Chapter 1291

Raising her eyebrows, Lily smiled faintly. "I do."

Austin's eyes widened immediately. "Who is it? Do I know him?"

"I think you do!" She crossed her arms, seemingly lost in thought. Then, surveying him from head to toe, she said slowly, "Isn't Mr. Dominic's secret apprentice... you?!"

Austin was stunned. He was speechless, his quick wit failing him.

Lily continued, "What's wrong? Did you forget? The entire country knows you're Mr. Dominic's secret apprentice. For you to ask me about his secret apprentice... could it be you don't even know who you are?"

After his initial shock, Austin considered Lily's closeness to Dominic. She likely knew the secret apprentice wasn't him. He decided honesty was the best policy. "I've never publicly admitted to being his secret apprentice," he said. "People assumed; I never confirmed it."

Lily smiled subtly, understanding his carefully crafted ambiguity. She didn't call him out, simply turning to leave. "All right then, Mr. Fike. Have a good day. Just stay away from my car, or you'll be paying for any damage."

As she started to walk away, Austin quickly caught up and stopped her.

"Mr. Fike, is there something else?" Lily asked, looking up at him.

"I heard you have some project reports. Since you withdrew, could you give me the data?" he asked seriously.

Lily looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

She kept the reports at home, both for convenience and protection. Working with such a large staff, she'd learned to safeguard her work. These reports were crucial—her work, even if she'd left the project. If the institute needed them, Thompson should be the one to request them. When did Austin acquire the right?

"Of course I am! You don't need them anymore, and it's not your personal experiment; it's the institute's project. You should hand them over!" He stood tall, seemingly oblivious to the impropriety of his request.

"If I recall, you're knowledgeable about medicinal herbs. How is my data relevant? Besides, I, a woman, collected this data. It's unlikely to be of much use to a man like you. Why do you need my reports?" Lily emphasized "woman" and "man," a touch of playful mockery in her tone.

He was once again speechless, but not defeated. He lacked expertise in conventional fragrances, and Lily's data might reveal connections. Yet, pride won out. He wouldn't admit his true motives, wouldn't yield to a woman.

"Enough nonsense. I'm telling you, you should give—" He reached for her wrist, but Lily swiftly twisted his hand, eliciting a cry of pain. "Ouch! That hurts!"