Chapter 338: Are You Hiding Something?

Ava studied him for a second. “My friend, you know, normal people usually ask for and look for food first when they haven’t eaten all day.”

Riley smiled. “Normal people also answer their phones.”

Mia pressed her lips together to hide a laugh, while Ava gave him an annoyed look.

“So you admit you were the problem here?” Ava asked while narrowing her eyes at him.

He chuckled before saying, “I admitted nothing.”

Ava shook her head. “Fine. I’ll bring you food before you fill that empty stomach of yours with drinks and put yourself into an even worse mood.”

“Well, ladies, who says I’m in a bad mood? I’m not in a bad mood.”

“Of course not,” Ava replied with an innocent smile. “You only arrived after disappearing for an entire day, emptied a glass of wine in one go, and then asked for a bottle before eating. You look perfectly peaceful.”

Riley looked at her for a moment, then laughed softly. “You’ve become very chatty, Ava.”

“I learned from Mia.”

Mia immediately frowned. “Hey, why am I involved in this?”

“Because you’re the one who taught me how to speak honestly.”

“Ava, I taught you to speak politely.”

“Well, that too.”

Riley shook his head while smiling. “You two, can you stop? I’m starting to feel hungry now.”

Ava grinned before finally walking away, leaving Riley alone with Mia at the table.

The moment Ava was gone, however, the warmth in Riley’s expression slowly disappeared. He leaned back in his chair, and Mia immediately noticed the change.

The three of them had been friends long enough for her to recognize when he was pretending to be fine. Riley could joke with Ava and smile at them, but the tension in his face had never completely disappeared.

Mia rested her hands on the table and looked at him carefully.

“Tell me what happened. Why did you suddenly cancel your company gathering without even notifying us?”

Riley looked at her and smiled, but unlike before, the smile did not reach his eyes.

“Nothing happened,” he answered as he reached for the wine bottle and began pouring himself another glass.

“Riley,” Mia called softly.

He glanced up at her. “What?”

“Nothing happened?”

“Nothing.” He answered calmly.

“You know I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying.”

He chuckled. “I’m not lying, Mia…”

“Then you’re hiding something.”

“My goodness, you sound like a detective now.” Riley paused, stared at her for a moment, then gave a small smile. “That sounds suspiciously like something you prepared in advance.”

“Well, my friend, I’ve had years of practice dealing with you.”

Riley laughed again, but the sound did little to change the tension between them. He picked up his glass and took another drink, using the movement to distract Mia from asking more questions.

He had no intention of telling her about the mess at Sterling Tech or the problems spreading through his family. Mia and Ava were already concerned about him, and he did not want to give them another reason to worry.

More than that, he was still trying to understand what had happened himself.

Everything had gone wrong too quickly.

Only that morning, he had believed Sterling Tech was about to secure the military tender. He had been confident enough to arrange this dinner and celebrate with his team before the official announcement had even settled.

By evening, the tender was gone, Cresswell had won, and Sterling Tech was facing the possibility of a serious legal battle.

The last thing Riley wanted was to sit in the middle of the restaurant and explain to his two best friends how badly his day had turned out.

So, he simply smiled at Mia again and lifted his glass.

“Trust me,” he said calmly. “I’m fine.”

Mia looked at him for several seconds, clearly unconvinced. Still, she knew forcing him to share his day too hard would only make him close himself off even more.

“Fine,” she finally said. “I’ll let you lie in peace.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “I thought I said I wasn’t lying.”

“Then hide your problems in peace.”

He smiled faintly. “That sounds better.”

“I know.”

Riley shook his head, but he could not stop the small smile from returning to his face. Even though he refused to tell her what had happened, sitting there with Mia and Ava gave him a brief escape from everything waiting for him outside the restaurant.

…

Lakeside Garden

A few days later, that morning at Lakeside Garden, Sienna was reluctant to get out of bed. She simply wanted to stay there a little longer, wrapped in Zachary’s arms and enjoying their quiet morning together before he left for another city on a business trip.

She knew he had work waiting for him, but knowing he would be away for a few days made her want to hold on to these last few hours as much as she could.

However, the timer she had set rang again, reminding her that the morning was already moving along.

Sienna lazily reached for her phone and turned it off before slowly sitting up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and prepared to get ready for the morning, already thinking about breakfast and making sure everything Zachary needed was prepared before he left.

Just as she managed to get out of bed, however, Zachary’s hand reached out and caught her wrist.

She looked back at him and found him still lying comfortably against the pillows, his hair slightly messy from sleep.

“Did I wake you up?” she asked softly.

“My love…” Zachary replied, his voice still carrying the laziness of someone who had no intention of leaving the bed yet. He gently pulled her back toward him. “You should sleep a little longer too.”

Sienna laughed quietly as she tried to resist him. “I can’t. I need to go downstairs and make sure breakfast is ready.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re leaving for a business trip today.”

He finally managed to open his eyes and stare back at her. “I know.”

“And you need to eat before you leave.”

Zachary looked at her with an amused expression. “We have a chef.”

“I know we have a chef.”

“Then let the chef prepare breakfast.”