Chapter 6
The word “babe hit me like a bolt from the blue, making my chest explode with surprise.
When I turned to look at Hogan, I saw Cecilia’s little face, full of shock and confusion.
Somehow, our gazes met in mid–air.
Inudged her. “Mr. Zade’s calling you.”
The lingering, reluctant tone of his voice definitely wasn’t meant for me.
Cecilia blinked, pouted, and gave Hogan’s prominent nose a playful scratch, whining, “Hogan, the party isn’t over yet.”
Hogan lifted his eyelids at the sound, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
That confirmed my hunch.
Watching the Maybach drive away, Wallis elbowed me, her tone soothing. “Tough night, huh?”
I quipped half–jokingly, “How ‘bout something tangible, President Lott?”
Wallis just shot me a look..
Still the generous President Lott had the heart to drop me off at my apartment complex and even gave me a nod that I could skip punching in tomorrow morning.
A bit of mental compensation finally made its way into reality.
But that night, I was restless.
Over and over in my dreams, his figure appeared, holding me tight through countless late nights.
In our most intimate moments, he’d grip my waist and coax me with a husky voice, “Louder, babe.”
That was a side of Hogan no one knew.
Intense desires, overpowering possessiveness.
Yet, it was underhanded.
I was sleepless.
During the morning rush, I spilled out of the subway like a sardine, only to find one of my wireless earbuds had been jostled off.
As I was mentally sighing about it, I looked up to see a black Maybach parked not too far away. There, Hogan, all dapper in his suit, was opening the passenger door like the perfect gentleman. In a moment, Cecilia emerged from the car in an orange–pink cinched dress, vibrant as a
11:37
butterfly in the morning sun.
He actually drove her to work himself.
Rainbow Capital is on the opposite side of town from our studio.
Which meaned grumpy morning Hogan had to commute an extra hour.
I thought about the days I used to wake up early to make breakfast and coax him out of bed, and a bitter taste filled my mouth.
The difference between his attitude could be so vast.
I planned to avoid them.
But as soon as I took a step, Cecilia’s soft greeting reached my ears, “Good morning. Xaviera!”
I couldn’t just ignore her and walked over, my face calm, my eyes briefly sweeping over Hogan, “Good morning, Mr. Zade, Ms. Irwin.”
Cecilia was all friendly, “Xaviera, just call me Cecilia.”
I responded briefly, caught between staying and going.
Hogan didn’t seem in a hurry to leave.
I asked knowingly, “Mr. Zade, are you here for an inspection?”
Cecilia covered her mouth and giggled, “No, Xaviera. Hogan is worried I’d get lost and can’t find the new company’s address, so he specially drove me here.”
Pretty much what I had figured.
I kept my cool and politely said, “Mr. Zade, you are welcome to visit and guide us anytime.”
Hogan glanced at his watch, his gaze suddenly on my face, his tone casual, “Thank you, Ms. March, for leading the way.”
Wait, was Hogan planning to follow us up?
Cecilia got it too, her eyes shining with excitement, “Hogan, are you coming with us?”
Hogan’s lips curved into a smile, his voice low, “Yeah, I want to see your work environment.
So, it wasn’t enough for Hogan to just give Cecilia a golden ticket to our studio; he cared about her day–to–day work too.
