Chapter 131 - Due To Blind Date
"… The Widjaya Family." His bodyguard reluctantly answered.
Alfred clenched his fists. The man stood in his way again! Jean Widjaya was not an easy opponent to beat!
"Ah, one more thing." The guard added, "There are still parties who are trying to help the woman secretly. It seems they have prepared a lawyer to defend her."
Alfred looked at his bodyguard in surprise, "Who?" He asked in a low voice.
"We\'re not 100 percent sure yet, but that lawyer used to work with the Hiroshi Family." The bodyguard replied.
*****
When Lilia came out of the cafe, it was already half past 5 pm. She opened the Other application and checked messages from Vivi. Then, she went down to the 6th floor.
Vivi was waiting to meet Lilia at one of the cafes on that floor. But the cafe Vivi chose was packed with people. Lilia stopped in front of the cafe and hesitated to enter. Finally, she sent a message to Vivi, asking her to change locations.
Even though Lilia was currently wearing a hat and sunglasses, she didn\'t want to take risks in a crowded place. With her current popularity, there would be a huge commotion if people find out that Lilia was here.
Moments after Lilia sent the message, Vivi appeared from inside the cafe. The woman was wearing a white blouse and matching skirt, but her face looked wrinkled. It seemed like Vivi was still influenced by the blind date that Tom arranged yesterday.
"Vivi, are you okay?" Lilia asked worriedly while holding her best friend\'s hand, "Are you still thinking about that blind date?"
Vivi opened her mouth about?to say something, but in the end she just sighed heavily. "Please don\'t remind me about that ..."
*****
Twenty minutes later, the two of them sat in the cafe on the 3rd floor of the mall. The cafe\'s décor was dominated by eye-popping pink and exaggerated streamers. Neither Lilia nor Vivi liked the decoration, but they chose this cafe because there were hardly any other visitors there.
Lilia was scooping the matcha flavored ice cream she ordered, "After that, Tom also came to your meeting place?" She asked in shock.
"I don\'t believe it either, but it\'s true!" Vivi said fiery, "He not only came to the restaurant, but also called me! He asked me why I ran away from there! I don\'t know if he was just playing dumb or really stupid."
Lilia held back laughter while eating her sponge cake, "Then what happened?"
"Then he sent the personal information of 20 men to my cell phone! He told me to tell him who I like the most of them all. It looked like that man really intended to match me!"
Vivi took out her cell phone and showed the information Tom sent to Lilia. As the woman glanced at the profiles of 20 men, Vivi crumpled the tissue in her hand. If these wipes were Tom, she would have torn him apart! She wanted to know what kind of family produced a man like Tom. What kind of education did his family provide?
Vivi squeezed the tissue in her hand into a ball, then turned her attention back to Lilia. The model was licking her ice cream scoop while holding back laughter as she read Vivi\'s cell phone screen.
"Lilia! Why are you still laughing?!" Vivi protested.
Lilia returned Vivi\'s cellphone and put the spoon down. The woman\'s face looked very serious as she asked, "Tell me. Of all of them, who do you like the most?"
For a moment, Vivi was tempted to throw the tissue ball at her friend\'s head, "You don\'t have to tease me too!"
Lilia\'s serious face melted and she smiled, "Don\'t be too angry, Vivi. I\'m sure Tom didn\'t mean anything bad. He\'s just trying to keep his promise to reset your blind date. It\'s just a little… extreme." She tried to calm the woman down.
Vivi raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? I bet he did 80% because President Jean told me to do this while the remaining 20% ??was because he wanted to humiliate me! Can you imagine I was alone facing 20 men?! I really wanted to strangle Tom at that time!"
When Vivi first saw the 20 men lined up in front of her, she had to admit that her heart was pounding with excitement. She felt like a queen choosing men to fill her harem.
But the joy lasted only for a moment. When Vivi came back to reality, the sight made her heart race even faster with fear!
After Vivi spilled all her guts about Tom, her mood started to improve.
Lilia watched her best friend enjoy her ice cream before asking, "Can\'t Rachel come today?"
Vivi brought a spoonful of strawberry ice cream, "Looks like Rachel\'s been busy lately. I called her this afternoon, but she said she\'s going to be working late tonight."
"I heard he works for the AL-Ideas Design Company?" Lilia asked as she took out her cellphone and started looking for the location of the company.
"Yes, she said she is an assistant there." Vivi shrugged.
Lilia read the search results and her eyes widened, "Vivi, look at this!" She showed her mobile screen, "Rachel\'s office is in the office building connected to this mall! She\'s in the building next to this!"
"Oh yeah? What a coincidence!" Vivi was surprised too, "Do you want to go visit her now?" She asked while starting to take out her cellphone. If Lilia said yes, Vivi would immediately send a message to Rachel.
"Ah, no need." Lilia hurriedly stopped her, "We\'ll eat together tonight anyway."
"That\'s true." Vivi canceled her plan.
"Oh yeah, I\'m going to Jakarta next week. I won\'t be back for about a month." Lilia added in a relaxed tone.
Even though she said it casually, Lilia actually didn\'t want to go. For her, Jakarta was a strange city and far from home. She was fed up with the thought of having to live and work in Jakarta for a month. To make matters worse, next Wednesday was Jean\'s birthday! Lilia intended to contact Louis as soon as possible and find a way so she could delay her?departure.
Vivi looked at Lilia in surprise, "A month? That\'s so long! What are you going to do there?"
"I just received an offer for a role in a film and filming…"
Before Lilia could finish her sentence, the sound of falling objects interrupted her. Vivi hurriedly picked up her cellphone which slipped from her grasp before staring wide-eyed at Lilia.
"You? Acting in films? Did you finally get interested in the world of cinema?" Vivi asked.
Lilia frowned. Why did Vivi react the same as Harold?
Her friend then sighed, "I think it\'s time for you to enter the world of cinema. You\'re wasting your pretty face if you were just a model! One month will pass quickly, trust me! We\'ll all be waiting for you to come home!" She said reassuringly.
Lilia smiled weakly and nodded, "I hope I can be back as soon as possible."
Vivi seemed to think of something, and then asked, "Wait, so you took tea making class today to prepare for your acting?"
Lilia\'s smile grew wide. She shook her head and replied, "No, that\'s not for the film. He likes tea, so I wanted to learn how to make it."
Based on Lilia\'s broad smile, Vivi could already guess who her best friend was referring to. Vivi secretly let out a long sigh. When could she find her true love? If Tom hadn\'t tried to destroy her blind date, Vivi would have found her soulmate now!
*****
Lilia and Vivi finished their ice cream before heading to the next building. They agreed to wait for Rachel in the lobby of their office as well.
When they arrived at the lobby, they saw Rachel waiting there. It seemed she had already received Vivi\'s message and went down to the lobby to greet them.
The woman was wearing a simple white shirt and black skirt. Her black hair now reached her shoulders. Rachel\'s previously thin cheeks now looked rounder and fresher. Overall, the woman seemed more lively and vibrant than she had been a few weeks ago.
"Why are you coming so early?" Rachel asked warmly.
"Lilia happened to be taking a tea-making class at the mall next door, so we stopped by too." Vivi explained.
"Hmm ... I thought Vivi called you here to grumble about her date last night." Rachel smiled mischievously while winking at Lilia.
Lilia felt the positive changes that had happened to Rachel again. Her friend was much more cheerful and active after working here. She returned to acting like the Rachel Lilia used to know.
As the three women were engrossed in conversation, a black sports car slowly stopped in front of the lobby. The security guard in the lobby immediately opened the car\'s door. A figure of a tall man stepped out of the car. The man was wearing a simple polo shirt, shorts, and white sneakers. The man looked as if he had just returned from playing golf.
The door slid automatically as the man walked past. His presence made everyone in the lobby turn their heads, including Lilia and her two best friends.
When Rachel saw the man, she rushed over to him excitedly.
"Good evening, Mr. Alan." Rachel greeted politely.
Alan Hartanto turned and looked at Rachel.