Shannon received the call and glanced at the position of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the western restaurant, then truthfully informed Lance.
"Missus is having dinner with Mr. Grant."
"Dinner again? Just the two of them?" Lance squinted his eyes and asked.
Shannon nodded, "Yes."
"I see. Protect missus well," Lance ordered coldly before hanging up the phone.
Originally, he had planned to let Shannon accompany Deanna to Sealand, but Deanna felt that bringing a bodyguard would be too ostentatious, so she refused.
With no other choice, Lance had Shannon protect her in secret.
After putting down his phone, his brows furrowed tightly, and his expression became inscrutable.
Later, about an hour or so passed, and Deanna was dropped off at the hotel entrance by Lionel.
"Mr. Grant, thank you for bringing me back," Deanna said politely before turning to enter the hotel.
It was at this moment that she saw Lance standing at the hotel entrance, her eyes widening in surprise.
Lance looked at Deanna standing there dumbfounded and walked over with a slight smile, "Why are you standing there like that?"
Hearing his gentle voice, Deanna finally snapped out of her daze.
"When did you arrive?"
"This afternoon. I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't contact you," Lance said, his gaze moving past Deanna to fall on Lionel behind her.
Lionel also saw Lance.
Their eyes met, and a strange spark ignited between them.
Perhaps because men understand men better, Lionel and Lance almost immediately sensed each other's feelings for Deanna.
Lance raised an eyebrow.
Lionel also slightly furrowed his brows and walked over to stand beside Deanna, asking softly, "And who might this be?"
"My name is Lance Mercer. I'm Deanna's fiancé, and Deanna is the mother of my children," Lance said, extending his hand for a handshake while clearly asserting his claim.
Lionel was stunned upon hearing this and then looked somewhat dejected, "So Miss Jones already has a fiancé."
Seeing Lionel's disappointed expression, Deanna felt a bit awkward but didn't think much of it. She courteously said, "Mr. Grant, if you have time at the end of the year, you're welcome to attend our wedding."
"So you're Mr. Grant. Deanna has mentioned how well you've taken care of her these past few days. I'd like to invite you to dinner tomorrow to thank you for looking after our Deanna," Lance said with a faint smile towards Lionel.
He was in such a good mood because his dear fiancée had frustrated his love rival before he figured out a way.
Lionel looked at Deanna's happy smile and felt deeply affected.
It was then that he realized he had developed feelings for Deanna as a man does for a woman.
He had always thought he was drawn to her talent and couldn't help but get close to her because of that.
Deanna didn't know what Lionel was thinking. Instead, she noticed his face wasn't as bright as before and asked worriedly, "Mr. Grant, are you feeling unwell? You don't look so good. Should we take you to the hospital?"
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Lance couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Deanna looked at him in confusion, "What's so funny?"
Lance cleared his throat to cover up, "Nothing. Ask Mr. Grant if he needs us to take him to the hospital."
"No need. I'm just tired. I should rest," Lionel quickly explained before Deanna could say anything else.
Deanna didn't think much of it since high-intensity work at the research institute could indeed be exhausting.
"In that case, Mr. Grant, you should go rest."
"Yes, I'll head back now. Let's talk tomorrow," Lionel nodded and then turned to leave after nodding at Lance.
As he walked away, Deanna took Lance's hand and led him back to their hotel room.
Once inside, Lance eagerly pulled her into his arms, taking in her unique scent deeply.
Deanna let him hold her, resting her head on his chest with a sweet feeling in her heart.
After a while, Lance released her and led her to sit on the sofa in the living room, asking, "Is your research finished for today?"
"Yes, it's done. If you hadn't come today, I would have returned tomorrow," Deanna said with a look of relief on her face. "Luckily you came today; otherwise, we might have missed each other. By the way, were you waiting for me earlier? Did you eat?"
Listening to Deanna's words, Lance's face was full of indulgence.
He held her in his arms and spoke with a hint of jealousy, "I was planning to have dinner with you when you got back, but you already ate with another man."
"Well... I didn't know you were coming. How about I eat with you again?"