I visited Marquis Paine’s residence in the morning, rushed through department store work in the afternoon, and by evening, I came to a restaurant to dine with Jeffrey Danvers.

‘I really live a busy life.’

I wish I had two bodies. So I could make the other body do all the annoying tasks.

Fortunately, the rain that had been falling all afternoon stopped abruptly by evening.

“I deliberately chose a noisy place. With many people around, Jeffrey, that bastard—I mean, that gentleman—won’t be able to pull any stunts.”

I praised Cedric.

“Well done.”

Every time we meet, Jeffrey treats me like his fiancée, which is uncomfortable. In such a bustling place, he wouldn’t try to hold my hand or bring his lips to my cheek.

As soon as we sat down, the restaurant became crowded with customers. Waiters brought out tables and chairs from the storage. The seats became so cramped that we had to sit close to the people next to us, and all the windows had to be opened just to breathe as the air inside became stale.

“There are too many customers here.”

“You’re right. I heard it was popular, but I didn’t expect it to be this crowded.”

“Who’s the chef? If the food is good today, let’s recruit them for our cafeteria. The food there is too tasteless now.”

Lunchtime is such a precious joy for working people. The food in the Liv Department Store cafeteria was inconsistently flavored. If you were satisfied with a delicious meal one day, the next day you’d wonder how they could serve such food. High morale among the sales staff is essential for increasing sales.

‘I think the chef is embezzling funds from the cost of ingredients.’

Cedric quietly complained.

“I don’t think the current chef is bad. Bringing in an expensive chef will only increase fixed expenses.”

As it got dark, even the lamps seemed insufficient, so the waiter lit a candle on our table.

Jeffrey appeared strutting like a protagonist, 40 minutes after the appointed time. By then, Cedric and I had already emptied a glass of wine each while discussing who to promote.

As soon as Jeffrey saw Cedric, he narrowed his eyes and reproached him.

“What? Why are you here?”

Cedric shrugged his shoulders, and I stopped Jeffrey from bothering my employee.

“Jeffrey, shouldn’t you apologize first for being late?”

As I glared at him, he ran his hand through his reddish-brown hair and made excuses.

“Sorry. After getting out of the carriage, I ran into someone I know. A woman who used to follow me around. She was so desperate to meet again, clinging to me. I’m just that popular, Charlotte.”

So what?

Why does this man like to show off in front of me? It’s not like I have any interest anyway.

Jeffrey took off his hat and sat down, subtly pulling his chair and squeezing through people to get closer to me. Cedric, who was sitting on my right, muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“We should have brought one more person.”

I know, right? I thought Jeffrey would sit across from us. I didn’t expect to be dining with men on both sides.

The wind blew through the open windows, making the candle flicker. Cedric’s face in the candlelight looked subtly captivating. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. When I turned my head, feeling subtle gazes, women’s eyes were invariably drawn to the man sitting on my right.

Misunderstanding the women’s gazes, Jeffrey cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry about this. Wherever I go, I’m overflowing with popularity.”

Jeffrey winked at the women sitting at other tables. Seeing this, the women naturally frowned. Judging by their lip movements, they seemed to be cursing profusely. Oh, that curse is a bit creative. I should use it sometime.

“We don’t have time, so let’s finish our conversation and leave quickly. It’s too crowded here.”

“We should order first. Hey, bring some alcohol here! The strong stuff!”

“I won’t drink. I quit alcohol.”

Jeffrey’s eyes darted toward the wine glass in front of me.

“Then what’s this?”

Cedric answered instead.

“I drank two glasses.”

“My employee really loves alcohol. Anyway, since we don’t have much time, let’s get straight to business. Jeffrey, I want to buy back the shares you own. Sell them back to me.”

Jeffrey, predictably, snorted at my proposal.

Investing money and distributing department store shares. This was my method of drawing investors into the business.

Jeffrey, one of the early investors, was taking in quite generous profits from just a 2% share. Looking at those profits alone, he would have already recovered his investment within the past two years.

I hate to brag, but our dear Liv Department Store has been generating considerable sales lately. With plans to expand the building and launch large-scale promotions, even better results are expected. As the owner, I haven’t been able to save much money since I reinvest what I earn back into the department store. Still, compared to the old days, I’m now among the top 100 capitalists in the capital.

“Well. The money comes in steadily and it’s quite substantial. Why should I transfer my shares to you?”

“I’ll give you three times what you initially invested.”

“If you’re going to talk about complicated things, I’ll get bored and just leave. Wait, why did you ask to meet for dinner and make a busy person come out if you’re not even going to drink?”

This guy won’t be persuaded with words alone. Time for Plan B. After exchanging glances with Cedric, I caught a passing waiter.

“I ordered the strongest drink here earlier. When is it coming?”

It seemed I needed to feed Jeffrey, who loves alcohol, plenty of drinks for the conversation to go anywhere. Hearing my words, Jeffrey smiled mischievously.

“I thought you quit drinking?”

“Because of you, I’m planning to start again from today.”

“Hmm. Then send that man away and let’s drink together. Instead of a place like this, I know a better place where we can be alone.”

Jeffrey’s hand subtly moved toward my backside. Ah, even though I’m a pervert who often has lewd dreams, I’m quite picky about men’s faces. I slapped the back of his approaching hand and spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Oh my. I really like it here, though? The drinks seem good too.”

The waiter brought the most expensive and strongest drink in the house with glasses. I poured a glass for Jeffrey and started complimenting him.

“Wow. I find men who can drink well so attractive. A real man should down it all at once! Cheers!”

Encouraged by my cheers, the simple-minded Jeffrey proudly gulped down the drink in one go. Of course, Cedric joined in with the compliments.

“Jeffrey, unlike me, you have an impressive drinking capacity.”

“Ha. Look at these people.”

After clinking glasses with me several times, when Jeffrey had emptied his drink, Cedric pretended to be drunk and complimented Jeffrey’s appearance with a slurred tongue.

My secretary is remarkably good at pretending to be drunk. I know his alcohol tolerance very well, and for him to deceive someone with just a few drinks, making them smell the alcohol—it’s truly shameless and I couldn’t be prouder.

“Jeffrey. Where do you get your beard groomed? I tried growing a beard to be popular with women like you, but it didn’t turn out stylish at all.”

“Hmph. You think this beard would suit just anyone? It’s natural, I was born with it.”

“That’s right. I want to learn your masculine qualities, but I just can’t. For my disappointment, let’s have another drink.”

Cedric and I took turns feeding Jeffrey strong liquor. Jeffrey, who loves compliments and flattery, fell for our tactics and gradually lost the sharpness in his eyes.

‘Is it time now?’

‘If we push any more, he might lose consciousness.’

Cedric quickly pulled out documents from his bag, and I placed a pen in Jeffrey’s hand.

“Huh? What’s this. Why are you suddenly holding my hand? You’re making a man’s heart flutter.”

I warmly returned Jeffrey’s grinning smile.

“Because I’m upset that you won’t sign here. Tsk, running a business is so hard. I need to gather shares so investors won’t look down on me as the owner. Jeffrey, do you want to see me being disrespected by people?”

When I whined with a lisp and mixed in some cuteness, the corners of Jeffrey’s mouth rose until they almost tore. Of course, Cedric’s expression watching me grew increasingly sour.

“Hehehe. Who dares to disrespect my woman! Which bastard is it, you?”

As Jeffrey pointed his finger, Cedric gently took his hand and guided it toward the document.

“Of course not. This time, Marquis Paine invested a large sum, but you know what? He keeps showing ulterior motives toward our Boss Charlotte. So I think you need to help us this time, Jeffrey.”

“M-me?”

Oh dear, we might have given him too much to drink as Jeffrey’s voice suddenly gurgled loudly. If we let him drink any more, he might commit a great disrespect to the restaurant owner right here. Please don’t throw up.

“Sign here. I heard your father’s textile factory has been struggling lately. Take this opportunity to get a large sum from me and help your father. You need to have your shares so I won’t lose to Marquis Paine. Hmm? I’m offering to buy them for three times the original price. Sell them to me.”

Taking advantage of Jeffrey’s drunken state, I slightly reduced the amount I had originally offered to pay.

“I-is that so. Hmm. So my woman needs help, is that it?”

No, I’m not your woman.

Suppressing my disgusted feelings, I just smiled brightly. Jeffrey tapped the back of my hand and boldly moved the pen to sign.

“Alright! From tomorrow, I’ll settle down with you! I’ll clear out my other lovers, so don’t worry.”

No, that’s really not necessary.

Jeffrey’s alcohol-soaked body swayed. He dropped his head straight down. The table shook, and candle wax dripped onto the messy tablecloth. We hurriedly pulled out the precious contract from under his face. Ugh, my hand touched his grease. So gross. The contract also had some traces of his facial oil on it.

“Wow. Business is tough.”