bChapter /bb178 /b

The receptionist asked, “Are you two a couple

or married? I think you have booked a room, right? If so, you can just stay together

Ste’s cheeks turned red. They were married, so there was nothing

with sharing a room.

Jordan didn’t want to make things difficult for her. “Didn’t you bring a male employee with you? Could you let him know I’ll just bcrash /bwith

him?”

‘He is Jordan. How could he possibly share a room with another man?‘ Ste thought. “How about this? I’ll go stay with the bgirl/b, band /bbyou /bcan have my room.”

Jordan looked at her and said, “We can sha

a room.” Ste didn’t know if she should say okay or not.

but

I’m not such a beast that I’d take advantage of you when you’re

Jordan leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “Rx. I do want you, still not fully recovered.”

Ste’s cheeks turned even redder. After thinking about it, Ste realized that whether Jordan went to share a room with the guy or she went to stay with the girl, it just didn’t feel right either way.

Besides, they were husband and wife–if they slept in separate rooms, people would start gossiping. Even if no one would say anything out loud, Ste felt there was no need to make things awkward for everyone.

“Let’s go,” Ste said, heading toward the elevator.

The receptionist called out, “Even though you’re sharing a room, this mister still needs to check in.”

Ste turned back, walked over, and watched as Jordan handed over his ID. The check–in was done in no time. Jordan grabbed his ID and followed Ste into the elevator.

“You take the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch,” Jordan suggested.

“That won’t do. You came all this way just for me, and you must be exhausted. How could I make you sleep on the couch? Let’s just share the bed,” Ste replied.

Her cheeks were still burning as she said this. Jordan felt his heart itch with longing, but he made sure not to let it show.

When they got to their room, they saw the best presidential suite in this hotel. Ste wanted to pay for it, but Cavan refused firmly. For a

ite was impressive. ce quite far from the city, the presidential

“I was thinking I’d just stay with the girl, and ith /i

guy could live alone, but Mr. James insisted I have my own space,” Ste exined.

“You should have your room,” Jordan said, his tone full of hidden meaning. Ste blinked, confused by what he was getting at.

“If they want to ido /isomething private, they’d have to get your approval first. Aren’t you being ba /bblittle /bbossy if they have to get your permission before they do something?” Jordan teased.

Ste was still confused, so she quickly said, “That doesn’t seem right. What else would they do on a business trip with me?”

“They might do some adult things. They’re responsible for their choices. Besides, stuff like this happens all the time. bIf /bbthey /bbwant /bbto /bbdo /bbit/bb, /bbyou /bcan’t stop themb, /bno matter what,” Jordan replied.

Ste had heard about this before–sometimes when a man and a woman went on business btrips /btogether, bmaybe /bbnothing /bbhappened /bbthe /bfirst couple of times, but sooner orterb, /bsomething’s bound to happen.

b15:26 /bbFri/bb, /bb8 /bbAug /b

And if either of them had a family, it could easily mess things up at home. Ste didn’t like it whether it was bfrom /bher perspective bof /bbin /bher. role as the boss. But Jordan was right she couldn’t stop it even if she hated it.

“Don’t stress about it. If they mess up at work because of this, you’ll know better than bringing them along next time Jordan said, stutta gave a slight hod.

It waste, and residents here usually turned in early. Jordan had a quick shower after Ste finished hers. When Jordan came out of the bathroom, he saw Ste already fast asleep in bed.

He let out a wry smile, thinking, ‘Is it that I’m not attractive enough, or is Ste just really exhausted? Jordany down next to Ste, but n matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

Ste slept like an angel, barely moving a muscle. Meanwhile, he was a total mess, tossing and turning restlessly.

When they were at home, at least they had separate rooms. But now they were sharing the same bed. If Ste had fully recovered and given him the green light, he wouldn’t have held back.

Jordan lost count of how many cold showers he took that night. He kept his movements as quiet as possible, afraid of waking Ste. bThe /bbnext /bmorning, when Ste woke up, she found Jordan looking dead tired, as if he’d been up all night.

“Was I a bad sleeperst night?” Ste asked.

Jordan felt sorry for her. “Don’t always think there’s something wrong with you. You’re great, you’re wonderful, and you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just not used to sleeping somewhere new. It’s not your fault.”

Ste was touched by his words, but she didn’t believe him. “Don’t try to fool me. I know you go on business trips all the time, and you’ve never looked like this before. It has to be because of me.”

Jordan wanted to smack himself. He thought with regret, ‘Why can’t I find a better excuse?” “No, seriously, don’t overthink it. It’s not because of you,” Jordan said.

Ste noticed something was off in his voice and asked, “Did you catch a cold?”

Jordan had woken up with his head feeling heavy and a bit out of it. “I guess so,” he replied.

“I don’t have to visit their factory until ten, so we’ve

got plenty of time. Let me take you to the hospital for a check–up,” Ste suggested.

“Let’s ask Mr. James if there’s a traditional medicine clinic nearby,” Jordan suggested.

“Yeah, good advice.”

Ste had tried going ito /iregr doctors a few times, but it never helped. Traditional medicine, on the other hand, always worked wonders for her.

When they met up with Cavan, Ste asked anxiously, “Mr. James, do you know any good traditional medicine bdoctors /bbaround /bbhere/b? My husband seems to have caught a cold.”

Cavan nced at Jordan, iwho /inodded back as a greeting.

Kevin frowned. “How did he manage ito /icatch a cold in a night?”

Cavan seemed to realize what was going on but didn’t expose it. “I know one. I’ll take you there.”

“Nice to meet you, Ste.”

Cavan drove them all together to the traditional medicine clinic. Ste was bup /bfront bwith /bbJordan/bb, /bblooking /bbworried /bbthe /bbwhole /bbtime /b

ve them al

15.20

Kevin thought to himself, ‘Seriously? With a body that fragile, how is Jordan even fit to be Ste’s husbandb?/bb” /b

Cavan leaned in close and whispered to Kevin, “I’m married, so I’ve been around the block. Let me ask you, have they bslept /btogether yet

Kevin knew a bit about this. “Probably not. Why do you ask?”

“Well, if they haven’t, that says a lot, doesn’t it? It means their rtionship might not be

that strong. You might still have a chance”

Kevin stared at him in shock,pletely speechless.

Cavan, still acting like the seasoned veteran, added, “Let me tell you, I bet you anything Mr. Erwin caught a cold because he spent half the night taking cold showers.”

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