Chapter 22: A Millionaire, His Suit And Poor Me Chapter 22

“Noras!"Jace groaned, throwing his head back in an exaggerated way. “He'll probably take us to one of those fancyrestaurants where I won't even know which fork to use”“But you want to like it! Please, do it for me? At least he's trying." said, pouting, hoping to sound semi-adorable.Jace sent me a bad look. “You have to work on your “pout, less on the lips and more on the eyes.’“Thank you for the advice, really. Don't change the subject.”“It doesn’t matter,” he grumbled. “I'm going to go to dinner with you and be the annoying spare tire. On one condition.”“It must be worth it” I replied with annoyance.“We must have dinner at home, like a home-cooked meal. That way, Steve won't need to resort to his businessman bullsthat he knows how to do so well.”I raised an eyebrow when I looked at Jace. “That's right. I'l call him."He looked at me with amusement when I turned around in the swivel chair in his office. The phone rang several times anhoped that he would not answer, so as not to have to suffer the embarrassment of talking on the phone. The water mademe fall to my knees when her deep voice answered.“Stevel"He said sharply. He took me by surprise and I looked at Jace before speaking.“Uh, hey. It's mel said. There was a pause. “Noras."“Noras.'She answered softly. “What's going on? You all right?“Yes, yes. It's all right with me. I just have one little thing to tell you about dinner tonight. Unless you're busy."“If you try to cancel, hang up the phone. It won't work.”I laughed slightly on the phone. It is obvious that he would have thought the worst. “No, I wouldn't dare cancel the dinnewith the big boss. Only, I thought we could have dinner at our place? Jace and I are going to cook. It's going to be relaxing“Of course, babyMy heart emptied when I heard the affectionate insults. “All right. Still at seven o'clock?”“Yes!“See you later"... Have you ever heard of knocking? I Who the fuck hired you? Leave it on my desk and get out of my sight.No, don't apologize, get outr”. He shouted suddenly. There was a deep grunt and I imagined him pinching the bridge of hinose in frustration. “Noras?”“I feel immensely sorry for anyone. He had to face the wrath of Henris Steve.”“He deserved it. See you tonight'He sighed. The line dropped with a click and Jace looked at me to confirm. I gave athumbs up and that's how we ended our brief lunch break, going back to creating our articles for the promotion.Jace was standing by the stove, whipping something while wearing his pink CEO apron and occasionally sipping wine whiI, sitting at the kitchen island, tried to cut some vegetables. I've never had any luck with my culinary skills. The only thingthat kept me from living off takeout were my roommate's exceptional culinary skills.“You know,” I joked, almost cutting off the tip of my finger with the knife. “Henris also cooks very well“Of course this perfect bastard is capable of itjace sniffed.“Now, seriously, are these vegetables cut thin enough?”His gaze went from the jar to me. “Pretty good. Could you combine them with the sauce? Then you can go get ready.”“Of course, Master CEO!"After mixing the sauce, I took my glass of wine and slipped into my room to choose a simple outfit. finally decided to wetight black pants, flesh-colored heels and a green blouse that made my complexion a little darker.I finished my makeup and hair in less than 30 minutes and went back to the kitchen where I couldn't find Jace. The saladalready seasoned and ready to serve and the main course in the oven.I waited for him to get ready, eating my non-existent nails and sipping wine. He returned in his usual uniform: coloredtrousers, a sweater over a collared shirt and a bow tie.“You look beautiful, darling” I said, giving her a kiss on each cheek. He pushed me away jokingly.“These heels are great He commented. Before I could thank him, the doorbell rang. My first thought was to play sick andcancel, but with a stern look from Jace, I started walking towards the door with my heart in my throat.I opened it and discovered Henris Steve, a company CEO, wearing informal clothes for the second time. He was wearingtight black trousers and a white T-shirt over which was a fur jacket that seemed very expensive at first glance. His feet weshod in worn brown boots.Her cheeks were flushed by the low temperature of the New York evening, the tip of her nose was bright red. She gave medevilish smile and moved her hair to the side, then raised a bottle of my favorite wine. “Am I too casual for dinner, Noras:“Seeing you without a suit always amazes me” admitted. He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, his smeimmediately made me faint. I took a breath and smiled at her, trying to look confident.“You'll get used to it. Now, am I invited in?"I blushed and moved to the side, offering him access to my small apartment. The last time he came, he had to put me tobed after joking about chasing me, Who was drunk. Not to mention the kisses. The funniest ones too.“Jace, you know HenrisI said awkwardly as we entered the kitchen. One of his hands already protective around my waist.He held out his free hand to Jace and they shook hands, each trying to intimidate the other. That must have been one ofthe funniest things I've ever seen, little Jace trying to scare the bully master himself.“Henris, how are you?", she greeted him.“Good, thank you. Youz"Henris answered in a formal way.“Ym fine.”“It smells good here. What are you cooking?”“Lasagna, salad and garlic bread.jace shrugged his shoulders.“I cut the vegetablesI added proudly, raising my hand to emphasize.Jace rolled his eyes, dismissing me with a wave of his hand. That was one thing the two men had in common, rejecting meand being incredibly protective. And being annoyed by me. “She doesn't know how to cook. Never let her into your kitche“Yes, I can!’l blew.Henris looked at me with an amused air, slightly tightening his grip on me. She's a horrible liar. I brought his favorite winthough. I thought we could accompany him with a dinner”“PerfectJace smiled. “The lasagna should be ready in three minutes. Noras will set the table."I gave him a bad look and walked over to the cabinet where we store the dishes. “I never accepted this shitl grumbled.They both looked at me with amusement while I set the table, setting the plates and silverware, then the glasses for wateand wine.just when I was done, the oven timer rang and Jace pulled out the steaming pan of lasagna. I took the salad and the breawhile Henris took the wine and we all sat down at the table.“So, Henris, tell me about your work.Jace started by pouring himself a glass of wine. I helped myself to food while Henriswas talking.“I left university at the age of 21 and started the company. We mainly deal with investments. I own percentages of differercompanies from New York to the Northeast.”“Like what?”“Mainly hotel chains, like Hilton. But I also own several private hotels and other companies. We are currently in the proceof negotiating a merger with Wishe & Co., which would double the size and value of my company, not to mention itspresence in the world of business and hospitals.”Jace nodded, impressed. “Cool.”Henris gave him a satisfied smile and turned to me. “Thank you. How was your day at work, Noras?”“Good. Everyone was asking me how I managed to date a hot guy like you. You are no longer allowed to accompany me tcmy office.”“Try to stop me. He provoked. It might seem like fun to Jace, but I could see by the dark tone in his eyes that it was a realchallenge. I lowered my gaze to my lasagna and cut it, losing myself in my thoughts.I was brought back to reality by Henris who offered me more wine, which I accepted with pleasure. The fact that he brougmy favorite dish, not to mention the fact that he remembered which one it was, was enough to make me live in seventhheaven for the rest of the week. Henris’ thoughtful side was one I hadn't seen yet, but I found it in my kitchen that night.“Thank youl whispered as he poured the liquid into my glass. He nodded briefly and turned to Jace, resting his elbows othe table.“Are you a football fan?”“Ah, but American football or your European floppy football?"Jace disputed.“Both.”“American"He said with a smirk. “Parkers fan, to be exact”A big smile was drawn on Henris's face, with beautiful dimples.“50 am I. 1 have four seats reserved for next weekend's game. I would like you and Noras to come.”“Really? I'l interrupted him enthusiastically. He gave me a confused look. “Don't look at me like that, Henris. Jace and 1 ardie-hard Parkers fans.’If possible, her smile doubled at my words. “Of course 'm serious, Noras. I didn't think you were a football fan."“I forgot, you are Mr. Serious. And I didn't see you as a big football fan either” answered. He rolled his eyes and we talkeabout the details of the match, which would take place two weekends later. When we finished dinner, all the plans for thematch were finalized and I began to think mentally about the outfit for the match. In the reserved seats. With Henris.I shook my head in disbelief as we cleared the table, each dropping their plates in the sink before moving on to the livingroom. Henris made me sit on his lap, holding me tightly by the waist and resting his chin on my shoulder while we chatte“Stop moving” He whispered in my ear. I froze and he squeezed my thigh to reassure me before starting to move his fingeslightly, just past my knee, making me shiver at his innocent touch.“Dude, you really should come and watch the game with us this weekend?’said Jace enthusiastically.“I would love to, but Noras and I are going to England this weekend for my mother's wedding."He said calmly, withoutworrying, as if he wasn't telling me that I was going to leave the continent in three days to meet his family.I turned around, stunned. “What the hell is this?"“We leave on Friday."He said softly.“Are you asking or are you saying?"He narrowed his eyes in my direction and I saw them darken visibly. I turned on my knees so that I was sitting across hislegs, looking him straight in the eye. Her voice became a sigh. “Noras, let it go. We'll talk about that later”“What are we going to talk about?"I said exasperated. “You didn't even ask me!”Jace cleared his throat and stood up, dusting off his pants and avoiding looking at us. Well, I'm retiring for the night. Seeyou later, guys. Henris, thank you for the wine."He left the room smoothly, an example of his perfect social interaction skills, while I turned to the frustrated man I wascurrently sitting on. Henris looked at me with a calm air, leaning on the back of the sofa and crossing his arms over hischest. I looked at him expressionlessly, an example of my horrible social skills.“There is nothing to discuss, Noras."“Like hells”“So you don’t want to come?"He said with amusement, raising an eyebrow. I moaned, resting my head in my hands, tryingto resist the urge to pull my hair. He put his hand on my back, stroking it up and down in a comforting way, then his nosegrazed my jaw.I raised my head slightly and he covered my neck with kisses before gently biting my ear. “We will take a private jet He szsoftly, putting his hands back on my thighs. I tried to resist, clearing my throat and biting my lip.“That's not the point. The thing is, you didn't even ask me if 1 wanted to come. You just assumed it”“Turn around and look at me."His hands took me by the waist and he lifted me gently, turning me around, putting me in tposition where I am sitting astride him, one leg on each side of him. He looked at me with a scowl and a smirk on his redlips.“You're going to come with me." He said deeply.“Ask me then, damn itt”In response, her mouth pressed against mine while her cold hands passed under the hem of my blouse, where they gentltraced the skin of my abdomen before passing to my chest. He lightly grabbed my breasts over my bra, making me moanslightly against his lips.Henris bit my lower lip aggressively before walking away. His perfect lips a few millimeters from mine, tempting me, thenhis hands fell on my pelvis and he began to trace circles on my skin, as before. I felt the vibrations of his voice on my skirwhen he spoke.“Noras, it's probably going to kill me to be with you for 48 hours straight, but would you mind taking the damn trip withme? Say yes He ordered. I tried to catch my breath after the kiss, my hands shaking slightly as they traced her collarbone“It was more of an orderI answered weakly without meeting his gaze.“Answer the damn question."He grumbled, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth. It should have calmed me down, buonly made my heart beat faster.“Very well“will you come?”“Yes I sighed, dropping my head on his chest. I decided to leave with a man I knew very little but who already touched nso deeply, to another continent for his mother's wedding. I probably would have been embarrassed the whole time, but iwould have been worth it if Henris had had in mind to behave more politely.“We will leave on Friday at 8 o'clock. James is going to pick you up.”