Chapter 198
The chatter of nearby colleagues had died down.
Willow stared at her phone, unsure how to respond for quite some time. Then Sterling called her directly.
The sudden ringtone echoed in the quiet space. Colleagues turned to look in her direction.
Willow snapped back to reality and quickly declined the call, texting him instead: [Grandma heard you've been having trouble sleeping. She asked me to bring you some herbal medicine. I wanted to ask when would be convenient for Blake to come pick it up.]
His reply came quickly: [Wait for me after work tonight.]
The implication was clear—he wanted Willow to hand it to him personally. Willow held her phone, hesitation filling her eyes, unsure whether to refuse. Before this, she had ridden in Sterling's car many times, but now...
While she was still hesitating, another message popped up on her screen from Molly: [Willow, a gorgeous woman was just escorted to see Mr. Lancaster!]
Even through text, Molly's excitement was palpable. Before Willow could reply, Molly sent several more messages in rapid succession:
[From what I could tell, it wasn't about work. Seems like they were just meeting up. She said she was his high school classmate and that they were close!]
[She's been up there for half an hour already and hasn't come down. I asked my brother about it, but he told me not to be nosy.]
[Willow, could it really be what I'm thinking? Is this some kind of arranged date? Are rich people's blind dates this straightforward?]
Molly was clearly invested in this situation and kept bombarding Willow with messages. Willow felt something catch in her throat. Scanning through the messages, the term "blind date" jumped out at her.
The colleagues from earlier had been gossiping too, but none had been so direct.
With Sterling's qualifications, he certainly wouldn't need arranged dates. The most likely explanation was that this was Harold's doing.
Willow's heart sank. Harold must have found out about Sterling bailing her out of jail. Combined with Charles and Wallace's accusations, Harold would naturally have suspicions and take action. Given that, she had even less right to feel uncomfortable about it.
[Mr. Lancaster is at an age where he should be looking for a marriage partner,] she replied, cutting off Molly's train of thought.
Molly went quiet for a few seconds, then resumed her message barrage:
[Willow, don't tell me you don't care at all! He has been so good to you. Now that other women are eyeing him, aren't you even a little nervous?]
[Think about it—all the kindness he's shown you will soon be directed at someone else!]
[Even if your feelings aren't fully developed yet, it's better to keep a wealthy, handsome, quality man like him for yourself!]
After saying so much and seeing no sign that Willow was persuaded, Molly changed tactics:
[It's such a shame after all he has done for you. You probably don't even know that after you borrowed money from me, my brother specifically gave me $1000,000 as "pocket money" not long after. He's never been that generous before—I'd be grateful for even $10,000 from him.]
[And I heard from my brother that Sterling asks about your whereabouts in the office every day, worried you might run into trouble. You didn't know any of this, did you?]
[Too bad. With his personality, if he gets together with another woman, he definitely won't be like this anymore.]
Willow stared at the messages, unconsciously biting her lower lip, her emotions in turmoil. She had always known that Sterling had helped her a lot during this period. Without him, she might not have made it through.
But she hadn't known that Sterling had done so much for her behind the scenes. If she remembered correctly, when she borrowed money from Molly, Sterling didn't even know that she was the woman from that night... Realizing this, Willow's heartbeat faltered.
On the other end, after waiting a while without getting a response, Molly seemed a bit deflated. [Fine, if you really don't have feelings for him, just pretend I never said anything. I just think it would be a little—just a tiny bit—of a shame to miss out on such a quality man,] Molly wrote.
Willow could almost see Molly's disappointed expression through the phone. Her lips curved into a smile. [Maybe you're right. But as you said, he's so wonderful—he deserves someone better than me.]
After sending the message, worried that Molly would bombard her again, Willow added, [Anyway, I need to get back to work. Talk later.]
Just then, her manager walked by. Willow flipped her phone over and didn't look at it again.
On the other end, Molly stared at Willow's message for a few seconds, then her eyes widened with excitement.
A moment later, a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. She forwarded the message to her brother. She added, [My dear brother, whether Sterling and Willow get together is up to you now!]
In previous conversations with Willow, Willow had said similar things, but Molly hadn't been able to capture the evidence. This time, she finally had proof! Willow clearly liked Sterling!
Willow was completely unaware of Molly's little scheme. That evening after work, without waiting for Sterling to contact her, she went to the parking garage and waited in a corner. Gradually, colleagues left the elevator and drove away.
When Sterling emerged, nearly half an hour had passed, and almost everyone was gone. Blake followed behind him. "Mr. Lancaster, should I contact Ms. Spencer, or will you—"
Before Sterling could answer, Willow stepped out from the corner.
"Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Bailey." She smiled at both of them, took out Maria's herbal medicine from her bag, and approached Sterling. "My grandmother asked me to give this to you. She says thank you for your help recently."
As she spoke, her gaze was distant. She made eye contact with Sterling for just a brief second before quickly looking away, focusing on his chest instead.
Sterling looked down at the top of her head. "There are only three of us here—you, me, and Blake. What do you call me?"
Feeling the weight of his intimidating gaze, Willow couldn't bring herself to look up. "You're the head of the Lancaster Group, and I'm an employee. It's only appropriate that I—"
Before she could finish, a large hand lifted her chin, forcing her to meet Sterling's eyes.
"Look at me and say that again," Sterling said, clearly displeased.
Willow's eyes darted away, unsure how to respond.
Sterling's scrutinizing gaze fell on her face. "Your grandmother asked you to bring me herbal medicine, and you're reluctant?"
Willow was confused. "I'm not..."
"Then why do you look so troubled?" Sterling suggested pointedly. "Anyone would think you're delivering poison, not medicine."
Willow froze for a few seconds, guilt flashing across her face. Her mood hadn't been great all afternoon, but she had tried hard to adjust. Was it still that obvious?