Ryan was about to say more, but I grabbed his hand. I looked at Steven and said mockingly, “The right way to live is to play the field, try out all kinds of different men.”
“On that, we see eye to eye. We’re the same kind of people, unlike you… you who appear so self-disciplined. Mr. Lancaster, you seem to have a lot of free time. You don’t need to worry about my affairs.”
He was self-disciplined, just not for me.
A turbulent storm suddenly surged in Steven's eyes, locking onto my face. His intense gaze made my skin crawl. I had a feeling I’d touched a nerve. I immediately grabbed Ryan’s hand.
“Ignore him. He’s just looking for a fight. The auction is about to start. Let’s go.”
As Ryan walked away with me, he turned back to shake his fist at Steven and made a face.
Then he turned back to me and said, “I don’t like him. At first, I thought he was protecting you by ignoring his mom, but as soon as she left, he got so mean and vicious, insulting both you and me. You can’t have a man like that. The son-in-law of the Lopez family has to be gentle, considerate, and dote on his wife.”
Seeing Ryan’s face flushed with anger, I couldn't help but sigh. Steven really looked down on everyone. He had treated Horace with the same contempt.
“He’s just picking on you because you’re young and inexperienced. But I have to say, you really shouldn’t be such a player. You need to have some basic respect for relationships, or you’ll face the consequences eventually.”
Ryan immediately started protesting, “Don’t believe him! I really, really, really haven’t messed around! I just like to flirt a little, I’ve never done anything with anyone. I know my limits.”
“I know, I know. As long as you know your limits.” I headed toward the private room. The main auction floor was on the fifteenth floor; the first floor was just for viewing.
Ryan’s phone suddenly rang. “We’re at the auction. What’s up?”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be right down.”
He hung up and looked at me. “My older brother needs me to pick something up at the entrance. You go on up. I’ll be there in a minute.”

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