Blind Date Turned Proposal

Before long, a blue Maserati careened towards Morgan and Josie, halting abruptly in front of them. The driver, a young man sporting sunglasses, whistled in their direction before emerging from the vehicle, his words tinged with a distinct Newcove accent. "Your news came out of the blue. I had to drop everything and rush over to collect you in the midst of my moment of bliss."

Morgan rolled his eyes and playfully punched his friend, introducing, "This is Jasper, a classmate from school. I suppose you don't remember him."

He then introduced Josie to Jasper, "This is Josie. You know her."

Jasper immediately removed his sunglasses, looking incredulously at Josie who was holding a laptop. "It's you? You've changed so much. Wait, how'd you two even keep in touch?"

Josie genuinely did not remember Jasper, so she merely offered a polite smile.

Jasper wouldn't stop talking as he drove them into the city. "This is crazy. Josie, do you know why you've made such a strong impression on me?"

Josie offered no response, quietly observing Jasper.

"Back then, countless girls from not just our department, but the entire university were head over heels for Morgan. Yet, you were the only one who didn't give him the time of day. When you two broke up, everyone thought you'd try to win Morgan back, but you didn't. You focused solely on your work. Impressive."

Morgan interrupted, scrolling through his phone. "Enough. Why are you even talking about this?"

"Why can't we talk about this?" Jasper stole a cautious glance at Josie's expression and continued, "I heard about what happened between you two after that. Morgan has always been hung up on you. So, have you two made up yet?"

His expression seemed to say, "If you've made up, I'll announce it to the entire world right away."

Josie said half-jokingly, "No. Mr. Bastille is my golden goose. I rely on him to make money. If you ruin the deal with your jokes, I'll hold you accountable."

Jasper was utterly disappointed.

The vehicle came to a halt before a mansion in the suburbs. At the same time, Josie received a response to the text message she had sent out.

Dexter: Come back right now.

The previous message read: Thank you for the information you provided. To make good use of it, I've decided to find Morgan and get him to sign the agreement as soon as possible.

The handwritten documents that Claudia brought over last night were given to her by Dexter.

Josie typed: I've already arrived in Newcove. Please, expedite Grape's registration for me.

Dexter's response came swiftly: I said come back right now.

Realizing that she couldn't get

dire

5 him, Josie called him et

and he picked up almost

instantly.

He didn't say a word, yet his anger was palpable even through the phone.

Josie lowered her voice. "I have no choice, I have to secure this project, Dexter."

plane ticket for you." His tone left no

we ack right now. I'll book y

r negotiation. Conten

W

"You..."

Just then, a group of people barged out of the mansion, swarming Morgan.

"Morgan, it's been a long time!"

Josie looked up, recognizing a few faces. Most of them were her old classmates, the ones Morgan used to hang out with during their school days.

For some reason, they were all gathered in Newcove.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Those people turned to scrutinize Josie. "Who's this?"

Jasper instantly said, "Can't recognize her? She's Josie, the design student."

Morgan's old friends exclaimed, "Oh, Morgan's ex-girlfriend!"

Josie didn't even get to hang up the phone in time.

Uh-Oh. She gasped and stared at her phone screen to see Dexter had hung up, clearly incensed.

Left without a choice, she exchanged pleasantries with those guys.

"Stop teasing her. You guys are making her embarrassed." Morgan came to her rescue.

They only grew more excited, thinking Morgan was protective of her because they were still a thing.