CHAPTER 41: CUNNING WORDS

After the food was served, my father continued to interrogate Christian about his plans for tomorrow, but he was constantly given a generic answer.

I could visibly see the frustration on his face by the end of the meal.

"Thank you for breakfast, but I need to get going. I’ve been thinking about stopping by to see someone on the way to work," said Christian, standing up from his seat.

My father stood up abruptly with a slightly panicked look. His eyes darted around the room for a minute before he looked at Christian with one of his fake smiles.

"Oh, I see, I see. I was going to ask if Leslie could catch a ride with you to work today," he said, catching me off guard.

Why would Father suggest something like that?

Morgan also looked at our father, pouting. He returned her look with a fierce gaze that caused her to lower her head.

Christian glanced at me, maintaining a neutral expression, then turned to my father, "Sure. I can bring her with me."

As he walked by me, he said, "I’ll be waiting for you outside whenever you’re ready."

I quietly nodded my head and stood up to follow him, but before I could take a single step forward, I felt Morgan’s hand grip around my arm.

"You’re so lucky that you’re my sister. I would tear you to shreds if I could," she whispered quietly so that only I heard.

Yes, yes. You’ve made that painfully obvious.

"Leslie, come here for a moment," my father called out from the head of the table.

I ripped my arm out of Morgan’s grip, smiling sarcastically before walking over to my father’s side.

He gave me a stern look. "Do you understand why I suggested this?"

To spy on Christian.

"Yes, Father," I replied, lowering my eyes.

"Good. I will be waiting in my study when you’re back. Remember, this is for the good of the family."

I nodded and turned to leave, eager to tell Christian about my father’s task for me.

-

As I walked out, I spotted Christian leaning against his sleek sports car.

"Have a seat," he said, opening the passenger door for me.

I got in quickly, minding my actions. I could feel Morgan’s burning gaze on me from the windows and needed to make sure I put on a good show.

Only after we were well out of the neighborhood did I turn to smile at Christian, "Thank you for the ride."

"That’s what she said," he grinned.

"Wow," I rolled my eyes speechlessly at his joke, "Do people still make those kinds of jokes?"

My words came out sassy, but I still couldn’t help myself and smiled, finding it funny. Christian glanced over at my quivering smile and let out a heart laugh. "See, I got you to laugh!"

I burst into laughter, "Yes, you got me, haha!"

-

By the time we finished laughing, we were already in the middle of the city, following with familiar route to Christian’s company.

"Aren’t you planning on meeting with someone? Father is very eager for me to come home with valuable information," I said, looking over at him.

"Oh, I made that up. I never had any intention to meet with anyone this morning. I only said that to get him to let you ride with me."

He flashed a bright smile at me, but I was left speechless. "You knew my father would suggest taking me to work with you? How?!"

"Of course I knew. Didn’t you see how frustrated he was getting after I replied so generically after each of his questions? I knew he would take the bait as soon as I let it slip that I would be meeting with someone," he laughed.

I couldn’t believe it. Christian opened my eyes to how smart he was about getting what he wanted. "You know my father better than I do," I said, shaking my head.

-

We pulled into the underground parking lot that I never knew existed and walked over to the elevator.

"This one over here will bring us up to the lobby, then we’ll need to get into our elevator to go all the way up to our offices."

Christian reached out and helped me out of the car.

I was grateful for the help because my legs were still shaky.

"You should have worn more comfortable shoes," he said before lifting me into his arms.

I looked around in a slight panic, worried that someone would find us and take photos. But Christian walked forward, through the parking garage, without concern.

"Don’t worry, no one will see," he assured me.

He only put me down when the elevator reached the lobby.

We both hurriedly walked over to the next elevator, where Christian lifted me off the ground once more.

"Oh, it’s okay, I can walk," I said, flustered.

He smiled but didn’t put me back down until we were inside his office.

"Do you want to work in here or shall we move to your office?" asked Christian.

"Ummm, my office," I said after thinking for a moment.

As soon as we walked over to my office, I turned to face him and poked him in the chest.

"So when were you going to tell me that the project I’m working on is super important and happens to be the sought-after Sophia season launch? Hmm?"

When Christian dropped the news at dinner, I realized that the ’big project’ Christian gave me was bigger than I initially realized.

He smiled in response, "Hey now. I don’t want you to feel any pressure, but I truly do believe you’re talented and can do this flawlessly. Plus, how fun would it be to see your family’s auction house fight over hosting the sales of the jewelry that you chose?"

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

It’ll be the first time my family will try to curry favor with me, that’s for sure.

"Well, if you promise not to get angry with me if my work turns out to be a total flop, then I’m in," I said, smiling.

"Promise," he leaned over and kissed me.

-

For the rest of the day, both of us worked side by side. Christian only left a few times to attend important meetings, but outside of that, he moved his laptop to my office and worked from there.

True to his words, outside of a few occasional kisses, he kept his hands to himself and desires in check.

As a result, we both ended up getting a lot of work done, and before I knew it, I had gotten the text from the driver that he was waiting for me outside.

Christian walked me to the elevator, watching me closely.

"I promise, I’m feeling much better. My legs are fine, see?" I strutted around, showing him how firm my steps were.

"Get some rest, princess," he said before placing a soft kiss on my lips. "Oh, and tell your father that I’m planning a week-long business trip out of the country next week. Mention that it’s to discuss a deal with the Amato family."

Amato? Why does that name sound so familiar?

I wasn’t sure why Christian wanted me to pass the message along, but I nodded, grateful he gave me something to tell my father when I returned home.

"I’ll see you tomorrow," I said and stepped into the elevator.