Avery Bennett’s strides were long and hurried, as if some demon were chasing her from behind. She didn’t stop until she had crossed the bustling main street, finally coming to an abrupt halt.
What she had just refused was her big boss. If he fired her tomorrow, where would she find a new job on such short notice?
It hadn’t been easy to get into Apex Global. The benefits and pay were good, and she had just been promoted to assistant accountant at the beginning of the year. Finding a job with comparable pay and benefits in a hurry would be nearly impossible.
Standing at the street corner, she stared blankly for a moment, then clenched her fist in frustration. “What rotten luck! How did I end up crossing paths with that disaster?”
Her stomach began to ache faintly, a lingering consequence of her days working multiple jobs in college. Even now, it still plagued her from time to time.
Spotting the tall, eye-catching McDonald’s sign across the street, she hesitated for a moment before turning into a narrow alley. She found a small Yunnan-style beef noodle shop, pressed a hand to her stomach, and sat down on one of the chairs to wait.
There weren’t many customers at this hour; the dinner rush had already passed.
Avery barely tasted the noodles as she hurriedly shoved them into her mouth and swallowed. She took a couple of sips of the hot broth, which helped ease the pain in her stomach slightly.
It was all that arrogant, chauvinistic pig’s fault!
As she ate, she seethed with anger, imagining the bowl of noodles as Dylan Scott’s infuriating smirk.
When she finished, she sat quietly for a while, waiting for the stomachache to gradually subside. Finally, she let out a long, heavy sigh and got up to leave.
Stepping out of the alley, she walked toward the bus stop. After studying the route map for a while, she realized there was no direct bus to her home. Frustrated, she muttered a few curses under her breath.
A small pebble at her feet became her prop for venting her boredom. Why did she have to pick a place so far from home just to grab dinner?
Just then, a familiar Rolls-Royce pulled up quietly beside her. The rear window rolled down, revealing Dylan Scott’s annoyingly calm face, wearing that faint, smug smile of his.
“If you like noodles, you could’ve said something. The chicken and egg noodle soup at the hotel is quite good.”
Avery glanced at him briefly before turning her face away. “No need. I’m a poor person. Eating a bowl of beef noodles from a street stall is already a luxury for me.”
“Is that so?” Dylan sounded surprised. In his experience, women were vain creatures who cared deeply about appearances. Who would openly admit to being poor? Even if they were penniless, they’d still strut around like they owned the world.
“Yeah,” Avery replied casually, her eyes fixed on the direction from which the bus was supposed to come.
“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”
Avery forced a polite smile. “No, thanks. I’m used to taking the bus.”
Suddenly, the car door opened, and Dylan stepped out. Both the car and the man were attention-grabbing, and now Avery found herself the center of attention at the bus stop.
“The buses don’t run as frequently at night,” Dylan said, looking at her with a slight smile.
He had the looks—thick, well-shaped eyebrows, piercing blue eyes that exuded confidence—but his actions were so tasteless and overbearing.
If only he knew that none of the bus routes here could take Avery directly to her destination.