Love Contract

Chapter 24 The Entertainment Headline

William strode out of the hotel and immediately ran into Victor, coming back from a film shoot.

William nodded to Victor in greeting before he spotted Frank in the distance, leaning against a car and smoking. Victor turned to look at what caught William's eye, saw Frank, and chuckled to himself.

"Of course, he'd be here. You're a lucky guy, Mr. Lan." Victor winked at William knowingly, walked past him, and disappeared into the hotel.

William pursed his lips and said nothing. He turned his attention back to Frank and walked over with a warm smile.

"That was fast," Frank said upon seeing William, looking quite relaxed in a T-shirt and jeans.

"Why are you here? Couldn't wait for me to come to you?" Frank's laid-back look put William in a good mood. He stretched out a hand to muss up Frank's hair playfully.

The affectionate gesture left Frank beaming happily.

"You look good when you smile," William murmured wistfully. His eyes gazed at Frank but somehow seemed to be seeing another person. William caught himself staring, cleared his throat, and motioned for Frank to get in the car as he got into the driver's seat.

The sleek car left. Neither of them noticed the discreet flashes of light in the darkness.

Mary opened her eyes to gentle sunlight streaming into the airy room. She had been so tired last night, she went straight to sleep as soon as she finished shower.

She propped herself up, yawned, and stretched her arms. Then it dawned on her there was someone missing.

"William?" Mary called out. Her voice echoed in the empty room.

Where was he? The opening ceremony was over. He didn't leave any instructions to her. Was he mad at her again?

Ding dong! Ding dong! Mary jumped at the sound of the doorbell.

She hurriedly threw on a bathrobe and slipped her swollen feet into soft slippers before rushing to the door.

Mary swung open the door. "Kevin? What are you doing here?" she asked, puzzled upon seeing who it was.

A harried-looking Kevin pushed past her and into the room. "Is Mr. Lan here?" he asked with panic in his voice, looking around wildly. Mary knitted her brows in concern and closed the door after him. "No. He was gone when I woke up. But what's wrong?"

Kevin groaned in frustration. "His phone is turned off, so I thought he'd still be asleep!" He turned desperately to Mary. "We've got a problem."

Mary leaned over the table as Kevin showed her an article on an entertainment website on the laptop.

"Biz boss' moonlight tryst!" the headline screamed. Mary frowned as she studied the accompanying photo.

It showed William smiling warmly at Frank, hand running through his hair.

"How long has that been up?" Mary asked Kevin, suddenly serious. She cursed the website in her mind. How could they just run baseless gossip like this? Did they not care whose reputation they would ruin? Well! She wasn't going to let them get away with it!

"It was posted at eight o'clock this morning." Kevin pulled at his hair, completely stressed out. He was used to dealing with pressures at work, but this was out of his range. "What should we do?"

"Don't worry. I'll handle it." A dark cloud descended over Mary.

She whipped out her phone and dialed a number. Her face was grim as she waited for someone to pick up on the other end. "Yes, hello? Is this Chief Editor Xia?" Kevin stared, taken aback by the sharpness in Mary's voice. She seemed like a different woman.

Mary started pacing back and forth in the room, her black aura growing more intense. "Manager Lu!" Chief Editor Xia's groveling voice exclaimed at the other end of the line, feigning delight.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Mary snarled into the phone. "Chief Editor Xia, we've known each other for far too long now. Do not test my patience. You know why I'm calling!" she spat out.

On the other end, a chill ran up Chief Editor Xia's spine. He decided to stop playing dumb. He opted to appeal to Mary's sympathy instead. "Manager Lu, You know how it is in our business, " he whined. "We really were after Victor, but we couldn't get anything new on him, but we came across Mr. Lan and..."

"I don't want to hear it!" Mary snapped. "Take down the story now! Or I'll see you in court!"

"We don't need to go that far," Chief Editor Xia pleaded. "Besides, this is still publicity for your company, right?"

"We publicize our stars, not our CEO!" Mary said, gritting her teeth. She took a deep breath. "Chief Editor Xia, if you don't clear this matter in half an hour, you can say goodbye to exclusives with the stars from our company. I trust you'd choose wisely." "Manager Lu, please don't..."

Click!

The phone hummed with the sound of a line going dead.

Mary fumed silently and punched angrily at the air. She could kill those assholes!

At that moment, William pushed open the door and saw Mary swinging at the wind, her face contorted in fury. He couldn't help but crack a smile.

'So she has a fiery side, too. Always full of surprises.'

"Mr. Lan!" Kevin shot up as he saw William come in. "You're back!"

Mary froze. She whipped around and met William's amused eyes.

"Yes. I saw everything." Before the mortified Mary could respond, William turned to Kevin.

"Everything is fine. Just go back to your work." Kevin nodded briskly. "Yes, sir." He gathered his things hurriedly and walked out.

As soon as Kevin was out of earshot, Mary started questioning William. "Where have you been? You've been gone since last night!" Mary demanded.

"I went to get drinks with Frank." William raised a brow at Mary's bathrobe. "You really had a guest over looking like that?"

"What?" Mary followed his gaze. She looked down and found that she hadn't wrapped the bathrobe tightly enough. Her cleavage lay bare. "Oh, my God!" Mary gasped in horror.

She ran to the bedroom, leaving William standing alone in the living room, chuckling.

His eyes inadvertently drifted to the photo on the laptop screen. His smile dropped.

"You have no idea of the trouble you've caused me today! Such a headache so early in the morning!" Mary chided as she changed inside the room.

William smirked. "It doesn't look like it pained you too much. You've handled it quite well."

"Handled it?" Mary walked out, having changed to her day clothes. "I haven't handled it at all! I was just bluffing! What if he doesn't take down the story?" Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"He will."

Mary stared at him incredulously. "How can you be so calm about this? This can ruin the company and make you a laughingstock!"

"And what exactly will they be laughing at?" William asked nonchalantly. "My supposed affair? Or my being supposedly gay?" Mary shook her head, stumped. She felt like William was asking her a riddle she couldn't solve.

"Will you laugh at me?" William asked, fixing a steady gaze on Mary.

"What do you mean? Why would I do that?" Mary asked him, eyebrows knitted.

"Laugh at me if I were gay."

Mary rolled her eyes. "But you're not."

"But what if I were?" William studied Mary's face. "Will you laugh at me, too?"

Mary's face remained blank as she processed his words. Then her eyes widened. "Are you? Are you really gay?" Mary asked in a low voice, her mouth agape.

William walked toward Mary. As he passed her, he smiled and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Got you." As William closed the bathroom door behind him, he could hear Mary shouting in exasperation outside. "I cannot believe you! Can you not prank me today?! I'm already on edge as it is!"

As Mary continued to rant outside, William stared at himself in the mirror. A somber face looked back at him.