He directed the last part of his sentence at Nora, placing the bowl on her bedside table before turning to me. “The seafood I bought is all fresh. Try some, Sienna!”
I giggled, giving into their persistency and sitting down to have dinner with them.
The seafood lived up to my expectations. Nora stared at Armond’s sallow face, inquiring worriedly, “Were you so busy today that you didn’t get any sleep at all?”
He nodded. “The incident at Lavelian Village is getting out of hand, and the Featherstone Corporation plans on holding a press conference for promotional purposes next month.”
Clearly pitying him, Nora turned to me with puppy-dog eyes. “I think it’s best if you stay with me tonight, Sienna. That way, Armond can go home and rest.”
That had been my plan in the first place, so I agreed easily. “Sure.”
“There’s no need for that,” Armond quickly cut in. I’ll ask someone to set up an extra bed in here for me to sleep on tonight. I’d be so worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went home, anyway.”
After saying that, he glanced at me. “Besides, if you don’t go back home tonight, Mr. Featherstone might become even more stressed regarding the Lavelian Village project. If that happens, he’ll make me work my fingers to the bone, and that just won’t do!”
I wasn’t sure how to respond.
“He’s right.” Nora nodded in agreement. “If you try to make Anthony happy, the situation might improve.”
Then, turning to Armond, she clung onto his arm and fluttered her eyelashes up at him pitifully. “Though, I feel bad for making you accompany me… I shouldn’t be putting you through such torture!”
I massaged one of my temples. Are these two being lovey-dovey on purpose?
Slowly munching on my food, I spoke up, “That works too, I guess. I’m almost done eating, so I’ll leave you two to catch up with each other, okay?”
“I’ll send you downstairs.” Armond got to his feet.
Slightly taken aback, I glanced at Nora, who told me, “Go on, Sienna! You don’t have your car with you, right? He can help hail a taxi for you!”
I shrugged in response.
At the hospital entrance, I gave Armond a sidelong glance. “Do you have something to ask me, Mr. Murphy?”
He slipped his hands into his trouser pockets, his expression turning solemn. “I take it you’ve made up with Anthony?”
Why is he asking the exact same question as Nora did?
“I guess so.” I smiled awkwardly. “Did you offer to walk me downstairs because you wanted to talk about that?”
“Of course not,” he huffed. “Has Anthony discussed with you about his stance on the project?”
I blinked owlishly at him. After working together for so long, I knew what he was implying.
The Lavelian Village project was one that the Murphy Corporation had fought against countless other equally well-qualified rivals for. We could not afford to make a mistake, but there had already been several accidents since the project first started.
The project hadn’t fully kicked into gear yet, either. Thus, Featherstone Corporation had every reason to start from scratch and look for a new collaborator to cut their losses.
Armond was trying to find out Anthony’s current attitude towards the whole issue through me.
“I’ll find a way to pry some information out of Anthony,” I promised him.
“Thanks.”
After that, I hailed a taxi and headed straight home.
The sky was already dark when I reached the villa.
I thought Anthony would have returned home by now, but the entire place was dark, and none of the lights were on. It seemed that he hadn’t come back yet.
Figuring that he must be busy at work, I went upstairs and entered the bathroom to wash myself up.
Left alone in the silence with only my thoughts accompanying me, my mind wandered to the project once more. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right, but I just couldn’t place a finger on what it was exactly.
I couldn’t figure out a solution to my problems, even after wracking my brain.
After my shower, I sat at my dressing table to do my skincare routine. I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even hear Anthony’s footsteps when he entered the bedroom.
It was only when he suddenly picked me up in his arms that I was jerked back to reality, letting out a squeal of surprise. “What are you doing here?” I gasped. “When did you get back? You didn’t make a sound at all!”
“I’ve been here for a while already. Didn’t you see me in the reflection of the mirror you were staring at?” He sat down in my seat, placing me across his thighs as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “What’s on your mind?”
I sighed, resting my head against his shoulder. “The Lavelian Village project keeps running into problems. I’m in charge of everything, so can you blame me for overthinking it?”
He chuckled. “Everything that happened was out of your control. It won’t do you any good to keep stressing out over it. Besides, you now have your hubby’s money to use whenever you like. Who cares if you quit your job or end up having to pay damages?”
The stubble on his chin pricked my hand when I reached up to touch his face. “That’s easy for you to say. One compensation claim is worth ten million. How many times will I be able to fork that amount of money out, hm?”
“As many times as you like.” He grinned at me.
“You should really shave soon.” Running my fingers along his stubble made the skin on my finger pads feel raw.
He hummed, one large hand sliding down to pinch my hips. “Will you do it for me?”
I nodded and got up, tugging him into the bathroom. “Armond wants to know what you think about the Lavelian Village project,” I told him as I picked up his razor from the sink.
“That man is more meticulous than I give him credit for,” he lamented, wrapping his arms around me as he pressed my back up against the sink. “He employed my very own wife in his own company so that he could send you to sniff our information for him.”
I lathered some shaving cream on his jawline. My feet were getting tired of standing on their tiptoes to reach his tall height, so I made him sit down on a chair. Without thinking too much about it, I climbed up and sat in his lap, focusing intently on shaving his stubble.
“It’s not like that. No one expected that Featherstone Corporation would award its’ project to Murphy Corporation. Besides, he’s just asking about your opinion, not sniffing out information.”
He made a brief sound of affirmation, unable to open his mouth and reply because of the razor near his skin. I could tell from his fond gaze that he was in a good mood today.
It was my first time ever shaving someone else, so my movements were somewhat clumsy. Thankfully, I hadn’t cut his skin, and I quickly handed him a warm towel to wipe off the cream after I was done.
He looked much younger and clean with a shaved jaw. I held his chin in one hand and turned his head from side to side, admiring my handiwork. “It looks good to me. I think I did well!”
The corners of his lips quirked up. I felt his large hand squeeze my hips as he spoke in a low, gravelly voice, “Are you trying to seduce me right now?”
My mind blanked. Upon realizing that I had put on nothing but a sleeveless negligee after my shower, my cheeks flushed red.
I’d been so concentrated on shaving his stubble that I’d failed to notice the compromising position I’d put us in when I climbed into his lap. His hand on my waist only served to make the situation appear even more suggestive than it really was.
“Get your head out of the gutter. I just genuinely wanted to help you shave.” I tried to get off of his legs, but he held me in place.
“Yes, and I just genuinely want to hold you in my arms,” he declared unabashedly.
Setting the razor aside, I circled my arms around his neck and looked him in the eye. “I think you should go take a shower and get ready for bed. I’m a little tired, and I haven’t slept well for the past two nights.”
He smiled humorously, caressing my cheek with one hand. Leaning in, he left feather-light hints of kisses on the corner of my mouth that felt ticklish.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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