His Contractual Mistress

Geoffrey remains silent for a moment. He would like to assume that Hailey must be joking.

"Are you sure about this, Hail? We granted them the Pearl Hotel project, and we added the three skyscrapers across the South Sector. They already submitted their designs, and all it needs is for you and Chairman Davies to approve it and discuss what changes you would like."

"No need now that I changed my mind."

It baffled him. He knew Hailey very well. For him, impossible, for she would joke around with her projects. She is always careful when deciding on Dream City. Although, he admits that in some aspects of her private life. Hailey makes decisions out of a whim, such as marrying Bryan.

"Alright! Then I have to send a formal letter. But how should I explain to LN Group we take back the projects?" Geoffrey queried.

"Don't worry. I will write the letter myself. I will email it to you tomorrow," she said.

"Alright! It seems you had a final thought about it. But can you tell me what happens or the reason, Hail? You won't do this without a serious reason."

'Damn. Geoffrey is the first person I should be careful with. He should not know about my life here in P Country! Especially about Vince!' she mused.

"Hail, are you still there?"

"Yeah! Well, I'm eyeing more worthy designs, that is why. Anyway, I have to go! I will call you tomorrow to discuss this matter once again. Bye!"

Before Geoffrey could ask further, Hailey already hung up the call.

'What is going on here?'

~ ~ ~

Back to reality, Hailey turned her head toward Vince's direction. He asked her about something, but she didn't hear it as she was in deep thoughts.

"I'm sorry. Come again?"

Vince glanced at her hands as he repeated his query. "I asked how your hand was."

"Oh, you mean?" Hailey looked at her two hands, contemplating which one Vince was talking about. "Um..."

"The one you used to punch him."

"Ah, that…" Wait! Vince knew? Then he saw a video? It was what Hailey concluded. She smiled at Vince and said, "It's alright!" 'His face was thick. I felt pain afterward!' She screamed inwardly. But it's not needed for Vince to know.

But to think of it now. It made her wonder whether Vince intentionally held her left hand because she used it to punch someone today.

Vince is gripping it tightly since they left the VIP room, walking in the hallway, passed in the lobby, and Vince just let it go when she got inside his car.

"What else did he tell you?" He asked further after Hailey avoided his question. In the video was sent to him, he saw Howie Gu following Hailey, but it didn't record what happened next after Hailey left the lobby and headed to the left wing where the suites were located.

On his way to the resort, he asked someone to send him a copy of the CCTV footage. Howie Gu whispered something to Hailey that made her furious after.

She was provoked and urged to punch Howie in the face and kick his thing. It only means that it was a serious insult.

Rendered her silence, Hailey could feel Vince's warm gaze on her face. She blushed. She was certain Vince was waiting for her answer. However, he could never share what Howie Gu says to her. Not Vince! 

"He said nothing more."

'She lied. She thought I didn't see the CCTV.' Vince thought. He has no plan of giving up on asking Hailey.

"Tell me…"

Oh, my! Now he's persistent!? But since Vince now starts talking, she must take this opportunity to shift the topic.

"There are no interesting words that come out of his mouth, so it's just a waste of time to talk about him." I appreciate what you did, Vince. But I already handled him. For sure, tomorrow, Chairman Lewis would rack his head to find the cause why Davies Group takes back the project. "Oh, are we going to West Harbor?" Drifting the subject, she asked Vince after they took a left turn in the next avenue.

Vince heaves a sigh. Since Hailey is not speaking, he didn't insist anymore. And the next fifteen minutes was silence laid inside the car.

"We're here..." Vince announced after he parked and got out of the Lambo.

Vince opens the car door for her. Hailey gets out of the vehicle and takes the elbow that he offered.

West Harbor is one of the SHEN GROUP projects in the last three years. The twin skyscrapers designed by Vince are the first thing you will notice when you are in the middle of the ocean.

And a half-mile away from the condo is the West Port, where expensive yachts of known people in the country and foreign investors had headquarters in the city ported here, including Vince's.

Hailey traveled her eyes to the shore. The sun is about to set in this part of the world. She realized what Vince told her to dine out is dining at his yacht.

All the way, Vince carefully guides her toward his yacht. He kept glancing at her shoes, but he didn't say anything.

'Is he worried I stumble?' Hailey thought. It is one thing why she could say that Vince is romantic. Although it's just a pretense, she could not stop her chest from fluttering, and a warm feeling filled her heart.

And when their agreement was over, it made her wonder if she could feel it again because only Vince made her feel this way.

"Oh!" her shoe stuck in the boarding ramp.

"Careful..."

Damn. Her head is all over the place. She needs to snap herself to focus on the current moment and set aside her future worries.

"I think it's time for me to change this boarding ramp," Vince murmured in a low voice. He was more like talking to himself.

"You need not do that! It was my recklessness, not the ramp's fault!" she expressed. 'Ah, that was my fault! Because I was thinking about you!' And, of course, she will not share Vince with her thoughts.

"Okay." But I'm still doing it. Vince thought inwardly.

Hailey breathes with a sigh of relief now they were inside the yacht. Vince led her toward the pool area, where a candlelight dinner was waiting for them.

There was a chef currently cooking behind the counter and two servers setting food on the table.

She headed to the sofa and sat down. Vince went to fetch her a glass of water.

"Thank you."

It's not the first Vince brought her on his yacht. In fact, in this yacht where she and Vince were photographed and posted online.

It was the first rumor that Vince spends a night with a woman where the entire country digs every social media site to get information about her, which soon takes down the photo.

But everyone was making a tremendous fuss because Vince allowed no women to board his yacht unless you are a female relative. Mostly he invited his male friends. That is why he was questioned about his sexual orientation when he sails out with just a bunch of men on his yacht. 

But for Vince, although he has two younger sisters, he doesn't like to deal with other women, especially the flirty one who whines and fakes it to get attention.

Honestly, Vince is romantic all along in their fake relationship. Maybe it was just a pretense, but it still made her wonder how those critics base their opinion?

Oh well, that is why it is having a term of criticism. These people only loved to create gossip in a baseless rumor that turns humor to those who truly knew Vince. Besides, Howie Gu should be an example of what Vince could do once it provoked him.

"Let me see your hand."

Hailey almost choked with the water she was drinking. She blinks a few times about whether to give her hand, but before she could decide, Vince was already scanning her fingers.

'What's with him? Why is he concerned so much in my hand?'

Hailey could not think of any reason Vince should throw a fret over her hand. She only punched the guy who insults him.