Chapter 33
Stephen replied, “Cash only.”
Layla frowned. “Isn’t a bank transfer still considered money?”
Stephen shook his head. “Nope, third–party payments aren’t the saine as cash. Plus, there’s a fee to get the money out.”
Layla gritted her teeth. “You’re the head of the Murray Group, and you’re worried about a few dollars?”
Without saying anything, Stephen grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bridal room. “Your choice: cash or stay here tonight.”
Layla felt her body heat up. Her breath was hot too,
Annoyed but left with no other options, Layla cleaned up and got into bed. She quickly fell asleep.
Stephen sat on the couch. He smiled as he watched her doze off so easily.
His phone buzzed with a message from his “informant.” Austin asked, “Mr. Yates, was Layla happy with the restaurant today?”
Stephen smiled and replied, “Good job.” He was happy with Austin’s work.
No one knew Layla’s habits better than her friends.
Stephen suddenly thought it was in
important to have someone close to Layla working for him.
He closed his eyes, feeling relaxed and ready for a good night’s sleep. His dreams were filled with thoughts of Layla.
5
The next morning, Layla woke up to find every newspaper full of headlines about her and Stephen getting back together.
Pictures of them kissing in the car were all over the news.
The photos she had tried to delete earlier were now explained. Austin revealed he had been Layla’s close friend for over ten years and th
and that Stephen knew him well.
Regina also sent a legal notice, threatening to sue the gossip sites that claimed she had an improper relationship with Stephen.
What seemed like a big mess had suddenly tumed into something positive.
Layla couldn’t help but be impressed as she read the comments at home while eating an apple. “There’s no way Stephen wasn’t involved in this,” she thought. At Murray Group, Stephen looked at the comments on his tablet and then handed it to his assistant. He said, “Send a warning. If any newspaper publishes Information about me or my family without my permission, we’ll shut them down
“Got it, Mr. Yates,” the assistant replied.
With that matter resolved, Layla suddenly remembered something else.
“Dylan, let’s go visit your mom in the hospital,” she said.
Dylan quickly grabbed his Commander Hampton toy and ran out.
“Slow down! You have a heart condition!” Layla called after him as she watched him run away in his sky–blue sweater.
He hadn’t seen his mom in days, and with Layla and Stephen arguing, poor Dylan was stuck in the middle.
When they got to the hospital, Dylan ran straight to Lucy and jumped into her arms. He climbed onto the bed and hugged her neck tightly. He refused to let go. “Layla, I saw the news. I was going to explain that Stephen would never cheat, but it seems like the misunderstanding cleared up on its own,” Lucy said with a smile as she held her son close.
Layla sat down and grabbed some fruit from the table. “Lucy, do you know Regina Islington?
Lucy looked confused. “The actress they’re saying is involved with Stephen?”
Layla nodded. Since she lovew Lucy well, she figured Lucy might know Regina too.
Lucy shook her head, “No, I don’t know her. Big celebrities like that don’t hang out with
“But… the lows you,” Layla said curiously.
with people like us,
Lucy frowned. She was clearly contused. “That can’t be right, I’ve never followed celebrities, and someone like me wouldn’t have any connections to a big star, Layla, I really don’t know Regina Islington. No one from the orphanage does either.”
Layla stopped eating the grapes. The fruit didn’t taste good anymore. She frowned. “Then how does she low you?”
