Chapter 40: Date with Emma 3
Dave leaned back, a soft smile tugging at his lips. "I thought it would suit the occasion," he replied, his tone easygoing yet firm. His relaxed demeanor only seemed to add to the tension Emma was determined to break.
She raised an eyebrow, intrigued yet wary. "And what exactly is the occasion, Mr. Garcia?" Emma asked, her voice carrying a hint of challenge as she emphasized his name, deliberately avoiding the casual tone he had used earlier.
Dave chuckled softly, leaning forward slightly. "We're both people of influence, Emma," he said, using her first name with an air of familiarity that made her tense. "You and I know that power in the right hands can shape the world." He paused, his eyes locking with hers. "I'm simply here to see if we can share a vision—or maybe even create something new together."
Emma's gaze narrowed, her mind racing as she tried to decipher his true intentions. 'This isn't just a dinner,' she realized. He's playing a bigger game, but so am I. Still, she wasn't about to back down.
"Bold words, Mr. Garcia. But what exactly do you have in mind?" Emma asked, leaning back as she crossed her legs, letting the challenge linger in the air. She wasn't going to be led easily, not tonight.
"Be my girlfriend," Dave said, his voice smooth as he looked at Emma with that same disarming smile.
"Huh?" Emma let out a soft, almost uncharacteristically cute sound, her composure shattered in an instant. Her mind went blank for a moment, all her careful calculations vanishing into thin air. This was your goal all along? she screamed inwardly.
She had assumed he was after her company, especially now that Frost International was teetering on the edge of collapse. She thought he had come to make a business move, to buy her out or propose a partnership, something strategic. But this—he wasn't trying to gobble up her company, he was trying to... gobble her up!
Emma blinked, trying to regain her composure. "You're... serious?" she finally asked, her voice carrying a hint of disbelief, still struggling to wrap her mind around his unexpected proposal.