Hearing this, Clarissa was so frightened that she nearly turned and ran out of the room immediately.
Shermaine’s eyes grew even colder. “Matt, do the both of you know each other?”
Clarissa coughed nervously. “I didn’t think you would remember me, Mr. Tyson. Ms. Smallwood, I’m friends with Ellie. I’ve met Mr. Tyson a few times before in D City.”
Clarissa was calm and collected as she explained this to Shermaine.
However, Ryler knew Clarissa like the palm of his hand. He could see that her nails were digging into her palms so hard that her fingers had turned white.
From what she said, it sounded as though she and Matthew Tyson were merely acquaintances.
During the press conference last time, Ryler had bumped into Matthew in the elevator. He remembered the strange expression in Matthew’s eyes as he looked over at Ryler—and it wasn’t because Ryler was a celebrity.
He had looked at Ryler as though he was a threat—a rival.
Thinking about it, he realized that it was probably because of Clarissa.
However, what sort of relationship did Clare share with Mr. Tyson?
“Ellie’s friend, you say?”
Shermaine nodded slowly, as though she were deliberating whether to believe Clarissa or not. When she looked at Clarissa, there was still a hint of iciness in her eyes.
Shermaine turned and looked at Matthew with a gentle smile. “Matt, it’s been a long time since I saw Ellie. Is it true that she has opened her own studio? She asked me to be the spokesperson for her new company. Dear me, she might start pestering me again once I return to D City! Do you remember how she used to tag along everywhere with us when we were children…”
Shermaine steered the conversation to a topic that obviously excluded Clarissa. She stood next to them awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
Clarissa smiled uncomfortably and placed the cup back in front of Ryler. She snuck a look at him, indicating that it was best if she left first.
This time, Matthew didn’t try to stop her from leaving. However, as his dark eyes grazed over Clarissa again, a dark look appeared on Shermaine’s face. She had been observing him closely since just now.
“Matt, why don’t we get going first? I’m feeling a little sick. Do you mind driving me home?”
In a low voice, Matthew replied, “Alright.”
The two of them got up to leave, and everyone rose to send them off. Shermaine looped her hand around Matthew’s arm again, and they left the room looking very affectionate.
When they finally got into Matthew’s car, Shermaine realized that Matthew was cold and aloof. He seemed completely different from how he had been back in the restaurant. Actually, this standoffish attitude was the one with which he usually regarded her.
Cold, indifferent, and aloof—Matthew seemed even more frightening than he usually was. Shermaine didn’t dare to open her mouth.
Shermaine had known him for more than twenty years, and she had loved him for the same amount of time. However, she still had to tiptoe around Matthew as though she were afraid of him.
Today, she had been very happy indeed. Matthew probably had some feelings for her—otherwise, why would he make the trip down to visit her?
“Matt, I’m so happy today. If you had told me you were going to come over earlier, I would have canceled filming today to meet you!”
She leaned even closer to him, trying to snuggle against his chest. However, Matthew shoved her away roughly.
His voice was cold as he said, “I’m here for work matters.”
He hadn’t come here to visit her at all.
Shermaine’s smile froze on her face as she fell quiet immediately.
She suddenly recalled something and asked timidly, “Matt, you know Ms. Quigley, that screenwriter, don’t you? She’s really pretty. With that face of hers, she’s bound to succeed in the entertainment industry if she gives it a go.”
Matthew refused to respond to her comment. He shut his eyes and leaned back against his seat to rest.
Shermaine didn’t dare to say anything more. Instead, she gazed at Matthew’s defined side profile, her eyes filled with foolish love.
The car pulled up outside Shermaine’s hotel. She felt a little sad to leave Matthew just like that.
“Matt, it’s still early, isn’t it? Why don’t you come upstairs and rest for a while?”
Matthew gazed at her with his dark eyes. His gaze was so intense that Shermaine started to feel a little intimidated.
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, she smiled and asked, “Matt, what are you staring at?”
Matt finally looked away. “No, thanks. You should go.”
Shermaine felt a little disappointed, but she threw one last smile at Matthew before obeying his orders. However, she couldn’t help but turn around to look at him every few steps.
Of course, this little interaction was captured by the paparazzi, who had stationed themselves in front of the hotel a long time ago. Although Shermaine and Matthew hadn’t done anything intimate, this was enough for tomorrow’s tabloid headlines.
Shermaine returned to her room. A while later, her manager, Lizzie, popped by.
“Shermaine, are you going to carry on like this?”
Lizzie looked a little perturbed. Shermaine yanked her accessories off and slammed them down on her vanity table angrily.
“What about it? Keep your nose out of my private life.”
Lizzie swallowed her dissatisfaction with much difficulty, although the expression on her face looked rather nasty.
Shermaine didn’t care how she felt. She turned to Lizzie and demanded, “Hey, does that screenwriter have a sugar daddy?”
“How—how’s that possible? Ms. Quigley is a screenwriter. Many directors offered to buy the rights to her original works because of how well they were written. She’s been gaining quite a lot of attention lately, but I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful.”
“Exactly. What a pity that she doesn’t have a sugar daddy.”
“Shermaine, what do you mean by that?”
“Haha…nothing. Go and investigate her family background for me.”
“Alright. But what do you want that information for?”
“Just go and look it up for me! Stop asking me so many questions!” Shermaine roared. Lizzie huffed and turned to leave the room.
Just as she reached the door, Shermaine said blandly, “Oh, by the way, fire that assistant for me and get a new one.”
Lizzie was used to this scenario, so she didn’t ask any questions. Shermaine had changed her assistants so many times that it was quite obvious the problem lay with Shermaine herself.
“Got it. I’ll leave first, then.”
When Lizzie left, Shermaine sat in front of her table and thought for a while. She made a call to someone, but that person hung up on her immediately.
Shermaine’s face took on an expression of displeasure. She flung the phone against the wall viciously and hissed, “Just you wait, Ellie Tyson!”
Meanwhile, Ellie, who was being cursed out by Shermaine, was on a video call with Clarissa.
“Who was that? You didn’t even pick up the phone before hanging up on her.”
Ellie sniffed with contempt. “The most annoying woman I’ve ever known, that’s who. That was Shermaine Smallwood. By the way, I was just going to ask you—is it true that she’s the female lead for your new drama?”
“Yes.”
“Blow! I absolutely adore that female lead in your novel. Getting her to act the role of the female lead has got to be the worst decision the directors have ever made. I’m going to pester my Uncle Matt about this. Why did it have to be that witch of all people?”
“How did you know your uncle’s company is sponsoring this drama?”
“I didn’t know about that before, but I figured it out after Shermaine’s scandal. Uncle Matt probably recommended her as the female lead in order to boost her popularity. The frustrating thing is that it’s probably going to work because of the number of fans you have. Ugh! What a mess.”
Ellie continued complaining, but Clarissa didn’t respond at all.
“Clare? Clare? What’s with you? What are you thinking about?”
Clarissa forced a smile onto her face and said, “They’re in a relationship, aren’t they? Of course your uncle would support her that way.”
Ellie snorted loudly. “What utter rubbish! Uncle Matt doesn’t even like her at all—our families joked about a marriage pact between them when they were still toddlers, that’s all. However, since he’s very reluctant to have anything to do with her now, this entire matter has been called off. Otherwise, my grandmother would have accepted Shermaine into our family long ago. However, that witch just doesn’t know when she’s not wanted—her skin is thicker than the roof of a house! Do you know she keeps acting like she’s my aunt? How disgusting.”
Clarissa smiled wanly. “Well, your uncle still hasn’t rejected her outright, hasn’t he? He’s probably just bad at expressing himself.”
“Ha! If he ever intends to marry her, I’ll be the first one to oppose their union!”
Clarissa laughed and shook her head. Just as she was going to say something, someone knocked on her door.
She felt a little stunned. She hung up the video call immediately and went to open the door.
The moment she saw who was standing outside, she lunged to close the door immediately. However, Matthew stretched out a hand to stop her. As the door swung open again, Clarissa stumbled backward, and Matthew took the opportunity to stride into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.
Clarissa found herself being pressed against the wall. As Matthew leaned even closer to her, she found that she wasn’t able to move her limbs at all.
She lifted her head to gaze angrily at him. Her beautiful eyes were filled with sparks of fury.
“Matthew, let go of me.”
Matthew had already been annoyed at Clarissa’s aloof attitude towards him for the past few days.
Tonight, when he saw how she pretended as though she didn’t recognize him and flirted with that Ryler guy instead, he had to grit his teeth to prevent himself from exploding.
At first, he had decided to let her off because she was just a weak woman.
However, this woman had somehow managed to find her way deep inside his heart. If he didn’t discipline her now, he wouldn’t be able to get rid of that ball of fire within him.
Seeing how much Clarissa resembled an angry cat, Matthew suddenly found the entire situation rather amusing.
He tightened his grip on her thrashing arm and grabbed hold of her chin, leaning in towards her as he did.
“You’ve become so brave, haven’t you? Look how impolite you are these days.”
“Well, do you think you’re very polite, then? How dare you barge into my room in the middle of the night and…”
Clarissa’s face reddened slightly. After a short pause, she finished lamely, “…you’re the one with no manners.”
“Yeah, well, I can be even more impolite. Want to have a taste of it?”
Clarissa’s heart sank a little. “No, I really don’t…hmm!”
He didn’t care if she wanted to or not!
Matthew pressed a kiss to her lips, preventing her from verbalizing the curses she was just about to spew out at him. She thrashed even more wildly, looking like a cat that was being tossed about by a maniac.
When he tasted how sweet her lips were, Matthew started to kiss her even more intensely, taking the opportunity to release the complicated emotions he had kept pent up for the past few days.
As he pressed her against his chest, Matthew wrapped an arm around her and hugged her even more tightly. His kisses fell on her face even more viciously.
A long while later, Clarissa leaned her forehead against his shoulder, her cheeks completely scarlet as she tried to breathe properly again. Meanwhile, Matthew’s hand raked over her body lightly, as though he was very satisfied.
However, this warm, gentle atmosphere didn’t last very long.
Coming back to her senses quickly, Clarissa shoved him away from herself.
She turned around and walked straight into the room. As she straightened out her messy clothes, she noticed that her skin was still tingling with the heat of Matthew’s body. She suddenly felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment, as her heart raced even faster.
However, she couldn’t give in to him just like that.
Behind her, Matthew didn’t try to touch her again. Instead, he tugged at his tie and walked into the room leisurely, his dark eyes watching the changing expressions on Clarissa’s face.
He lit a cigarette for himself and placed it between his lips, his eyes smoldering slightly. After Clarissa seemed to have calmed down a little, he finally opened his mouth and said in a slightly mocking tone, “Ms. Quigley, how did you like my manner?”
“You…”
