Chapter 247 Pretext
“Samuel and I aren’t associated whatsoever. Why would you need my permission to pursue him?” asked Kathleen, feeling speechless from what Yareli had just said.
Yareli narrowed her eyes.
“You’re just here to look for trouble, so stop using someone else as a pretext.” Kathleen exposed her mercilessly, causing her face to flush.
“Besides, if Samuel is truly willing to date you, you wouldn’t have come to ask me this question. You’re just trying to irritate me by saying that. As if he’s really going to date you if you want.”
“How do you know he won’t agree to it? Didn’t you see us chatting happily at his place yesterday?” asked Yareli with a glacial tone.
Kathleen, who was unfazed by her words, curled her lips. “So?”
“So stop clinging onto him! I don’t like it when my boyfriend gets acquainted with another woman, especially his ex-wife.” Yareli sounded stern.
Kathleen chuckled, clearly amused by what she had just heard. “Do you mean I’m the one who’s clinging onto him?”
“Yes, exactly.” Yareli assumed that Kathleen was the reason that Samuel was giving her the cold shoulder. As long as she got rid of Kathleen, she could then build a closer relationship with Samuel.
“Oh, sure,” said Kathleen, nodding with a half-smile.
She then took out her phone and called Samuel.
After only two rings, the man answered the call, and his deep and attractive voice came from the other end of the line. “What’s wrong? Didn’t I say I’ll go and pick you up later at night?”
Kathleen put the phone on loudspeaker mode, so everyone around could hear Samuel’s words.
The crowd was stunned and wondered what was going on.
As she crossed her legs and placed her chin in one of her palms, Kathleen said, “Please do me a favor and come bring your girlfriend away. I’m afraid I’ll beat her up if you don’t come soon.”
“My girlfriend? I’ve told you before. I will never date another woman.” There was a tinge of coldness in Samuel’s tone.
The crowd was once again surprised.
Did Samuel actually say that to Kathleen before? He really does love her!
Kathleen raised the phone in her hand. “Oh, you don’t believe me? Ms. Yoeger, please say something. Didn’t you tell me that Samuel is your boyfriend and that I should get away from him? Please tell him that yourself and let him make me go away.”
Yareli’s face instantly turned pale.
She had never expected Kathleen to be such a straightforward person who would never allow herself to be pushed around by someone.
As she stared at the phone, Yareli couldn’t find the words.
“Yareli?” Samuel called out frostily.
Yareli tried her best to sound as natural as possible. “Yes, it’s me. Samuel, I think there’s a misunderstanding. You should hang up first.”
“What’s wrong, Yareli? Are you scared? I’ve recorded everything you told me just now. Why don’t we listen to the recording together?” Kathleen spoke indifferently.
Recording? She recorded what I said? When did she record it?
Yareli widened her eyes in shock.
Kathleen narrowed her eyes. “You should listen to it too, Samuel. Or else, someone’s going to blame me for accusing your girlfriend.”
Samuel couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard Kathleen emphasize the word “girlfriend” through clenched teeth.
She recorded the conversation with her phone.
Fortunately, mobile phones nowadays were advanced enough to be able to play a recording in the middle of a phone call.
Thus, Kathleen played the recording for Samuel to listen to.
After knowing everything that had happened a few moments ago, Samuel’s expression was gloomy. “Yareli, what’s the meaning of this? ‘Chatting happily?’ Did we actually chat happily yesterday?”
“Samuel…” Yareli said, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
Never in a million years did she expect Kathleen’s way of doing things to be so aggressive.
Samuel snorted. “I said you’re up to something, and you think that was a happy conversation? So you like it when people accuse you? Is there something wrong with you?”
Yareli was at a loss for words.
“Kate, she has nothing to do with me. You can do whatever you want with her. Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll settle everything for you,” he said with a deep voice.
Upon hearing that, Kathleen curled her lips to form a meaningful smile. “Okay.”
Subsequently, she ended the call and slowly turned to look at Yareli, who pursed her lips sheepishly and left.
Kathleen almost laughed out loud when she saw Yareli leave, as she thought the latter would at least try to argue with her.
Irked, Yareli returned to Timothy’s lounge.
Timothy had just finished listening to his assistant’s reports when she stepped in. He faced her with an indifferent expression and asked, “Ms. Yoeger, are you here to visit me, or do you have other intentions?”
Yareli remained silent for a while before uttering, “I’m just here to visit you in Mr. Brooks’ stead.”
“Then why did you provoke Kathleen?” Timothy’s expression showed obvious annoyance.
She replied unhappily, “What do you mean I provoked her? I was just informing her about what she should know. Who knows she’d do something like that? I bet that was a publicity stunt.”
Publicity stunt?
He scoffed. “Why would she need a publicity stunt when she’s already this popular?”
“Why wouldn’t she need a publicity stunt? If she doesn’t hype up the situation, how is she going to maintain popularity? Without popularity, how would anyone know who she is?” she said with an unfathomable meaning behind her words.
He was speechless. “Not everyone likes publicity stunts.”
“How can you be sure? Just look at her. Ever since her debut, she had been using Samuel to make herself popular. No matter where Samuel went, she would be by his side.”
Timothy was displeased to hear that. “Stop jumping to conclusions. Maybe Samuel was the one who was clinging to her. Do you think everyone shares the same mindset as you?”
Suddenly, Yareli narrowed her eyes and fixed her gaze on Timothy. “You’re in love with Kathleen, right? Why don’t we work together? I’ll pursue Samuel, and you’ll pursue Kathleen. We’ll join forces to destroy their relationship if they show signs of getting back together. What do you think?”
Still wearing a stern expression, Timothy replied, “I’m not as despicable as you are.”
Despicable?
She chuckled coldly. “Wow. I have to say; you’re indeed good at pretending to be magnanimous. You’re clearly pining with unrequited love, yet you’re putting up a righteous facade and lecturing me. That’s funny.”
“Get out of here.” He lost his patience.
She glared at him with a cold gleam in her eyes. “I wouldn’t have come here if Mr. Brooks hadn’t told me to come.”
Upon finishing her sentence, she turned to leave.
“I know you’re here to look for Kathleen. You wanted to embarrass her, but you didn’t expect the plan to backfire on you. I’ve heard about your mother, and initially, I felt sorry for you. But now it seems I’m just wasting my time and compassion.” He fixed his glacial gaze on her.
Yareli bit her lip and uttered sarcastically, “Men are so easily tricked by women like her who are good at putting on a pitiful act. The moment she sheds a tear, you guys would fall for her act and think she’s bullied by someone. You guys can’t even tell what’s real, and it’s sad.”
“Get lost!” bellowed Timothy, completely losing the last bit of his patience.
With that, Yareli strode out of the room while wearing a smug smile.
Timothy’s assistant immediately tried to console him. “Mr. Currah, calm down. There’s no point getting angry at someone like her.”
“Why in the world would Sean be acquainted with someone like her?” Timothy almost hit the roof.
The assistant pondered for a while and answered, “I guess it probably has something to do with the people Sean found. As you know, Sean has been entrusting us to run errands for him. Perhaps he asked for the Yoeger family’s help this time around because we’re not that familiar with Jadeborough, so it’s quite difficult for us.”
