Chapter 110: A Kiss
Caroline Whitman: [Don’t get the wrong idea. I was out shopping and picked these up for you. Thought you could use them for flower arrangements at the office.]
Adrian Grant: [Mhm, I know.]
’Know? What does he know?’
’That I have ulterior motives?’
Reading his reply, Caroline Whitman almost freaked out.
It was true what they say: a guilty conscience needs no accuser. His perfectly normal reply was making her feel incredibly exposed.
Caroline Whitman put her phone away and went to the designated mall to meet Lily Young for some shopping.
Before long, however, a call came from Adrian Grant.
The moment she answered, she heard Adrian Grant’s deep voice. "Are you free tonight?"
Caroline Whitman asked curiously, "What’s up?"
A second later, the explanation came from the other end of the line. "A client gave me two tickets to a concert."
"Oh. I don’t have anything else planned today, so I can go."
"Good."
After the call ended, Lily Young glanced at her, looking like she wanted to say something but was holding back. "Was that President Grant?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, you just promised you’d have dinner with me tonight," she mumbled.
Caroline Whitman said, "It’s not a conflict. I’ll have dinner with you first, then go to the concert."
"Hehe, so it wasn’t a coincidence that you and President Grant left the hospital together that day."
Lily Young had always thought the two of them just happened to leave together that night.
"No wonder Finn Kaye has been asking me about you lately."
Caroline Whitman was surprised. "Asking about me?"
"Yeah, asking when you and President Grant met, how you met... I knew something was up the moment I heard it."
"..."
"Oh, right! I heard from Finn Kaye that President Grant is apparently pursuing some woman. It couldn’t be you, could it?"
"..." Caroline Whitman’s heart stirred. Though she was the first person that came to mind, she still had her doubts.
"How would he know? Did Adrian Grant tell him?"
"Not exactly. Milo Morgan told Finn Kaye, and then Finn Kaye told me."
"Apparently, Adrian Grant asked Milo Morgan for advice on how to woo a girl, and Milo told him to start with a bouquet of flowers. Hehe, you think President Grant can actually succeed with a move that old-fashioned?"
"Oh. Did he say who Adrian Grant is pursuing?" Caroline Whitman asked nonchalantly.
"Finn couldn’t get it out of him, and Milo doesn’t know either. But since President Grant just invited you to a concert tonight, I think I have my answer." Lily Young gave her a sly giggle.
"..."
’The answer?’
Caroline Whitman’s lip twitched.
She wasn’t even sure herself.
’But... starting with a bouquet of flowers?’
’When did Adrian Grant start sending flowers, again?’
’Could that have been when it started?’
Her uncertainty lingered all the way until it was time for the concert that evening.
After Caroline Whitman said goodbye to Lily Young, Adrian Grant’s car pulled up in front of the restaurant.
Getting into the car, she saw that Adrian Grant was still in the same clothes he’d worn earlier. She asked casually, "Have you eaten?"
"I had a quick bite at the office."
"Just got off work?"
"Mhm."
Silence fell in the car again.
Remembering what Lily Young had said, Caroline Whitman commented nonchalantly, "You’ve been pretty busy lately."
"My younger brother is back now, so there are some things I need to hand over to him."
"Still, for someone so busy, you even found time to think of taking me to a concert. Just what I’d expect from President Grant." Caroline waited for his explanation before slowly tossing out this probing remark.
How could Adrian Grant not understand the meaning behind her words? ’Has she figured it out?’
A faint smile touched his lips. He replied unhurriedly, "No matter how busy you are, you still have to take time to relax, don’t you?"
"Why did you think to ask me? I would’ve thought that with your connections, President Grant, you wouldn’t be short on company." Caroline Whitman tilted her head to watch the bustling traffic outside the window, unable to resist probing again.
She heard Adrian Grant let out a soft chuckle, his voice light. "I believe this kind of thing is best done with someone you truly want to spend time with."
When he said that, Caroline Whitman’s mind went blank.
It took her a long moment to process it.
’What does that mean?’
’I’ve been doing so much reading between the lines lately, I’m about to go crazy.’
Just then, the car stopped. They had arrived.
After getting out of the car, Caroline Whitman watched his back as he walked ahead. Her gaze fell on his hand hanging naturally at his side, and she hesitated for a moment.
She steeled herself, quickened her pace to catch up, and, as if by accident, gently took his hand.
The time they went to the movies, Adrian Grant hadn’t pulled away.
To her surprise, he didn’t pull his hand away this time, either.
In fact, just like last time, moments after their hands touched, she felt him squeeze back.
Caroline Whitman’s heart pounded like a drum. The rest of the concert was completely forgotten.
’So this guy really feels the same way I do?’
’Is he actually, secretly, pursuing me, just like I’m pursuing him?’
Realizing this, Caroline Whitman still found it a little hard to believe.
Completely in a daze, she let him lead her into the concert hall by the hand. He didn’t let go, not even after they found their seats and sat through the entire performance.
Her normally dry hand had grown a little damp in his grasp.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, she tried to pull her hand free, but he seemed to sense her movement. Instead of letting go, he tightened his grip, refusing to let her escape.
"..."
If her wild speculation had previously made her fifty percent sure, she was now at eighty percent certainty.
’As for the remaining twenty percent...’
Caroline Whitman decided that tonight, she would finally make the move she’d chickened out of the night before.
After the concert ended, Adrian Grant kept holding her hand as he opened the car door for her, only letting go then.
Before he started the car, Caroline Whitman said calmly, "Take me back to Azure Heights."
Adrian Grant paused. A few seconds later, he gave a heavy, "Okay."
For some reason, she felt the air grow a few degrees colder.
’Is the AC on too low?’
’Whatever, that’s not important.’
’What’s important is my plan for when I get out of the car.’
On the way back that night, Adrian Grant drove surprisingly slowly.
It took them half an hour to reach her apartment building, which gave her just enough time to build up her courage.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to open the door when Adrian Grant suddenly produced a box.
"For you," he said abruptly.
It was a black jewelry box.
Caroline Whitman’s heart skipped a beat. She took it and opened it. Inside was a pair of sparkling blue diamond earrings.
Seeing them, she blurted out her thoughts.
"Why the sudden gift? It’s not like I can use these for flower arrangements."
Adrian Grant: "..."
His voice betrayed no emotion. "I saw them at an auction and thought they’d suit you."
Caroline Whitman blinked, her heart pounding as she stared at the earrings. She mulled it over for a long while before speaking. "Our joint project hasn’t started turning a profit yet, has it? Why are you giving me such an expensive gift?"
"It has nothing to do with the project," Adrian Grant said.
Caroline Whitman suddenly remembered what Lily Young had said today.
’Adrian Grant is pursuing some unknown woman.’
’Could that person really be me?’
Her fingertips, holding the jewelry box, twitched as she remembered the move she had been planning the whole ride.
"Okay, thank you."
After a moment of silence, the sound of a car door opening broke the stillness.
Caroline Whitman got out, quickly walked around to the driver’s side, and knocked on his window.
A second later, the window rolled down.
Her heart pounding, Caroline Whitman looked at him and started with some meaningless pleasantries. "Thanks for bringing me home. The concert was really nice today."
Adrian Grant rested his arm on the open window, turning his head to look at her. "What’s there to thank me for?"
"Mhm," Caroline Whitman’s gaze flickered over his lips as she replied calmly, "Even so, I should still thank you."
"Why are you being so formal with me over such a small thing?" Adrian Grant sounded slightly amused.
Just as he finished speaking, a light, delicate fragrance wafted past his nose.
The woman before him suddenly leaned in, and he felt an unexpected softness against his lips.
Adrian Grant’s eyes darkened. He looked down and met her gaze, which was filled with a mix of probing and hidden panic.
The instant she was about to pull away, he reached out, cupping the back of her head with one hand and gripping her shoulder with the other.
He deepened the kiss, forceful yet tender.
Several minutes later, he slowly released her.
Caroline Whitman could finally gasp for fresh air. She stared at him with wide, glistening, red-rimmed eyes like a startled fawn, then turned and fled in a panic without even saying goodbye.
She ran as if terrified he would get out of the car and drag her back.