Ethan looked away from Derek Lowe's unconscious body.
Vivian West finally recovered from the shock.
She raised both hands and pressed them lightly against Ethan's chest.
"Um... can you let go now?"
Her lashes lowered as she spoke.
Her voice was quiet, carrying a trace of panic she clearly had not meant to show.
"Miss West is colder than I expected," Ethan said. "One second ago, I solved a rather expensive problem for you. I even risked getting beaten up for your sake. Now you're in a hurry to distance yourself?"
He did not loosen his hold.
Instead, he drew her a fraction closer.
He looked down at Northbridge's famous ice queen, the corner of his mouth curved with lazy amusement.
Vivian had thought he looked harmless at first.
Close up, she realized how wrong she had been.
Ethan's eyes were sharp.
Not loud.
Not frantic.
Sharp in the way a hunting bird was sharp, focused and unembarrassed by what it wanted.
"What do you want?" Vivian asked.
She tried to free herself.
Then she discovered that the arm around her waist was as steady as iron.
No matter how she shifted, it did not move unless he allowed it.
Remembering how he had sent Derek flying with one kick, Vivian made the intelligent choice.
She stopped struggling.
She inhaled slowly and forced herself back into composure.
"For such a large favor," Ethan said, "a dinner should be reasonable, shouldn't it?"
His eyes lingered on her face.
Vivian West was beautiful enough to make people careful.
Not soft beauty.
Expensive beauty.
The kind wrapped in discipline, silk, and a warning label.
Ethan felt a dangerous little interest take root.
Vivian was Celeste Shaw's closest friend.
The person Celeste trusted most.
If that proud ex-wife ever learned that the useless man she had divorced had turned around and made her best friend look at him like this...
The scene would be entertaining.
Business queen?
So what?
With his money, his face, his system rewards, and the strange new power moving beneath his skin, Ethan had no reason to feel small in front of anyone anymore.
"Fine," Vivian said at last. "Dinner. Now let go."
She had compromised.
If this public scene continued, tomorrow's headlines would definitely have her name in them.
Ethan released her.
Vivian immediately stepped back, though not as far as she probably intended.
"Book a restaurant," she told her assistant without turning around. "Somewhere quiet."
Her voice had returned to its usual cool authority.
"But Miss West," the assistant said, pushing her glasses up nervously, "the executive meeting starts in a few minutes. The directors are already waiting."
"It isn't a life-or-death meeting," Vivian said. "You chair it for me. If anything urgent comes up, message me."
With that, she walked toward the car parked at the curb.
Ethan followed at an easy pace.
The assistant stood there with her mouth slightly open.
She could hardly believe it.
Vivian West, who had once been rumored to prefer work over men, had just postponed a meeting worth hundreds of millions to have dinner with a stranger.
Professional survival dragged the assistant back to reality.
She took out her phone and called the restaurant.
...
Inside the car, Ethan leaned back against the leather seat.
The city slid past the window.
For the first time in years, the glittering streets did not feel like something he could only look at from outside.
Vivian sat beside him.
She kept a careful fist of space between them.
Seven or eight minutes later, the car stopped outside a five-star restaurant called The Jade House.
The manager personally led them upstairs to a private table on the top floor.
The booth was near the window.
Half of Northbridge spread beneath them, bright and restless.
"Order whatever you want," Vivian said after sitting down. "Don't be polite."
She disliked owing favors.
Especially to men she could not read.
Every instinct she had developed in business told her that Ethan Cole was dangerous.
"Don't worry," Ethan said, taking the menu. "I wasn't planning to be polite."
He ordered without hesitation.
"This. This. And these two pages."
He tapped the menu.
"Also, bring your best vintage red."
The server's smile stiffened for half a second, then became brighter.
"Of course. Please wait a moment."
After the server left, silence settled between them.
Ethan looked at Vivian openly.
His gaze moved over her swan-like neck, her precise makeup, the cool line of her mouth, and the faint tension beneath all that polish.
Vivian lifted her water glass.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Because you're beautiful," Ethan said.
No hesitation.
No apology.
"Northbridge's two queens. Celeste Shaw and Vivian West. I've heard the title. Now I finally get to examine one of them up close. That's normal curiosity."
If another man had said that, Vivian would have considered leaving.
But Ethan's face made irritation harder than it should have been.
Worse, his voice made the compliment sound less like flattery and more like a fact.
Vivian set down her glass.
"I should remind you of something."
Her expression turned serious.
"Derek Lowe is narrow-minded and vindictive. You humiliated him in public. When he wakes up, he won't let this go."
"If you offend the Lowe family, it will be difficult for you to stay in Northbridge."
Ethan leaned back lazily.
"That's not fair. I got into this trouble because I was helping you. If you hadn't kissed me, I wouldn't have been forced to act."
Vivian's ears warmed.
"Forced?"
"If the Lowe family really comes after me later," Ethan said, "will you take responsibility?"
"Responsibility?" Vivian nearly laughed. "How? Do you want me to marry you?"
Ethan considered it for half a second.
"That would work."
Vivian shot him a look.
She refused to answer that kind of trap.
This man had a talent for dragging the conversation exactly where he wanted it.
Luckily, the server returned with the first dishes.
"Eat," Vivian said. "Maybe food can keep your mouth busy."
"About the Lowe family," she continued, "I'll handle what I can. Try not to wander around alone for the next few days."
Ethan tasted the white jade sea cucumber and took his time appreciating the flavor.
Inwardly, he almost laughed.
The Lowe family?
After receiving 1,096 accumulated rewards, if Ethan truly wanted to, he could make the entire Lowe family disappear from the board without leaving a fingerprint.
The meal continued with both of them carrying different thoughts.
Near the end, Vivian's phone began vibrating sharply on the table.
She picked it up.
It was her assistant.
"What is it?"
Her expression changed as she listened.
"What?"
The longer she listened, the deeper the line between her brows became.
By the time she ended the call, the words something happened were written plainly across her face.
Author's Note:
This story will continue updating here.
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Thank you for reading.