Chapter 213
Seeing how easy it was to fluster him, the host couldn’t help but tease, “So, is there someone you have feelings for? And, just pretending to ask for all your fangirls out there—what kind of woman would you want as your wife?”
I thought that was kind of out of line. This was a finance show, not a dating show. Poor Nathan, that must’ve been awkward for him.
But Nathan just answered honestly, “I like someone quiet and a bit on the mature side.”
The host continued, “Oh, come on, tell us more. I’m sure all your fans are dying to know what kind of woman catches your eye.”
Nathan glanced at the camera, and then lowered his gaze with a gentle smile. “It’s hard to put into words, but as long as she’s standing there, it could only ever be her.”
The host’s face lit up with understanding. She grinned and said, “Well, looks like Mr. Hallman has someone special in mind. Here’s to hoping your dreams come true soon!”
My heart skipped a beat. Could he be talking about me? The show ended, but my mind was still racing.
Years ago, I did something kind without thinking much of it, never realizing it would help Nathan become a rising star in tech. That was definitely a good thing.
But, without meaning to, I’d ended up stirring up his feelings. Was that really a good thing as well?
I switched off the TV, and my heart finally calmed down. Once I knew I wasn’t ever getting married again, Nathan just wasn’t someone I could consider anymore.
He’d worked so hard to get to where he was. How could I just toss his feelings aside like they meant nothing? If I ever wanted to mess with someone, it should be Jared–I’d drive him crazy.
The next morning, I headed to the office for a meeting. The hotel project had been getting tons of buzz lately, and with all my relentless promotion and packaging, we were seeing a massive surge in traffic.
Jared sat in the meeting, looking as calm as ever, showing no sign that last night had rattled him at all.
When the latest numbers came in, Jared glanced up and shot me this deep, unreadable look.
I knew we were entering the era where traffic was king, and riding this wave for all it was worth was a huge win for the hotel. Jared just asked one thing, “Who came up with these plans?”
The person giving the report pointed right at me. “All these ideas came from Ms. Murphy.”
Jared shot me a more complicated glance, like he couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that I was the one behind all these fresh ideas.
Amy always had that smiley, super-confident vibe, but when she realized my plans had made the hotel blow up overnight, her gaze got a whole lot sharper.
I’d got a few informants planted around the company, and as for that detective I hired before, he was not working for me anymore, and I never even settled up with him.
He dug up the news about Tracy being pregnant and claimed they’d risked their lives for it.
Honestly, I was speechless. Still, for the sake of future collaboration, I let it go. They must’ve felt a bit guilty about taking so much cash to send someone else to keep an eye on Jared for me. They promised
My company spies would sometimes update me on who Jared was hanging out with, especially if it was a woman. But every time, it was strictly business—no funny business at all.
Well, except for this one girl from sales who’d been going out of her way to get close to him lately.
I knew that girl was Quinn’s best friend, and she’d been using that connection to get close to Jared, even catching a ride with him a few times.
But from what I knew about Jared, just being pretty wasn’t enough to get his attention, and he’d never take a risk for a girl like that.
Unless she was someone like Tracy–someone who could actually help him in his career and really connected with him on a deeper level.
Amy was married, but the way she looked at Jared was definitely not innocent.
After the meeting, Jared came straight over to my office. I was packing up, getting ready to head to the temporary office by the hotel, when he cut right to the chase, “Who’s the woman Nathan was talking about?”