Chapter 50: The Flower

Marceline’s POV

(Three weeks later)

"Mr. Halvourne is waiting for you," Gabriel, Dominic’s assistant, said to me as soon as I walked out of the elevator on the presidential floor.

I nodded with a smile. I was here to give him the report on the ongoing project between our companies.

I opened his office door and walked in, but he wasn’t on his chair. Didn’t Gabriel say he was waiting for me? I wondered as I closed the door. I walked to his desk, dropped my bag, and brought out the report files.

“Ahem,” I heard from behind me.

I turned around and saw him leaning on the shelf with a smile on his face.

“Good day,” I greeted with a small smile.

He started walking toward me with one hand behind his back, like he was hiding something.

“Here, sweet,” he said softly, and a flower appeared in front of my face.

I blinked, stunned for a second. I didn’t expect to receive a flower from him. A wide smile spread across my face as I took it from him and sniffed it. It smelled fresh and sweet.

“Thank you, Dom,” I said happily.

He leaned down a little and pointed at his lips with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, already knowing what he meant. I pecked his lips lightly, but before I could pull back, he grabbed me and deepened the kiss.

“That’s more like it,” he said when we finally pulled away, his arm still wrapped around my waist.

I chuckled softly and slipped out of his hold. I hadn’t forgotten why I came. Setting the flower on the desk, I picked up the report document and sat down on the chair.

“The project building…” I started, but my words trailed off when I felt his hand slide over my chest, followed by his lips biting lightly on my ear. I shivered.

“Dom, stop. We have to discuss the project,” I said with a swallow, pushing his hand away.

“It can wait,” he murmured, still kissing my neck.

“It’s important,” I said more firmly this time, and that was enough to stop him.

He sighed and leaned against the desk unhappily. His expression looked like a child being denied a toy.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is it funny?” he asked with a faint smile, still pouting.

“Yep,” I said with a chuckle, and that made him smile.

I handed him the document so he could look at it while I explained. We had barely started when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Dominic said in a displeased voice, clearly irritated at being interrupted.

I looked back at the document in my hand. It was the first time anyone had ever knocked while I was here.

“Why are you here?” Dominic asked coldly, his voice filled with irritation.

I had never heard him speak so coldly to anyone before. I raised my head from the file to see who it was.

A woman about my age walked in, wearing a formal office suit. She held a file in her hand, but her eyes were on me as she moved closer. Then her gaze shifted to the flower beside my bag, and I saw her expression tremble slightly. Her eyes darted back to me, then to the flower again.

What’s her problem? I wondered, narrowing my eyes slightly.

“Speak,” Dominic ordered coldly, and she flinched, quickly pulling her eyes away from the flower.

“Dom—Sir, I need your signature here,” she said with a forced smile.

I raised my brows. She almost called him Dominic.

Dominic took the document and flipped through it, a frown on his forehead. I could feel her eyes on me again, and when I looked up, she was still staring. I looked away without care.

“Here,” Dominic said after signing the document and handed it back to her.

She gave me one last look before leaving.

“That’s my late wife’s sister,” Dominic said quietly, taking my palm in his hand.

I nodded with a smile. He didn’t need to explain anything.

“Let’s continue,” I said, handing him the project report again.

“No, I don’t want to,” he said, dropping the file carelessly on the desk. Then he pulled me up from the chair toward him.

His arms circled my waist as he looked deeply into my eyes with a smile.

“You really don’t care about the project, do you?” I asked, placing my arms around his neck.

“What do you think?” he asked, raising his brow. My heart skipped.

I had always felt he signed the business proposal with Stanmore because of me, and now I was sure.

“I want to take you out today,” he said, kissing my cheek gently.

My heart trembled. He had been asking to take me out for days now, but I’d been avoiding it. I was still a married woman, and it wouldn’t look good to be seen with him outside.

“Dom, we...” I started, but he cut me off.

“It’s just shopping. I want to pick up some things too,” he said with a pleading look.

I sighed and smiled softly. “Alright.”

His face brightened instantly, and my heart softened again.