Date The CEO.com

Chapter 262: Night Three: More Surprises in Store

"We talked about what?" Eve asked. As the words flew out of her lips, she remembered the conversation. Her lips clamped up. That had been about the product placement she helped Mikael with. Now that he knew about the dual identity, the talk sounded different from her memories.

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"Well, it's not like I won't ever hope this scene was shot with the person I like," Eve joked, trying to lighten both the atmosphere and her mood. "But no matter how much I wish for it, Mikael is the ambassador and actor for this scene."

"Does that mean you want to marry him?" 

"Sir Hathaway. I know you're curious but haven't we just established that I can't confess my feelings to his face yet? The idea of marriage is not even in the equation."

"Fair enough."

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Her eyes were tempted to look in his direction. The desperation to know whether he knew about the secret back then or not tempted her to ask. But that would only mean opening the topic further. What if he asked for her to admit her feelings? Or even talk about marriage?

It was an obvious trap.

Loud thumping pounded her chest. 

Meanwhile, Ambryan picked up only one box of NERDS before moving forward. He pushed the cart towards the end of the aisle and made a left turn. His head turned in her direction. "Are you coming? If you take any candy, I will put it back."

At that, Eve broke out of her reverie. "Dark chocolate is healthy."

"I still don't allow it."

"So stingy" she mumbled as the wheels on the cart rattled away. Her hazel eyes scanned the shelves again. The colorful wrappers beckoned her to take them with her. She glanced at the end of the aisle and didn't find Ambryan.

A grin stretched her lips as a wicked thought sparked in her head.

Ambryan assessed the next aisle. One side had cereal, oats, honey and jams while the other had ground coffee, powdered hot chocolate, tea bags and creamers. He stopped by the selection of oats. 

There were many to choose fromwhole oats, steel-cut oats, rolled oats and instant oats.

The last one was quickly eliminated from the options.

He held two boxes of oats. One was whole oat groats. The other was steel-cut oats. The latter had lesser calories based on the nutrient table. It also had a nutty flavor. None of the items were his usual buy of oatmeal so he needed to sort out which to have for breakfast tomorrow.

Eve hopped to his side. "Whatcha doing~?"

"Trying to figure which oatmeal to buy for tomorrow," Ambryan replied without looking up. He liked the whole oats because they contained more in each bite. The question was if the 10 calorie difference between the two was worth it.

She frowned at the two boxes. "Why not go for that small instant oat one? It's only going to be for one meal. No need to waste money on a boxed one."

"Who says it's going to be only for one meal?" He challenged.

"Ambee, I know we slept in the same bed for the past two days," Eve began to say, patting his shoulder from behind. "And that you never had any sensual relationships before but please control your hormones. You're a grown adult. Not a teenage boy."

Ambryan tossed the box of steel-cut oats into the cart. "I will control them when you learn how to control your moans."

"That's not fair!" She practically yelled. It wasn't like she had chosen to do that. It just came naturally in the process. She had frozen into shock when she realized what her voice sounded like whenever he touched a sensitive spot. 

It didn't last long before he'd target another place.

"It is fair. If you want to ask me the impossible then, you should prove it's not impossible. " Ambryan smirked. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Just so we're clear. That means I will make it very difficult for you to achieve that."

Spinning on his heel, he checked the cart.

Colorful wrappers filled up half of it.

Ambryan opened his mouth. "Evan"

"Have fun putting it back!" Eve cheered before sprinting away. Her laughter slowly faded into silence. Bystanders turned their heads when she passed by. Then, they checked the direction she was running from.

Ambryan glared at the push cart.

He grabbed the handle bar and rolled it back to the other aisle. The candies blurred together when he reached it. The colors blended, showing little sign where each started and ended. He picked up one from the cart and searched for its correct placement.

He had finished five when a voice called out his name.

"Ambryan?"

His eyes flickered towards the source in reflex.

A head of curly ginger hair bobbed as the person jogged up to the side of his cart. Her jade green eyes crinkled from her large smile. "It is you!" 

"Hey! Long time, no see." Mila nudged his arm. A giggle escaped her lips. Then, she spotted the stack of candies and chocolates in his cart. She raised an eyebrow. "Have a sweet tooth, huh?"

"I prefer sour candies." Ambryan corrected. He resumed returning the items. It was the perfect excuse to avoid her gaze. For some reason, his skin crawled in her presence. 

"Oh, my. I'll try to remember that." Mila scratched the side of her neck. She didn't mean to run up to him. But grocery shopping seemed mundane for someone of his status. The sight of him here had amused her to the point that she yelled his name.

And now, it was too late to pretend that she didn't see him.

She cleared her throat, feeling awkward under the silence. "How have you been? Are you returning these? Do you have a kid with you that decided they want every candy in this store?"

"A pretty tall kid if she could reach this shelf."

Mila laughed breathily. "Uh, yeah. I guess."

Ambryan felt relieved when he noticed only this part of the aisle had dents. He figured that Eve used her arms to grab a hugful. It was the fastest way to fill up the cart before he could notice. His hand gripped a box of NERDS.

The one he grabbed was still where he left it. 

'Hm,' he thought. 'Maybe another one wouldn't be that bad'

"Ambee!" Eve appeared at the other end of the aisle with a beam on her face. She carried net bags of tomatoes in each hand. Laughter rumbled in her chest when his violet eyes flew wide.

Then, Mila spotted her. "Oh. Evangeline. You're here too."

Her amusement died quickly. Composing herself, Eve moved the candies left in the cart and placed the tomatoes inside. She did it slowly to buy more time. Ambryan ignored her, determined to finish his mission. 

There was no way he was going to lose this petty fight she started. 

With nothing left to do, Eve greeted the music teacher. "Mila. It has been a while."

"Yes, it has." Mila shifted her attention back to the cart. "That's a lot of tomatoes."

"Oh, these? We're having tomato soup. It's going to be a life-changing event so we need a lot."

"I see..." she muttered, clearing her throat. There were still two bags of candies left in her hand. She turned to the shelves and put them in their rightful place. "The advertisement is going great, by the way.

"It was nothing. I had fun with the kids."

"Are they the same kids who piled candy in the push cart?" Ambryan interrupted. 

Eve glared at him discreetly. "They have excellent humor. And are very good sports." 

"They lack maturity."

"Sometimes it's good to simply have fun."

"Having fun and maturity aren't mutually exclusive."

"But, apparently, Ambryan and pranks are." 

Mila watched the banter. She curled her lips inwards and bit on the bottom one. Just like that she had become the third wheel. She could leave right now but she waited for an opening out of politeness.

The conversation was also entertaining.

"Pranks aren't good when time is of the essence."

"Life should be about living in the moment. What is time without some good old-fashioned fun? Come on, you're not seriously mad, are you?"

"I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you."

"So you don't need help with those candies then?"

After some time, it was clear the couple wasn't about to stop. 

"I better get going," Mila decided to cut in, backing away and waving her hand. "It was nice seeing you both. Have a good evening."

She didn't get to hear the response. Over at the small pharmacy counter, she purchased medicine for headaches. Inspiration struck her one night. She hadn't gotten a proper sleep or meal since then. It was starting to take a toll on her body.

"Oh, sorry." Mila apologized when she bumped into someone outside.

Chocolate brown eyes squinted at her. "Hey, I know you."

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Eve opened her mouth to say goodbye but Mila had already left. She craned her neck but there wasn't a sign of the latter. Shrugging, her attention shifted back to Ambryan. "What were you talking about?"

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Ambryan arched an eyebrow. 

She rolled her eyes. "It's curiosity."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Even if I say mother had also chosen Mila for that website?" Ambryan revealed. 

Eve snapped her head to where she last saw the music teacher. The memory of Mila and Ambryan after the recital suddenly made sense now. "She's my rival this whole time? What a small world."

Ambryan ignored her remark and returned the last bag of candy. "Return those tomatoes."

"At first, it was a gag," Eve said. Then, she placed her hands on her hips, staring at the red fruit and tilting her head sideways. "But I want tomato soup now. Would you ear it if I cooked one?"

He gazed at the pile and thought about it.

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"Maybe one serving."

Eve almost jumped in joy. Maybe girlfriends did have power.

"One serving for our entire lives."