Chapter 17

Sebastian’s expression turned frosty because he thought Eleanor was laughing at Jonathan. He growled at Jonathan, “Aren’t you leaving?”

Jonathan didn’t dare tease Sebastian any further when he saw the stormy look on the latter’s face. “I am, I am. I’ll get going right now.”

Eleanor checked the time. It was noon, so she felt it was a little rude to chase Jonathan away. She said, “We’ve been staying in your room for so many days without paying a dime, Mr. Lawson. How about I treat you to lunch today? We can eat right here at Starbright Hotel. It’s more convenient that way.”

Jonathan perked up, wanting to agree immediately. However, he still asked a certain someone for permission. “Would it be okay, my lord?”

Eleanor said, “Of course.”

“That’s settled, then! Everything’s okay as long as you say it is,” he said happily. “I’ll head downstairs to get us a spot. You guys can join me once you grab your things.”

“Sure.”

Once Jonathan was gone, Sebastian stopped restraining himself. He wrapped an arm around Eleanor’s waist and pulled her close, pinning her against the wall. “Are you that interested in Jonathan? What about him attracts you?”

She looked up at him. He was aggressively handsome, and he seemed more daunting now that he was frowning at her. She blinked at him, still thinking about how she’d suspected he was the mysterious scion of Ransom Finance.

In reality, if she’d just thought about it for a while longer, she would’ve realized how slim the chances of that were. Everyone in the upper crust knew Sebastian was the Porter family’s despised illegitimate son. He wasn’t even worthy of taking on the Porter surname, and the family had always ostracized him.

If he were Ransom Finance’s scion, why would he stick with the Porter family for so many years and endure such treatment? Was he a masochist?

It had to be a misunderstanding.

Eleanor smacked herself on her forehead. Her imagination had really gotten the better of her.

She pulled out her phone and asked, “Didn’t you see today’s trending topics?”

Sebastian said, “No. What happened?”

He’d been in meetings the whole morning and hadn’t even looked at his phone.

Eleanor handed him her phone. Then, she tugged his tie loose and played with it. He wore a pure black suit—it was the most common outfit, yet the color was also the hardest to pull off. If worn by someone with poor posture or bearing, they would look like realtors or insurance agents. That wasn’t the case with Sebastian, though.

He was distracted by her actions and grabbed her hand, stopping her from moving before he looked at her phone. After a glance, he sneered. “This is ridiculous. I’ll tell someone to deal with this.”

“Why go to so much trouble?” Eleanor took back the phone and turned on the camera. Then, she yanked his tie to pull him toward her. He leaned down, and she tilted her head. She pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.

That took him aback. Meanwhile, she snapped a photo. After that, she released him to admire the image. Honestly, even such a casual shot looked good when its subjects were easy on the eyes.

As she typed a caption, she said, “It is ridiculous. A photo is enough to explain everything.”

She shared the photo and put her phone away, temporarily putting the online buzz behind her. She said, “I wanted to ask how you were related to Ransom Finance’s scion and how you managed to get into the penthouse suite here, but I have my answer now. It’s because of Jonathan, isn’t it?”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Is that why you were interested in Jonathan?”

Eleanor said, “Uh-huh.”

Why else would she care about him?

Sebastian’s expression softened. Then, he snorted when he thought about her tone and words.