Free Web NovelChapter 787: Chapter 758: Gage Grant vs. Maeve [020]
Maeve sorted out Gage Grant’s clothes with a mix of laughter and helplessness, changed into fresh clothes, and was ready to go downstairs to see if there was anything to eat. As soon as she stepped out of the room, she bumped into Gage coming upstairs with a group of people.
These people were dressed formally, carrying folders, some taking pictures, others recording notes.
Gage was speaking to them: "If possible, I’d like to receive the evaluation report today. Rush it for me! Cost isn’t an issue!"
"Alright, Mr. Grant, we’ll try to get the evaluation report to you before the end of the day."
Maeve understood that Gage had called people over early in the morning for a house evaluation.
He was more anxious about it than she was.
Maeve closed the door and stepped out. Gage turned to look at her and smiled, "You’re up? Why not sleep a bit more?"
Maeve nodded a greeting to the evaluators, then looked at Gage, but said nothing.
Gage took the initiative, "The report will be ready this evening. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have that old lady complete the transfer, and by afternoon, we’ll get them moved out!"
Maeve nodded, not objecting. She was happy to have someone handle all these things for her.
She went downstairs, but no one was there. Ethan Conrad and his mother were nowhere to be found. Maeve thought maybe they were scared by what happened last night, so they left early in the morning, not anticipating Gage’s plan to give the two of them some alone time.
She went into the kitchen to make breakfast, simply cooked some noodles, and while cracking an egg into the pot, someone suddenly wrapped their arms around her waist from behind.
The man’s face nestled into the crook of her neck, murmuring, "I haven’t had breakfast yet either."
"I made your portion."
"Good."
The arm around her waist tightened a bit, and Gage kissed her cheek, his voice getting deeper, "Does it still hurt?"
"It does."
"Sorry."
Maeve didn’t reply, cracked the eggs, stirred them with a ladle for a while, then turned off the stove. She got two porcelain bowls from the sterilizer and filled each with the noodle soup until they were eighty percent full.
Gage let go of her and carried both bowls out. She grabbed the spoons and chopsticks and followed him.
They sat across from each other in the dining room.
As the noodles cooled, Gage asked with a smile, "Can you only cook noodles?"
"Yes."
Gage chuckled but said nothing more. He spooned some broth, blowing on it before eating.
Maeve rarely ate hot food because she needed to protect her voice, so she waited for her noodles to cool.
She watched Gage devour the noodles and asked after a while, "Are you going back today?"
"I’ll go back once those people leave."
Maeve remembered what he said earlier about getting things done tomorrow morning and letting Diana Dalton and others move out, thinking he would leave by the latest, the morning after tomorrow.
That’s good, she needed some time alone.
Gage finished his noodles quickly and with satisfaction, swallowed the last bit of broth, and said, "I’m starving. I only had lunch yesterday and made it through till now."
Maeve was surprised.
Gage opened his mouth as if to say something, then stopped, his eyes curved slyly as he looked at her and said, "Actually, I did eat last night, what you cooked for me."
Maeve didn’t remember cooking for him the previous night. Maybe he ate in his dreams?
While she ate her noodles, Gage sat across from her, propping his chin, watching her, and his lips and eyes curved up as he watched, he asked suddenly, "Did you dislike talking since you were a child?"
"No."
"Then why don’t you talk to me when we’re together?"
"Nothing much to say."
Gage chuckled and changed to support his chin with another hand, "Well, I just like quiet girls."
She ignored him, finished her noodles, and stood up to clear away their bowls and chopsticks, heading back to the kitchen to wash up.
.
The evaluation team finished collecting data and left soon after. Once Gage sent them off, he returned to the second floor. On the stairs, he heard a gentle guitar sound coming from Maeve’s room.
Feeling intrigued, he quickly went upstairs, opened the door, and found Maeve indeed sitting by the window playing the guitar.
She sat on a chair with a music stand in front, guitar resting on her lap, slightly leaning forward as she strummed the strings.
Gage gently walked over and lay down on the bed, just watching her play the guitar bathed in the morning light.
She wore a white T-shirt and light blue denim pants, with shoulder-length hair casually tied into a small ponytail and a slim, slender back, exuding an aura of purity and simplicity that matched the impression she gave—clean and unpretentious.
A woman over thirty is usually mature and classy, perhaps also worldly, but she lived like the first crush every boy remembers during their youth.
Fresh, naive, immersed in her own world, like a lonely, drifting dandelion.
How could someone like her adapt to the entertainment industry’s murky rules? No wonder she was so heavily criticized, to the point of wanting to quit.
A girl like her, in the eyes of the world, might be seen as clueless, useless, being over thirty yet unable to handle worldly matters. Even casual online rumors could corner her like this, perhaps those early twenties talent show girls are better at mingling and maneuvering.
But Gage particularly liked her as she was.
He was sick of the brainless comparisons and vanity of women, their love of gossip.
She met all his expectations for a woman, except she was indeed a bit too thin.
The guitar’s melody was warm yet sorrowful. Gage didn’t listen to Chinese songs, let alone folk music, so he didn’t know what Maeve was playing, but he could understand the sentiment.
Maybe these tunes expressed her feelings towards her current situation—melancholy with a touch of warmth. She was using music to heal, to ease her worries.
Gage didn’t disturb her. He just lay quietly on the bed, listening to her play one song after another until he fell asleep.
When he woke up, it was because his phone in his pocket was vibrating. He took it out and saw it was the evaluation team calling, quickly picking up.
The person on the other end said the report was ready now, and they were downstairs, waiting for him to come down and get it.
He hurriedly put on his shoes and went downstairs to retrieve the report. Returning to the room, Maeve was packing away her guitar.
"The evaluation report is out," Gage handed the report to her, "because of the house’s age, it’s only worth six hundred and thirty thousand right now."
Maeve placed the guitar case beside the desk, opened the report, and began to read carefully.
Gage said, "With just this amount, don’t bother selling the Jadeston residence. Send me your account number, I’ll transfer the money to you, and we’ll update the title tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Maeve closed the report and placed it on the desk, picked up her phone, and sent Gage her card number.
She did want Diana Dalton and others to move out quickly, planning to repay Gage once the Jadeston residence was sold.
But she didn’t mention these thoughts, fearing Gage would talk for ages, and explaining was just tiresome.
Her obedience surprised Gage slightly, but recalling their intimacy last night, he suddenly felt Maeve was gradually accepting his signals. He couldn’t help feeling pleased, believing she would soon be wholeheartedly devoted to him.
