Lies

Steven had already recognized Nicole from afar, even though it was only her back. She was talking to a man who was an acquaintance of his.

"Mr. Scout! Nice to see you again and welcome back here!" Joseph greeted the young man with pleasure.

Steven's face was serious while his eyes were on Joseph's hand pressed against Nicole's back.

Nicole cleared her throat to get their attention. "Do you know each other?"

"Yes, of course! Mr. Scout is one of our VIP guests here." Joseph answered proudly.

"Ahm, well! He's the one I was saying I'd be meeting with." A small smile flashed on her lips and was unable to meet Steven's gaze. She was afraid that it might show through her eyes that what she was doing was a part of her script.

"Oh, I didn't know!" Joseph quickly removed his hand from the girl's back and called a waiter.

Steven formally thanked Joseph and he pulled a chair for Nicole.

"Please, enjoy the meal!" smiling, Joseph turned away and left the two.

"How did you meet Mr. Joseph?"

Nicole raised an eyebrow at Steven's question and she didn't expect him to ask that.

"Did you forget when I told you earlier that I will also be visiting a friend here?"

Steven didn't like that a man was her friend there and he was the owner of the restaurant.

"We met in Canada and he's a good chef at a famous restaurant back there."

"I see," Steven said as he watched Nicole, who was busy flipping through the menu.

"I'm very hungry, can we talk after we're done eating?" Nicole requested without looking at the young man when he started to open up the topic they were going to talk about.

Steven was silent for a moment before calling the waiter. He was also hungry, thus they ate first. He couldn't help but glance at the woman’s lips as she began to eat. He suddenly felt especially hungry not for food. But the desire to taste her lips.

"Damn! Why did I suddenly have an interest in kissing this woman?" Steven rebuked himself.

Nicole smirked when she noticed the way Steven stared at her. She had even more courage to seduce him and steal him from Danica. Moreover, he was the father of her children, so she somehow had a right. She did not feel a conscience as a woman to take someone else's man because Danica caused it herself. She ruined her life by using her, she was just seeking payback.

"I know it's about our partnership so you're talking to me personally now." Nicole said as she wiped her lips with a tissue. Even if some of her lipstick is erased, her lips are still red.

"Yes, and I want to correct something wrong you think about me and the trouble my sister gave you."

"Your fiance, too." She added to what Steven said.

"I apologize for their poor behavior, but my company decisions don't depend on them. I'll also make sure they don't bother you anymore." He said to her with a very serious expression.

"I understand your fiance as a woman. But your girlfriend's case is still disturbing. She's more aggressive than you in your relationship. I'm sorry, but I have a phobia of such behavior. I once had been in danger because of someone's jealousy."

Steven felt Nicole's fear in her voice and he didn't like that. He didn't want her to be afraid of getting close to him because of Danica. "We've talked before and came to an understanding."

"How about your sister?" She was still unsure.

"Like I said before, they can't do anything with what I want and my decision. Business is business, and I don't want to get mixed up with anything else at all."

"Well," Nicole leaned back in her chair and stared at the young man's face. "I'm sorry if I judged you earlier in front of your sister. I trust you in business. And hopefully even in this issue, I can count on you as well."

After the conversation, they left the hotel building at the same time.

"Mr. Scout!" Nicole called to the young man before he could get away from her.

Steven turned to the woman and waited for her to get closer to him.

"Thanks for the free lunch."

Steven was not prepared for what Nicole would do next. Her soft lips touched his cheek. She was no longer in front, but he couldn't move, as if he was a statue. Suddenly, his feeling warmed up again and he couldn't stop his eyes from watching the movements of her hips.

Nicole touched her own lips as she got into the car. She could still feel the feeling of her lips on his cheek. A triumphant smile flashed on her lips when her mobile rang, indicating that there was a new message.

Steven did not return to the office after he was done from the hotel. He just decided to go home to spend more time with his daughter.

When he saw his daughter, he couldn't help but remember Nicole's lips. He couldn't understand why the woman's kissable lips were almost glued to his vision.

"Daddy, do I look pretty?" Smiling, Daniela asked her father as she sat on one of his thighs.

"Yes, like your mother." He said it as a white lie.

Daniela's eyes widened, "really? But someone said I don't look like Mommy."

Steven frowned and felt annoyed at the person who had said that to his daughter. But when he remembered which mother the child was referring to, he sighed.

"Because Mommy is prettier than me. Am I right, Daddy?"

Steven nodded at the child with a smile, and what was on his mind was the real mother of her. He completely forgot to ask his daughter who told her that she didn't look like Danica.

In the office, Danica went crazy again in anger when she found out Steven had left. She then received a message from her assistant.

"Ma'am, look at the spreading picture of Sir Steven."

Danica quickly opened a website that often spreads trending news about famous people. Her eyes widened when she saw the picture of Steven with the woman who looked like an old friend.

"Who is this beautiful and sexy woman on a lunch date with one of the millionaire bachelors of our country?"

Danica read the headline with a photo attachment of the two from eating at a restaurant until they exited the hotel. In one angle of the picture, the young man's admiration for the woman is evident on his face. His eyes were focused on the woman's lips that were slightly pursed. What made her angry was the woman's kiss on the young man's cheek.

"Bitch! I wasn't born yesterday so as not to see your true motive in approaching Steven!" She spoke to herself with a clenched fist.

The news spread quickly and it reached Madame Asuncion. She was even surprised to learn that her grandson was in the mansion already even though it was still early. She quickly went to Daniela's room to talk to him.

"Grandma, why did you look so worried?" Daniela asked the old woman when she entered the room.

Asuncion quickly smiled at the girl and shook her head. She motioned for Steven to follow her and leave the child there first.

Daniela pouted when the two were no longer in front of her. It's school break, so she had nothing to do but just stay home. She gets bored sometimes, but can't complain. Her mother often went to work because she was big enough. Even though she was able to go out, only the elderly were with her like her aunt and grandmother.

"Is there a problem?" Steven asked his grandmother with formality.

"Who is this woman?" Madame Asuncion handed the phone to Steven. She was sure that tomorrow morning the same news would be in the newspaper as well.

Steven knit his brows when he saw his picture with Nicole. He did not expect anyone to see him in that place. There were many comments and everyone was curious about the woman who was with him.

"You know that your wedding with Danica is approaching. Surely the first to be hurt here is your sister again and I'm afraid of what she will think…"

"She already did," Steven interrupted his grandmother's words.

"What?!"

"That woman is the daughter of the landlord of the land I want to buy. I don't know why Rita rushed to the company and spoke badly to Nicole and—"

"What did you say? Who is that woman?" Asuncion asked confusedly because the name was familiar to her.

Steven took a deep breath before explaining to his grandmother. "She's not the woman you have in mind right now. She's been dead for a long time and it's just a coincidence that she has the same name and they look alike. Maybe that's why Rita came to her and I didn't like what she did."

Asuncion looked back at the picture, her mouth open. Her full attention was focused there and she could no longer understand the rest of what her grandson said. She only saw Daniela's real mother in a picture. And from what she sees now, the two are indeed alike.

The old woman looked at the young man again. He didn't seem mad about the news. It seemed like he was more worried about what will be the woman's reaction. This was not what she expected. He was once linked to a celebrity and he immediately erupted in anger. Back then, he immediately ordered Grey to remove the news and stop it from spreading further.

"What are you going to do about this?" Madame Asuncion looked at the young man expectantly.

"There's nothing wrong with the news and she's just my new business partner. I'll just set an appointment for an interview to clarify everything."

Madame Asuncion's lips widened even more at her grandson's decision. It was the first time she heard something like that from him, to face the cameras just to clarify this kind of misunderstanding. Whereas previously he thought of such news as nonsense that did not require his concern. He never wasted time for gossip.

Rita returned to the Danica's office when she saw the news spreading. She felt very sorry for her because she cried again.

"Did you see that? Do you think I was really wrong about that woman? She knew your brother and I were going to get married soon, but she still went out to eat with Steven! What's worse, she even intentionally kissed Steven on the cheek."

Rita felt Danica's body tremble because of the anger and jealousy she felt. If she was in this situation, she will feel the same way.

"That's enough and calm down first. I'll call Brother right now to stop the news from spreading."

Danica fell back into the chair and let Rita fix everything.

Rita stomped on one foot when she dialed her brother's number a few times, but he didn't answer. She called Grey and he answered that her brother already knew, but he did not order him to do something about the news.

"We better just go home first and Brother is there already as well." Rita calmly talked to her friend after the call was dropped.

Danica just followed her. It's good that Steven is at home and not with that flirtatious woman.

But when she got home, Danica was disappointed again because Steven had already left. He said he would meet with a reporter to do an interview, which surprised her and Rita.

A wide smile appeared on Nicole's lips as she read the news. She could already see the anger on Danica's face. She would just wait for her to attack her again with Rita. She would just insist she did not know why there was such a news. She made sure that the work of the person who took their picture was clean.