Chapter 310

Chapter 310

The room was dim. A man's robe and a woman's nightgown lay tangled together on the floor.

Burning skin pressed against burning skin. Fingers intertwined. Kisses turned scorching and urgent.

"Wait…"

Lisbeth's back sank into the soft bedding. Above her, a hot chest. The rain of kisses left her breathless. She struggled free with difficulty, her voice carrying an involuntary sweetness.

"You didn't put on a condom…"

Sebastian stopped. They were both satisfied with their life as it was. Two kids were enough—they hadn't planned on another. They were usually careful. But tonight he'd been in such a rush, he'd forgotten.

He turned his head, his heated breath spilling into the hollow of her neck. After a long moment, he slowly got up.

The condoms were in the nightstand. Sebastian pulled one out, fumbling in the dark. Once everything was ready, he was more than eager to be even closer to her.

But just then, there was a knock at the door.

Lisbeth faintly heard her daughter's voice. She shoved Sebastian aside, threw on her nightgown, and pulled open the door. Anne stood there rubbing her eyes, still sniffling.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

Anne rubbed her eyes, crying. "I dreamed that you and Daddy were fighting and didn't want me and Dennis anymore…"

It was just a dream, but it had genuinely scared her. Dennis came running out in his slippers. When he saw Anne standing at their parents' door, he sighed in relief. Like a little adult, he patted her shoulder from behind.

"Don't run off by yourself. I was worried."

Anne immediately apologized obediently. "I know. I thought Mommy and Daddy didn't want us anymore…"

She'd been so frightened in the dream. And when she woke up and found that her parents, who'd been beside her when she fell asleep, were gone—for a moment, she thought the dream had come true.

Lisbeth's heart ached. She quickly scooped Anne up and brought her into the room, tucking her into bed. Then she turned to call Dennis over.

The two kids lay side by side. Lisbeth lay beside them, patting them gently. Only after finishing all that did she suddenly realize—she seemed to have forgotten something…

She turned her head. Sebastian stood there wrapped in his robe, his short hair still a little messy, staring at her expressionlessly.

…Unsatisfied.

Lisbeth felt a little guilty. And a little like laughing. She turned to the kids. "You two can sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room tonight, okay?"

"Okay!"

Things had come to this. Sebastian stood in the darkness and sighed. Then he got into bed.

Lisbeth had already closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

A dreamless night.

The next morning, Lisbeth was woken by a phone call. It was Quinn.

"Ms. Whitaker, you asked me to contact customs. I got through to the head official. He's willing to meet with us. We agreed on a time—today at noon, at Bayside Bistro."

"Good. I know. Did you prepare all the materials I asked for?"

"Don't worry. Everything's ready."

After hanging up, Lisbeth stayed in bed a little longer before finally getting up. The two kids were already awake. Sebastian was still asleep.

She kissed his cheek lightly, then prepared to get out of bed. But he wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, and suddenly she couldn't move.

"What are you doing?"

"Why are you up so early? It's the weekend."

Lisbeth sighed. "Even weekends aren't free. I'm meeting a client for lunch today. You'll have to take the kids to school."

Sebastian kept his eyes closed, nuzzling his face against her shoulder, his voice lazy. "What client? Do you need me to come with you?"

"No need. It's just lunch. A quick chat."

Sebastian opened his eyes. He'd just woken up—his brain was still a little slow. "Another client?"

They'd just signed contracts with Mr. Duke and the others. Wasn't that funding enough?

Before the negotiations bore fruit, Lisbeth didn't want to tell him yet. She kept it vague. "It's a different client. Not about funding…"

She could tell that if he kept asking, she'd give herself away. So Lisbeth quickly turned around and kissed his chin. The words on the tip of Sebastian's tongue were swallowed back down. He lowered his head to kiss her.

But Lisbeth dodged, laughing. "I'm done playing around. I have to get to work. You be good at home."

With that, Lisbeth kissed him again, leaving Sebastian dizzy. Then she turned and walked away.

The hem of her nightgown slipped through Sebastian's palm. He closed his hand, but all he caught was air. He watched her walk into the bathroom, then lay back on the bed, helpless.

His collar hung open slightly, revealing his solid chest and collarbone. Sebastian draped one hand over his forehead and sighed. "Heartless."

Had he just been… seduced?

By the time he figured that out, it was too late. Lisbeth was gone, and the Dennis and Anne were downstairs waiting for him to take them to school.

He had no choice but to take them first.

At noon, Lisbeth and Quinn arrived on time at the Bayside Bistro they'd reserved in advance. They waited about half an hour. The other party didn't show.

Quinn said patiently, "Maybe there's traffic. It's pretty bad around this time."

Lisbeth nodded and took a sip of coffee. She'd forgotten to add sugar. It was bitter. She frowned and looked at Quinn. "You've been running around with me lately. Thank you for all your hard work."

"It's not hard. This is my job."

Lisbeth smiled. "You think I don't know? After everything happened, a lot of employees quit, didn't they?"

Quinn scratched her head, a little guilty. "Ms. Whitaker, how did you know?"

She'd been afraid this would affect Lisbeth's mood, so she'd kept it under wraps and never told her.

"People are missing from the office. How could I not know?" Every time Lisbeth walked in, she scanned the room. Maybe she didn't know every single employee, but she could tell when numbers were down. Especially when certain desks sat empty—she could see it at a glance.

Quinn sighed and decided to come clean. "When they first submitted their resignations, I was really angry. This is the company's hardest time. They wouldn't stay and help. Every single one of them just thought about their own futures."

Quinn was indignant, but Lisbeth wasn't as angry. She even thought it was normal. "They come to work to make money and support their families. Not to do charity. If they feel like the outlook is bad and want to leave, that's normal."

Quinn muttered, "I know that's the logic. But I still don't like it…"

Lisbeth poured her a cup of coffee.

Quinn took a sip and immediately scrunched up her face. "There's no sugar."

"Employees who aren't a good fit are like this bitter coffee. If you don't like bitterness, you'll add sugar next time. If they don't want to stay here, they'll go somewhere else."

It was all just choices.

From their perspective, there was no right or wrong.

That made sense. Quinn pushed the coffee aside, deciding not to torture herself anymore. She checked the time. The agreed-upon meeting time had passed by over an hour.

The other party still hadn't arrived.

Just then, her phone rang. It was Tanya, the assistant who'd been liaising with Quinn on behalf of the customs official.

"Tanya, hello. About…"

Before Quinn could finish, Tanya cut in. "I'm so sorry. Our director doesn't have time today. Something came up that he has to deal with. We'll have to reschedule the meeting."

Then she hung up.