He made his way to Joan’s office casually, Larry pushed opened the door and parked his butt on a chair before staring at the woman who had her head buried in her work.
“You’re here, Mr. Norton?” Joan greeted without even lifting her head as though she had known about his arrival in advance.
“Yeah. Anyhow, just carry on with your work. I’m just here to check on your progress,” Larry answered. He was still a tad perturbed by her addressing him as Mr. Norton, but he couldn’t do anything about that.
“Okay, please make yourself at home, then. I’ll entertain you in a moment.” Joan maintained a businesslike attitude.
Sensing the distance in her tone, a wave of irritation assailed Larry. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. That was a bad habit he had developed after she left, and it had now become an addiction.
At the sight of him smoking, a flash of desolation flittered across Joan’s eyes. He never smoked in the past, so it might be because of me as well. At the thought of that, her guilt multiplied.
Larry was sitting very close to her, so Joan inevitably inhaled the lingering cigarette smoke. She had an inherent dislike of cigarette smoke, so despite having tried her best to suppress her distaste, a few light coughs still escaped her in the end.
Upon hearing her coughing, Larry’s brows furrowed. All of a sudden, he remembered that she loathed the reek of cigarette smoke in the past. After hesitating for a long while, he snubbed out the cigarette in his hand and threw it into the trash can at the side.
“I’m hungry, Joan Watts. Accompany me to lunch.” Larry sounded as though he was issuing an order, his tone brooking no argument.
“Thanks, Mr. Norton. I’m not hungry at the moment, so I’d like to continue with my work for a while,” Joan declined tactfully. She had been doing her best to avoid having too much interaction with him although her efforts had been futile.
“This is just business, what with me having a meal with a collaborator. So, don’t read too much into it. Also, I’ve got some business matters to discuss with you.” Larry gave her no room to turn him down. “Let’s go.”
At that, Joan inwardly heaved a sigh. Good grief, why am I still so obedient to him, just like I did in the past?
Subsequently, the two of them went to a western restaurant and took their seats at the table.
“Just order whatever you want to eat.” Larry handed the menu to Joan.
“Thank you.” After thanking him politely, Joan ordered a steak. Likewise, Larry also ordered something at random.
Thereafter, a long silence reigned. Larry was waiting for Joan to speak, but the latter still seemed exceedingly reluctant to do so.
In the end, he broke the silence himself. “The proposal is almost done, right?”
“Yes,” Joan replied softly. “It should be ready by tomorrow.”
“What’s your plan after that?” An unprecedented bolt of apprehension shot through Larry at the thought that he would no longer have an excuse to seek her out in the future.
“My plan? I don’t have any plans. I just want to focus on my job and live a simple life. That’s enough for me,” Joan answered calmly.
Also, to stay away from you. She added inwardly after she finished saying that.
“I see.” Words eluded Larry for a moment, so he buried his head in his food.
Unbeknownst to them, it so happened that Gabriella’s best friend, Lynette, witnessed the lunch date and even secretly took a video clip of it.
After the two of them had finished eating, Larry drove Joan back to the office before speeding off. When Joan had returned to the office, she continued working on the proposal.
Lynette then sent the video clip to Gabriella. After watching it, Gabriella blew a fuse.
Ever since she met Joan the previous time, she had sensed that her relationship with Larry wasn’t as simple as they claimed. Thus, she had someone investigated the matter, only to discover that they actually dated during college.
She went abroad to Beskary then, so she didn’t know about their relationship before that.
“You’re such a vixen, Joan Watts! How dare you attempt to seduce Larry again when I treated you so well in the past? What an ungrateful wretch!” Gabriella hissed through gritted teeth.
She had been regarding Larry as her prospective boyfriend, so she felt as though someone had stolen something off hers upon seeing that Joan and Larry could possibly rekindle their relationship.
That feeling was particularly acute when she could distinctly sense that Larry still loved Joan. While she had no evidence of that, her womanly intuition told her otherwise. As that thought occurred to her, the unease within her snowballed.
