"Are you tired?" asked Belinda. She noticed that he looked rather dull ever after coming out from the bathroom. It was not until then that she realized how inappropriate it was for her to have fallen asleep while he was helping her out.
"I'm fine. I've gotten used to working like this already. Could you make me another cup of coffee?" Pursing his dry lips, Duke asked as he closed his eyes drowsily.
"No problem. I will be back soon." Before leaving the room, she gave those documents a second glance, and was again pleasantly surprised by how well Duke had handled them. If Duke looked at her at that moment, he could surely read satisfaction on her face. Delighted, she went out, almost waltzing. Much like previously, she had no intention of letting her secretary help her with the coffee.
Soon after she left, Duke suddenly opened his eyes. It seemed that something had occurred to him, something he must remind her of. But it was too late. He couldn't do anything but sighed helplessly and continued with his nap. He was indeed tired. Unlike documents for approval, the documents he had just gone through were filled with numbers that needed to be checked with precision to the decimal points, which required more energy, not to mention that there were so many of them. It was not an easy task to finish them in such a short time even with his business prowess. Belinda was quick this time. In just a few minutes, she came back with two cups of coffee. But she slowed down when she entered and found Duke sitting there with his eyes closed. She hesitated, wondering whether she should wake him up or not.
"I think it's about time. Get your stuff done as soon as possible, and we will eat out before going back tonight." Duke opened his eyes and said to her. He calmly took one of the coffee up and sipped a little. It didn't surprise him that it was sweet again. It was his fault for forgetting to remind her. He disliked the taste but he drank it slowly with the same cold composure.
"Are you starving?" Belinda asked tentatively. As she recalled, he barely ate anything this noon, it wouldn't be a surprise if he was hungry now.
Lady, you had better not touch on such a sensitive topic when you're talking to a man. I don't think you can bear the consequences." Duke said, staring right into her eyes with his lips curled into a sinister smile.
"Sensitive? But I was only asking whether you are hungry or not..." But soon enough, Belinda clapped her hands to her mouth and glared at him. From his grin, she realized that he might be referring to sex-starved. Stepping back, she quickly kept him at arm's distance. That gave her the impression that all men were sexual creatures that thought of nothing but making love. What a pervert!
"Seems that you need no explanation." Duke chuckled and looked at her blushing face gloatingly. He was now totally refreshed by the joke he made. It was so much fun teasing her. Those harmless jokes seemed to have helped deepen their relationship. It was moments like these that gave them more happiness in their simple and peaceful life.
"I thought you were different from Edward, but as I see it now, you two are both well-dressed letches!" said Belinda flatly, rolling her eyes. Well, Edward would have never expected himself to be a collateral damage of their flirting.
"Thanks for your compliment." Duke wasn't angry or ashamed at all. On the contrary, he teased her even more by taking her words as a compliment. But his last word was followed by a knock on the door.
"Come in, please." Belinda cleared her throat before answering. She decided to seize the chance and drop the matter, for she was well aware that she would not win the argument whatsoever. She thought that Duke, unlike Edward, wasn't a hard nut to crack, but she was wrong. He was not to be underestimated.
The door opened and Simon Xu walked in slowly. He nodded as a greeting to Duke before walking to Belinda's desk and said, "Boss, I have scheduled an appointment with YD Group's CEO, but he said he would only give us half an hour to propose our plan."
"Really? I thought he would say no. I've prepared myself for his rejection, too. Now this is beyond my expectation. Did he say where shall we meet him?" Belinda was only trying her luck and wasn't expecting that the YD Group would agree to meet. It was quite a surprise for her to know that they were offered a chance. It was rumored that YD Group's CEO was a real piece of work. But now he didn't strike her as a difficult person. One shouldn't always take rumors seriously, she thought to herself. After all, she had learned a lesson from the man sitting on the sofa now. People all said that Duke was never a womanizer. But how would he explain his relationship with Rachel?
"At Tender Whispers, they will have their lunch there." It just so happened that the CEO's secretary was Simon's classmate back in school. It seemed that he had put in a good word for them. Otherwise, they would have never gotten the opportunity.
"What? Not that place again." The smile vanished from Belinda's face. She never wished to set foot in that restaurant ever again since she got drunk there the other night. The moment Simon mentioned its name, she quickly glanced at Duke to see how he would react to it. She let out a sigh of relief when she discovered that he was dozing off without paying any attention to them.
What's the matter? Could you make it?" Simon looked at her tensely. It was an one-time chance for them, missed it and they might have to fight against other companies in the competition held by YD Group afterward, which could greatly reduce their success rate. He did have confidence in their own plan, but he also believed that there could be more capable companies.
"Nothing. I will go. You can go and make further arrangement now." Biting her lip, Belinda finally nodded in agreement. 'I just happened to be drunk and made a scene, which is nothing unusual in a restaurant.' she comforted herself, 'I bet nobody else has seen it. No one will recognize me anyway. There is nothing to worry about.'
"No problem. Now if you would excuse me, I will get back to my work," said Simon, who couldn't help but shoot Belinda a questioning glance before leaving. He sort of felt that she had been acting strange the whole day. He couldn't tell, but he thought that she was not her usual self today.
Okay, please continue with your work then." With her elbows on the desk and her head resting on her palm, Belinda kept stroking her forehead, looking distressed.
"So you seek partnership with YD Group?" asked Duke with his eyes suddenly opened, staring at her curiously.