Chapter 211: Are You Pregnant?
Mia immediately nodded in agreement. "So naturally, Boss Riley should be the one paying."
Sienna laughed. She shook her head; clearly, she didn’t agree with them. "That sounds a little unfair."
"Not at all," Mia replied. "His monthly salary equals our combined earnings for the entire year."
"You don’t even know his salary."
"I don’t need to. There is so much information about CEOs online."
Sienna couldn’t help but say, "You two are unbelievable."
"We’re just supporting economic circulation," Ava added with an innocent smile. "Money should flow from the rich to their friends."
Before Sienna could respond, the VIP room door opened.
"Oh, Boss Riley!" Mia greeted him enthusiastically. "You finally made it."
She immediately pointed to the empty chair beside Ava. "Hurry! Come in. Your seat is waiting."
While Ava and Mia greeted him with relaxed smiles, Sienna suddenly felt strangely uncomfortable.
Ever since learning about Riley’s feelings for her, she had found it much harder to act naturally around him. She reminded herself that nothing had changed between them. Yet she couldn’t help but feel more self-conscious whenever he was nearby.
Riley ignored the empty chair for the moment. Instead, he looked directly at Sienna with an amused smile.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked. "Don’t tell me you’ve finally fallen in love with me."
Sienna nearly choked. She shot him a sharp glare, clearly warning him to stop.
Across the table, Mia and Ava froze. The room fell silent as they looked back and forth between Sienna and Riley, unsure how to respond.
A second later, Riley burst into laughter. He raised both hands in surrender. "Relax," he said, still laughing. "I’m just kidding."
The tense atmosphere immediately disappeared.
Even Mia let out a relieved sigh. "For a second... I almost believed you."
"See?" Riley replied with a grin. "That means my acting is improving."
"It’s terrible," Ava said dryly. "Please don’t quit your day job."
"I’ll keep that in mind." Riley smiled at Ava before finally pulling out his chair and sitting down. He glanced at Sienna once more. He smiled at her. "Although... why is your face so red?"
Sienna quietly swallowed, resisting the urge to kick him under the table. ’You’re doing this on purpose,’ she complained inwardly.
Refusing to let him tease her any further, Sienna calmly changed the subject. "Congrats, Riley. I heard you’re the boss now..."
Riley’s smile widened as he leaned back in his chair. "Thank you. I was wondering how long it would take before someone finally congratulated me."
Before Sienna could say anything else, Mia raised her hand dramatically. "Guys, can we eat first?" she pleaded. "If this conversation gets any longer, I’m going to starve to death."
Her complaint made Sienna and Ava laugh.
"You’ve only been here a few minutes," Ava teased.
"And I’ve been hungry since four o’clock."
"That’s because you skipped your afternoon snack again."
Sienna laughed, shaking her head. "Alright," she said. "Let’s eat before Mia starts blaming us for her hunger."
"Thank you," Mia said with exaggerated relief. "At least someone here still cares about me."
Riley picked up his cutlery and smiled faintly. "I thought CEOs were supposed to pay for dinner," he said out of the blue.
Mia looked at him without missing a beat. "They are."
"So now I have to pay and listen to all of you?"
"That’s what promotions are for," Ava added.
Even Riley couldn’t help laughing.
The atmosphere quickly relaxed as the four of them began eating. Between bites, they talked about Riley’s new position, joking about whether he would become impossible to reach now that he was Sterling Technology’s CEO.
"So," Ava asked, "are we supposed to make appointments weeks in advance just to have dinner with you now?"
Riley calmly cut another piece of steak. "Only if you’re planning to complain."
"In that case," Mia said, "We will just send Sienna."
Sienna frowned. "Why me?" she asked.
"Because no one says no to you."
Sienna smiled helplessly. "Silly Mia... I don’t have that kind of power."
"My friend, you underestimate yourself," Mia replied confidently.
Their laughter continued for a while until Ava suddenly turned toward Sienna.
"So..." she began, her smile becoming more curious, "how are things between you and Zachary Sterling?"
Mia immediately nodded, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Yes. Tell us everything."
Across the table, Riley quietly stopped eating. For a brief moment, annoyance and tension flashed across his face before he quickly hid them. None of the women noticed the change, but his eyes remained fixed on Sienna, waiting for her answer.
Sienna slowly put down her fork and knife, then looked at each of her friends before finally meeting Ava’s gaze.
"Ava... Mia..." Her tone became more serious. "Zach and I have already registered our marriage."
For a second, the room fell silent.
Mia stared at her with wide eyes. "For real!?"
Ava immediately covered her mouth. "Oh my God... Sienna..." she whispered. "Are you two married?"
Sienna smiled softly and nodded. "Hmm, we’re already married."
She lifted her left hand and quietly showed them both her engagement ring and her wedding band. As she lowered her hand again, her eyes briefly met Riley’s before she looked back at Ava and Mia.
"But... why?" Mia asked.
"What do you mean by ’why’?" Sienna asked.
Mia shook her head quickly. "I mean... why were you in such a hurry to register your marriage?"
Sienna was just about to explain when Ava suddenly stood up from her chair. She leaned across the table until she was close enough to whisper. "Sienna, are you pregnant?"
The unexpected question caught Sienna completely off guard. She inhaled too quickly, then coughed. "Cough... cough..."
"Oh no!" Ava instantly looked guilty. She hurriedly poured a glass of water and handed it over. "I’m sorry, Sienna. Here... Drink this."
Still coughing lightly, Sienna accepted the glass and took several careful sips before placing it back on the table.
When she finally caught her breath, she looked at Ava with an amused smile. "No," she said, trying not to laugh. "I’m not pregnant."