Derek snorted.
“Is there anything that you are not satisfied with?” Elizabeth looked at him coldly.
“Just because you’ve been single for ages, you deliberately interrupt us, trying to keep us apart since you don’t want us to have a good time. Am I right?” Somehow Derek’s face didn’t mirror the meanness of his words.
“Natalie is happily married. I hope you always remember that, Mr. Ramsey.” Elizabeth held her nerve, remaining calm.
Derek took two steps forward, stared her in the eye and said, “Are you looking for a boyfriend? You should have told me earlier.”
He ogled her b*ody, his eyes roving up and down, and said, “You’re pretty enough. I know a few rich and handsome young men I could introduce you to.”
Elizabeth looked him square in the eyes and said, after careful consideration, “No way, birds of a feather flock together. I’m not into playboys like you. I’m not saying you’re a bad person, just that you think too much of yourself, and you’re rude. Any girl wanting to be with someb*ody like you is only doing it for your looks, or maybe because of your fame and wealth. Anyb*ody looking for a serious relationship would steer well clear of you. You need to calm down. Be serious. Not all women are going to be into you.”
“You!” Derek clenched his teeth and his face turned red. Elizabeth’s words had infuriated him. Looking down at the flowers he held, he suddenly grabbed her hand.
“To tell you the truth, Elizabeth. I don’t think of you as a friend or just my designer. The reason I haven’t been coming here recently is that I was afraid that I’d pine for you if I saw you. But I love your dedication. How would you like to be my girlfriend?” Derek gave her a smoldering look and held the flowers out.
A crowd was beginning to form at the door. A lot of people had overheard Derek’s confession of love, and they had all come over to see the fun.
After what Derek had said, Elizabeth froze, but quickly regained her senses and retorted with, “No, Derek, stop it.”
The immature fool was obviously trying to embarrass her by saying that in front of everyone.
As she turned around to leave, Derek grabbed her wrist and said, “No, you can’t just go after I’ve confessed my love to you so sincerely. You have to at least accept my flowers.”
“Take them. He’s a very handsome young man.” The crowd started whistling.
“I think he means it, and he’s very good looking. Go on, be his girlfriend!” some of the onlookers piped up.
Elizabeth didn’t want to cause any trouble. She certainly didn’t want to start any terrible gossip about W Marks Studio, not right outside their doors. She sighed, realizing she would have to accept the flowers or he’d never leave. She shot Derek a look that could s*trip paint off a wall. “Are you happy now? Can you go?”
Derek chuckled, whispering in her ear, “There’s not a romantic bone in your b*ody. You’re frigid and without feelings. No man would ever want to be with you.”
After saying that, he blew her a kiss and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, honey! Bye!”
To anyb*ody watching, they would look like a normal, flirting young couple.
Just then, Frank appeared in the crowd. He pushed through them to Elizabeth and stared Derek down with an ice-cold look. “What’s going on? You’re not in any trouble again, are you?”
Frank had moved his hours to the morning shift so that he could help Elizabeth get to her therapist visits. Once he had finished his operation today, he realized it was time to pick up Elizabeth for her appointment.
Recently, he’d been arranging all his important operations into one block, so as to give him as much spare time as he could get for Elizabeth. As a result he was starving hungry and absolutely exhausted.
He was already in a bad mood before he got to the W Marks Studio, where he saw a handsome man publicly expressing his love for Elizabeth.
It even looked like the two of them were hitting it off, flirting with each other.
Seeing this man and Elizabeth together made Frank’s mood even worse. Especially since Elizabeth took the flowers and even smiled at Derek, in complete contrast to her usual cold appearance.
Frank walked up and squeezed in between them.
Seeing Frank was such a relief to Elizabeth. But before she could answer Frank’s question, Derek interrupted her.
“There’s no trouble at all. Elizabeth loves the flowers I got her, so we’re going on a date soon,” Derek said proudly.
Holding his features in check, Frank looked down as casually as he could at the flowers. His eyes snapped back up to Derek and immediately became a frosty glare. The feeling was mutual, Derek didn’t like Frank much either. He wondered who Frank was. Could he be Elizabeth’s boyfriend? How come they both had the same cold expression?
As the two men stood at a silent stalemate, Elizabeth took the initiative and broke the silence. “Okay, I can explain this.”
Right then and there was a blare of car horns right next to them. It was Derek’s manager. He rolled down the window and shouted, “I should have known you were here. Get in. You’ve got an advertisement to shoot this evening!”
“Okay, right away, Wilder.” Derek waved to Wilder, his manager. He turned to smile at Elizabeth with his best flirtatious look. “I’ll have more flowers for you next time.” He turned back and jumped in the big stretch limo and they slowly drove away.
Looking down at the flowers in her hands made Elizabeth upset.
Derek had only been having a go at her because she stopped him from pestering Natalie. That was why he’d tried to embarrass her in front of everyone, including Frank. It was just in petty vengeance.
Seeing Elizabeth was in a daze, Frank frowned and said, “Hey, don’t let him get you down. He’s gone now. I’m only here as your doctor. There’s no need for you to explain your private life to me.”
The situation had quickly spun out of her control. Elizabeth wanted to explain it to him, but where on earth would she start? She didn’t think she could. She hung on to the flowers and hesitated, embarrassed and unable to think of anything to say.
“It’s almost time for your appointment. You go in and get your stuff. I’ll wait here for you,” said Frank, looking at his watch.
Elizabeth gasped as she looked into Frank’s cold eyes.
Looking at his indifference, his cold, hard face, upset her. So she decided not to even try and explain.
She looked down to the ground and said, in a low voice, “Okay, I’ll go and get my stuff and let them know I’m leaving. I won’t be long.”
Elizabeth went back inside the studio, slammed the flowers down on her desk and began to put her things away.
New Book: Beginning with a Daring Encounter
Celsie was tired of being labeled as an introvert, workaholic, and dull virgin by her friends. Determined to prove them wrong, she made a bet that she would do something daring on her 25th birthday. Now that the day had arrived, it was time to fulfill her promise. On her daring to-do list, there was one task: a one-night stand with someone.
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