CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 60: MY FIRST TIME

"...I’ve seen the plans. I’ll design with this theme in mind."

Landon Sutton slowly withdrew his gaze, murmured "Hmm," and took a sip of the now slightly cold coffee; it tasted somewhat bitter.

Shannon Quinn organized the documents, placed them back into the folder, and looked out the window. It seemed to get darker faster on rainy days; it was not even five o’clock, yet the sky was already gloomy.

"...If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first."

Landon Sutton straightened up, took a deep breath, and then said, "I happen to have nothing planned for the evening either. It’s this late; let’s have dinner together before heading back."

"No need, I..."

Landon Sutton interrupted her rejection, saying, "There’s a new restaurant opened nearby. Let’s try it."

Saying that, he stood up to go settle the bill at the counter.

Shannon Quinn hesitated but packed up her belongings and followed behind him.

The rain had decreased somewhat, and Landon Sutton held the umbrella over her. Shannon Quinn had no choice but to follow his steps forward.

"Leave your things in the car; the restaurant is nearby, we can walk."

While speaking, he took out the car key to open the car door, stretched out his hand to take the bag from her, placed it in the passenger seat, locked the car door, pointed to the direction, and said softly, "This way."

Shannon Quinn took a deep breath, staying closely under the umbrella beside him. He adjusted his pace to walk steadily forward, still uneasily glancing around, unsure if Jett Quinn was following her.

"Why aren’t you watching where you’re going, looking around everywhere?"

She glanced up at Landon Sutton but said nothing, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

He was really tall; without high heels, she barely reached his shoulder standing beside him. Truth be told, it felt really safe.

Made her feel that even if Jett appeared now, he could protect her.

Such thoughts also made her feel conflicted inside. She was a married woman, yet was yearning for another man’s sense of security; was this considered betrayal?

Crossing the road with him, Shannon Quinn suddenly realized she hadn’t even watched for cars, just blindly following him forward, almost as if internally knowing, with him by her side, nothing would go wrong.

When Landon Sutton wasn’t being slick with his words, he seemed quite decent.

Sometimes his words were sharp, but overall, he was not bad.

Perhaps compared to Jett Quinn, she increasingly perceived Landon Sutton as a good person.

Without realizing it, they arrived at the restaurant. He folded up the umbrella and placed it on the rack by the door, leading her inside.

"Sir, two of you? Would you prefer the main hall or a private room?"

Shannon Quinn quickly answered before Landon Sutton, "The main hall, please."

Being in a quiet private room alone with Landon Sutton, Shannon Quinn felt a bit suffocated just thinking about it.

Landon Sutton acquiesced, letting the staff arrange a table.

The surroundings were noisy, filled with chatting and laughter; she was quite accustomed to it, not knowing if Landon Sutton felt the same.

Seeing no dissatisfaction on his face, he took the menu handed over by the server and placed it directly in front of Shannon Quinn: "See what you want to eat."

Having been pregnant, she declined anything she couldn’t eat, fearing what Landon Sutton might order. She ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish; Landon Sutton added two more dishes and a soup.

After ordering, the staff left, he then asked, "Are you not going home tonight and not calling your husband to report?"

Shannon Quinn froze momentarily, saying, "He knows I’m out with friends."

"Oh? He’s that trusting of you?"

"Of course, he trusts me a lot." Saying this, Shannon Quinn felt somewhat guilty, just holding onto the glass, staring down at the water in it.

She was worried whether Vincent Rhodes’ installed surveillance was already reporting her having dinner with Landon Sutton.

But really speaking, does Vincent Rhodes have someone monitoring her? If he actually did, it might not necessarily be a bad thing; perhaps in times of danger, someone could come to help her.

"Aren’t you worried about him causing trouble outside?"

"Stop sowing discord here; he tells me wherever he goes and does anything."

Landon Sutton laughed, leaning back in his chair, saying, "True, someone like him probably wouldn’t have a woman willing to stick around."

Shannon Quinn merely rolled her eyes, said nothing, and sipped a small amount of her drink; it was too hot; she placed it down again.

Silence lingered for a while until Landon Sutton’s voice broke through it again: "Invite me to a movie someday?"

"Why should I invite you? It’s not like you can’t afford a ticket."

"Isn’t spending someone else’s money different than spending your own?"

Shannon Quinn laughed lightly, took out her phone, saying, "Sure, which movie do you want to watch? I’ll buy the tickets."

"Any film is fine." He paused, then continued, "But you have to watch with me."

Shannon Quinn looked at him as if hearing a funny joke, her eyes full of humor: "Mr. Sutton, are you trying some dating trick? If you want a date, go find another young lady; I’ll buy the tickets for you two, just don’t tease a married woman like me, okay?"

"Just talking about a movie, why are you thinking so much? I’ve never been to the cinema, I wanted you to accompany me for my first time, what are you thinking?"

"You’ve never been to a cinema?" Shannon Quinn seemed somewhat incredulous.

"Is it strange? Why would a man like me hang out in such a place?"

"Never taken a girl there? You guys tend to like taking girls to those dim, dark places?"

"What do you mean ’guys like that out there’?" Landon Sutton asked, sipping his tea, leaning towards Shannon Quinn with a slight smile, "Haven’t I already told you, that time with you was my first, aside from you, where’s any other girl?"

Shannon Quinn’s face turned red instantly, scooted the chair a bit back, mocking him while maintaining composure: "Do you really believe that yourself?"

"Whether you believe it or not isn’t up to you."

Shannon Quinn was indifferent, feeling his words rarely bore truth; she didn’t want to bring up that night again nor fuss over whether he genuinely only had contact with her.

She needed to remember her married status and the warnings from Vincent Rhodes.

At the mention of Vincent Rhodes, she nervously glanced around, hoping he hadn’t discovered her dinner with Landon Sutton, otherwise he’d usually have messaged by now.

Landon Sutton saw her pretending to be calm, failing to conceal her guilt, and couldn’t help but smile.

Shannon Quinn watched his inexplicable grin, feeling unsettled, glared at him a few times, touched her face, thinking something might be on it.

Suddenly, he leaned over to ask her, "Feeling any thrill of an affair?"