Leonard had a notorious reputation. He was known for being ruthless, not for his charm, so women rarely threw themselves at him.


    The few who were brave enough to try were brutally rejected, as his heart had already belonged to someone else.


    For that reason, he''d never been truly intimate with a woman.


    Now, Aurora''s forwardness and teasing were bing unbearable.


    Leonard strode out of the room.


    Aurora didn''t follow him. Instead, she watched his retreating back, a dark smile ying on her lips.


    Just as he left the room, Leonard saw Ste walking toward him,ughing and chatting with Lauretta.


    A flicker of joy lit up his eyes.


    But a momentter, the sound of a door opening came from behind him.


    Aurora emerged, her clothes in disarray. "Leonard, you hurt me."


    Seeing the scene in front of her, Ste stopped in her tracks.


    Leonard froze for only a second before quickly realizing what was happening.


    He instinctively tried to exin himself to Ste. "Nothing happened between us. Don''t get the wrong idea."


    Given the circumstances, no one would have believed that nothing happened. Ste took a few steps back, putting a safe distance between herself and Leonard. "Mr. Lerman, you don''t need to exin anything to me."


    In Leonard''s eyes, however, her retreat was a clear sign that she didn''t believe him.


    He grew anxious. Ignoring the fact that others were present, he closed the distance between them, grabbing Ste''s shoulders and staring into her eyes.


    "Ste, I swear, nothing happened. The only reason I met with her was because Lauretta''s brother sent me a message pretending to be her. thought Lauretta wanted to see me because you needed my help. That''s the only reason I agreed."


    At that moment, Leonard looked like any man desperate to keep his girlfriend from misunderstanding.


    Lauretta, standing nearby, was stunned by his words.


    Then, her expression slowly darkened.


    It was true that her brother, McCoy, had arranged for her to be here today. The Williams and Chapman families were about to be joined by marriage, and McCoy was interested in a partnership with the Williams family. Since she and Ste were good frends, he wanted her to meet with Ste and discuss business.


    So Lauretta had arranged to meet Ste here.


    But ording to Leonard, McCoy had also used her name to lure him here.


    What on earth was her brother trying to do?


    Leonard was meeting with Aurora. If McCoy had used her name to lure *her* into Leonard''s room...


    Lauretta''s face grew pale.


    Why would her brother do something like that?


    Ste noticed Lauretta''s distress. She had intended to ignore Leonard, but now she changed her mind.


    She asked, "You''re saying that Lauretta asked you toe here, but Aurora was the one who showed up?"


    The fact that she was finally engaging at all sent a rush of relief through him.


    He rushed to distance himself from Aurora. "I came out as soon as she arrived and ran right into you."


    But Ste wasn''t interested in his exnation.


    "How do you know it was Lauretta''s brother who used her name to set up the meeting?" she asked.


    "I''ve been in contact with Lauretta


    before, so I have her number," Leonard said. "The message came from her phone. Only someone close to her could have used her phone without her knowing and managed to evade my background check. Besides McCoy, no one else could have done it."