Vernon went to the lobby of his apartment building and saw Diamond leaning on his car that had been parked in front of the lobby.
She was playing with her phone when she noticed a tall figure standing before her.
She lifted her head and raised one brow full of teasing, "Good morning, Mr. Phoenix Gray. Did you have a good sleep last night?"
Vernon's cheeks reddened in response, and he answered with a grumble, "Shut up, Diamond. Go sit on the other side. I'll drive."
"You sure? You were so drunk last night, you know,"
"I wasn't that drunk, I gained some resistance after the first incident," Vernon replied, reminding Diamond of what happened when she was forced to carry him out of that bar.
"Oh well, if you say so," Diamond lifted her butt and walked around the car. She opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat right beside Vernon.
Vernon sat in the driver's seat and headed straight to the client's office, where they had a final meeting with the board of directors to launch that cooking show to help boost Vincent Gray's company products.
It was a collaboration between Vincent and Vernon, and Vernon took this very seriously. Despite Vincent, who didn't seem to be bothered if he lost a little bit of money.
"Everything has been finalized?" Vernon asked Diamond, who was holding all the documents needed.
"Yes, Sir," Diamond nodded without hesitation. She knew the capability of her boss and knew that the meeting would go well nonetheless.
She was more concerned about another thing instead…
"Boss, do you know that I have to call my friend to drive my car, while I drove yours in the middle of the night? I slept at 3! Shouldn't you at least say thank you to me?"
…
"I will give you a bonus for this month. Don't worry," Vernon said. He was too embarrassed to say thank you since he knew well that Diamond must've seen him getting his ear pulled by Chloe last night.
Diamond sighed. She knew it was impossible for Mr. Phoenix Gray to say a basic 'thank you' and 'sorry.' Because those two simply didn't exist in his dictionary for an unknown reason.
'Or maybe he's just into his tough guy, big guy persona. I saw him looking so docile when my Homegurl pulled his ear, hihi~.'
Diamond covered her lips as she giggled, and Vernon immediately noticed it.
"Nothing, Sir. I was just a little surprised at how tame you are in front of Chloe," Diamond stopped giggling, but she still couldn't hold her smile. "Do you know what kind of expression you made when Chloe pulled your ear? You were like a kid that got punished for being naughty, hihi~."
Vernon's cheeks reddened at first, then it spread to his whole face and ears.
"F—Forget about what happened last night. I was just drunk," Vernon replied weakly, all his usual fierceness dissipating.
"Sure, boss~," Diamond teased for another second, then she turned serious once she remembered one thing. "Why did you go there last night? I thought you said you don't like being too drunk."
…
Diamond was suspicious when Mr. Phoenix Gray went silent instantly.
It was weird for her because she knew him well. He could just say that he was stressed out by his fight with Chloe, or maybe…
'Maybe there's another reason?'
"Sir, was it only because of Chloe, or is there something else weighing your mind?"
…
Vernon didn't want to answer that. Because it was all his fault.
He shouldn't have come to Shailene last night, thinking he could get good advice.
However, instead of giving him good advice and calming him down, Shailene made him even more confused and frustrated.
She pointed out all the flaws in Vernon's love for Chloe and claimed that he wasn't in love with Chloe.
Everything he felt was a shallow trace of obsession and dependence because Chloe was a groomer and pedophile.
He was in love with the idea of falling in love and owning Chloe, but not with Chloe herself.
Proof? Shailene said that Vernon didn't know a thing about Chloe.
He didn't know the smallest thing, such as Chloe's favorite color or even her favorite food, despite them often having breakfast and dinner together.
'Coming to her apartment was a big mistake, seriously…' Vernon thought. 'I'll cut her off and find another psychiatrist.'
"Sir?" Diamond called him again. Her suspicion rose when Mr. Phoenix Gray kept silent despite being asked twice. "There is another reason, I suppose?"
"Diamond, you're Chloe's best friend, right?"
"Well, I claimed so. I don't know what's in her mind, though," Diamond replied truthfully. She could always claim to be Chloe's best friend, and she had never been so close to anyone other than Chloe.
Unfortunately, she wasn't 100% sure that Chloe felt the same.
"Then, do you know her favorite color?" Vernon asked out of the blue.
…
"Huh?" Diamond was caught off guard by that question. "Her favorite color? Yeah, I know. What's wrong with it, Sir?"
"Wait, you actually know her favorite color?!" Vernon asked again. He just didn't expect Diamond to know about it. "Did she tell you?"
"No? She didn't need to anyway," Diamond replied. "You'll notice it sooner or later. She often wore something with that color, usually her bag or shoes, or even a sweater and shawl."
"What is it then? Tell me," Vernon demanded.
"Wait, I don't understand, Sir. Why do you need to ask such trivial questions? Shouldn't you focus on something bigger? Such as… I don't know— fucking apologizing at her, since you hurt her heart yesterday?"
"I will do that. I also want to know what I said wrong..." Vernon nodded assuringly. "But I also want to know more about her. I… I realized that I know nothing about her. I don't know her hobby, her favorite color, favorite show, food she liked the most, and many more."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l