Date The CEO.com

Chapter 257: Day Two: Salty as Cheese

"Hey, back off, mister! This is a girls only conversation!"

Eve leaned in until her chin almost touched Ambryan's shoulder. "Don't lie. You've been leaking our conversation to Jarrett this whole time."

Andie scoffed, brushing it off with a wave of her hand. "He just happened to be in the same room. I don't control where he goes and where he doesn't go."

"Didn't you kick him out of the apartment once?"

"That was an exception!" She quickly defended. With two against one, her wits were at a disadvantage. She decided to change the topic. "Anyway, Ambryan. I thoroughly appreciate that you managed to take the bakery back. I don't want to know exactly how since it would have been a lot of money. Nonetheless, thank you. That's on behalf of everyone who works there."

Ambryan nodded along. Instead of buying out the property, he had searched for someone who'd want to do business with the bakery. Most of the people he considered were close to retirement and would appreciate the passive income on the rent. 

"How's Jarrett doing?" He asked. 

Andie glanced at the said topic of conversation. He stood up and placed his empty plate on the sink. Her voice lowered in volume a bit. "Well, an agency has taken him in. Thank goodness."

At that, Ambryan frowned. "He doesn't want to go back?"

"I'm not sure. Ask him yourself at another time."

"I see" he muttered. It would take time to get Jarrett back in public service. To have a job was better than nothing at all. "Well, tell me if there's anything else I can do to help. Don't think about how big or small it is."

"Hmmm," Andie considered. She folded her free arm over her stomach and propped an elbow over its wrist. "Since you offered then"

"Yes?" Ambryan rose to his feet, leaving Eve alone on the bench. She scowled in his direction. What could Andie possibly ask that she wasn't allowed to hear? It wasn't like neither of them would tell her about it.

They would tell her about it, right?"

Andie held up a finger despite how he couldn't see her. A serious look displayed on her face. "I want dibs on every surprise you have prepared for my best friend. An incident like this can't happen again since you already know she's Eve. These surprises need my approval. Do you hear me?"

The corner of his lip curled up. "I hear you perfectly. You won't be disappointed."

"I better not be." She snorted, exhaling sharply. "Well, I have to go. Send Eve some kisses for me. Please don't make it gross because it's from me and not you. Also, tell her that I'll call again later in the day when we're both free."

"Got it." Ambryan nodded. He ended the call and handed the phone back to Eve. "Andie sends her well wishes and hugs. She won't be disturbing us for the rest of the weekend either."

Eve grabbed the mobile device. "You should have told her to send cake. So the bakery's doing okay now, huh? Was there anything unusual about that?"

She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. She did the same with her legs. 

"How about you? Has there been anything unusual going with you lately?" Ambryan shot back. He positioned his hands on either side of her, holding the edge of the bench. "Like maybe why you suddenly decided to resign from being a secretary and take up modelling full-time?"

Eve didn't move an inch. It was about time she got used to him blocking the light out of her eyes. The shadows on his face didn't seem as intimidating as she recalled. "Didn't you support the idea of me modelling full-time?" 

"That was before I knew you were my secretary."

"I'm sure Riffle is doing a good job filling in my shoes."

"But I get to see you less," Ambryan bluntly pointed out. All that time, he held back from acting out of turn. But now that it was out in the open, he didn't even get a chance to do that? "You're a lot harder to tease when far away."

Eve fumed at that. "You didn't have a problem with it before though."

"That's the point. It was before." He leaned in closer until their noses almost touched. "I'm not sure if you've noticed but things have changed since then."

"Yeah," Eve trailed off. She narrowed her brown eyes and slowly stood up, forcing Ambryan to give her some space. "You didn't want to date anyone and asked what deal I had with your mother. You scared the shit out of me."

Her legs led her back into their hotel room.

Ambryan smirked and followed behind her. "I remember you handled that well."

"That was one of the good things about the dual identity," Eve started to say. She checked the kitchen for the rest of her coffee inside the pot. "I didn't have to remember to be polite to my boss."

"Please. You nagged me every now and then even as a secretary."

"It's only when you're being stubborn!"

"Why are you yelling at me? Am I being stubborn now?" Ambryan retorted. He snatched the coffee pot from her hands. "You just drank an hour ago. It's not good to drink too much."

"But it's better to drink more in the morning than later," Eve defended. She gripped her mug tighter and tried to reach for the pot. "Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep early."

Ambryan's smirk blossomed into a full grin. "I'm hoping for that very thing though."

Eve felt the blood rush into her cheeks. 

He took advantage of the moment and whispered in her ear. "Maybe without clothing on."

Her breath hitched. An image of the lingerie Cale brought flashed in her mind. It wasn't like anything she wore before. The black lace barely covered anything. Who would want to wear something like it? What if the shirt was too thin that it became almost see through?

Then, her attention shifted towards her boyfriend.

Would he like something like that?

"Are you thinking about last night?" Ambryan teased.

She shoved him away playfully and stepped back, shaking off her previous thoughts. "Don't you have work to do? You can go take care of it while I explore around the hotel."

"I'd rather explore more of you."

"Okay, now that's going overboard." Eve objected. She put the mug down and placed her hands on her hips. "Who are you and what have you done to Ambryan? That's unlike anything he would say."

He showed her a boyish grin. Then, he kissed her temple. "You just angry pout so cutely I couldn't help it. It makes you look like a small kitten that pretends to be a lion."

She returned his look with a deadpan expression. "You really like cats, huh?"

"I like you mo"

Spinning on her heels, Eve headed for the door. She shut if behind her and pressed her back against its surface. It has been hours since they talked last night. Several things had also happened in between.

But how did it still feel like a dream?

As if it could slip off her fingers in any second?

She closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe that was the sign that she should be more alert. Pushing herself off the door, she walked down the hallway. Only a few workers lingered in the establishment. Most of them had already cleaned the corridors earlier so she couldn't see them nowprobably doing more chores in the other parts of the hotel.

One attraction caught her eye when she had the photoshoot.

If that didn't happen, she probably wouldn't have noticed.

Near a forest was a stable. Eve had heard noises from it previously but she hadn't seen a horse yet. A caretaker speared hay outside of it and brought them to the horses inside. Her heart began to race.

She had always wanted to try horseback riding.

Perhaps lessons were available.

"Morning, miss," the caretaker greeted her with a tilt of his hat.

"Good morning." Eve beamed. She tried to peek inside. "Are the horses feeding right now?"

"Nah, I just restocked the food storage inside. You can go on and look at them if you like."

Eager to meet the horses, Eve accepted the invite with an enthusiastic response. The smell of manure mixed with the straw. She endured it and walked over to a stall. She shifted her weight onto her toes, sneaking a glance.

Gorgeous big brown eyes met hers. 

The horse lifted its head and stared back. Its bushy tail flicked back and forth. Eve couldn't peel her gaze off his shiny coat. It had an elegant beauty that she couldn't describe. Under its gaze, she didn't feel any malice nor any intimidation.

In fact, the horse seemed to invite her inas if permitting her to touch its head.

"Would you like to ride him?" A voice spoke behind Eve.

She jumped.

Ambryan gripped her arm before she could fall.

"W-What are you doing here?" Eve stammered. She focused on regulating her breathing and steadied herself on her feet. "Aren't you buried with work? You're usually busy on weekends too."

"Madison and Riffle were more than happy to take over so I could spend more time with you," he explained. Then, his attention returned to the horse. "Of all the places I'd thought you'd go to, I didn't think of the stables."

She huffed. "So what if I haven't ridden on a horse? It's not uncommon."

"I know it's not." He chuckled. "But I don't think you're dressed for riding. How about we settle on a carriage ride on the grounds instead?"

Eve bit her inner cheek. A carriage ride also sounded good. Although, she would have preferred it during the winter season where there was snow on the ground. 

"Then, we can get lost and the driver would have to search for help while we stay in the forest alone," Ambryan continued when she didn't say anything.

She gave him a blank stare. "Andie's rubbing off on you, huh?"