"That woman..." Vernon clenched his fist as he felt humiliated for the last night. "Do you know what she did? She gave me two packs of condoms right beside my dinner and wrote a note, telling me to use them if I want to do it with her."

"I was ready to go downstairs and have a go with her, but then I knew that she was still too thin and fragile, especially for my size and energy. So I have to resort-- well... You know-- man stuff...." Vernon said ashamedly.

Though, he didn't hesitate to tell Diamond about his sex life. After all, Diamond already saw everything. Including all the women he fucked, she was the one who basically managed Vernon's sex life before he reunited with Chloe.

"Then, after I was done, she texted me again, telling me that she'd love buying a lot of condoms for me, and allowed me to do it with her any time I want."

Vernon slammed the table frustratedly and glared at Diamond, "Can you believe that woman? She seduced me TWICE, and I still have the willpower to resist."

"My name should be Vernon-Monk-Gray for all of my patience and willpower at this point! Fuck this!"

...

Diamond kept her silence, but she had an idea in her mind that she didn't want to share with her boss;

'I bet that's not really what Chloe meant with her text. But he's a horny beast, so he interprets it that way...' Diamond thought. 'Should I tell him or should I not?'

Diamond was considering the possibilities of telling or not telling, and she decided to not tell Vernon about it.

After all, her boss was obviously in love with Chloe. He just didn't want to admit it because of his past grudge. Though he never told her about that grudge, Diamond could pull a conclusion from how he tried to ruin his Big brother's company.

'Meh, I'd rather let this slide and watch from the side. It's fun seeing him struggling so hard to contain his own feelings. Let's call it a little revenge for me, since he often ruined my days with his unreasonable antics,' Diamond thought.

After all, it was fun to see Mr. Phoenix Gray, the proud CEO and also high-profiled playboy, trying so hard to chase the woman he loved.

'Good luck, boss,' Diamond cheered on her boss, at least for now. Since she saw there was no suitor for her home girl except for Vernon.

**

After an hour inside the meeting room, Vernon told Diamond to return to the office. At the same time, he drove his car to the restaurant for an early dinner date with Shailene.

It was still four-thirty, and since Shailene was in New York, Vernon decided to pick her up instead.

He texted Shailene, asking about her location, and Shailene shared her location via WhatsApp.

"Oh? It's not far from here," Vernon said. He drove to the hospital building where Shailene worked and saw the female psychologist standing on the hospital porch.

Shailene was an Irish girl with long red hair. She was tall and had this somewhat cold and distant expression on her face, as if she was annoyed most of the time.

In short, she had a resting bitch face that intimidated and repelled most men from approaching her despite her beauty.

Vernon didn't care much about her condescending gaze toward everyone back then. After all, he also had the same gaze that intimidated everyone around him.

Vernon dated her to prove to his friends that he could date the prettiest woman in their university. Shailene was very popular among his friends in university as the hottest college chick, and it was also rightfully so, seeing that she was as beautiful as ever. Even a few years had passed after their breakup.

Vernon stopped his car in front of Shailene and slid the car window down. He stared at Shailene and said, "Come in. We'll have an early dinner, just like your request."

Shailene raised her brow and chuckled, "You're letting a lady wait for more than fifteen minutes here, Mr. CEO. Shouldn't you say sorry for being a little late?"

"Then, should I call to drive you to a subway station instead? Bet Lady Shailene Walsh wouldn't mind using the New York subway, I heard it's pretty clean."

Shailene's lips twitched. She was annoyed that she couldn't find a sentence to retort that statement from Vernon's poisonous mouth.

"My my, we haven't met for so long and the first thing in your mind is arguing with me?"

"I'm just returning the energy," Vernon retorted again.

'This chapter is updated by Nov elB i n',

Shailene rolled her eyes and entered the car. She sat on the seat right beside Vernon, who didn't even give her a second look. He simply drove out of the hospital and headed to the restaurant where they'd have their dinner today.

There was only silence for a good while between them until Shailene couldn't hold back and asked the most important question in her head right now;

"To take the initiative to pick me up, and set a dinner date for us. I bet this woman is very important to you, right, Vernon?"

...

Vernon didn't say anything, as he thought it wasn't something appropriate to ask.

',

Shailene had dated Vernon long enough to know that his silence meant yes. Vernon was always the type to hide his true feeling when he felt vulnerable and exposed.

But Shailene didn't want to help someone who didn't want to open up to her, so she asked again;

"I wonder if she is the same woman whose name you mentioned when we were having sex back then," Shailene guessed.

Vernon's body stiffened instantly. Her words unlocked the core embarrassing memory Vernon tried to bury deep in his head. He accidentally called Shailene the wrong name as he was having such wonderful sex while being drunk with Shailene.

'ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N ovelBi(n)',

It was also one of the reasons why they broke up back then.

Shailene studied Vernon's body language and realized she had just hit the mark.

"I see, so it's her."