Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right
Hello 159

Chapter 159

But Lindey wasn't buying it. She gave him a little swat. "Oh, please. You think you can use Rea to get out of this? Not happening."

""Hey, Lindey." I called out.

At the sound of my voice, Lindey froze. She turned around, her eyes lighting up when she saw me, but the second she realized I had probably caught the whole intimate scene with her and Matthew, her face went bright red.

She quickly dropped Matthew's hand and made her way over to me. "Rea, you're here! Have you eaten? I'll have Isabel-"

"I've already eaten," I lied, even though my stomach was growling. It suddenly hit me that I hadn't asked Hayden if he'd eaten either.

"Why didn't you have your dinner here?" Lindey asked, sounding a little annoyed.

She was acting like Hayden wasn't even there, not a single word or glance his way. But I knew Lindey better than that-this was her very subtle way of showing her disapproval.

Still, Lindey had too much class to be totally rude. After what felt like an eternity of her ignoring him, she finally turned her attention to Hayden, "You must be Rea's friend?"

I squeezed Hayden's arm lightly, giving him the signal to step in. He caught on and greeted her politely. Hi, Mrs. Johnston."

Lindey gave him a quick nod. "Since you're Rea's friend, you're not a stranger. Come in, don't just stand there."

Matthew stood up as well, and I made my way over, handing him the gift with both hands. "Matthew, happy early birthday."

"You're always so thoughtful," Matthew said with a warm smile, accepting the gift like it was the best thing he'd seen all day. Then, his eyes shifted to Hayden.

"Hi, Mr. Johnston," Hayden greeted, keeping it respectful.

Matthew nodded. "Take a seat."

Lindey called for Isabel to bring tea and fruit while we settled in. Her gaze bounced between me and Hayden before she spoke again. "Rea, just because you brought your gift early doesn't mean you're off the hook for the actual party. Matthew and I still expect you there." She totally read my mind. There went my plan to skip out. No way she was letting me dodge this one.

But I was ready. With a smile, I nodded. "Of course. Hayden and I will definitely be there."

I made it clear-if Lindey wanted me at the party, she'd have to accept that Hayden and I came as a package deal.

Her smile faltered for a split second, but she recovered quickly. "That's great. There'll be plenty of young men from our circle attending. You all can network and get to know each other."

Chapter 159

+25 BONUS

Network?

Yeah, right. That was just her way of saying, 'Hayden doesn't belong here, and the party's gonna be full of rich, single guys, so he better not get comfortable."

In her eyes, no matter how successful Hayden was, he'd always be just another worker-totally beneath her fancy crowd.

I wasn't about to step in and save him. I wanted to see how he'd handle her subtle snobbery.

I glanced over at him. He was completely unbothered, as usual. "I'd love to meet some of Seavora's finest. I'm planning to stick around for a while."

I could barely hold back a smirk. He was too good at this.

Lindey's attempt to throw him off? Total fail. It was like trying to knock over a brick wall with a marshmallow.

I caught a flicker of annoyance in her eyes, but her face stayed locked in that polite smile. "So, Hayden, you're staying in Seavora?"

Before I could even react, Hayden slid his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together like. "Yeah, Kiki's here, so of course I'm sticking around."

Did he just call me Kiki?

Yup, I heard it. Loud and clear. And I wasn't the only one. Matthew and Lindey's faces froze, their surprise almost comical, like Hayden had just dropped some huge bombshell.

Lindey didn't miss a beat though. Her words cut sharper now. "Hayden, what exactly do you have to offer Rea?"

She sounded like a protective mom, totally serious. I glanced at her, but her eyes stayed locked on Hayden, waiting for him to answer.

I followed her stare, curious how he'd handle it.

Chapter 160