Chapter 12 Do You Have A Crush On Me

• I busied myself in the kitchen as soon as I was back at Lucian’s. Initially, I wished to ask him to give me a helping hand, but he would rather play chess - the boring game that he claimed to be, with Jack, than to step inside the kitchen.
• Soon, lunch was ready. I was serving the food to the dining table when Lucian helped his grandfather into the living room.
• With a genial smile, Jack commented, “They look delicious!” Being lovable as always, he was always willing to give his compliments to others.
• In contrast, Lucian enjoyed pouring cold water on me. “Hmph! We could only find out after we get a taste of them.”
• Sitting by the dining table, I looked at Lucian anticipatingly as he slowly took his first bite of the food. He then raised his brow and remarked, “Not bad.”
• Inexplicably, my heart was overwhelmed with joy upon hearing his praise. I couldn’t help smiling as I filled their plate with a few more slices of baked fish.
• During the meal, Lucian and Jack enjoyed themselves greatly as they savored their food. In the end, only did I realize that I hadn’t eaten much because I was too occupied in observing their reaction throughout the meal.
• As someone with a machismo mentality, Luciano always had the mindset that the kitchen was no place for men. As usual, he wiped his mouth and was about to leave the table. But this time, I grabbed his arm and halted him. “Lucian, help me clean the table.”
• With his eyes saucer-wide, Lucian regarded me in incredulity. Pointing at himself, he asked in disbelief, “You’re asking me to clear the table?”
• “What? Is there a problem with you helping Jennifer to clean up?” Jack shot a fierce look at him.
• In an instant, Lucian backed down and meekly took the leftovers into the kitchen.
• I couldn’t help curling my lips into a sly smile upon seeing him reluctantly giving in. Continuing my plan, I stepped closer next to him and said, “Help me wash the dishes. I’ll keep the leftovers in the thermos, and we’ll warm them up for dinner later.”
• Despite pulling a long face, he nevertheless complied and placed the dishes in the sink. I knew he would do as I said as long as I had Jack backing me up.
• I stole a glance at him while putting the leftovers into the thermos. To my surprise, although he seemed to be a little clumsy, he was concentrated on the task at hand. He treated everything seriously though it was only an ancillary chore. This must be the character that made him one of the best investors in the financial industry.
• With his sleeves rolled up and his head slightly lowered, the man’s tall figure stuck out like a sore thumb in the kitchen. However, I was dazed while looking at his chiseled side face because I found his presence in the kitchen strangely attractive.
• As if he sensed that someone was staring at him, he suddenly turned around. My face went blushing as red as the tomato the moment I met his gaze, and I reacted instinctively in looking away.
• With a subtle smile on his face, he gave me a beckoning sign.
• “What?” I acted impatiently while walking toward him in an attempt to hide my awkwardness, but I couldn’t move my eyes away from his face.
• “Are you sneaking a peek at me just now?” he asked, flashing me a faint smile.
• In an instant, my face flushed a crimson red. “Oh! Stop being a narcissist! I was only checking to make sure that you don’t break the plates.” I could feel my cheeks burning under his steady gaze.
• Before I could even beat a retreat, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms. With a smirk on his face, he wrapped my waist with one hand and lifted my chin with the other. My mind went blank when I saw his face coming closer and closer to mine. What is he doing? Is he going to kiss me?
• At that moment, I could hear his breath because our faces were only inches apart. My heart thumped wildly in my chest when I saw that his lips were almost touching mine.
• I lifted my hands, intending to push him away. However, my hands took control of themselves as they found their way to his chest, grabbing his shirt.
• I closed my eyes while unconsciously tilted my head. As if time had frozen, all I could feel was my heart beating ever so wildly in my chest.
• I’ve waited and waited, but nothing happened. After a while, I opened my eyes to take a peek, and that was when my anger spiked as I found out the guy was smirking at me.
• He teased, “Jennifer, don’t tell me that you have a crush on me!”
• “In your dreams!” I shoved him away forcefully before running out of the kitchen with my teeth clenched. How dare you make fun of me like that! Lucian Sutton, you’re so annoying! I had finally managed to persuade myself that he was a nice guy after all, but now I felt a bit of a fool!
• After leaving the kitchen, I went to the living room to find Jack for a game of chess. Soon after that, Lucian came in to tell us that he would be heading to the office.
• I sat there quietly, doing some internal calculations in my head. Since Jack arrived yesterday, tomorrow would be the last day of his stay. Hence, I would no longer need to pretend to be Lucian’s girlfriend after that.
• For some reason, I was upset about that. It was as if a part of me would be gone soon, leaving an empty void.
• Jack seemed to have noticed that I was not in the mood for another round, so he pushed the chessboard aside and started shooting the breeze with me. He talked a lot about my mother and my “marriage” with Lucian. I could tell that he was very caring toward me. If only he knew that it was all just an act. Looking at how excited he was about our “marriage,” I couldn’t possibly tell him the truth - that his grandson’s true love was in Achula and that I was nothing but a substitute for that woman.
• Just then, my phone rang - it was Lucian. He called to ask me to send the documents that he accidentally left at home over to his office.
• After I found the document, I took leave of Jack and hailed a cab, heading to Lucian’s office.
• I had been to his office several times for work-related matters. It was an office building consisting of almost a hundred floors, but I had only dealt with those working in the Investment Department.
• An endless stream of cars passed by the entrance, dropping their passengers who were all business partners or potential clients seeking to engage in business dealings with the company.
• The receptionists were all busy receiving and directing the visitors. As I made my way to the front desk, I noticed most of the people waiting in queue were visitors of the Operations Department and Investment Department.
• After a few minutes of waiting, I was attended to by one of the receptionists. “Miss, how can I help you? Who would you like to get in contact with?”
• After a moment of hesitation, I replied, “I’m here to meet Lucian - Lucian Sutton.”
• The receptionist was visibly surprised while the others were looking at me with bewildered looks on their faces. I guessed I must be the first person to be so blatantly asking to meet their CEO.
• “Miss, do you have an appointment?” The receptionist studied me discreetly as my face didn’t seem to ring a bell with her.
• I shook my head sheepishly. Before I could tell her that I was here to bring Lucian his documents, the receptionist handed me the visitor logbook and said, “Miss, since you don’t have an appointment, please write down your company’s information. We will arrange a meeting with you when the CEO is free.”
• “All of these names on the list are those registering for an appointment to meet the CEO?” I asked in my befuddled state after seeing the non-ending list in the column of registration details.
• “Yes, some of the appointments dated back to a month ago. As you can see, our CEO is very busy, so you can go back and wait for our call after registering your details.” The receptionist was faintly aloof as she handed me a pen.
• All these people needed to wait for a month? Are you for real? I swallowed hard at the thought of it. Without loss of time, I fished out my phone and gave Lucian a call. “Lucian, I’ve reached the lobby. Please send someone to pick me up.”