Chapter 4

After saying goodbye to Emma, I went home, and I couldn't calm down.

Her face, with those two cute little dimples when she smiled, kept popping up in my mind.

I spent over twenty years always surrounded by beautiful women, and plenty practically threw themselves at me.

But Emma was the very first girl who made me feel truly comfortable and relaxed, just by hanging out with her.

I was sitting on the couch, savoring today's unexpected encounter, when the master bedroom door swung open.

Claire walked out, having swapped her business suit for a silk robe. She looked like she was about to grab some water from the fridge.

When she saw me, she gave her usual little frown, her gaze searching me as if trying to figure something out.

"You seem pretty happy today?" Claire asked.

I was caught off guard for a second and reached up to touch my face.

Was my smile really that obvious?

"Why do you care?" I asked, barely thinking.

When it came to Claire, I always kept things cold.

Claire's face fell. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, twisted it open, and took a sip, her expression cold and unreadable.

"Ethan, let me remind you," Claire said. "Even though this is just a marriage of convenience, until we call it off, you'd better keep your private life in check. Don't go making any messy headlines that could affect my reputation."

Her condescending, holier-than-thou attitude made me want to laugh.

"Ms. Sullivan, aren't you meddling too much? Since when do you get to boss me around about my private life? Maybe you should worry more about the company. I heard your latest reforms have been upsetting a lot of people; everyone's complaining," I said.

I was deliberately hitting her where it hurt.

Mike kept me updated on the company's situation every single day.

Claire wasted no time when she took over. She hit the ground running, axing redundant departments and streamlining everything.

It definitely made things more efficient, but it ruffled a lot of feathers, especially among the old guard. Now there were rumblings all over the place, and plenty of folks were just waiting for her to slip up.

Sure enough, the moment I brought up work, Claire's face turned even colder.

"That's my problem, not yours," she said, her tone frosty. "Just stay out of it and don't make things harder for me."

"How could I possibly cause you any trouble?" I said, spreading my hands with an innocent look. "I'm just unemployed, living the lazy life at home. What kind of mess could I possibly make for you?"

Claire was left speechless, glaring daggers at me before turning on her heel and heading back to her room.

When I heard the door slam, I felt fantastic.

Teasing her was way more fun than playing with a cat.

I picked up my phone and opened my chat with Mike.

I sent: [Mike, let Claire stir things up. Those slick old foxes who've been coasting for years need to be put in their place. Work with her quietly and weed out those leeches one by one, but make sure she never catches on.]

Mike replied instantly: [Understood, Mr. Carter. You can count on me.]

I set my phone down, a smirk tugging at my lips.

Claire, she really was a sharp blade.

Let's see just how much chaos she could stir up in this company's murky waters.

The next few days, life was pretty sweet.

Somehow, I ended up running into Emma every single day.

Sometimes we'd run into each other at the gym. I was bench pressing when Emma showed up in a pink workout set, bouncing over like a little bunny.

"Wow, Ethan, you're seriously strong. How much weight is that?" Emma asked, her eyes sparkling with awe.

I racked the barbell and sat up, sweat sliding down the lines of my abs.

I shot her a playful eyebrow, took her hand, and placed it right on my stomach.

"Want to touch? You're the only one with VIP access," I said.

Her cheeks turned bright red, and she jerked her hand back as if she had touched a live wire, her heart racing.

She was so shy she couldn't even meet my eyes; seriously, she was so cute I could barely handle it.

Other times, it was at my favorite craft brewery. I was sipping on a new wine when Emma walked in, carrying a cat that looked just like my cat, Shadow.

"What a coincidence, Ethan, you're here, too," Emma said with a bright smile.

And got this. Her cat, Tango, spotted Shadow and went wild, wriggling out of her arms and pouncing straight over.

The two cats were all over each other in seconds, way more affectionate than we ever were.

"Look at them, it's like love at first sight," Emma said, her hand covering her mouth in delight.

"Yeah," I replied, shooting her a knowing glance. "Maybe that's just destiny."

Our relationship was heating up fast with every one of these so-called coincidences.

I knew she was carefully orchestrating all these chance encounters.

That innocent little bunny act? Emma was actually way smarter than she looked.

But honestly, I didn't mind at all. I actually enjoyed her playful tricks on me.

Because I could tell that her feelings for me were real, pure, with nothing mixed in.

That night, I was in the kitchen, cooking a complicated dish.

This dish was no joke; I had been prepping since the afternoon.

As the mouthwatering aroma wafted from the pot, I heard the front door open.

Claire was home.

She looked especially exhausted today, even her walk in those heels was shaky.

As soon as she stepped inside, an intense, irresistible aroma slammed into her, making her stop in her tracks.

I paid her no mind, fully focused on my soup.

She swapped her heels for slippers, walked over to the kitchen doorway, and leaned quietly against the frame.

I could feel her eyes on me.

Tonight, the smell was so good it was almost impossible to resist, way more tempting than ever before.

I bet she was really struggling with herself right now, torn between pride and temptation.

Finally, just as I was about to turn off the stove, she spoke up, her voice just a bit rough around the edges, barely noticeable.

Claire called out, "Ethan."

"Hmm?" I replied and pretended I had only noticed her standing there.

"Uh... I..." Claire stammared, which was pretty unusual for someone who was usually so quick with comebacks.

"I haven't had anything to eat today," she said.

Inside, I was practically doing a victory dance, but I kept my face perfectly straight.

"Oh, then just order some takeout. Or have one of your meal replacement drinks," I.

Claire bit her lip, and for a moment, I thought I saw her usually icy eyes turned a little vulnerable.

I must be seeing things.

"I... my stomach's not feeling great. I don't really want any of that stuff," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I turned off the stove and faced her, giving her a relaxed, playful look.

"Ms. Sullivan, are you seriously asking me to share a bite with you?" I teased.

Claire's face went bright red, partly from anger, partly from embarrassment.

"I am not," Claire replied, slipping right back into her icy persona. "I'm just stating a fact."

"Alright then," I shrugged, and served up two bowls of soup.

I set one down in front of her.

"Since you're my official fiancée and look like you've been run ragged, consider this your treat," I said.

Claire gazed at the steaming meal in front of her, the irresistible aroma wafting up as she swallowed hard.

She hesitated for a few seconds, then finally gave in and picked up the bowl.

She scooped up a spoonful, careful and almost reverent, and tasted it.

The moment it hit her tongue, her eyes lit up.

It was the look of someone instantly conquered by pure, mind-blowing flavor, raw and honest, and for a split second, a spark of life broke through her usual icy expression.

She ate fast, but still kept that effortless elegance.

Her bowl was empty in no time.

She set it down and looked up at me, her eyes hard to read.

"Thank you," Claire said quietly.

For the first time, she really meant it.

"No problem," I said, leaning back in my chair and watching her. "See? There's a reason people eat real food. Work isn't your whole life, Ms. Sullivan."

Claire didn't argue back. She just kept her head down, silent, and I couldn't tell what was going through her mind.

For a moment, the atmosphere between us felt strangely delicate.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was a call from Mike.

I answered and put it on speaker.

"Mr. Carter, we've got trouble," Mike said, sounding really panicked. "The competition is coming after us hard; they grabbed a bunch of our big projects all at once, and our stock price is starting to drop."

Before I could even get a word out, Claire's face drained of all color.

She jumped to her feet, snatched up her phone, and started dialing frantically.

Claire asked, "Mr. Zimmerman. What the hell happened? Why did Grandview Corporation suddenly get the project?

"Mr. Lewis. Emergency meeting, now. Dig into this and find out who's behind it!"

She was full-on shouting into the phone, a far cry from her usual icy, collected CEO persona.

As for me, I just lounged back in my chair, taking my time with my soup, watching the chaos unfold like it was a show.

Claire, looked like your first big trial was here.

Let's see how you, the so-called corporate prodigy, deal with this mess.