Chapter 238
Steven glanced at his phone and pressed the screen off.
He kept serving food for Arianna and Natalie, topping off their juice whenever their glasses ran low.
The phone started buzzing again. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ.net
Another call. Steven looked down, then pressed decline.
“Who’s calling? Why don’t you pick up?” Arianna asked, her voice full of curiosity.
A tiny flicker of discomfort passed over Steven’s face, so quick you might miss it. “It’s nothing, just sales calls p>
Arianna accepted his answer and went back to her meal.
Natalie watched the whole thing quietly, taking it all in. She’d caught a glimpse of Steven’s phone earlier. The caller ID only showed the letter W. It had to be someone with the last name Ward. Isabella Ward.
The phone buzzed again, more persistent this time. Steven glanced at it, then looked up at the table.
“You two go ahead and eat. It might be a client. I should take this p>
“Go ahead,” Arianna said, waving him on.
Natalie didn’t see the screen, but judging by the way Steven’s eyebrows knit together for a second, she figured it was the same person calling again.
Arianna reached over and put some food on Natalie’s plate.
“Arianna, are you really sure about Steven? Do you actually want to be with him?” Natalie asked, her voice low.
She’d seen the way Arianna looked at Steven earlier. It was obvious Arianna was falling for him, maybe too fast. Men like Steven always knew just where to strike, always found your weak spot. He’d even managed to wrap Isabella Ward around his finger, and that said a lot.
Natalie worried that Arianna was already in too deep. If she ever saw Steven’s true colors, it might break her.
“Natalie, I—” Arianna started, but Steven was already coming back, so she dropped
it.
“I’m really sorry, but I need to
double-check something with a
client about a contract. I can’t stay for dinner. The bill’s already
covered,” Steven said, sounding truly apologetic as if his work was
genuinely urgent.
Natalie figured Isabella must have been calling non-stop and Steven just couldn’t ignore it.
“A client wants to talk business at this hour?” Natalie asked, acting casual.
Steven didn’t miss a beat. “It’s for an important contract. The client keeps changing their mind, and we thought everything was finalized. But just now, they decided to make more changes. What can I do? The client’s always right p>
Natalie nodded, letting it go.
“Is it the same client as last time?” Arianna asked.
Steven paused, like he needed to remember. “Yeah, it’s the same one p>
“Then go ahead,” Arianna said softly. She didn’t try to stop him.
Steven hurried out.
Natalie kept her eyes on Arianna. When Steven said he was leaving, Natalie saw a flicker of understanding and disappointment in her friend’s eyes.
“Arianna, has this happened before p>
Natalie had seen Steven with two other women besides Arianna. She had a feeling this wasn’t the first time for something like this.
Arianna put her fork down. “Steven has someone else p>
Natalie was so surprised she couldn’t say anything for a few seconds. She hadn’t
realized Arianna already knew. But how much did she actually know?
“On his birthday last month, I booked
us a private room at a nice
restaurant Got him a cake. Even asked the staff to decorate the place He came, but he didn’t even stay two minutes I didn’t even get to give him his present before he said a client needed him and hedeft p>
“After he left, I noticed he’d forgotten his wallet on the table. I ran out to catch up with him and saw him get into a red sports car. There was a woman driving, and they p>
Arianna stopped, took a steadying breath, and finally said, “They were kissing p>