Chapter 5

Celine

My mind was about to explode after flipping through all the pages and finding nothing.

Looking at the clock, I wanted to cry. Exhaustion was on one side, my date was on another, and my son! Oh, my poor baby was waiting for me to come home early and play with him.

I should have been off work a few hours ago, but I was still stuck here… I kept gritting my teeth.

This task was grinding my nerves. It was 9:30, and the sky outside was already dark. According to the text message I received from Mom, Miky was asleep. He would definitely sulk if I continued coming home late.

After reviewing the report for the twelfth time, I still couldn’t find the slightest mistake. I checked everything against the receipts and bank reports. Even the dates were correct. He was messing with me. Obviously. I had no doubt that he just wanted to keep me occupied.

The reason? He was a psycho boss.

I picked up the reports and darted to his office. I wanted to leave and make it to my date now that he had already stopped me from spending time with my son. On the other hand, that poor guy must have been waiting for me at the restaurant.

“Sir, I checked everything with extreme scrutiny, but there isn’t even a single error in them.”

I resubmitted the report. He looked at me with that annoyingly handsome face of his before taking a casual glance at each page.

“Oh, I see. Maybe I misread it.”

Excuse me?! He could at least apologize for that!

I clenched my skirt, trying to swallow down my anger. I couldn’t lose my temper right now. Too many reasons were keeping me attached to this job. He fiddled with the papers before putting them down, his eyes drifted to me.

“It’s getting late. I’ll take you home.”

He suggested it nicely, but I had no intention of letting him come anywhere near my house or my son.

No fucking way! He stood up and walked around the table, slowly getting close to me, he bent down, and I didn't move. His eyes were on my lips and then he moved so close that I could feel his breath on my face. His hand reached out and his thumb brushed on my cheek, my chest heaved up, "don't blush when I'm talking to you."

I smiled, surely blushing, and changing the subject, “That’s a nice offer, but thank you. I have my own car. I’ll leave first. Have a good night, sir.”

Before he could come up with another excuse to keep me at work—or keep me close to him and kiss me—I bolted out of his office. If I hadn't run, we would have ended up sleeping together in his office lounge. Getting close to Dean was equal to summoning his mother.

I changed my clothes in my car. As a single, busy mother, I always had an extra dress in my car. You never knew what could come up or where your next destination would be.

I just prayed Dean would let this night settle down and stop bothering me.

It was exactly 10 p.m. when I arrived at the restaurant by the river. It had a full view of the city, with the river flowing beneath the massive bridge.

The interior was dimly lit, giving the place a warm and tranquil atmosphere.

After going through so much tension and tedious arguing, this peace felt like heaven. However, I still felt Dean's touch on me.

I hadn’t met my date before, only seen his photographs. Looking around, I spotted a handsome man sitting by the window.

In the picture, he wasn’t wearing glasses, so I hesitated at first. But when he looked up and smiled, I walked over and asked,

“Are you Mr. Evans?”

The man flashed me a gentle smile. He wasn’t upset?

“Yes, and you must be Miss Simons.”

He stood up and pulled the chair out for me. Such a gentleman!

He was wearing a branded suit. His glasses had golden rims, and his features were handsome, gentle, and refined.

Mom would be happy now. She would never stop sending me on dates.

“I’m truly sorry for keeping you waiting. My job kept me occupied with some urgent matters.”

“It’s fine. I guessed you’d be hungry, so I ordered a bowl of truffle soup and a bread roll in advance.”

He pointed toward the waiter, and a few minutes later, I was greeted by the fragrant scent of the soup. Its warmth slid down my throat and settled into my stomach.

I silently praised his thoughtfulness. The warm food teased my senses, and that was when I realized just how hungry I was.

He was an understanding gentleman, rare to find these days.

After finishing the appetiser, we chatted about random things until the waiter came over with the menu.

It was already late, and I wasn’t sure if I could eat anything else, but I had to be polite after making Mr. Evans waited for almost an hour.

I still couldn’t believe he had waited that long! I ordered my favorite dish, butter-poached lobster with vegetables.

He asked about my son and the struggles of not being able to spend enough time with him. I was amazed by how knowledgeable and articulate he was, not just by how good-looking he was.

Well, maybe it was because his job as a manager required him to be impressive.

The tension beneath my skin slowly eased as we talked more. I wasn’t sitting there stiffly anymore, with my ass practically numb from stress.

Just as I was thinking that, a shadow loomed over the table, and I immediately felt uneasy. His deep, hoarse voice rang out like a death toll.

“Secretary Simons, so you’re here.”

The fork slipped from my hand as I jolted, clattering onto the plate.

Mr. Evans looked at me with concern.

“Are you alright, Ms. Simons? You look pale. Do you know him?”

I looked up. Dean was already glaring at the man like a grim reaper.

“Mr. Harper! What are you doing here?”

I stood up unintentionally, my heart pounding so fast that I could barely breathe.

What did he want now?

He kept his eyes on Evans like a mad lion before shifting his gaze to his expensive cuffs. Slowly, he began adjusting them with those long fingers.

The veins on the back of his hand stood out.

My heart skipped a beat. He wouldn’t pick a fight, would he?

Ah, silly Celine! When had he ever done that in the past?

He continued to toy with those damn cuffs slowly and deliberately, like he owned all the time in the world.

The sapphire gems on them caught the light.

I wanted to punch him. Seriously! Was he showing off his power?

It stung.

Four years ago, I had saved four months of my salary to buy him a pair of similar cufflinks. They weren’t sapphire, of course. But the jerk never wore them. Probably because they were too cheap for him.

“I have a social engagement. You’re coming with me.”

A what? When would this awkward, ass-ripping day finally end?