Chapter 758: Dinner (part two)

"I want to announce that you are no longer my best buddy!" Declaring thus, Rain walked over to the desk to pick up the document he had brought before leaving the office. He was upset over Edward's words and had to find a quiet place to get over the hurt.

As he watched Rain's receding figure, Edward sighed with profound resignation. When Rain was unable to straighten himself out, he was deaf to others' advice. Edward could only remind him of the possibilities, but it all depended on Rain himself.

It was late afternoon and the sun was low in the sky. Belinda was awestruck by the wedding dress in front of her. The white dress was adorned with Swarovski pearls and perfectly cut crystal beads that glowed in the bright light. She was eager to try it on, but the medicine was still fresh on her wounds. She could only imagine how she'd look in the dress.

"Belinda, what do you think? Do you like it?" Leena was proud of her masterpiece and eager to see Belinda's reaction.

"I love it! Leena, thank you so much!" Belinda was so delighted that she could hardly bear to put down the dress. She couldn't believe she was getting married soon.

"I'm glad you like it. I spent a lot of time and energy on it." Leena grinned. She was thrilled her work was appreciated.

"What? You mean you made this dress all by yourself?" Belinda widened her eyes at Leena. Duke had told her before that she wasn't yet fully able to undertake such a task alone.

"Of course! I designed it and selected the materials. Unfortunately, there was no similar cloth in the country, so I sent the drawing to a friend of mine in Paris and asked her to make it for me. Look at these pearls and beads! I sewed them myself." Leena touched the gleaming material softly with a satisfied smile.

"Wow, you're brilliant! Why did your brother tell me you haven't finished your apprenticeship yet?" Belinda asked in confusion. She loved the wedding dress so much. It was both fashionable and graceful. To her, it looked like it was made by a top designer.

"Well, this dress is only for practice." Leena smiled awkwardly. She didn't elaborate. It would be hard for her to explain.

"Wow! Leena, you have a promising future in the industry," Belinda complimented her graciously. The wedding dress was indeed wonderful.

"Thank you, Belinda. If the dress doesn't fit you, let me know," Leena said as she looked at Belinda's figure. The dress should fit her well, unless she put on or lost significant weight in the short time.

"You have my size. I don't think there will be any problem. Let's go downstairs and have food." Belinda put the wedding dress on its hanger and went downstairs with Leena.

"Why hasn't Duke come back yet?" Leena asked in confusion when she saw an empty dining room.

Oh, he has dinner with his colleagues this evening. There's no need for us to wait on him. Let's eat together," Belinda explained with a smile. It wasn't uncommon to have dinner with co-workers. Belinda herself had dinners or went to the club with colleagues.

"I think Duke hates having dinner with colleagues. I've rarely known him do so. There must be something wrong," Leena frowned doubtfully.

"I have no idea about that. Just leave it be." Belinda didn't like getting to the bottom of things. When Duke informed her he was going to have dinner with his colleagues, she didn't question it so thoroughly.

Belinda clearly didn't want to discuss it further, so Leena just sat down and ate her meal. She had to go back to work. After dinner, Leena took her leave.

Meanwhile, Duke had been forced into having dinner with the employees of the Sales Department. They arrived at a Korean Restaurant, where Rachel sat beside Duke.

"Duke, here's to you." Rachel raised her glass with glee. She even called him by his name in front of the other colleagues.

"Thank you." Though Duke disliked her straightforwardness, he lifted his glass to hers and swallowed the booze. His handsome face still looked as cold as ice.

A lot of the female employees of the company had crushes on the handsome, rich and young boss. Duke never smiled at them, so they weren't courageous enough to show their affections. They could only sneak glances at him from time to time.

The colleagues hadn't expected Rachel, the new girl, to successfully invite Duke to have dinner with them. Duke had never participated in company activities before. The girls were suspicious that there was something going on between Rachel and him. When Rachel called Duke by his name, they got even more curious.

"Come on! We should all drink a toast to our boss." Rachel was only a group leader in the company, but she was well-educated and had occupied a top position before. She was good at social activities and breaking the ice.

At Rachel's suggestion, the female employees could hardly sit still. They were having dinner with Duke for the first time, so they took this opportunity to drink with him. Even the male colleagues began to make a toast to Duke.

Duke took several glasses of wine. Upon seeing his flushed face, Rachel smiled slyly. She planned to get him drunk and then, she would have a go.

Duke might look arrogant, but he was a soft man deep inside. He refused nobody and gulped down the alcohol. Luckily, the employees knew not to go too far. Each of them only had one glass of wine with Duke.

"Duke, try this. It tastes great!" Rachel picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and lifted it to Duke's mouth. The others widened their eyes at the gesture. They wondered if Mr. Leng and his girlfriend, who was the president of YS Financial Group, had broken up? Was Rachel Mr. Leng's new girlfriend? Why did they look so close?

"Help yourself. Don't mind me," Duke said with a frown. He was annoyed at Rachel's actions, but he didn't want to embarrass her in front of so many people. He picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of the beef by himself.

Rachel was not discouraged by Duke's reaction. She kept feigning to be close with Duke by leaning against him and trying to make him taste the dishes. The others had started to question if Rachel was Duke's new girlfriend, and that was exactly what she wanted. She wanted them to cook up stories so that Belinda would get suspicious.

Rachel didn't care that Duke was about to get married. She wouldn't pass any chance to drive a wedge between Duke and Belinda. According to Rachel, only she could be Duke's wife. They were made for each other. Belinda was boring and didn't hold a candle to her. Belinda didn't deserve to stand by his side.

Boss were going to club later. Would you like to join us? A girl asked Duke with a hopeful expression. She was nervous that Duke would say no.

Yes! Boss please come with us. The others echoed the sentiment. It might feel uneasy being around Duke, but each of them fantasized about a romantic time with this handsome man.