?Chapter 583:


    William’s brows, which had just rxed, furrowed again. He pulled out his phone and called Luca on the spot.


    “Handle that online drama,” he said, his tone sharp.


    Luca, thinking something serious had happened, quickly checked the trending topics. But without William’s name or the Briggs Group tagged, he was confused.


    “Boss, which one exactly?”


    Since when did William care about tabloid gossip? Most of what was trending involved celebrities—except for one vague post about some “jerk,” with no names mentioned.


    William was silent for a moment before muttering, “The jerk.”


    Luca paused, stunned. Then it clicked. “I’ll get someone on it now,” he said quickly, though there was a smothered chuckle in his voice.


    He was clearly trying not tough, and William picked up on it. His face darkened as he hung up.


    Ste noticed the shift in his mood. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Don’t let it get to you. Inte drama burns out fast. By tomorrow, no one will even remember this.”


    She hesitated briefly, then added casually, “By the way… what were you doing at the mall that day? Weren’t you supposed to be in the office?”


    William paused briefly and cast a nce at Ste.


    “I stopped by the mall after visiting thepany. Is there some rule against that?” His tone carried a trace of annoyance.


    Ste picked up on his mood, gave a slight shrug, and chose not to press further.


    Suddenly, her appetite vanished. She was about to excuse herself when William spoke again.


    “By the way, did you eat cake at the research institute the other day?”


    The question brought the memory back. Yes—there had been cake that day. Everyone got a small slice of mille-feuille. Hers had been strawberry-vored, and it had actually tasted pretty good.


    “It was good. Did you try it too?” she asked, curious.


    William stared at her, trying to figure out if she was serious. Did she really think he was asking because he liked the cake?


    “Have you had that brand before?” he asked instead.


    Ste thought for a moment, then shook her head. She rarely ate sweets, and Sandra had tossed the packaging before she even nced at it. There was no way she’d remember the brand.


    “I don’t think so.”


    In her mind, not seeing the brand was the same as not having tried it. It seemed like a reasonable answer.


    To William, though, talking to her felt like banging his head against a wall. But somehow, he found himself falling for that wall.


    “That cake came from a chain store,” he exined. “Their slogan is something like ‘as sweet as a first crush and cream as smooth as a lover’s kiss.’” He watched her for a reaction.


    However, Ste wrinkled her nose in disgust. “That sounds ridiculous. Who writes these lines?”


    If she saw a slogan like that outside a shop, she’d probably walk right past it. It sounded more like someone trying too hard to impress.


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    .<fna01b> Th?s chapter is updated by F?ndNovel</fna01b>