The night before, Chloe had assisted a drunken Donovan Blake back to his room, unintentionally dropping her phone somewhere during the process. Swept up in the whirlwind of the evening, she had completely forgotten about her missing device.
After the initial shock, Chloe quickly regained her composure. Given the situation, it seemed Donovan might have boarded the bus to wait for her. He likely realized she was the one who had slept with him last night, or maybe the realization had only hit him when the phone rang. With the distinctive ringtone and Sofia's prior whispering, Chloe deduced Donovan had put the pieces together.
Clearly, Chloe was inadvertently incriminating herself.
Sofia shot Chloe a puzzled look and nodded subtly towards Donovan, as if to say, "What's going on?"
"Stop calling," Chloe said, laying a hand on Sofia's. The lingering awkwardness became unbearable for Chloe, leaving her lost for words when it came to offering an explanation.
"What's going on? How did your phone end up with Mr. Blake?" Sofia asked in a hushed, gossip-fueled tone.
Just when Chloe was drowning in embarrassment, Donovan, seated in the row ahead, abruptly turned around, nearly startling Chloe out of her wits.
"Is this your number?" Donovan asked, holding up Chloe's phone, which displayed Sofia's contact.
Sofia nodded, "Yes, Mr. Blake, Chloe's phone is missing, and she had me call it to try and locate it."
"Is this your phone? You had your suitcase earlier, and you left your phone on the seat in front of you," Donovan's gaze shifted towards Chloe, his nonchalant eyes harboring a depth that was distinctly his own, despite their apparent warmth and familiarity. Although his look was kind and familiar, Chloe could not fathom its depth.
"My apologies, thank you, Mr. Blake," Chloe said, her voice a mix of nerves and gratitude as she nodded and took the phone from Donovan's hands, playing along in this act with him.
After Donovan diffused the awkward moment, he turned back around.
Chloe pretended to swipe through her phone, but her thoughts weren't focused on the screen at all. The manner in which Donovan returned the phone seemed to carry a message—a silent agreement to leave the previous night's incident in the past.
Chloe was an adult, not one to dodge her actions. She decided to regard what happened the previous night as nothing more than a fleeting dream.
She reassured herself that Donovan, a busy man, wouldn't dwell on such a minor incident.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed without Chloe seeing Donovan again. Even when the company held meetings, these were for the higher-ups, and she was just an intern whose future at the New East Group was uncertain.
Aside from her concern about securing a permanent position, Chloe occasionally caught herself thinking of Donovan, particularly about that moment they almost shared, especially since it had been her first time.
One day, the intercom on Chloe's desk rang.
"Chloe?" a voice on the other end asked.
Chloe's heart raced, and her expression was one of confusion. That voice—why did it sound so much like him?
Ever since that night, Donovan's resonant voice lingered in Chloe's mind, so the sound was not unfamiliar to her.
"Yes?"
"Come to my office," the voice stated.
"What's the matter?"
"Come to my office," the voice on the other end insisted, repeating the instruction.
"Okay," Chloe thought to herself, her heart pounding, her mind racing: It couldn't be work-related. Professionally, she and Donovan had little in common, and even if there were work issues, it was unlikely for him to ask her to go to his office. Could this be about the team-building event? Was Donovan planning to let Chloe go to prevent the day's events from spreading further?
After knocking on Donovan's office door, Chloe noticed that he wasn't as indifferent as he had been during the team event but instead looked her over from head to toe.
His scrutiny threw her into even greater disarray.
And Donovan's eyes were captivating.
So Chloe just greedily stared back at Donovan.
This made Donovan feel strangely unsettled.
"Is there something on my face?" he asked Chloe.
Chloe snapped back to reality.
Donovan didn't dwell on it but got straight to the point, "How about marrying me?"
Chloe's brow furrowed slightly.
The subject was completely unrelated to what Chloe had been pondering.