Chapter 342
Elliot Jameson’s imaginary antenna practically shot straight up.
Ahhh—
There it is. Drama incoming.
Wait, no—here comes another force?feeding session of pure couple’s PDA.
He swore he could already taste the dog food. Tragic.
Lisette Cavendish, on the other hand, suddenly felt her whole mind go clear.
Hold up—was she… tricked again?
Again?again?again p>
Tobias Hastings was still the same old sly Tobias.
That fake serious act just now?
Yeah, he’d been waiting for her to take the bait.
Ugh.
Why didn’t she keep her mouth shut?
“No p>
She stared dead ahead, refusing to look at him.
Tobias hooked an arm around her, pulling her straight into his chest. She nudged him with her elbow, annoyed. “Hey—focus. You’re driving. I need to fasten my seatbelt p>
His chin rested lightly on her shoulder, warm breath brushing her ear as he murmured, “I’m your seatbelt p>
Lisette: p>
The billionaire’s sweet talk really had no off switch.
But she wasn’t giving him that satisfaction. “I prefer the real, physical seatbelt, thanks p>
“Sure p>
Tobias coolly grabbed his own seatbelt… and buckled the two of them in together.
Click.
One seatbelt. Two people.
Safe. Ridiculously safe.
Over?the?top, can’t?escape?even?if-you-try kind of safe.
Lisette Cavendish was practically locked in his arms, the two of them squeezed into one seatbelt with zero room to breathe. Tobias Hastings let the tip of his tongue graze her ear, bold as ever. “I even gave you my seatbelt. Doesn’t that count as extra security p>
Lisette shot him a sideways glare. “No. If anything, I feel even less safe p>
Who wouldn’t? Being stuck this close to a wolf, her safety index had dropped straight into the negatives.
Right now, she regretted everything.
She should’ve just let him read those documents. Let him read forever. Read until the end of time!
Tobias chuckled low in his throat. “Lissy, if you tell me not to flirt, I won’t flirt. You tell me to look at you instead of the files, sure, I’ll stop working. But that only works twice. The third time you tell me not to tease you? Yeah… that I can’t do p>
Lisette blinked at him, speechless. “Wow, Mr. Hastings, your moves come one after another, huh p>
He wrapped his long arms and legs around her tighter. “I prefer this kind of move p>
Help p>
She was done p>
Someone please explain what it’s like to have a husband who’s hot *and* flirty as hell? Asking for a friend—no, asking for herself—urgent p>
Just as she lifted her eyes, she caught Elliot Jameson’s shocked stare in the rearview mirror.
Without a word, she reached over and slid the divider shut with a thud.
Elliot: p>
Ma’am, this is cruel.
Only letting him *hear* but not *see*? That was worse! At least if he saw the PDA live, maybe his heart wouldn’t itch this much!
Meanwhile, Elliot’s heart felt like a tiny cat was clawing at it.
And in Tobias Hastings’s arms, another tiny cat protested, annoyed. “Stop moving! You’re wrinkling my clothes! I still have to get out looking decent p>
Tobias murmured, “Then I’ll move gently p>
“Gently still wrinkles it!” Lisette snapped.
Tobias Hastings said, “It’s fine. We’ll just grab a few that don’t wrinkle so easily later p>
Up front, Elliot Jameson had his ears practically glued to their conversation. p>
Oh come on. Please. I’m begging you two to stop. I’m about to shed actual tears here.
It felt exactly like someone played a romance movie right next to him but switched off the screen—only the audio blasting straight into his soul.
By the time Elliot’s emotional HP dropped to almost zero, the car finally rolled to a smooth stop at the mall. He let out a shaky breath with whatever strength he had left, legs turning to jelly as he stumbled out. He pulled open the back door to welcome Tobias and Lisette Cavendish out like some exhausted NPC.
At the mall entrance, Curtis Cavendish stood there with one hand in his pocket. His faded jeans and crisp white shirt made him look like he’d just walked straight out of a campus drama—the legendary school crush senior type.
Two college-aged girls were talking to him, each clutching a small notebook, obviously waiting for an autograph. Their faces were bright with excitement.
Curtis spotted Lisette and quickly signed the last page. He flashed the two girls a clean, movie-poster-worthy smile. “Sorry, my sister’s here p>
One girl asked, “Curtis, your real sister p>
“Yeah p>
“Ahhhh!” Both girls squealed as they glanced at Lisette.
And then—
“Wait… Why does Curtis’s sister look kinda familiar p>
“Hold up p>
“She’s the billionaire’s wife p>
“Right, right! I even joined her giveaway with the top CEO p>
“I ship them so hard p>
“They’re supposed to still be in Fenworth, right? How did they end up in Marbella? What a plot twist! I can’t believe we bumped into the richest man and his wife while shopping. Feels like winning the lottery p>
“But the craziest part is that Curtis is actually the richest man’s wife’s brother. I heard Lisette is the top heiress of Veridia, so that means Curtis is a young master of the Cavendish family? Oh my god, our Curtis is a rich second gen? I’m literally shocked p>
“Shh, keep it down. Unless you wanna attract more rivals p>
“Yeah yeah, this secret stays between us. No way am I adding competitors for myself p>
The two girls left, hearts pounding with excitement and a mix of emotions.
Lisette Cavendish watched them go, then looked at Curtis Cavendish with a puzzled face. “Curtis, those two pretty girls… they your friends or what?” Something felt off. Especially the way they looked at her.
Curtis lifted his chin proudly. “My fans p>
“Fans p>
Lisette scanned him up and down, teasing, “How much did you pay them p>
Curtis flicked her forehead lightly. “Get lost. Your brother won them over with superior inventions and unparalleled charm p>
Just hearing “superior inventions” made Lisette’s cheek twitch. She instantly recalled the trauma of being ambushed by his potato-chip–throwing machine—the little crunchy fists still haunted her. It was like her IQ and dignity got slapped at the same time p>
Feeling challenged by her disbelief, Curtis puffed up. “I brought a bunch of new inventions with me this time p>
As he spoke, he pulled something from his pocket and handed it to her.
A phone.
A model from ten years ago.
A flip phone.
Lisette stared at the ancient relic. “Curtis, why’re you giving me a phone? And does this thing even count as smart? Can it scroll Twitter? Use WeChat p>
Curtis corrected her, dead serious. “It’s not a phone p>
“Then what is it supposed to be p>
Lisette flipped it open, poking around, baffled.
Every part of it looked exactly like a phone.
Except for one thing—the screen was pitch?black. It didn’t look “powered off,” it looked… dead.
So… was this just a broken phone?
Curtis Cavendish flashed a grin, lowering his voice like he was unveiling some top?secret gadget. “This is a shock baton p>
“What p>
Lisette Cavendish stiffened, holding the so?called “baton” between her fingers. “A… a shock baton? That looks like some ancient flip phone p>
Curtis chuckled, clearly enjoying her reaction. “Well? Pretty wild, right p>
Lisette’s mouth twitched. “Wild or not, I don’t know. I just feel like… uh… I can’t quite keep up with whatever’s going on in your head p>
“That’s normal. I mean, your brother is a high?IQ inventor p>
Curtis straightened up, suddenly looking very official as he introduced his “brilliant creation.” “This baton packs double the voltage of a regular one. Press the power button, and the little antenna pops out. See someone annoying? Aim at them. Zap once—best case, they faint. Worst case? Permanent damage p>
Lisette’s eyes widened. “It’s that serious p>
Oh, finally—his little sister was actually shocked. Curtis lit up. “Of course! My inventions are always this awesome, always this magical p>
His gaze swept the area, slid right past Tobias Hastings, and landed squarely on Elliot Jameson. He pointed at him without hesitation. “Go on, test it on him p>
Elliot: p>
What the heck p>