Free Web NovelChapter 368: Chapter 366: A Penchant for Certain Plays
Eric appreciated her thoughtfulness, yet he felt conflicted. "Actually," he said, "Mr. Grant would prefer it if you were a little clingier."
Mia Grant simply smiled at that, saying nothing.
As he was handling her luggage earlier, Eric noticed a separate bag lying across her suitcase. Something occurred to him, and he asked, "I heard you recently made a purchase... for a golf club?"
"You know about that too?" Mia Grant frowned. "Well, so much for the surprise."
"Don’t worry, Mr. Grant doesn’t know yet," Eric said with a smile. "Ah, so it’s for him. A birthday present?"
"Mhm. I heard he likes to play golf?"
Eric paused to think, then murmured his assent.
Mia could sense the hesitation in his response.
"He doesn’t like it?"
Eric quickly insisted he did. "Mr. Grant likes anything you give him. It’s the thought that counts."
"I wasn’t asking about that. I’m asking if he likes golf."
"I suppose... it’s alright." Eric avoided her eyes.
Mia Grant frowned. "I’m really not happy with this. Watch out, or I’ll use a little pillow talk to make your life difficult."
Eric: "..."
’The lady boss has quite a temper.’
After a pause, he told her the truth. "To be honest, Mr. Grant has never explicitly said whether he likes it or not. He’ll play a round occasionally with business partners."
"So, you’re saying he only plays for business engagements." Mia Grant was good at cutting to the heart of the matter.
Eric hesitated before saying, "To be honest, Mr. Hughes is the one who’s more into golf."
Mia Grant didn’t understand why he had suddenly brought up Mr. Hughes.
But he quickly provided the answer.
"I’ve seen Mr. Hughes hit Mr. Grant with a golf club before... a few times."
Mia Grant frowned slightly and fell silent.
Eric was watching her expression, and just as he was about to say something, he heard her tell the driver, "Is there a shopping mall nearby? I want to go look around now."
Mia Grant shopped around Times Square for half an hour and finally picked out a belt.
She had originally considered a tie, but she’d already given him one before.
She looked at cufflinks, but none seemed right. The only pair that worked would have to be special-ordered and would take a week to arrive.
Time was short, so in the end, she took the sales associate’s recommendation and bought a belt.
The price was a few digits lower than the golf club’s.
Mia Grant followed Eric to the Hughes Corp.
The last time she was here was when Mr. Hughes was still around.
This time, however, the room was unfamiliar.
’It must be the Chairman’s office now.’
Mia Grant sat on the sofa with her chin in her hand, curiously surveying her surroundings.
The layout hadn’t really changed much.
Her gaze slowly fell upon the door to the private lounge. ’Speaking of which,’ she wondered, ’could his current lounge also connect to a secret room?’
Mia Grant’s curiosity was piqued.
After staring at the door for a few minutes, she finally got up and slipped inside.
The lounge was about the same size as the previous one.
Just the layout was slightly different.
Everything felt new and fascinating to her, and she looked around, touching things here and there.
Unfortunately, however, there was no secret room here.
’But on second thought, it made sense. His previous secret room had been filled with his desire for his ’sister’.’
’Now that their relationship was out in the open, he no longer had any need to hide it.’
’Unless he really was a pervert with a special fondness for certain kinds of play.’
Mia Grant figured Silas Grant would be back soon, so she quickly slipped out of the lounge to avoid being cornered.
Before leaving, she used the bathroom mirror to carefully examine the gauze on her face.
’Such an eyesore.’
She hesitated for only a second before tearing off the medical tape. She removed the gauze, folded it neatly, and tucked it into her pocket.
When she looked up again, it was as if a jarring fissure had appeared on her own fair face in the mirror.
Mia Grant looked at the scar and gave a seemingly satisfied smile, then quickly exited.
When Silas Grant returned, Mia Grant was sitting across from his desk, staring blankly at a photo frame she had picked up.
It was a photo of the two of them. She probably hadn’t expected him to display it so openly, which was why she was so engrossed.
Footsteps grew closer, but she only seemed to notice when he was standing right behind her. She quickly put the frame down.
Before she could turn around, the man had already leaned down to wrap his arms around her from behind.
A moment later, a weight settled on her shoulder, and his familiar scent filled her senses.
Mia Grant loved his scent. So much so that every time she came to see him, she would secretly try to figure out what cologne or shower gel he used.
’How can he smell so good?’
"Where did Eric take you just now?"
He had been checking the time throughout the meeting; Eric had returned much later than he expected.
When he came out of the meeting, he’d asked Eric about it, but Eric had just smiled mysteriously and said, "Miss Grant asked me to keep it a secret. You’ll find out in a little while."
"I was buying you a birthday present."
Mia Grant was perfectly frank, casually handing him the bag from the desk. "Happy birthday."
"My birthday’s not until tomorrow."
"I know. A little early is better than being late."
Silas Grant took it and thanked her.
The weight on her shoulder lifted.
Mia Grant looked over. He had placed the bag to one side, showing no intention of opening it.
She frowned. "Aren’t you going to open it?"
"In a bit." He turned back to her, his hand coming around from behind to gently grip her chin and turn her head. "Let me see your wound."
Mia Grant didn’t struggle, letting him look.
There was a long silence.
It was far more agonizing than Mia Grant had imagined.
His gaze lingered on her cheek for a long time. Neither of them spoke or made eye contact.
Mia Grant didn’t know what he was feeling right now.
In any case, she wasn’t very happy anymore.
So she reached out and gently pushed his hand. "My neck is getting a little sore."
At her words, the man finally moved. He released his grip on her jaw, then gently pinched her earlobe to inspect the wound on her ear.
The one here was healing quickly; it didn’t look as serious as the one on her face.
"It was an accident."
"Mhm." He already knew. "A truly infuriating accident."
Because aside from holding the school accountable, there was no primary culprit on whom he could vent his frustration.
His thumb gently caressed her cheek, carefully avoiding the wound.
"I’m not disfigured yet. If I were really disfigured, wouldn’t you be even angrier?"
"I would be angry." He seemed to know what wild thoughts were running through her head. He leaned down and kissed the scab on her ear. "But not for the reason you’re thinking."
Feeling a pang of guilt, Mia Grant blinked and grabbed his hand. "Can you open your present now?"
Regarding the belt she had given him, Silas Grant said he liked it a lot.
But Mia Grant wasn’t happy.
Because she could sense that Silas Grant didn’t genuinely like the gift she had bought on the spur of the moment.
There had been no anticipation in his eyes when he opened it, nor any surprise when he saw what it was.
His expression was perfectly measured from start to finish, as if he were simply playing a part for her sake.
It had nothing to do with its value.
He simply hadn’t felt her sincerity.
After all, she hadn’t chosen the belt herself; even the card inside wasn’t in her own handwriting.
He’d thought that by making a special trip to see him, she truly cared about his birthday.
Silas Grant tried to console himself.
’In truth, the fact that she remembered—that she came at all—was the best gift he could ask for.’
’One shouldn’t be too greedy.’
