Chapter43 What an Idiot
Linnea’s first reaction was annoyance.
Even though she had seriously and emphatically rejected Soren’s romantic advances five years ago, his eyes still looked as if he hadn't given up on her. She truly hoped he had found someone he loved and was only speaking to her like this now to tease her.
Five years prior, she’d been an assistant on a research team led by a professor. As a key figure in the project group, Soren had looked out for her and helped her a lot.
Linnea initially hadn't noticed anything unusual, assuming the professor had instructed him to take special care of the younger students in the group. But later, during a team-building event where they were playing Truth or Dare, Soren revealed he liked someone.
Linnea smiled and offered her congratulations, until Soren subtly glanced her way.
She was all too familiar with that look. The expressions her various suitors wore in front of her were always similar.
While regretting the loss of yet another friendship, Linnea arranged to meet Soren that evening and politely but firmly turned him down. Soren was hurt, but he didn't press the issue.
Now, Linnea greeted him with a detached manner.
She thought this chance encounter would end quickly, but Soren immediately asked her, "Linnea, I'm really glad to see you. If you’re free, how about we catch up at a coffee shop?"
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry..."
Linnea was about to decline right away, but Soren’s phone rang. He didn't hear her and offered her an apologetic smile before answering the call, "Hello, this is the Clinical Development Manager at Thorne Medical Devices. How can I help you?"
Linnea, who was about to sneak away, suddenly froze. Thorne Medical Devices? The medical equipment company owned by the Thorne family. More importantly, this company recently had a business partnership with Knight BioScience, the bioscience company that Jax and Vivienne—who used the Knight family name—co-founded after graduation.
If this had something to do with those two creeps, maybe she should check it out first?
Soren talked on the phone for a while. When he hung up, his expression was a little troubled, but it quickly faded once he looked back at Linnea. "My bad, that was a work call I had to take, but it won't take up any more of my time. So, are you up for it?"
Linnea nodded, feeling a little guilty.
Soren had genuinely helped her in the research group, even if he did have romantic intentions. But now, she was only agreeing to continue the interaction because she wanted to use him to investigate her step-siblings' company. She was truly awful.
At the coffee shop.
When Soren learned that Linnea had joined the Thorne main company right after getting her bachelor’s degree, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, but quickly accepted the fact. "You’ve always been talented at everything you do, so it makes sense that you got such a great offer. Since we both work for the Thorne family, maybe we'll have a business partnership down the line? I’d really look forward to working with you."
Linnea accepted the compliment.
Suddenly, Soren asked her, "Linnea, are you still single?"
She paused, then told the truth, "Yeah, I am."
"That’s a surprise," Soren stared at her, his eyes warm. "Can I be blunt and ask why you’re still single?"
The reason, of course, was that for the past few years, she had been busy preparing for and engaging in her “affair” with Caius. Linnea found the question oddly amusing.
"I've just been really busy with work."
"And now, have you slowed down a bit?"
He was a good guy, and Linnea didn’t want to mess with his love life. But because of her own agenda, she said, "I'm definitely less busy. I might consider it if I meet the right person."
Soren subtly let out a sigh of relief.
They started chatting again, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before. Soren updated her on the professor’s current situation.
The professor, Eleanor, was a lovely, good-natured older woman. She had a persistent dedication to the medical profession and hoped all her favorite students would eventually become life-saving doctors. When Linnea decided to switch majors, Eleanor had tried hard to keep her, and when that failed, she got mad and blocked Linnea on social media. After Soren confirmed he was joining Thorne Medical Devices, she got mad at him too and refused to see him.
"But she's retiring soon," Soren chuckled. "I think we'll have to show up uninvited to her retirement party."
Linnea mentally noted the plan.
After discussing more personal anecdotes, Soren voluntarily revealed, "I’ve been having some trouble at work lately."
"Because you're too busy?" Linnea subtly paid closer attention.
"It’s not the workload; it's the business partnership we have with Knight BioScience."
"Is it the artificial heart project?"
"I'm surprised you still keep up with the news in the field after leaving medicine all these years. If the professor knew, maybe she'd be a little less disappointed in you." Soren teased her good-naturedly, then added, "But communicating with the people at Knight BioScience is exhausting. The employees there are all especially cold and self-centered."
Linnea filed this information away but didn't press for more. That evening, Soren broke their five-year silence on the messaging app:
[Have you decided on a personal trainer? If you don’t have anyone in mind yet, why not come work out at my friend’s gym first? I asked, and they're about to hire a new female trainer.]
Linnea hesitated for a moment, then replied: [Sure.]
The next day was Monday again.
At noon, Linnea nervously headed to the CEO's office, secretly praying that Caius would have forgotten the unpleasantness of the weekend after being apart for a few days.
Hopefully, Caius wasn’t too hung up on it.
But the moment she entered, a sharp, scathing voice greeted her. "I thought the esteemed Ms. Linnea was going to terminate that childish 100-day contract with me, which is why she left my beach condo without permission."
Linnea’s heart sank. Shoot. She guessed wrong about Caius’s thoughts again.
"I thought you were trying to hint that I should go home."
"Look up."
Linnea awkwardly met his emerald green eyes. A dark intensity radiated from them, fueled by mounting anger.
"Who allowed you to presume what I was thinking?" Caius paused, then sneered, "And you're always wrong, too. What an idiot."
He took off his non-prescription glasses.
Linnea instinctively started to guess his intentions again, but then she remembered what he had just said, and she stopped herself. "Um, I mean... I’m sorry, Caius, I messed up. What do you need me to do?"
Caius gave an exasperated laugh. He rubbed his temples and said, "Get over here."
Linnea quickly went to him, straddled his lap, placed her hands on his chest, and leaned in to kiss him.
Caius tightened his grip on her waist, deepening the kiss for a while before tearing open the collar of her shirt.
When his hot breath scattered on her neck again, Linnea remembered the sharp, biting pain on the back of her neck from that night on the yacht. Tears nearly sprang to her eyes, and she quickly tried to cover the back of her neck. "That hurts a lot, Caius, please don't do that..."
"Is that up to you?"
"I'm begging you... Ah..."
Caius easily seized both her wrists, pinning them behind her back, and the hot, damp sensation still covered her neck. Linnea was already crying, but the sharp sting she expected didn't come. Instead, it was a deep, heavy licking, continuous and lingering... It was incredibly sensual.
If the kiss marks went any higher, they’d be visible above the collar.
But Linnea was already wearing her highest-collared shirt. It looked like she would have to buy more shirts after work.
Linnea’s mind wandered until the thick hardness beneath her pressed against her buttocks. She quickly protested, "No, no, Caius, I have important work this afternoon..."
Caius kissed his way up to her chin. "You don't get a say."
"I really can’t!"
Annoyed by her resistance, Caius was about to rip open her shirt buttons when a knock suddenly sounded at the door. "Caius, may I come in?"
...It was Vivienne again!