Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 118

Daphne was swamped at the moment, and Julie didn’t stand a chance to approach her.

Wennie glanced at the assistant nearby and asked, “Didn’t Daphne just head downstairs to check the interview script with Mr. Lionel’s agent? How come she’s now doing the agent’s work?”

Hearing Wennie’s question, Julie also shot a look in that direction. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

The assistant leaned in and whispered to Wennie, “It’s not Daphne trying to take over. She’s stepped on Mr. Lionel’s toes.”

“Daphne, that smart cookie, how could she upset Mr. Lionel?” Wennie expressed her disbelief.

Julie also found it hard to believe. After all, Daphne was the most adaptable person she knew. To put it precisely, many of Julie’s problem-solving strategies were learned from Daphne. Thanks to Daphne, she was then who she was.

With her kind of personality, how could she possibly annoy the superstar who’s about to collaborate with their magazine?

The assistant hushed and said seriously, “Not sure what Daphne was thinking. Everyone knows Mr. Lionel’s ex-girlfriend, Ms. Albertine, married Mr. Farrell. But Daphne just mentioned Ms. Albertine in front of Mr. Lionel. On top of which, she asked Mr. Lionel’s agent if she could have an exclusive interview about his love life. Do you think Daphne is cursed or something? The editor-in-chief said whatever Mr. Lionel talks about will make the front-page headline as long as he gets interviewed. Why bother with his love life?”

“Then Mr. Lionel blew his top?” Julie asked softly.

The assistant nodded, then shook his head, and finally said, “Not sure if he was mad, but Mr. Lionel said he would accept the interview about his love life as long as Daphne pleases him.”

“Then Daphne hit the jackpot!” Wennie nodded thoughtfully, “Isn’t Daphne competing for the position of deputy editor with a colleague? If she pulls off this interview with Mr. Lionel, the promotion is in the bag!”

Hearing Wennie talk about how critical this competition is for Daphne, Julie didn’t dare disturb her work and found a sofa to

sit on.

From afar, Lionel’s pleasant voice could be heard, “Ms. Daphne reminds me of someone.”

smiled at Lionel and responded, “Really?”

“Why don’t you ask who? Lionel winked, suddenly looking down at Daphne.

Daphne had to admit she was a sucker for handsome men, but she tried her best to control her heart and focused on helping him tie his tie.

Actually, Daphne had noticed Julie the moment she entered the room. Due to the slip of the tongue this morning, Julie had called her countless times. But thus far, she hadn’t figured out how to smooth things over. Also, Julie was too sharp, so she didn’t have the guts to face her then.

Therefore, she deliberately tied and untied Lionel’s tie, aiming not to see Julie.

Ironically, he had to stir up trouble!

Daphne looked at Lionel, smiled, and asked, “Mr. Lionel, who are you reminded of?”

Lionel leaned in, his lips near Daphne’s ear, his magnetic voice instantly ringing in Daphne’s ear, “You remind me of my ex-girlfriend.”

At that moment, Daphne really wanted to push Lionel away, give him a judo throw, and then kick him hard a few times!

However, in the end, she kept her smile and said in an official tone, “That’s quite an honor!”

“Daphne, quit the act.” Lionel suddenly addressed Daphne directly.

Daphne’s hand, tying Lionel’s tie, “accidentally” tightened it, almost strangling Lionel.

The agent rushed over and looked at Daphne discontentedly. “Ms. Daphne, are you trying to strangle him?”

Lionel shot his agent, Vicente, a glance, “Did I ask you to come over?”

Vicente felt so innocent.

Julie, who was far away, stood up, ready to teach him a lesson for Daphne, but saw Vicente withdraw.

Instead, Mr. Lionel, with a gentle smile on his face, said to Daphne, “Please continue. This photo will be on your magazine cover later. Isn’t your magazine called Gentlemen? If the tie is crooked, it’s not gentlemanly.”

Daphne smiled.

Lionel suddenly asked her in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Ms. Daphne, are you married?”

“No!” Daphne had been asked that question so many times that she had developed a conditioned reflex. As soon as she heard the question, she naturally replied.

Lionel seemed very satisfied with Daphne’s response, because his next question was, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Usually, when a man asks a woman this question, he’s up to something!

Thinking of that, Daphne nodded, “Of course! My boyfriend and I are going strong!”

“That’s good.” Lionel nodded in satisfaction..

Daphne finally relaxed, so Mr. Lionel hoped she had a boyfriend. It seemed she misunderstood or overthought that time.

Just as Daphne was thinking about that, Lionel added, “I love chasing other people’s girlfriends. It’s a sense of achievement.”

Daphne was shocked. What did he mean by a sense of achievement?

“Mr. Lionel, you have got to be kidding me.” Daphne’s smile was so fake, it made her look like a dufus.

She was a sucker for a good-looking man, but for someone like Mr. Lionel, it was strictly look-but-don’t- touch. His track. record of swapping girlfriends like socks initially left her dumbfounded. Even though the gossip about Lionel had died down since Albertine got married, Daphne was still not having it!

However, Lionel seemed to be taking it seriously. After Daphne’s refusal, he patiently smiled and said, “How about this? If you accompany me to the Primeval charity gala tomorrow night, I’ll let you interview me about my love life today.”

Upon hearing that proposition, Daphne’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

The editor-in-chief had already hinted that if she could interview Lionel about his love life, the deputy editor position was -hers for the taking. Even if she couldn’t secure that position, a juicy bonus was

definitely on the cards!

Daphne couldn’t hide her excitement.

Lionel chuckled at her reaction, “Excited much?”

“Just as your date?” Daphne asked eagerly.

Lionel nodded.

“It’s a deal!” Daphne reached out to shake Lionel’s hand.

But Lionel didn’t take it, he simply turned towards the camera and said, “Let’s get this show on the road!”

As Daphne buzzed with excitement, she later reflected on that moment, wondering if things might have turned out differently if she hadn’t attended that charity gala.

Julie finally had a chance to talk to Daphne during

She patted Daphne’s shoulder and said, “Daphne…”

“Sweetie, what are you doing here? Guess what? Mr. Lionel just agreed to let me interview him about his love life! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I need to go revise my interview script right now! When I get my bonus, I’ll treat you to a date with a hunk!” As she finished, she stood on her toes and pecked Julie on the cheek.

Without paying any attention to Julie’s bewildered face, she ran off,

Julie was left standing there, not knowing what to do, until her phone rang.

She pulled out her phone and hesitated before answering the unknown number.

To her surprise, it was Julien on the other end.

Julien got straight to the point, “Azure Café, how soon can you get here?”

Julien usually didn’t bother her unless it was important. Her whereabouts were always a mystery, so Julie was pleasantly surprised to learn he was still in the country.

She quickly gave Julien a time and gave Wennie some instructions before leaving.

As soon as Julie hung up and entered the elevator, Daphne’s phone rang. Wennie handed Daphne her phone, and she answered it.

Julien’s voice came through, “You better come up with a good excuse. If you screw up, I won’t cover for you.”

With that, Julien hung up.

Daphne had a soft spot for the cool Julien, but she didn’t even get a chance to say a word before she hung up. That was a bit too abrupt, wasn’t it?

She tried calling back, but the number was already disconnected.

Daphne was left holding her interview script, thinking that if she was that bad at keeping secrets, Julien should never have told her the truth!

When Julie arrived at the Azure Café, Julien had already reserved a private room.

Julie happily sat facing Julien, and after she ordered her a cappuccino, she went straight to the point, “Bertha jumped to her death in front of you, didn’t she?”