Chapter 55
There was silence on the phone for a few seconds.
Although Vanessa couldn't see Shawn's expression, she could sense that Shawn didn't feel happy now.
However, Vanessa felt very satisfied with that.
After all, Shawn took advantage of her with the effect of alcohol in her house last night, though, she kind of liked being taken advantage of by him... no, she kind of liked the drunk Shawn.
However, when Shawn woke up the next day, he again became that cold man like he did nothing.
Vanessa felt so angry that she felt the necessity to let Shawn know that she was a woman with pride.
It was a busy morning, and there were sirens of the cars and music from nearby restaurants on the street, sounding noisy and lively.
After a while, Shawn suddenly said, "Stay there! Wait for me outside your house."
Vanessa smiled and said, "No, it's so hot outside! Besides, I have to go to work now."
Shawn paused for a second.
Then, he said in a softer voice.
"Vanessa, just wait for me there. Okay?"
Hearing Shawn's soft voice, Vanessa compromised.
It seemed that she had the potential to be a great girlfriend.
Then, Vanessa nodded and said.
"Alright. Don't let me wait for too long. It's really too hot today! How is it so hot? It's just march now. I can't even imagine how the weather will be in summer..."
Shawn hung up after Vanessa finished speaking.
Vanessa found a shady spot and stood quietly to wait for Shawn.
Soon Shawn's car appeared in front of her.
He rolled down the window and looked at Vanessa.
The heat was driving Vanessa up the wall, and she complained as she walked to Shawn's car.
"It's so hot! The heat is barely tolerable!"
Shawn's voice sounded through the cool air in the car.
"Then, why did you wear so much?"
Vanessa suddenly paused and looked at Shawn's eyes.
She thought that Shawn had the will to be a good boyfriend, but when hearing what Shawn said, Vanessa knew that Shawn was still that cold man.
Vanessa, arms folded over her chest, said with sarcasm, "What do you think why I'm wearing so much? Don't tell me that you forgot what you have done last night!"
Shawn's eyes suddenly alighted on Vanessa's neck.
He leaned his elbow against the window and rested his chin on his hand. Then, he said casually.
"Oh? What have I done?"
His voice sounded so calm.
But Vanessa's heart missed a beat when hearing what he said.
"You knew that..." she murmured.
"I wasn't that drunk to forget what I did!" Shawn looked at Vanessa with a meaningful look, "I remembered everything I should remember!"
Vanessa said nothing.
She suddenly felt the skin of her neck burning. She raised her hand and touched her neck as if she tried to conceal something.
Shawn leaned back in his chair and said gently, "Get in the car."
Vanessa stood still and said, "You get out of the car first!"
Shawn frowned and looked at Vanessa impatiently.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Just get out of the car! Please."
Although Vanessa tried to play the woman when she said that, she looked at Shawn calmly as if she wouldn't do anything after Shawn got out of the car.
Shawn had no idea what she was going to do.
It was rush hour now, and commuters were all in hurry to catch the subway, but Vanessa just stood there, waiting for Shawn to get out of the car.
Looking at Vanessa's smiling face, Shawn still opened the door and got out of the car.
He walked to Vanessa and stood in front of Vanessa, blocking the bright sunlight that fell on her face.
"So, what's the matter?"
"Nothing!" Vanessa tiptoed to whisper near Shawn's ear, "I want you to kiss me before I get in the car."
Shawn said nothing.
Actually, Vanessa didn't really mean to ask for a kiss. She just hated to see Shawn's cold look of pretentious in public, so she was deliberately perverse and tried to take off his mask.
She wasn't afraid of being kissed by Shawn in public. After all, she didn't ask for a French kiss.
Therefore, it was also not surprising for Vanessa that Shawn ignored her words.
Vanessa snuggled close up to Shawn. Shawn turned his head slightly and saw Vanessa's ear immediately.
Vanessa's skin was very fair, and her small ears were flushed because of the hot weather now.
Shawn's breath fell on Vanessa's ear, and he whispered, "Why don't you wear the earrings?"
"I didn't find the suitable ones this morning, so..."
But why did Shawn suddenly ask that?
When Vanessa was about to look up, she suddenly felt Shawn's soft lips on her ear.
Shawn kissed her ear gently and even touched it with the tip of his soft tongue.
Vanessa's heart missed a beat, and she immediately held her breath. Her hands clenched imperceptibly.
She didn't know if Shawn did this just because it looked like they were talking in a private way and wouldn't attract people's attention, or because it was his nature to tease her sensitive part of his anatomy.
Anyway, Vanessa, at this time, totally went blank. Her legs went weak, and she almost leaned on Shawn.
All the sounds on the street slowly faded away, and Vanessa could only hear her heartbeat.
Shawn raised his hand and touched Vanessa's head. His fingers ran through Vanessa's black hair and rubbed her head gently.
At the same time, Shawn still kissed Vanessa's ear while whispering, "Could you go with me now?"
Vanessa murmured, "Yeah, sure..."
"Then, let's go now."
Shawn moved his lips away and glanced at her. Then, he turned around and pulled Vanessa into the car.
Vanessa was speechless.
She suddenly felt that there was a trace of dislike in Shawn's tone as if he thought Vanessa was very troublesome.
But even though he disliked that, why would he still do such an intimate, erotic thing to her in public?
Vanessa couldn't help but feel that Shawn was volatile.
In the car, Shawn sat in the backseat with an air of dignity and straightened his collar before he closed his eyes for a break.
Vanessa felt angrier.
Vanessa was clinging to the window on her right, secretly keeping her distance from Shawn and staring back at him from time to time.
Anyway, Shawn couldn't see what she was doing.
However, as Vanessa stared back at him for the third time, Shawn suddenly said with his eyes closed, "Stop looking at me! I want to have a break."
Vanessa was surprised.
She didn't know how Shawn could know that.
"I didn't look at you!"
Vanessa snorted. "I just stared at you!"
Shawn ignored what Vanessa said and still closed his eyes as if he were asleep.
Last night, he couldn't stand the smell of smoke and alcohol that still clung to his clothes, so he went to take a shower after he went home. When he walked out of the bathroom, it was already midnight.
He slept well last night, but he still had a massive hangover now.
He closed his eyes and tried to have a break for a moment in the car, but soon, Shawn noticed that he couldn't be calm with Vanessa sitting next to him. The faint smell of her perfume lingered in the car.
And even though Vanessa didn't say or do anything, he just failed to calm down.
Shawn took a deep breath and then opened his eyes. He suddenly grabbed Vanessa's hand.
Her hands were slender and tender, and she kept her nails short and her hands clean, presenting an all-natural beauty.
Vanessa's hand was small that Shawn could easily hold her hand gently in the palm of his hand.
Shawn rubbed her hand gently for a while. Then, his fingers splay out in a star shape and slowly curled up to hold Vanessa's hand, keeping their fingers crossed.
"I'll pick you up after work today!"
Vanessa smiled and looked out the window while joking. "I'm very busy today."
After a while, Vanessa didn't hear Shawn's response, but her hand was rubbed by Shawn gently.
Vanessa glanced furtively at Shawn, and Shawn was now looking so calmly and casually as if he didn't hear what Vanessa said.
Vanessa suddenly felt a bit disappointed.
Vanessa pulled back her hand and twiddled her thumbs with her head lowered down, trying to conceal her embarrassment.
"My friend's flight tonight, the one you met earlier, I'm going to pick her up."
Shawn asked, "Did she come here for a trip?"
"Nope!"
Vanessa was about to tell Shawn that Emily came here for a business trip, but she suddenly thought of the words that Emily had said to Vanessa when she saw Shawn for the first time.
"Vanessa, I'll wager you a big meal that you won't be his girlfriend!"
Thinking of this, Vanessa chuckled and glanced at Shawn meaningfully.
"She came here to treat me to a big meal."
Shawn said nothing.
Sometimes, Shawn really doubted that there was an emotional switch on Vanessa so that she could change her emotions so fast.
Sometimes, she was angry, and sometimes she was upset, and sometimes, she was shy as a small woman, and sometimes, she smiled like a fool.
Thinking of Emily, Vanessa was obviously in a good mood. She moved closer to Shawn and tugged at his sleeve.
"Do you want to pick up her with me?"
Shawn said, "I'm very busy today!"
Vanessa was speechless.
She didn't expect that Shawn would use her words against her.
Vanessa nodded and said solemnly, "Well, alright! I'll go find an available boyfriend to go with me."
Shawn wasn't angry when he heard this. Instead, he looked at Vanessa quietly with a smile.
Then, Vanessa continued to express her dissatisfaction.
"I have a boyfriend who tells me good morning and good night every day."
"I have another boyfriend who picks me up after work and sometimes, he may bring flowers to me."
"Besides, I also have a boyfriend who will be there for me when I need him."
"And my favorite boyfriend is the one who pampers me all the time!"
"Alright!" Shawn drawled.
"I don't know that you have so many boyfriends!"
"Yap! Why are you looking at me like that?" Vanessa said calmly, "Are you jealous of me?"
Shawn made no answer.
"I won't give you one!"
Shawn still kept silent.
"Unless you beg me!" Vanessa said.
"Okay! I beg you..." Shawn finally said but in a cold voice, "to shut up!"
Vanessa then didn't say anything.
...
Because of the delay on the road, Vanessa was almost late for work.
As she just put down her bag, she was told to have a regular meeting.
When it came to the end of the meeting, Zoie leaned back in her chair and said with a smile, "It's March now, and everything comes back to life in spring. Of course, it's also a suitable time to look for true love!"
Hearing what Zoie said, everyone didn't know what to say at this time, except for Vanessa.
"So, do you have a boyfriend?"
Zoie smoothed her hair and shook her head. "Well, I've got plans for my life. I'm worried about you all. Well, the boss of the Internet company upstairs came to me several days ago and wanted to hold a social party with our department."
She then winked at Vanessa. "He specially asked me to invite you and I've accepted. Will you do me the honor?"
Vanessa nodded with a smile. "Sure!"
Zoie was very satisfied with Vanessa's reply and gave her an admiring glance.
But the next second, Vanessa took out her phone and said, "But I have to get my boyfriend's permission first."
Zoie suddenly sat straight and closed her laptop. "The meeting is over."
...
As soon as Vanessa left the meeting room, Tracy immediately walked to her.
"You have a boyfriend?"
Vanessa smiled and walked to the drinking room.
Tracy still had something else to deal with, so she had no time to ask more and left away.
Due to a week-long business trip to Bostabaca, Vanessa had a lot of work to do. When she returned to her desk, she was quickly engrossed in her job.
After lunch, Vanessa even had no time to take a nap and continued to work.
It was not until the end of the day that Vanessa stood up to stretch when most of the people in the office were waiting for the time to leave. Then, Vanessa stood by the window with a cup of hot water in her hand and glanced over her friends' newest updates.
Soon, she saw Sophia's new update that she posted three hours ago.
"Life, life! We are all born to work! Shakespeare said the truth!"
Below this sentence was a photo of Shakespeare.
Vanessa was speechless.
She then noticed that Lonn gave a like to this sentence.
Vanessa sighed a breath and left a comment.
"Shakespeare didn't say that!"
A few seconds later, Sophia deleted this sentence.
Then, Sophia sent Vanessa a message.
"Why didn't you tell me that earlier? It's so embarrassing!"
Vanessa then messaged her back. "Maybe he didn't know that either. Look! He gave you a like!"
Sophia replied to Vanessa with a crying emoji.
Vanessa typed Sophia. "Just don't pretend to be an artistic girl anymore. You can post more selfies of you!"
Sophia sent another sad emoji.
Vanessa then asked, "What's going on?"
"My uncle wants me to go back to work!" Sophia replied.
After drinking the water, Vanessa sorted out the files while sending Sophia a voice message.
"You do need to go back to work at your age!"
Sophia then sent Vanessa a voice message. "Oh, no! Since when you're taking my uncle's side?"
After a while.
Sophia sent another voice message. "Are you and my uncle in a relationship?"
Sophia's voice was so loud that Vanessa unconsciously held the phone away from her ear.
Unexpectedly, Sophia's voice rang out from loudspeakers.
At this time, Lily passed her with a pile of documents in her arms.
She heard what Sophia said and looked at Vanessa in surprise.
Meanwhile, Vanessa was still smiling and typing on her phone.
Vanessa sent Sophia an emoji of a grin.
Then, she messaged Sophia. "Keep it a secret!"
Lily's eyes changed. She looked away thoughtfully and continued to walk toward the office.
On the phone, Sophia continued to message Vanessa in surprise.
"I noticed that he named a woman 'sweetheart' on his phone, and I thought it wasn't you!"
Vanessa typed her. "Why did you think that it wasn't me?"
"Does your uncle have any other girlfriends?"
"Does he cheat on me?"
Sophia quickly messaged Vanessa back. "No! I just thought that name is really not your style!"
Vanessa was speechless.
Sophia then sent a message. "After all, you look demure and intellectual! It really not like you to choose such a disgusting nickname."
Vanessa then typed Sophia. "You're right!"
"LOL! I never thought that my uncle would be so disgusting!" Sophia sent a message.
Vanessa didn't reply to Sophia's message. Instead, she went to send a message to her boyfriend.
"I wonder if my boyfriend will come to pick me up today with a bouquet of flowers?"
As soon as she just sent the message, Vanessa then immediately received Shawn's call.
"Go downstairs!"
Vanessa was surprised. "You're already here?"
Shawn said, "Yep!"
Vanessa said nothing.
If she had known that Shawn was already here, she wouldn't have wasted her time dropping hints.
Vanessa then turned off her computer and said goodbye to Tracy before she left.
It was still early, and the square outside the office building wasn't very crowded now, so Vanessa spotted Shawn's car at a glance.
Shawn sobered up and drove a car over by himself.
Vanessa jogged to the car. Then, she slowly pulled open the door and sat gracefully in.
She took a glance at the passenger seat. As expected, there was nothing on the seat.
Vanessa snorted and didn't say anything. After wearing her seat belt, Vanessa said coldly, "Sir, Lantrie International Airport, please."
Shawn glanced at her and said, "What did you mean by that?"
Vanessa lowered her head twiddling her hair without looking at Shawn. "You're no different from a taxi driver when you come to pick up your girlfriend without a bouquet of flowers," she murmured.
Shawn made no answer.
He just smiled and directly drove Vanessa to the airport.
They didn't even talk to each other on the way.
The main reason was that Shawn had received many calls about the work on the way.
He didn't wear headphones and could only answer the calls directly from the car console, so Vanessa had to be quiet.
After the phone calls, Shawn also stopped talking.
Vanessa peeked at him several times, but Shawn just stayed calm as if nothing happened.
Vanessa felt a bit upset.
She had already made it clear just now, and she just wanted Shawn to coax her. However, Shawn just drove quietly all the way.
It seemed that he really thought of himself as a taxi driver.
When they arrived at the parking lot of the airport, Vanessa asked before the car stopped, "Thank you, sir. How much is it?"
Shawn was parking the car as he coldly glanced at Vanessa.
He felt unhappy with Vanessa's tone which sounded like she really regarded him as a taxi driver.
Shawn then said, "One thousand nine hundred and five!"
Vanessa was surprised at Shawn's answer.
"Do you make living through robbing?" she asked unhappily.
"Nope!" Shawn smiled. "I make living through my rich father."
Vanessa said nothing.
After the car stopped, Vanessa was still sitting in the passenger seat in a bad mood.
Shawn looked at her for a moment and pinched her face with a smile.
"Look at the backseat!"
Vanessa then turned her head to look at the backseat.
There was a black gift box, emblazoned with the word "Rose" on the backseat.
Vanessa was surprised.
She immediately felt happy.
She even forgot to remove her seat belt and stretched out her hand to get the gift box.
Inside was a bouquet of red roses.
At once, the air in the car was heavy with the scent of flowers.
Vanessa held the flowers and lowered her head to smell the flowers. Then, she raised her head and met Shawn's gaze. After a while, she shifted her gaze from Shawn to the flowered and blushed.
There was an intimate atmosphere in the car.
Although Vanessa said nothing now, her rosy cheeks were enough to touch Shawn's heart.
Shawn unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over to Vanessa.
When Shawn was moving closer and closer to Vanessa, a phone suddenly rang, breaking the intimate atmosphere at the moment.
The moment Vanessa answered the phone, Emily's voice immediately rang out.
"Oh my! I met Rachel! She didn't go to the VIP section! Oh, my God! I've never met a star in my life before! She's so beautiful! Are you coming or not? Hurry up! There are so many people here asking for taking photos with her!"
Vanessa gasped. "Wait for me there! I'll be right there!"
Then, Vanessa immediately opened the car door and got out of the car as she threw the flowers into Shawn's arms.