Free Web NovelChapter 361: Chapter 361: A Grand Gift for the One Surnamed Qi
"What, you want to be my wife too?" Ethan Kingsley asked, intrigued.
Claire Sinclair shook her head. "I’m just curious. For a man like you, Mr. Kingsley, with such a colorful romantic history, what kind of woman would it take to finally tie you down?"
"Me? Heh..." Ethan Kingsley chuckled. "You’d have better luck asking me to solve a chemistry equation. I really can’t answer that question."
"Alright, let’s get down to business then..." Claire Sinclair started the official interview, going through the questions on her outline one by one.
Ethan Kingsley was an eloquent speaker. While most of his answers were standard, official-sounding replies, they were all quite convincing.
After the interview, Claire Sinclair picked up her DSLR camera and took a few shots of him looking his most confident. The assignment was finally complete.
Claire Sinclair was all business while working, but once the assignment was done and she could relax, she seemed to wilt, unable to stifle a yawn.
Ethan Kingsley glanced at his watch and frowned. "It’s just lunchtime. Why don’t I treat you to a meal?"
"That’s not necessary—"
"Claire, you were generous enough to refuse payment for this. If you don’t let me treat you to lunch, my conscience won’t be clear about this interview."
Although Claire Sinclair hated these kinds of social obligations, she knew it was part of professional etiquette. ’Fine, one meal then.’
’The paparazzi won’t be able to get any compromising shots of us just sitting here and talking.’
With that thought, Claire Sinclair nodded. "Alright. If you insist, it would be rude to refuse."
A corner of Ethan Kingsley’s mouth lifted into a smirk. He’d been interviewed by other reporters in the past, including women far more beautiful than her, but none of them had ever sparked the desire in him to offer a meal.
There was an irresistible allure about Claire Sinclair. No wonder Adrian Quincy was so hopelessly entangled with her.
’Since she delivered herself right to my doorstep, I have to send that Quincy fellow a little "present." Heh...’
Claire Sinclair finished packing her things and got up to leave.
Ethan Kingsley walked over and thoughtfully picked up her DSLR. "Let me get that for you."
Whether it was intentional or not, his hand brushed against Claire Sinclair’s.
Claire Sinclair instinctively recoiled, a wave of revulsion washing over her. ’Even though I’m here to "seduce" him,’ she thought, ’I have no intention of actually having any physical contact.’
Ethan Kingsley acted as if he hadn’t noticed her pulling away. With one hand holding the camera, he rested his other hand on her waist, though it didn’t quite make contact with her body.
But the distance between them was now incredibly close. A casual observer wouldn’t have been able to tell that they weren’t actually touching.
It took everything Claire Sinclair had not to flee from his proximity, but she remembered the mission Teacher Hartwell had given her and forced herself to endure it. ’As long as he doesn’t actually touch me,’ she reasoned, ’it’s fine.’
After leaving the coffee shop, they went into a nearby Chinese restaurant.
During the meal, Ethan Kingsley was a perfect gentleman and didn’t do anything to cross the line. This, however, started to make Claire Sinclair anxious.
’Nothing even remotely suggestive has happened since we met,’ she worried. ’This whole assignment will have been for nothing. I have to find a way to create some kind of ambiguous situation.’
But she was far too innocent for this kind of scheming; try as she might, she couldn’t come up with a single good idea.
Just as she was lost in thought, a waiter passing by her table suddenly lost his grip, sending a full glass of juice spilling toward her...
"Ah!" Claire Sinclair cried out, instinctively jumping to her feet and trying to brush the juice off her clothes.
The waiter apologized profusely. "Miss, I’m so sorry, so sorry! Are you alright? Let me wipe that for you—" As he spoke, he reached for her chest with a napkin.
