[33]
“Anything aggravating during quarantine?” asked Andrew as he sipped his coffee. Ever since his order came, the girl in front of him seemed to be savoring it with gusto.
“Nothing,” said Giselle, still focusing on her food.
“Slow down.” Andrew held out a tissue to save Giselle the trouble of realizing there was a piece of chocolate stuck to the corner of her lips.
“Tethimaa hahih.” Giselle didn’t care if Andrew gave her a look of surprise as well as disgust because of her behavior just now. she also didn’t need to cover up how childish her behavior was in front of this man. why? She was in disguise after all, right? No one here would recognize him. Although visitors to this coffee shop can be counted on the fingers, but still Giselel must put up a vigilant attitude. Who knows, there are nosy hands who take her photos without permission and spread them without the knowledge of Giselle and her agency.
Instead, Andrew looked at her admiringly. While the women he often sat with were either talking business or hanging out with for the night, most of them took care of their image and appearance. They are often very particular about the food they put into their bodies. The reason is to maintain an ideal weight.
In front of her, Giselle doesn’t care. She’s enjoying the chocolate served in front of her with gusto and doesn’t care about the many calories and even saturated fat.
“Three days to the final night. I’m sure you’ve prepared well.” Andrew started the conversation again. There was so much he wanted to ask but the man held back. It was better to start the conversation about Giselle’s activities during quarantine.
“It’s normal.” Giselle finished her snack. There was nothing left but the crumbs on her plate. “Ah… I didn’t know the brownies here were so good. The chocolate on top melts with just the right amount of flavor.”
Andrew chuckled. “You really are a fan of chocolate.”
“Chocolate is a pretty powerful stress reliever.”
“Are you stressed out from quarantine?” asked Andrew in a suddenly worried tone. He looked closely and scrutinized Giselle’s face to find out, was she really under a lot of pressure in there?
“No, I’m not. Why should I stress?” Giselle frowned. “I don’t have any targets during quarantine anyway.”
“But your name is in the netizen’s favorite category.” Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. at least his worries were not proven. But even if it did, he would shower Giselle with lots of low-calorie chocolate. So that the stress and pressure that Giselle was experiencing, could be eliminated immediately.
“I know that. Daisy told me about the developments on social media about the quarantine. Some of our activities were also broadcast exclusively on one of the TV channels, right?”
Andrew nodded.
“And it’s yours?”
Andrew could only grin slightly. He didn’t want to boast that he was still controlled by his father in this matter. He wanted to boast through his own abilities but he couldn’t yet. There was no opening for such actions.
“You’re a busy man but have the time to meet me here.”
“Ah, don’t you think about tonight. I’m the one who should be thanking you for taking the time to meet me.”
Giselle chuckled. “I just wanted to thank in person the man who went to the trouble of sending me a bunch of treats and flowers. Although I’m sure it wasn’t you who went out of your way to do it, right?” she lifted her cup of warm chocolate. Sipping slowly and savoring the sweet and slightly bitter taste of the chocolate base this time, she felt she could enjoy it to the end. “This is delicious. It’s recommended to enjoy it on a cold night.”
Giselle’s long-winded speech was perfectly recorded by Andrew’s head. While thinking, what did this beautiful girl in front of him mean. “Do you… mind if my assistant sends it?”
Giselle’s brow furrowed. “Why do you mind?” she blinked in surprise. “You’re busy, right? There won’t be time to take care of something as trivial as sending something here. I’m not going to ma-”
“In the future, I’ll do the shipping myself. I won’t need an assistant anymore. I’ll find the best recommendations for sending you various chocolates.”
“Huh?”
“But I hope you don’t get bored quickly.”
Giselle didn’t understand where he was going with this. So what if Andrew had his men do the work of placing the order and having the bakery deliver it for him. she had no problem with that. Not at all. That’s the truth, isn’t it? Andrew was busy and couldn’t be bothered to make the orders himself.
But why did Andrew get it so wrong?
“It’s not a matter of being bored or not,” Giselle said with a sigh. “I don’t mind whoever sends the chocolates as long as it’s an order from you. It’s just, isn’t it too much that you s almost every day?”
“Why go overboard?” Andrew looked at Giselle in surprise. “I’m not bothered. If you object to my assistant doing it, even under my supervision, I don’t want you to be disappointed with the shipment that reaches you. As I said before, I will take care of the delivery for you myself later.”
“You really got it wrong,” Giselle tapped her forehead lightly.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t like my delivery, Na-, okay… I’m not used to it yet but I’m trying. Giselle.”
“Speaking of Nami’s name, I remembered Jilly. How is she doing? Justin didn’t tell me how the case was progressing. I’m quite curious.”
Andrew was a bit flabbergasted too. How could the conversation about the shipment be turned around so sharply by Giselle? Who was now talking about Jilly? Tsk! Somehow remembering that name made him a bit sick. Although Andrew admitted, he did benefit from that woman, but… the cost to him was quite high.
Apart from Giselle’s side, he also received a stern warning from his father. remembering his father too, made Andrew’s heart feel supported further and further. even though in front of him, Giselle was so eager to reach out. However…
“Jilly, yes,” Andrew tried to shake off the thought that had just come into his brain. “She was sentenced to ten years in prison with a hefty fine. And another charge of extortion against you was filed by the SEO although it wasn’t aired in public, but the SEO made sure it added to Jilly’s sentence.”
Giselle was flabbergasted. “Wow, Justin really doesn’t take kindly to bullies.”
What Giselle had said was true and the horror Andrew had felt. Justin’s influence was quite strong and Andrew couldn’t just ignore it. Remembering all the things Justin had said to him and as he began to prove to Giselle, Andrew didn’t just fulfill his words.
Giselle’s name is gradually appearing in the headlines as a newcomer model who is successful with her career. This includes her activities during quarantine, many of whose photos were obtained from Andy. Occasionally, he also inserted other names as a diversion above Giselle’s news.
Because of this, Giselle’s name is gaining more ground in the eyes of netizens as well as her fairly stable position as a favorite model in this emerging year.
“And I’m still curious, are you going to threaten me with my past again?” asked Giselle who could be said to be relaxed in her attitude again. Her eyes stared intently at her interlocutor. Her demeanor was also no longer as relaxed as the previous conversation. Which made Andrew squint in surprise but laugh because of the change in Giselle’s attitude just now.
“Do I look like that?”
“Yes.”
“I already said I have no interest in doing that bad thing, right? You don’t believe me?”
“Absolutely not,” Giselle said straightforwardly. “You have everything. One throw of the news and it’s all over for me, Andrew.”
Andrew was silent.
“So… please tell me honestly. What is the meaning of all your behavior these past few days? I’m not one to be easily fooled by the sweetness you give me. Like what I like, chocolate has two sides; sweet and bitter. And the sweetness that chocolate offers is balanced with the bitterness. So what bitterness are you trying to give me?”