Grace Li's dining table wasn't very big—just enough to squeeze four people in, though it felt a bit cramped. Right now, the three of them were gathered around the small table, and there was a subtle tension in the air.
The table was covered with a variety of delicious dishes, blending the delicate flavors of Chinese cuisine with the hearty portions typical of American meals.
As the host, Grace Li cheerfully said, "You two, don't be shy—help yourselves."
"Sure thing," Aiden Thompson replied casually.
Isabella Hsueh glanced at Aiden Thompson and said teasingly, "Wow, we've known each other for a while now, but I still don't know your name. How about a little self-introduction?"
Aiden Thompson didn't miss a beat and responded easily, "I'm Aiden Thompson, Grace Li's coworker."
Isabella Hsueh turned to Grace Li and, with a hint of mischief, said, "Oh, you two must be pretty close at work. I'm getting jealous here."
Grace Li and Aiden Thompson happened to make eye contact. She subtly tugged at Isabella Hsueh's sleeve, giving her a look that said, "Stop talking."
Isabella Hsueh smiled and continued, "Okay, let me introduce myself, then. I'm Isabella Hsueh, Grace Li's best friend. We've known each other for 16 years. I'm a lawyer at EagleEdge Law Firm—if you ever need legal help, just hit me up."
Her introduction came with the usual lawyer-ish flair. Grace Li couldn't help but add, "Isabella Hsueh mostly handles divorce cases."
Aiden Thompson gave a slight smile and said, "Guess that means we won't be working together anytime soon."
Isabella Hsueh quickly clarified, "I deal with family law, not just divorces. I also handle inheritance issues, custody disputes, that kind of stuff. It's just that divorce cases make up most of my workload."
Grace Li grabbed a shrimp and placed it on Isabella Hsueh's plate, trying to quiet her down. "Just eat your food."
Isabella Hsueh chewed on the shrimp and then asked, "By the way, do you have a girlfriend?"
Aiden Thompson's lips curved into a slight grin as he replied, "Not yet."
"Really? A guy as good-looking as you doesn't have a girlfriend? That's pretty rare."
Aiden Thompson casually responded, "Really?"
Being a lawyer, Isabella Hsueh was skilled at digging for information. She pressed on, "Is it because your standards are too high?"
"Not really."
"I don't buy it," Isabella Hsueh shot a glance at Grace Li, "Grace here always says she doesn't have high standards, but in all these years, she's had at least ten guys chasing after her, and some of them were seriously top-notch. She didn't give any of them a chance."
Grace Li felt awkward and almost wished she could vanish into the floor.
Aiden Thompson turned to Grace Li and asked, "So, you have high standards, huh?"
Grace Li sighed in exasperation and defended herself, "Don't listen to Isabella Hsueh, nobody's been chasing me."
Aiden Thompson smiled gently, "Maybe you're just underestimating your own charm."
Grace Li was momentarily speechless.
Isabella Hsueh, hearing this, nodded approvingly. "This guy knows how to talk."
Trying to shift the topic, Grace Li asked, "So, have you two been watching Yellowstone? The new season is amazing, I've been hooked on it."
Aiden Thompson answered, "Yeah, I've seen it. Kevin Costner's acting is as great as always."
Isabella Hsueh chimed in, "I'm more into The Big Bang Theory, though. It's such a feel-good comedy, I can't help but laugh every time."
After they finished eating, Aiden Thompson figured it was time to leave and not interrupt the girls' time together, so he took off.
Isabella Hsueh took over the dishwashing duty, while Grace Li tidied up the kitchen.
Isabella Hsueh suggested, "How about we watch a movie to unwind?"
Grace Li responded, "Nah, I'm pretty tired. I just want to chat with you for a bit."
"Grace Li, that guy is way better-looking in person than in his photos. Seriously, his skin is flawless—like, smooth as an egg."
Grace Li was wiping down the stove and said, "He probably came from a good family, raised with plenty of care. So yeah, his skin's probably that perfect."
"I gotta say, even though it's the first time I've really met him, I get a good vibe. If you're interested, you should go for it."
Grace Li paused for a moment and said seriously, "I want to take it slow. We're coworkers, after all. I don't want to mess things up and make things awkward at work."
Isabella Hsueh leaned in and said with a wink, "Come on, he literally just said you're underestimating your own charm. That's gotta mean he's into you."
Grace Li rolled her eyes and lightly nudged Isabella Hsueh with her elbow. "You have the wildest imagination."
After the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned up, they both collapsed on the couch with the beers they hadn't finished earlier.
"By the way, what would you have done if I hadn't shown up tonight?"
Grace Li shrugged and said, "Doesn't matter if you were here or not. He came over because he didn't want to eat takeout on New Year's Eve." With that, she suddenly remembered something and got up to grab a gift bag from the TV stand.
"Whoa, is this a gift from the cute guy?"
"Yep." Grace Li sat back down on the couch and opened the bag to reveal an elegant box with a prominent Dior logo.
"Wow, it's Dior perfume!" Isabella Hsueh exclaimed.
Grace Li had been too busy cooking earlier to really notice the gift. Now that she saw it was perfume, her thoughts wandered: In the U.S., giving perfume can carry some serious meaning. Did he pick this out by accident, or is there something more to it? I really can't figure it out. If I misinterpret it, things might get awkward at work later. But if I ignore the possible hint, I might miss out on something.
Grace Li wasn't someone who wore perfume often, only spritzing a little when she met important clients or wanted to feel a little more confident.
The next morning,Grace Li carefully did her makeup, her eyes landing on the bottle of Dior perfume on her desk. The pink bottle, soft and delicate, practically screamed "luxury" with an irresistible charm. After a moment of hesitation, she sprayed a bit, letting the light fragrance swirl around her. The perfume cost over a thousand bucks—enough for Aiden Thompson to eat a few nice dinners. For him to splurge like that just for a dinner invite? It felt like over-the-top generosity.
Grace Li couldn't help but think that the value of the perfume wasn't just in its price tag, but in the gesture itself. In the fast-paced, cutthroat world of New York, a thoughtful move like this was rare.
She caught herself staring at her reflection in the mirror, realizing how often her mind wandered these days. She was definitely overthinking everything.
As she stepped into the elevator, she bumped into Aiden Thompson. The faint scent of perfume lingered in the air, and it suddenly hit her: maybe she'd come off a little... extra this morning.
Aiden Thompson turned slightly, his eyes meeting hers. Grace wasn't wearing heels, so she was almost a full head shorter than him, and he unconsciously looked down a bit.
"That perfume? Totally works for you," he said quietly, his voice echoing softly in the elevator.
Grace's cheeks flushed. Was he telling her he thought it matched her, or was she just overthinking it?
"Why's that? You think it fits me?" she asked casually, her voice dripping with that signature New York nonchalance.
"The scent's fresh but sticks around. Not too in-your-face. Plus, I've noticed the ones you usually wear are kinda similar," Aiden explained with that no-nonsense New York confidence.
"Yeah, I love it. Thanks a ton," Grace said with a light nod. "I feel a little bad, though, spending all that cash on me."
Aiden waved it off with a grin. "Nah, don't sweat it. I'm basically crashing your dinner."
"Still, you could've had like ten meals for the price of this," Grace teased.
Aiden smirked. "Well, then, I guess I'll just have to crash nine more dinners. Sound good?"
Grace laughed, her smile lighting up. "Think my cooking's that good?"
"This is honestly the best home-cooked meal I've ever had," Aiden said, sincerity in his eyes.
"Well, if I ever get sick of the venture capital grind, I'll open a restaurant," Grace joked, her tone playful but thoughtful.
"Do it! I'll be your first regular," Aiden said with enthusiasm, his smile wide.
As they chatted, the elevator door opened, and they both stepped into the office. It was always just the two of them in the office this early, and these quiet moments had become a kind of comforting routine.
Grace sat down at her desk and opened her laptop, ready to dive into work. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Grace! You're back! That's awesome!" Scarlet Harris's voice was upbeat and full of energy.
Grace looked up, smiling. "What's up, Scarlet?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Scarlet rushed in, clicking her heels with a slight urgency. "I need your help with something," she said, clearly a little flustered.
As she walked past Aiden's desk, she waved. "Morning, Aiden."
Aiden shot her a smile. "Hey, morning."
Scarlet quickly made her way over to Grace's desk. "Grace, remember that inhaled drug project we talked about with GloryPath Capital? They sent over their initial due diligence materials. Have you had time to look at them yet?"
"I skimmed them. What's up?" Grace asked, raising an eyebrow, sensing something was off.
"My dad's probably gonna ask me about it later, and I've been so slammed with stuff, I haven't had the chance to dig into it. Can you break it down for me?" Scarlet's eyes had a pleading look in them.
Grace had only taken a cursory look at the project, so she didn't have the full scoop. "I'm not super deep into this, either, but I can give you the basics," she said, being upfront.
"That works," Scarlet said quickly, relieved.
Grace clicked through her laptop, opening the due diligence file. "So, the inhaled drug market is pretty wild. The whole drug-device combo thing, you know? D-D combo—it's a tough one. The drug itself, the materials, the formula, how it's dispersed; that's all super tricky. And the device to administer it? Even trickier. It's all about having a kickass R&D team, and this company's mostly been doing generics, not exactly pioneers in original research. Like Clyde Tang said, we could throw a ton of money at it, but this comes with a ton of risks—and honestly, no one knows how it's gonna turn out. Even if they get a solid R&D team, big pharma already owns a lot of patents in this space. Breaking new ground? Not gonna be easy."
Scarlet listened intently, nodding and chiming in with her own questions. They went back and forth for about twenty minutes, digging into the details.
By 9 AM, the office had started to fill up.
Seeing everyone return, Scarlet beamed, "Morning, folks! New year, new coffee—my treat!"
Ryan and Mike immediately cheered, "Woohoo! Scarlet's the best!"
Scarlet laughed and turned to Ryan. "Hey, can you check what everyone wants and let me know?"
"Sure thing!" Ryan replied, grinning.
Then he added, "Scarlet, you're always buying us coffee and snacks. You're spoiling us!"
"Stop it, we're all colleagues, it's no big deal," Scarlet said, brushing it off with a wave, a bright smile on her face.