Chapter 2

2: 2

2

Joseph let out a helpless sigh.

"I thought it was just going to be the two of us tonight. How did it end up three?"

There was a note of complaint in his voice.

"You jerk, are you saying your own girlfriend's in the way? You're asking for it!"

Kathryn pretended to be angry and punched him, and Joseph clutched his chest, playing wounded.

I stood there with my lips pressed together, watching my boyfriend and my best friend tease and play with each other.

And I was the unwanted outsider.

"I've got something to take care of. I'll head out first."

I picked up my bag and stood to leave, but my wrist was caught.

"Isabelle, what are you throwing a fit for?"

"You're already here. We'll just pull up a stool for you. It's not like one more mouth makes a difference."

A stool was shoved at me. It was mortifying.

Kathryn and Joseph sat facing each other.

The whole table was covered in the spicy dishes Kathryn loved, plus one very elegant mango-flavored cake.

Kathryn dug in, then tilted her head at me.

"Isabelle, why aren't you eating? Did your boyfriend forget to serve you?"

"Joseph, is that any way to treat a girlfriend?"

Kathryn kicked him under the table.

Joseph peeled a shrimp and set it in Kathryn's bowl.

"She's got hands of her own."

I kept my head down and said nothing.

My stomach was bad. I couldn't touch anything spicy. Joseph had always known that.

And I was allergic to mango cake.

One of them was my boyfriend, the closest person to me. The other was my best friend.

And right now not one of them remembered a single thing I couldn't eat.

From the moment the meal started,

Joseph and Kathryn traded jokes and jabs back and forth, playing off each other.

"Kathryn, I didn't know you had it in you. You actually got the head of Maddox Group to meet with you that fast."

"With a mouth like yours, I bet you had him locked in the second you walked in."

Kathryn lifted her chin, proud.

"Of course. Don't underestimate me."

"Isn't that right, Isabelle?"

I kept my head down and said nothing. My phone screen lit up again.

It was from Maddox Group's liaison secretary.

"Ms. Lawson, the order contract is drafted and sent to your email. Please look it over, and if there are no issues, go ahead and sign."

"Once you sign, the contract takes effect immediately."

I was about to sign.

Then Kathryn snatched the phone right out of my hand.

"Isabelle, that's not cool. Everyone's here chatting and you're the only one staring at a phone."

"You workaholic, isn't putting in overtime at the office every day enough? You have to handle work here too? Let me see what you're looking at..."

My chest went tight and I reached for the phone on instinct.

"It's work stuff. Nothing worth seeing."

The next second, Kathryn held the phone up high.

"The more you don't want me to see it, the more curious I get."

"Let's just see what this is..."

My eyes were nearly stinging with panic. Kathryn had my phone dangling right over the fish tank.

She held it with two rhinestone-studded nails.

One loosening of her grip and my phone would drop straight into the water.

"Kathryn, please, give me back my phone!"

"I still have work messages to answer..."

Kathryn pointed at me and burst out laughing.

"Joseph, look at your girlfriend bouncing around all frantic, she's practically turned into a little rabbit!"

"It's just a crappy phone. Is it really worth getting this worked up over?"

Then Joseph spoke up, his face serious. "Kathryn."

He rose from behind her.

He held out a gift box. Inside was a brand-new iPhone.

"Haven't you been complaining that your phone lags? This is a little gift from me."

"Consider it an early celebration dinner for you."

Kathryn's eyes went wide with excitement, and she let out a shriek, and my phone dropped into the fish tank with a splash.