Chapter 540
After ending the call, Elissa stepped back into the bedroom and sat at her desk for a long time, her heart still hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
Tanya walked in from the hallway and took one look at her flushed face and deep, steadying breaths. “What happened? Did the big bad CEO drop some serious dirty talk on you?”
Elissa rubbed the bridge of her nose. “…He didn’t say anything. Hurry up and take your shower! I left some pajamas out for you in the bathroom.”
Tanya could see she was dying of embarrassment and mercifully let it drop.
Either way, it was obvious the misunderstanding was completely cleared up.
Once Tanya disappeared into the bathroom, Elissa’s mind immediately flashed back to Rowan’s final words on the call.
*”I miss you too.”*
Just hearing something so raw from a man who was normally made of ice and steel was enough to make her heart race.
But she had absolutely not anticipated the dark, gravelly whisper that followed.
*”My body misses you too.”*
Elissa had short-circuited for several seconds, completely incapable of keeping up with his sudden shift in tension.
When her brain finally rebooted, pure panic took over. She had practically slammed the end call button while standing in the freezing wind.
Missing her emotionally was fine.
Who gave him the right to talk about his *body* missing her?!
Shameless!
The next morning, Elissa woke up to find Tanya already sitting up, scrolling through her phone with a deadpan expression.
Elissa glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even eight yet. “Why are you up so early? Do you have to work?”
“”
Tanya gave her a look of utter, hollow despair. “Let me guess, Rowan has been waking up at the crack of dawn lately, hasn’t he?”
Elissa thought back. Actually, yes, he had.
Every time she opened her eyes in the morning, she found Rowan already awake, quietly watching her.
She had assumed he just liked looking at her while she slept.
She nodded, confused. “How did you know?”
With absolutely nowhere to channel her aggressive morning irritation, Tanya reached over and pinched Elissa’s cheek hard. “Girl, how has your sleeping posture gotten even worse? You sleep like you’re fighting in a UFC championship.”
It had been a complete nightmare.
At five in the morning, Elissa had thrown a devastating right hook square into Tanya’s chest.
She had been violently shocked awake, gasping for air, and hadn’t been able to fall back asleep since.
Elissa blinked in horror. “I hit you?”
Tanya glared. “What do you think? My C-cups are practically A-cups now.”
Elissa burst out laughing. She threw her arms around Tanya’s shoulders, playfully nuzzling against her chest. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! Thank God the C-cups survived, or I’d never forgive myself.”
“…Alright, alright, get off me.”
Tanya affectionately ruffled Elissa’s hair, pushing the blankets aside. As she walked toward the bathroom,
she could help but add with a wicked grin, “don’t really care, only have to survive the abuse once in a while.”
FindNovel.net
“But your poor Rowan… No wonder he booked a flight out of the country the second
you moved in. He was probably fleeing for his life—ah!”
Elissa hurled a pillow, nailing Tanya squarely in the back. “Just go brush your teeth!” she yelled over her friend’s laughter.
As the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom, Elissa actually stopped to think about it.
She… she hadn’t ever hit Rowan in her sleep, right?
Right?!
No, definitely not.
Rowan wasn’t exactly known for his
gentle patience. If she had been punching him awake every single morning, he would have definitely exacted some kind of ruthless revenge by now. He wouldn just” suffer in silence.
Because of her age, Janice went to bed late and woke up early. By the time Elissa and Tanya finished getting ready and headed downstairs, the older woman had already returned from her morning walk.
After breakfast, Elissa saw lan walking through the foyer and called out to him. “Ian, did you book Rowan’s return flight?”
She had panicked so hard last night she had completely forgotten to ask what time he was landing.
lan stopped and nodded respectfully. “Yes, I booked it.”
“What time does he land?” Elissa asked.
“If there are no delays, tomorrow night around eleven.”
Remembering his boss’s strict orders, lan quickly added, “Mr. Murphy gave explicit instructions. Because of the baby, the late hour, and the cold weather you are absolutely forbidden from picking him up at the airport.”
“…Okay.”
Hearing the arrival time, Elissa immediately scrapped the idea anyway.
Just like Rowan said, she was pregnant and needed to put the baby first.
Instead of dragging herself to the airport in the freezing cold, she would wait for him
in their warm bed. If she got tired, she could just fall asleep.
Meanwhile, at the Wilkinson Group branch.
Inside the executive suite, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
Laurel’s dark hair was pulled back into an immaculate, razor-sharp bun. Her manicured fingers rested on the edge of her laptop as she slowly slid it across the polished desk.
Her voice was dangerously calm. “You’re going to need to give me a very good explanation for this.”
Seeing the paused surveillance footage on the screen, Lawrence Quinn’s brow furrowed slightly. He reached out and hit play.
The video showed the grand banquet hall from the night of Old Mr. Wilkinson’s eightieth birthday gala.