce Aiden. If she forced an introduction, it would mean telling yet another lie, and she'd have to keep coming up with more to cover up the first one.
Aiden Thompson casually placed his hand on Grace Li's shoulder and said, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Aiden Thompson, graduated from Oxford. I just finished my MBA earlier this year and came back not long ago."
"Wow! Grace, how did you manage to land such a handsome, smart guy who's even younger than you?" one of them exclaimed.
Before Grace could respond, Aiden cut in, "It was love at first sight for me. I'm the one who chased her."
Grace Li froze. This lie was even more ridiculous than hers. She knew she'd have to keep lying to cover up Aiden's version of the story.
Sensing Grace's discomfort, Aiden gently took her hand. "My friends just showed up. Let me introduce you to them."
Grace Li, still stunned, nodded, "Okay."
Aiden turned to the group in the curved booth. "I'm gonna go introduce my girlfriend to a few friends, excuse us for a minute."
As they watched Grace Li being led away by Aiden, Eleanor Jackson asked, "Is Grace's boyfriend in finance too? I don't think I've seen him around before."
Someone replied, "Didn't he just say he came back this year? That makes sense, I guess."
Meanwhile, Daniel Chou's expression was unreadable. He had just seen the guy with Anthony Miller, maybe he was another rich kid. When did Grace Li start seeing him? His mind was racing, but his face remained calm.
Aiden Thompson pulled Grace Li out of the lively nightclub, the colorful neon lights spilling out from the windows and casting a glow over them. It wasn't until they reached the street outside that Aiden finally let go of her hand.
Grace Li's heart was still racing, and her palm seemed to still feel the warmth from Aiden's hand. "Aiden, really, thank you so much for helping me back there," she said gratefully.
Aiden Thompson looked at her, his eyes showing a hint of concern. "No big deal, just a piece of cake."
Aiden had been sitting in the booth beside the club, his back to the noisy crowd. He didn't usually eavesdrop, but when the group mentioned Grace Li, he couldn't help but listen in. It was obvious that one man in the group seemed determined to make her look bad, and it looked like there was some serious personal grudges involved.
"That guy who was giving you a hard time earlier—do you two have some kind of history?" Aiden asked.
Grace Li lightly touched her nose, her expression a little awkward. "It's a long story."
"No worries, I've got all the time in the world. I'm free as a bird tonight," Aiden said, hands in his pockets, looking serious.
Grace Li looked at him skeptically and couldn't resist teasing, "You seem kind of nosy, you know?"
Aiden's lips curled into a small smile. "I just pretended to be your boyfriend in front of all those people. You've got to fill me in on the backstory, or next time we run into them, we'll totally bust it."
Grace Li thought about it and realized Aiden had a point. She looked around; the street was too noisy for a proper conversation. "How about we go for a walk along the Hudson River? I've heard the night view there is lit."
"Sounds like a plan," Aiden said, agreeing immediately.
The cold winter wind cut through the air, sending ripples across the surface of the Hudson River. Grace Li was only wearing a black slip dress with a thin Chanel-style jacket over it, and she couldn't help but shiver in the chill. Aiden noticed and without hesitation took off his jacket, handing it to her. "Put this on, babe, don't catch a cold."
His considerate gesture left Grace Li momentarily stunned. She couldn't help but think of those romantic scenes in teenage dramas where the handsome male lead drapes his jacket over the female lead's shoulders. Aiden was even more handsome than those drama heroes. Despite being five years younger, something deep within her stirred, like ripples on a lake.
But she still declined. "No, I'm fine, thanks though."
Aiden didn't insist, just draped the jacket over his arm.
Grace Li glanced at the unused jacket with a twinge of sympathy. "You should put it on, though. It's pretty nippy tonight."
"Nah, I'm fine. My body's like Iron Man—tough as nails," Aiden insisted.
Grace Li didn't know how to respond to that.
Aiden noticed she was quiet and prompted, "So, ready to spill the tea about earlier?"
"Huh? What?" Grace Li was a little slow to catch up.
Aiden raised an eyebrow, a playful gleam in his eyes. "The gossip you were about to tell me. I'm waiting for you to spill the tea."
Grace Li smiled faintly, her lips curling slightly. For some reason, she felt like opening up to Aiden. So, she started telling him about the past.
"Well, the guy who was giving me a hard time earlier, he used to work at the same company as me. We were colleagues. For a while, he expressed interest in me, but I didn't feel the same way. I thought I made it clear, but he didn't seem to get it and kept pursuing me. I ended up telling him I had a boyfriend, hoping that would make him back off. And it worked—he stopped bothering me. But I never expected that little white lie would come back to haunt me today. I basically dug my own grave."
Aiden listened quietly, his understanding clear. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's totally normal to use an excuse to turn someone down. People do it all the time, especially in a place like New York. That kind of thing's as common as dirt."
Grace Li responded, "What about you? Have you ever done something like that?"
"Yeah, been there, done that. Everyone has their ways of protecting themselves," Aiden admitted openly.
Grace Li smiled softly but with a touch of bitterness. "But it feels awful to lie. You're always on edge, worried the lie will get exposed, and you'll be a joke. Like earlier, when my lie got busted, I almost automatically wanted to tell another lie to cover up the first one. I really hate this side of me."
Aiden looked at her, his expression full of understanding and compassion. "You're being too hard on yourself."
"Why do you say that?" Grace Li asked, confused.
"You didn't do anything wrong. When you lied, it was to spare the guy's feelings, so he wouldn't be embarrassed. And when you almost lied again, it was because someone was trying to make you look bad. You were just protecting yourself. You didn't hurt anyone, so don't beat yourself up."
Hearing Aiden's words, Grace Li felt like the clouds in her heart cleared up. She suddenly felt lighter. "Yeah, you're right. I wasn't hurting anyone. I was just protecting myself." She said sincerely, "Thanks."
"By the way, I can offer after-sales service for the lie I just told," Aiden suddenly said.
Grace Li looked at him in confusion. "What after-sales service?"
Aiden tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a soft gaze. "If you ever need someone to pretend to be your boyfriend again, I'm your guy. No strings attached—just like Uber."
Grace Li couldn't help but laugh. Then, with a playful grin, she said, "Alright, I'll remember that. If I need someone next time, I'll definitely give you a holler."
Aiden smiled as they walked side by side along the Hudson River, his jacket draped over his arm. The colorful Christmas lights on the trees by the riverbank sparkled like dreamy stars.