"Mr. Sinclair, were those your words?"
Cole Sinclair gave a helpless "Mhm," and Riley Perry immediately reached out, wrapping her arms around the man's neck. She tilted her head up and pressed a kiss to his thin lips.
Their breaths tangled together. Cole Sinclair let Riley Perry wreak havoc on his lips, his large hand settling on her slender waist. Just as he was about to kiss her back, the sensation on his lips vanished.
The next second, her warm lips landed on his Adam's apple. A flash of desire crossed the man's eyes. Riley Perry looked up, her own eyes fixed on his as if observing his reaction. Meanwhile, her fingers deftly unfastened the buttons on his shirt, and her red lips pressed a mark over his left breast.
In that instant, his heart began to pound violently. Unable to bear such teasing any longer, Cole Sinclair pushed her down onto the bed.
But it wasn't long before the woman in his arms started acting up. One moment, she'd kick him and say he was hurting her. The next, she'd whimper that her back ached and tell him to get lost. A little while later, she complained he was too heavy and shoved him off. She nearly drove him to his wit's end... Finally, Cole Sinclair simply silenced that little mouth of hers, the one so adept at killing the mood, with a kiss.
Outside the window, the pitter-patter of raindrops began, like a woman's soft gasps or a lover's low murmurs, continuing ceaselessly through the night.
...
Riley Perry was woken by the ringing of her phone.
When she picked up her phone, she first glanced at the time. 'Hm, it's already 9:30.' The spot beside her had long been empty.
She glanced at the caller ID: Holly Summers.
This Holly Summers was supposedly the original owner's only friend at the company. In the memories she'd received, Holly was also the one who had egged the original on to date Raphael Jacobs. If she hadn't been constantly whispering good things about Raphael in the original's ear, she wouldn't have accepted his pursuit so easily.
Of course, you couldn't blame others entirely for something like this. If you had no mind of your own and just believed whatever anyone said, then you deserved to be fooled.
Fortunately, in the three years she'd been gone, the original owner had only filmed *Youth* after drifting through school for half a year. The movie itself took over three months to shoot. After post-production and its release, she enjoyed a brief period of popularity. By the time she signed with Stardust, Raphael Jacobs had come back into her life and started pursuing her. All in all, they were officially together for less than half a year.
And that half-year was precisely when the original's career started going downhill. The original might not have sensed it, but Riley Perry could see it clearly. Raphael Jacobs had been keeping his distance the whole time. Thus, they were a couple in name only; they hadn't done any of the things lovers do.
Of course, even if they had, Riley Perry wouldn't have cared. After spending three hundred years in the Elysian Sect, what kind of Asura's Arena hadn't she seen? It was just a relationship. It's not like it was illegal.
She gave a slight tug at the corner of her mouth before answering the phone. "Hello~ Holly."
"Riley, why didn't you come to the company today? I just got back from set, and I have to go film a variety show tomorrow. Let's get a meal together."
A smile played on Riley Perry's lips, her tone excessively soft and gentle. "Sure. It just so happens I'm free this morning."
Holly sounded obviously delighted on the other end. "Then I'll see you in a bit."
After hanging up, Riley Perry picked up her phone and sent a message to Cole Sinclair: Mr. Sinclair, when did you leave? Did you go to the office?
She put her phone down and got up. Her body felt fresh and clean, and even the bedsheets had been changed. This pleased her greatly. 'Otherwise, I'd dare to kick him out of bed again next time!'
After washing up, she planned to pick out a decent outfit, but the original owner's taste was worlds apart from her own. She looked through everything and couldn't find a single thing she liked. In the end, she just threw on a white T-shirt and jeans, planning to go out and buy some new clothes later.
Her phone screen lit up. It was a reply from the man, containing only a single word: Mhm.
Putting her phone away, Riley Perry opened her laptop and threw the five million she had just received last night straight into the stock market. Then, she took a cab to a nearby mall.
Her features were naturally on the glamorous side, so she could pull off any style of clothing. Yet, her closet was full of light-colored, exceptionally conservative outfits that did nothing to show off her amazing figure.
After shopping for over an hour, Riley Perry picked the sexiest of her selfies and sent it to Cole Sinclair.
Riley: Mr. Sinclair, do I look good?
Cole Sinclair glanced at it once before looking away, continuing to listen to his subordinate's report.
Riley: What about this one? Doesn't it make my waist look super thin?
Riley: And this one? Don't you think it makes my legs look ten feet long?
...
There were over thirty pictures in total, all selfies of her showing off either her waist, her legs, or her deep cleavage. At first, Cole Sinclair didn't look closely and would just reply with an "Mhm."
But Riley Perry was sending far too many. He took a closer look, and that was a mistake. His temper immediately began to flare.
The development manager giving the report saw the CEO's expression growing darker and darker and couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. 'His team spent half a month putting this report together. It can't be that there's really nothing of value in it, can it?'
He was terrified that in the next second, the CEO would explode and throw him out.
"Continue," Cole Sinclair's deep voice sounded, betraying no emotion.
The development manager immediately looked down at the report in his hands and began to read it, word for word.
Cole Sinclair looked down again and typed a message in the chat box: Don't buy them.
Riley Perry scoffed when she saw it. 'Let's see you just say "Mhm" now!'
She sent another message: Which ones?
Cole: All of them.
Riley Perry immediately sent back an "angry" sticker.
Cole: I have an apartment near your company. Move in today. I'll have clothes prepared for you.
Another message followed immediately with the apartment's address.
Riley Perry didn't reply. She bought all the clothes and shoes she liked. Not only that, but she also bought several special sets of lingerie and sleepwear. 'It doesn't matter if other people like them, as long as I do! I'm not living for someone else!'
She had the clothes sent back to her small apartment before heading to the restaurant where she was meeting Holly Summers.
Since they were both entertainers—not huge celebrities, but with a small bit of fame—they went to a private kitchen-style restaurant that valued privacy and got a small private room.
Holly Summers had arrived before her. The moment Riley Perry entered the room, she smiled. "Looks like you've struck it rich lately, picking such a nice place to eat."
The expression on Holly's face froze for an instant before she tucked her long hair behind her ear. "Listen to you. You always used to treat me. Today it's my turn to treat you, so of course, we have to eat somewhere nice.
By the way, how have you been? I heard from my agent that you were trending a couple of days ago."
Riley Perry sat down across from Holly and poured herself a cup of tea. "Same old, same old. My resources aren't great right now, I can't even get on a variety show. I did audition for a small role a couple of days ago, but it's just the fifth female lead. There's not much money in it after signing the contract."
Holly Summers deliberately showed off her newly manicured hands in front of Riley. "You know, if you ask me, you're just too naive. It's such a waste of a pretty face."