Love Contract novel Chapter 24

William strode out of the hotel and immediately ran into Victor, coming back from a film shoot.

William nodded to Victor in greeting before he spotted Frank in the distance, leaning against a car and smoking. Victor turned to look at what caught William's eye, saw Frank, and chuckled to himself.

"Of course, he'd be here. You're a lucky guy, Mr. Lan." Victor winked at William knowingly, walked past him, and disappeared into the hotel.

William pursed his lips and said nothing. He turned his attention back to Frank and walked over with a warm smile.

"That was fast," Frank said upon seeing William, looking quite relaxed in a T-shirt and jeans.

"Why are you here? Couldn't wait for me to come to you?" Frank's laid-back look put William in a good mood. He stretched out a hand to muss up Frank's hair playfully.

The affectionate gesture left Frank beaming happily.

"You look good when you smile," William murmured wistfully. His eyes gazed at Frank but somehow seemed to be seeing another person. William caught himself staring, cleared his throat, and motioned for Frank to get in the car as he got into the driver's seat.

The sleek car left. Neither of them noticed the discreet flashes of light in the darkness.

Mary opened her eyes to gentle sunlight streaming into the airy room. She had been so tired last night, she went straight to sleep as soon as she finished shower.

She propped herself up, yawned, and stretched her arms. Then it dawned on her there was someone missing.

"William?" Mary called out. Her voice echoed in the empty room.

Where was he? The opening ceremony was over. He didn't leave any instructions to her. Was he mad at her again?

Ding dong! Ding dong! Mary jumped at the sound of the doorbell.

She hurriedly threw on a bathrobe and slipped her swollen feet into soft slippers before rushing to the door.

Mary swung open the door. "Kevin? What are you doing here?" she asked, puzzled upon seeing who it was.

A harried-looking Kevin pushed past her and into the room. "Is Mr. Lan here?" he asked with panic in his voice, looking around wildly. Mary knitted her brows in concern and closed the door after him. "No. He was gone when I woke up. But what's wrong?"

Kevin groaned in frustration. "His phone is turned off, so I thought he'd still be asleep!" He turned desperately to Mary. "We've got a problem."

Mary leaned over the table as Kevin showed her an article on an entertainment website on the laptop.

"Biz boss' moonlight tryst!" the headline screamed. Mary frowned as she studied the accompanying photo.

It showed William smiling warmly at Frank, hand running through his hair.

"How long has that been up?" Mary asked Kevin, suddenly serious. She cursed the website in her mind. How could they just run baseless gossip like this? Did they not care whose reputation they would ruin? Well! She wasn't going to let them get away with it!

"It was posted at eight o'clock this morning." Kevin pulled at his hair, completely stressed out. He was used to dealing with pressures at work, but this was out of his range. "What should we do?"

"Don't worry. I'll handle it." A dark cloud descended over Mary.

She whipped out her phone and dialed a number. Her face was grim as she waited for someone to pick up on the other end. "Yes, hello? Is this Chief Editor Xia?" Kevin stared, taken aback by the sharpness in Mary's voice. She seemed like a different woman.

Mary started pacing back and forth in the room, her black aura growing more intense. "Manager Lu!" Chief Editor Xia's groveling voice exclaimed at the other end of the line, feigning delight.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Mary snarled into the phone. "Chief Editor Xia, we've known each other for far too long now. Do not test my patience. You know why I'm calling!" she spat out.

On the other end, a chill ran up Chief Editor Xia's spine. He decided to stop playing dumb. He opted to appeal to Mary's sympathy instead. "Manager Lu, You know how it is in our business, " he whined. "We really were after Victor, but we couldn't get anything new on him, but we came across Mr. Lan and..."

"I don't want to hear it!" Mary snapped. "Take down the story now! Or I'll see you in court!"

"We don't need to go that far," Chief Editor Xia pleaded. "Besides, this is still publicity for your company, right?"