Chapter 1184

Hearing Ian’s flustered tone, Aurora couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not like that. What I mean is, since I’m no longer with Walton Corporation, it’s strange to see you still treating me like your general manager. Just act casual around me.”

“But I’m not used to that.”

Ian had worked under Aurora for so long that changing the way he addressed her felt unnatural.

Megan let out a playful groan. “Come on, we’re all friends here. Why make it so formal? If you keep this up, won’t every conversation turn into one of those fake business exchanges?” She winked at Ian.

Hearing that, Ian realized she was right.

So, he looked at Aurora seriously and said, “I’ll just call you Boss then.”

It was his compromise. Any other title still felt too strange, like something he couldn’t quite get past.

Seeing this, Aurora could only shake her head, not pushing him further.

He clearly wasn’t ready. Forcing it would only make things awkward between them.

“I booked us a restaurant. Let’s go eat. Now that we’ve secured the studio, all that’s left is picking a good day to open and deciding whether it needs any renovations. From what I saw, it hardly needs much work.”

“Wow, I’m already about to become my own boss. Just thinking about it makes me excited.” Megan rubbed her hands together, eyes full of anticipation.

Ian’s gaze carried the same spark of hope.

He had always worked under someone else, following orders.

Now, suddenly free and stepping into a partnership of their own, he couldn’t help but feel thrilled.

“Boss, don’t worry. I’ll give this everything I’ve got,” Ian declared again, unable to hold back his loyalty.

Aurora and Megan exchanged a helpless smile.

Clearly, he still couldn’t let go of the formality. But that was fine—time would slowly change his way of seeing things.

Vanguard Group.

Lucas stared at his phone, a faint disappointment settling in when he realized Aurora hadn’t sent him a single message.

What was going on?

This afternoon she was supposed to be looking at locations for the studio—shouldn’t she have at least told him how it went?

Yet there was nothing. Whether it was a success or not, not a word reached him.

The thought left Lucas with a dull sense of defeat.

Just then, a knock came at his office door.

“Come in.”

At his command, Desmond stepped inside.

“Mr. Carter, we’ve already secured the location for Mrs. Carter’s studio,” Desmond reported.

“She chose a courtyard house. The old man there is notoriously stubborn—insists on waiting for the so-called ‘right person.’ We’d already spoken with him in advance.”

“And then?”

Lucas’ chest tightened.

He had heard of that stubborn old man before. The property had stayed empty for ages, waiting for some fated tenant who never seemed to appear.

Had Aurora run into trouble?

“Can you believe it? Turns out the person he was waiting for was Mrs. Carter herself.”

Desmond still sounded surprised. “Even the agent thought it was impossible. But she went in, and within half an hour, the old man was grinning ear to ear as he walked them out.”