Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Chapter 74: Chapter 72: I Love Her, but I Never Dared to Let Her Know (Part 1)

Herman Hawthorne continued to gaze at the sky. ”Alright, man. I get it. You two talk. Nora and I will head out first.”

He slung a big arm around Nora Ainsworth. ”We’re taking off. You two talk.”

Once they were out the main gate, Herman Hawthorne let go.

After they got in the car, he didn’t immediately drive off. Instead, he said to Nora Ainsworth, ”Catherine is Quentin’s ex-girlfriend. She’s also the only woman he’s ever truly loved.”

Nora Ainsworth stared straight ahead. ”I could tell.”

Herman Hawthorne sighed. ”They broke up a few years ago because of a misunderstanding. It wasn’t Catherine’s fault. Once things are cleared up, they might get back together.”

Nora Ainsworth beamed. ”That’s great news! This means I’ll be free! How wonderful!”

Those were her words, but her heart gave a painful lurch.

Seeing no change in her expression, he said with relief, ”It’s good you can think that way. I don’t know what Quentin plans to do, but I know he’s a one-woman man. If they get back together, he definitely won’t have anything to do with you anymore. I know there’s nothing between you two, so this works out well. We’ll see what he wants to do after the assessment period.”

Nora Ainsworth nodded. ”I get it, Boss. Could you please drop me off at my apartment complex? I’ll find a new place tomorrow.”

Herman Hawthorne replied calmly, ”Don’t worry about it. The apartment’s just sitting empty, no one’s living there. You should just stay. We can decide what to do after I’ve asked Quentin.”

”Okay.”

The car stopped in front of her apartment building. Nora Ainsworth got out, waved to Herman Hawthorne, and went inside.

Herman Hawthorne didn’t leave right away. He waited until he saw a light turn on upstairs before driving off.

Nora Ainsworth took a shower. Wrapped in a bath towel, she opened the window, then lay down. She turned off the lights but couldn’t fall asleep.

She tossed and turned, sleep completely eluding her.

Just as she was staring out the window with her eyes wide open, the doorbell rang.

After a moment’s hesitation, she went downstairs.

Nora Ainsworth flipped on the light and asked softly, ”Who is it?”

No one answered.

She grew a little apprehensive and called out again, ”I’m not opening the door if you don’t say something.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a deep voice came from the other side of the door. ”It’s me.”

Nora would recognize that voice even if he were a ghost.

She didn’t open the door right away, asking warily, ”What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

”To fuck you.”

Nora Ainsworth was exasperated. ”If you’ve come to dump me, President Grant, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble. A phone call would have been fine.”

”Open the door. I need to see you. If you don’t, I’m breaking in.”

’Listen to that. Is that something a gentleman would say?’

”I already heard from the Boss, Quentin Grant! Since you’re about to have a melodramatic reunion with your old flame, stop messing with a nobody like me! You don’t love me, and I don’t love you, so let’s just end this. I was actually planning to celebrate! I’ve finally escaped your clutches! Ha! What fantastically good news!”

”...”

There was no reply. Nora Ainsworth thought he had left.

Just as she settled back into bed, the door suddenly clicked open.

She shot bolt upright, jumped out of bed, and dove into the closet, not daring to move a muscle.

Footsteps moved from the living room into the bedroom, each one firm and heavy.

Nora Ainsworth held her breath. As the footsteps drew nearer, she was scared to death.

During her heart-pounding agony, the closet door remained shut.

An eternity seemed to pass, and still, no one opened it.

Nora Ainsworth finally couldn’t take it anymore. She gently pushed the closet door open a crack to peek out, only to find herself staring directly into his deep, amused eyes.

The smile sent a chill down her spine.

Finally, she threw open the closet door, stepped out, and said, feigning nonchalance, ”You’ve been here a while, huh? Geez, how did I fall asleep in the closet?”

Quentin Grant saw she was putting on an act but didn’t call her out. He just took off his shoes and went into the bathroom.

Nora Ainsworth glanced at the bathroom door, wondering if she should make a run for it while he showered. But then his voice came from inside, ”If you dare walk out that door, I’ll have your picture plastered over every major news outlet tomorrow with a wanted notice.”

Nora Ainsworth lost her composure. ”You’re despicable! What the hell do you want? You have your old flame back, you’re getting back together, so this should have nothing to do with me anymore! You should know, I would rather die than be a mistress!”

”Who said we’re getting back together? And who said anything about you being a mistress?” His voice was unnervingly steady. ”Has it been so long since I taught you a lesson that you’ve forgotten?”

Nora Ainsworth remembered that night, how he had pushed the upper half of her body out of the car window. A lingering fear washed over her.

”I haven’t forgotten.”

He said no more. The sound of running water came from inside, until a few minutes later, the water cut off abruptly.

He walked out with a bath towel knotted around his waist, wearing a pair of slippers.

He walked over to her and reached out to stroke her hair.

”You got a tan. If I hadn’t called you over, would you have just stayed on that couch in the bar until we left?”

”I didn’t want to disturb you two,” Nora Ainsworth said, telling the truth. ”I’ve always been an incredibly considerate person.”

”Nora Ainsworth, did you think I was going to abandon you just because I haven’t seen you in a few months?”

She pouted. ”Weren’t you?”

”I just don’t have any such plans yet. It’s not the right time. Because I haven’t—” He trailed off, confident she would understand his meaning.

”Don’t you dare!”

”What’s there to be afraid of? You’ve been my woman for a long time.”

”...”

And so, the room fell into darkness, and eager sounds soon filled the air.

*

When she woke again, the sun was already high in the sky.

The space beside her was empty.

Nora Ainsworth rubbed her aching back as she got out of bed, unable to even stand up straight. She slipped on her slippers, stripped the sheet from the bed, and tossed it into the washing machine.

Then she went to wash up.

She changed her clothes, and once the sheet was washed, she hung it on the balcony to dry before finally heading out.

There was nothing in the kitchen, so she had to go out to find something to eat.

She bought a basket of soup dumplings and a carton of milk.

She had nowhere else to go.

So she ended up back on her couch, curled up and watching TV.

The Korean drama, with its beautiful cast, had even a cynical woman like her crying her eyes out. While dabbing at her tears with a tissue, she couldn’t help but curse, ”What’s wrong with this director? Were they raised by a lunatic? Why is it always either a car crash or cancer?”

Speaking of cancer, Nora Ainsworth fell silent again.

Such silences were rare for her. She was afraid that silence would make her lose control of her emotions, so she usually avoided thinking about Mrs. Ainsworth.

But when she was alone, it was hard not to think about such things.

It was around four or five in the afternoon.

Herman Hawthorne called and told her to wait for him at the intersection.

He didn’t say what it was about, but since Nora Ainsworth was eager to get out of the house, she left without even changing.

She had only been waiting for a few minutes when Herman Hawthorne’s car pulled up beside her.