As an adult, Lionel looked at the blush on Deanna's face and her slightly swollen lips, knowing exactly what had just happened.
His eyes dimmed instantly, but he greeted warmly, "Good morning, Miss Jones."
"Uh, good morning, Mr. Grant."
Deanna, still feeling a bit shy, mustered up the courage to greet him back. At the same time, she shot a glare towards Lance in the car.
If it weren't for this man pulling her... that scene wouldn't have been witnessed by others, leaving her so embarrassed.
Lance noticed Deanna's gaze and smiled knowingly. He wouldn't tell Deanna that he had seen Lionel approaching from afar and did it on purpose.
"Deanna, I'm heading to the company now. I'll pick you up tonight."
After speaking, Lance nodded at Lionel and then instructed Xavier to drive away.
Watching the car leave, Deanna finally withdrew her gaze. Lionel's deep voice came to her ears, "You and Mr. Mercer have such a good relationship. It's truly enviable."
Hearing this, Deanna instinctively looked up and saw the envy in Lionel's eyes, with nothing else behind it. She felt even more that what Lance had said to her before was nonsense.
If Mr. Grant really had any feelings for her, he wouldn't have said such things.
Thinking this, she smiled lightly, "There's nothing to envy. You will eventually meet Miss Right. By then, you and your partner might be even closer than Lance and me."
"... I hope so."
Lionel forced a smile in response, feeling quite down. But he couldn't let Deanna notice, so he changed the subject, "Last night, I received a call from logistics. The herbs I asked them to transport have arrived and should be stored in the warehouse now. Do you want to check them?"
"The herbs have arrived? I'll check them after the meeting."
Deanna became serious when discussing business matters.
The two of them walked towards the office while talking. Half an hour later, Deanna called everyone in the research institute to the conference room for a meeting.
After all, today was the first day of the institute's operation. Not only did many tasks need to be assigned, but all employees also needed to get to know each other.
"Today is the first day of our research institute's establishment and official operation. I'm very happy that we are all gathered here. I think I don't need to introduce myself; all of you should know me. Now let me talk about the internal position arrangements of our institute."
Deanna stood on the stage and read from the prepared materials.
After about ten minutes, she finished assigning everyone's positions, "That's about it. If anyone has any objections, please raise your hand and tell me."
She looked down at the crowd. They exchanged glances but no one spoke up.
Deanna wasn't in a hurry and waited with a smile.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Brent walked in and respectfully said to Deanna, "Miss, Mr. Mercer just sent a truckload of flower baskets to congratulate you on the launch of the institute."
"Really? Then arrange them as you see fit."
Deanna smiled sweetly at Brent.
Lionel stood nearby and felt a pang of regret. He had forgotten about this.
Seeing Deanna's happy smile, he knew it was too late to send flower baskets now and gave up on the idea.
Later, after the meeting ended two hours later, Deanna left the conference room. Remembering Brent's report earlier, she took out her phone and called Lance.
"I received the flower baskets you sent. Thank you."
"Why thank me? Isn't it something I should do?"
Lance replied with a light laugh and then asked with concern, "Are you tired?"
Deanna shook her head and laughed softly, "A bit tired. We just finished the meeting, and I still need to check the herbs later. There's a lot to do today."
Her tone turned coquettish towards the end.
Lance's doting voice came through, "If you're tired, take a break. Don't overwork yourself. Remember to eat lunch on time; I'll be checking on you."
"Got it. I'll get busy now. Remember to eat on time."
After a few more reminders, Deanna hung up the phone.
She put away her phone and walked towards the office.
A few minutes later, she appeared in the warehouse's cold storage room with the herb inventory list in hand.
Lionel was already waiting at the door.
Seeing Deanna dressed in thin spring clothes, he didn't hesitate to take off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.
Deanna was stunned for a moment, "Mr. Grant..."
"It's a cold storage room inside. If you go in dressed like that, you'll catch a cold." Lionel explained softly.
The herbs he brought were quite precious and delicate, requiring special preservation methods different from ordinary herbs; they needed refrigeration.
Deanna knew Lionel meant well and remembered her own weak constitution. If she stayed in the cold storage room for too long, catching a cold was inevitable. So she didn't refuse his kindness.