"Stella's point of view,"
"Ethan, why did you take the day off?"
I turned a bewildered glance at him.
I was occasionally astonished by his behavior.
"Stella, I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to let you go shopping by yourself. Since you are my guest, I have a responsibility to look after you," he explained, gesturing for me to sit down, then pushed open the door to the passenger seat of his car.
Am I dreaming, or what?
The legendary Ethan Woods revealed his tender side to me.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Woods. I had no idea you were such a good host," I taunted him and sat in the car's passenger seat.
I wanted to drive the car at a high speed on New York's streets, but I knew that if I asked him to let me drive his car, he would never let me, so I silently buckled up.
He wore a solemn expression as he sat in the driver's seat. He didn't take his eyes off the road during the drive. Indeed, he remained silent throughout the drive.
To avoid him seeing that I was staring at him, I stealthily glanced at his face. When he drives, he appears dashing. His driving abilities are just exceptional. I consider it a stroke of luck that I was able to drive against him.
Oh no, I have to think of a solution to get rid of his new insistence. I have to keep a professional distance from him because he is my business opponent, and I can not be his company's financial counselor. Abruptly, my thoughts returned to his offer.
"Do you not want to go shopping, Mrs. Woods?" The knock on my car's window caused my mental bubble to collapse.
I unfastened my seat belt and exited the car. It's quite weird for me to go shopping with him. I like to shop alone. Avery occasionally goes shopping with me, but I try not to do so because of her terrible fashion sense.
Her messages have been piling up on my phone since this morning. Her anxiety stems from the company's financial situation. There is a great deal of chaos in my company following the cancellation of the Mr. Chang contract. I need to figure out how to make my company's finances better.
However, despite my concerns about my company, I am having fun shopping with Ethan Woods.
What's wrong with me? I questioned my subconscious.
Worrying is not a solution to any problem, so it's more beneficial to embrace the flow. My subconscious guided me.
"Stella, I'll be waiting for you outside the store, so go ahead and enjoy your shopping." He asked me to enter the store by myself as he sat in front of it.
When he doesn't want to accompany me to the store, why did he come here with me?
Don't tell me he came here as my bodyguard to protect me from goons. Huh. I felt irritated upon seeing him seated outside the store.
"All right,"I nodded and went into the shop.
"Madam, which style of clothing are you trying to find?" The store manager smiled as he walked over to me.
"I'm looking for a simple, elegant long gown for a family dinner." I told him what I was trying to find.
Because his grandma invited me at the last minute, I didn't even have dinner attire. I don't want to wear a business suit to a dinner party and give the impression that I'm there for a business meeting.
"Madam, would you like anything?"
I wasn't impressed with any of the fifty or sixty dresses he showed me.
What was wrong with him? I'd want a long, simple gown. Why is he showing me such sultry and skimpy dresses?
"No, none of them appeal to me."
"Oh my god, Avery! What the fuck happened? Why are you acting so crazy and yelling at me?"
"Stella, Mr. Chang served us with a legal notice for payment of a fine for breaching our agreement." Her voice sounds tense.
"Avery, take 3 to 4 deep breaths first. And tell me you did the work I asked you to do." I made an effort to soothe her.
"Yes, I did as you instructed, but I'm still not sure how this will help us get out of the issue." Avery is still perplexed by my plan.
"Avery, don't worry; I'll handle it. I will take care of everything."
"Stella, please come back soon. I miss you." When I heard her, I had the impression that the workload was causing her to cry at any time.
"I am sorry, darling P.A.
My stubborn husband has prevented me from leaving his city, but I assure you that I will arrive as soon as possible. I love you. Take care."
When I saw the floral gown, I immediately hung up the phone.
I should try it because I think it looks good on me. I turned to enter the trial room. However, when I turned, my body nearly collided with that of a hulk.
"What are you doing here, Ethan?" I looked at him in confusion.
"Did you like any dresses?"
Why did he not give me a chance to go to the trial room? Rather, he is making his way toward me slowly. I get nervous about being so close to him.
"No, I hadn't decided on a dress yet." I turned to look for a way out of his line of sight.
"Do you want to give this a try?"
He showed me the dress he had been concealing behind his back.
"That is lovely. Where did you get this? How did you know that I wanted this type of gown for today's dinner?"
"Do you like it, Stella?"
He was so close to me that I could feel his breath on my cheeks. When I sensed his presence, butterflies flew into my stomach. What the hell is going on with me around him? Every time I saw him near me, why did I feel like a teenager?
"I think these clothes look great on you, so take them too." He gave me six gowns to try on.
"I can't hold on to any more outfits, Ethan, because my hands are already too full."
"It's okay; let me assist you, Stella. Please hand me your phone so you can try clothes comfortably." He extended his hand to take my phone.
Did I trust him with my phone? I questioned my subconscious.
Oh, come on, don't be doubtful of him; what would he do with your locked phone? My subconscious ridiculed me for not trusting Ethan. I handed my phone to him and went into the trial room.
"Take your time to try on all these outfits, Stella."
When he saw my phone in his palm, a naughty grin spread across his face.
I'm not sure why he is so delighted to be holding my phone, but I feel like something horrible is going on in his head.