Chapter 187 Doing One Last Thing for You
Steven turned around and went to take a shower.
Afterward, he slipped under the covers and lay down.
Nora stirred, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Honey, you're back?"
"Yes," Steven replied.
She moved closercloser, and he instinctively pulled her into his arms. In a soft voice, he asked, "Were you scared today?"
"I was a bit scared at first,” she said, smiling faintly. “But once you arrived, everything was fine.”
Lying in Steven’s arms, Nora felt comforted. She had grown fond of his scent—a faint, cool fragrance that somehow made her feel safe and warm.
She nuzzled closer, breathing him in.
A complicated emotion stirred in Steven’s chest. He tightened his arms around her slightly.
“What do you have planned tomorrow?” he asked.
"I will keep looking for an office, and I need to help Olivia find an apartment. She wants to live on her own."
"Does she want to live near us ?"
“No. She wants to live closer to the company so she won’t have to squeeze onto the subway every morning."
“Do you want me to help you find a place?” Steven glanced at her. It would be the last thing he did for her.
"You'll help us find one?"
"Yes, I'll contact a real estate agent tomorrow. He'll take you to see a few places.” Steven kissed the top of her head. “Make sure you Live well from now on."
Nora smiled while leaning against him. "Why does that sound so strange?"
“There’s nothing strange about it. It’s past one o’clock. Let’s get some sleep.” He pulled the blanket up over her.
Nora felt a flicker disappointed.
She had slept earlier in the evening and felt wide awake. She had even thought about rewarding him with a little intimacy, but he simply told her to sleep.
Nora was naturally shy. Since Steven didn’t seem interested, she wasn’t going to push the issue.
The next morning.
Nora woke up to a sharp drop in temperature.
It was freezing.
She pulled a thick coat from the closet and slipped it on, then sat quietly on the bed watching Steven sleep.
Every feature of his face seemed perfectly sculpted.
Nora gazed at him for a long moment before leaving the room to make breakfast.
She watered the vegetables on the balcony first, then stretched her hand through the security bars to feel the air outside.
It was incredibly cold.
She'd have to remind Steven to dress warmly later.
When she walked into the kitchen, she noticed Olivia's phone on the dining table.
She paused.
Just then, Olivia came out wearing a heavy coat. “Wow, it’s freezing today."
"Yeah." Nora replied with a smile, "Olivia, your phone is here. Steven must have brought it back last night."
"How did he get it back?" Olivia looked confused. She picked it up and checked it. The phone still had battery, and the password hadn’t been tampered with.
Olivia let out a sigh of relief, "I was going to report my SIM card lost today. Good thing I didn’t."
“You should still change your payment passwords, just to be safe,” Nora advised.
"You're right."
Olivia sat and began updating all her payment passwords one by one.
Meanwhile, Nora returned to the master bedroom. She opened the curtains and then the closet, searching for clothes suitable for the cold weather.
Perfect—the matching coats they bought at the mall the other day would be perfect for today.
"Steven."
Nora gently shook his shoulder, her voice was soft, "It's past seven. Time to get up."
Normally, he would already be awake by now.
Steven slowly opened his eyes.
His light gray pupils reflected her image, hazy with sleep.
“You’re up this early?” he murmured.
"It's not that early. It’s just gloomy outside.” The sudden drop in temperature had turned the sky dark and heavy, as if rain might fall at any moment.
Nora spoke gently. "It might rain today. Remember to bring an umbrella ."
"Okay," Steven replied, pressing a hand against his forehead.
Nora tried to pull him up, but she wasn’t strong enough. Instead, he pulled her down, and she tumbled into his arms.
Steven chuckled. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to wake you up!" Nora landed against his chest, wincing as she rubbed her nose. “That hurt. Get up already."
"Did you hit your nose?" Steven asked.
Nora wrinkled it slightly. "It's your fault. Your chest is so hard—it hurts my nose."
"Come here, let me see." He gently guided her to lower her head.
Obediently, Nora leaned closer so he could examine it.
Steven's slender fingers lightly pinched her nose. "Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Then you should be fine." As he spoke, his breath brushed softly againsther face.
Nora suddenly felt a little uneasy.
When she looked up, she met his strikingly handsome face. Her eyes looked slightly misty.
But Steven quickly avoided her gaze and gently pushed her away before sitting up. "I'm getting up."
Lately, Steven had been acting strangely.
He wasn’t teasing or taking advantage of her like he used to.
Why did that make Nora feel a little disappointed?
Still, she handed him the outfit she had prepared.
“Steven, this is what I picked out for you today. Is that okay?"
Steven glanced at the clothes, then at Nora. She was wearing the matching coat they had bought together.
She'd brought his out as well.
Something stirred in Steven’s heart, a faint warmth spreading through him.
“It’s fine,” I'll wear this one."
Nora smiled brightly. "Then go change ."
Steven took the clothes but paused to look back at her.
"Go on." Nora urged .
Steven went into the bathroom. A moment later, he came out wearing the coat, his elegant and composed presence made it impossible to look away.
Nora stared at him admiringly before giggling, "So handsome!"
After saying that, she closed her eyes slightly, as if waiting for him to kiss her.
Steven looked at her, his emotions complicated. In the end, he simply turned away. "Come on, let's go eat."
Nora froze and slowly opened her eyes.
Steven had already turned his back, his figure distant and cold.
For some reason, Nora suddenly felt a hollow ache in her chest.
During breakfast, Olivia asked Steven, "Steven, did you get my phone back for me yesterday?"
"Yes,” Steven replied casually while sipping his coffee. “The police caught those two people and called me to pick it up."
Nora glanced at him.
“Oh, right,” Steven added. “I contacted a real estate agent for you. He’ll be waiting at Skyline Trade Center later to show you some offices and apartments. Just tell him what you’re looking for."
"Okay." Nora said with a nod, though she felt something about Steven was different. She just couldn’t figure out what.
After breakfast, Steven left.
He got into the Maserati and instructed James in front, "Buy me an office and an apartment at Skyline Trade Center."
James paused, "Mr. York, how big do you want them?"
Steven thought for a moment, "About 1000 square feet for the office, and a one-bedroom apartment."
If they were too big, they might not want them.
Thinking of this, Steven added, "Get it done within half an hour."
James was stunned. Buy an office and an apartment within half an hour? That was crazy!
But James didn't dare delay and immediately made calls.
The agent received the message and asked, "There's currently a 1200 square foot office for sale. Are you interested, Mr. York?"
James turned to ask Steven, "Mr. York, the agent is asking if a 1200 square foot office would work?"
"What's the location?" Steven asked.
"At Harman Tower."
Harman Tower was the landmark building of Skyline Trade Center, over 60 floors high. Good companies mostly rented there.
Harman Tower was indeed a good location.
Steven agreed, "Fine, buy it."
Just like that, in a few sentences, Steven spent a large sum of money to buy an office.
The agent was shocked!
This was a big client!
The apartment purchase went smoothly too—a 600 square foot one-bedroom, located in Skyline Trade Center, only a 3-minute walk from Harman Tower, just one street away.
Steven instructed James to secure the properties and send people to sign contracts and buy furniture.
Everything was done within two hours.
Then he had the agent contact Nora to make sure they rented the two properties Steven had bought.
The agent made a fortune and was grinning from ear to ear. He quickly contacted Nora, "Ms. Adams, hello, I'm Mr. York's friend. He asked me to take you to look at places."
"Okay." Nora, who received the call, left home with Olivia and headed to Skyline Trade Center.
Having an agent made looking at offices much more convenient.
Olivia's requirement was, "Around 700 square feet is fine, higher floor, with good lighting."
"Sure." The agent cheerfully took them to Harman Tower.
On the 27th floor of Harman Tower was a 1200 square foot office with excellent lighting, and it came with desks, chairs, and central air conditioning.
Nora asked the agent, "Offices at Harman Tower must be expensive, right?"
1200 square feet would probably cost $20,000-30,000 a month in rent.
"And we don't need one this big." Olivia chimed in. 1200 square feet was too big for them.
"It's not expensive." This office was under Steven's name. Bringing them here was just going through the motions. The agent said, "It's $5,000 a month here."
"$5,000? Daily or monthly rent?" Nora asked. If it were daily, that would be astronomical; if monthly, it would be incredibly cheap.
"Monthly rent, of course!" The agent could tell they liked the place.
The price was a bit unexpected. Nora asked Olivia, "Olivia, what do you think?"
Olivia was surprised, "That's impossible. I remember Harman Tower's rent is among the most expensive buildings in the area."
"The owner is abroad and isn't keeping up with domestic rental prices. His rate is still the same as it was over ten years ago. If you don't rent it, you'll miss out on this deal." The agent pushed hard. Steven had said he must get them to rent it, because they wouldn't accept it as a gift.
Nora pulled Olivia aside to talk, "1200 square feet for only $5,000, Olivia, that's really cheap."
"It is cheap, but it's too cheap. I feel a bit uneasy. Could someone have died here or something?" Olivia speculated.
Nora said, "Even if someone had died here, the rent wouldn't be this low."