Chapter 33: His Mood

Vince held her hand; Hailey could not hide when her cheeks flushed pink. Sure it hurt her knuckles after she punched Howie's thick face, but Vince was very concerned about it, to her surprise.

Maybe, for Vince, hands are one of the most precious parts of the body. Even before, she had never witnessed Vince punch a man yet.

"What I told you before? Just tell me if someone bothered you, and I will deal with them myself," said Vince with a soft tone.

Hailey stared at him with marvel. She often heard Vince saying this, and now she understood his meaning.

Honestly, she is already used to this pampering from the boys, and they are like wolves who will hunt those who do wrong to her.

But surprisingly, it has a different effect on her when Vince phrases that and does the beating on her behalf.

She always reminded herself that Vince was showing her the same treatment as her friends. But as days passed. It troubled her heart because she had never gone through this before, nor did any of her friends make her feel this way.

Is this love?

Meanwhile, as they were lost in their world, someone spoke.

"Ahem. President Shen…"

Hailey and Vince didn't realize they were staring into each other's eyes. On Vince's part, he was waiting for Hailey's reply. But she is only staring at him.

So then, he stared back until he didn't notice they stayed frozen on the sofa, holding hands and eyes locked at each other.

Suppose it weren't for the server who approached them. Who knows what will happen next?

Vince, who came to his senses, slowly let Hailey's hand go and faced the waiter.

He cleared his throat, then asked the server coldly. "What is it?"

Bowing his head, the waiter replied with flushed cheeks. Actually, he was hesitant to approach the boss when he was in a sweet moment with his rumored mistress. But as they finished setting up the table and everything was ready, the waiter wanted to ask if the boss had more orders from them so they could leave if there were none.

"We've finished setting up the table, President Shen. You can dine now."

"Okay. You can leave. Thank you," he ordered, nodding his head.

The chef and the two servers bowed and left in a hurry. Meanwhile, the woman next to Vince is still in a trance about what just happened.

Hailey's face remained blushed upon thinking she was gazing at Vince dreamily. Lately, she'd noticed that she started acting like a teenager having a crush on someone. It wasn't like her at all.

And it was so hard to hide her feelings when her heart was only betraying her as it fluttered and beat crazily every time she saw Vince or even she'll just thought of him.

Fell on her thoughts, Hailey returned to reality when she heard Vince inviting her to the dining table.

To her carelessness, she stood on her feet with a hasty but misstep on the carpeted deck, causing her to stumble and almost fall.

Thanks to Vince's good reflexes, he caught her in a flash. His arm gripped her waist tight. He commented, "I guess you don't need to kill your feet with those."

Hailey understood what Vince meant. He was talking about her shoes.

"I will just take them off," she said while reaching for the stiletto.

"Wait… stay right there."

It confused her what Vince meant about that. When he came back, a pair of slippers were in his hands.

"Better wear this…" he told Hailey.

Vince's gestures made her speechless. He bent down and placed the slippers in front of her. He then kneeled on one foot and was about to reach for her ankle.

"It's okay! Let me change my shoes." She promptly refused, but then disappointment was written on Vince's face. It made her taken aback to do anything after seeing his sullen look.

Without second thoughts, Hailey placed her hand on Vince's shoulder. She reached for her left foot and the right one to take off her shoes, then dropped them on the carpet.

Now that her feet were free from the high heels, she slid her foot into the slippers.

"Thanks! Now I feel relaxed!" she told Vince gleefully, a sweet smile on her lips. "So, let's eat?"

"Yes. Come on."

Nodding, Vince pulled a dining chair and offered it to her.

Hailey felt relieved seeing Vince's face brighten. Honestly, she refused him because she was shy, and her heart was acting crazily. But once displeasure exhibits on his face, she worries that he will misunderstand why she rejected his gesture halfway.

Besides, Vince didn't need to do this when they were alone now, and he could stop acting sweet to her.

Hence, in these few days, Vince has been extra sweet to her even when they were alone, which seems everything has become a casual interaction between them.

However, every time she remembered that everything would end one day, it made her sad.

So then, from time to time, she reminds herself of why she signed the agreement.

Hailey sighed inwardly. She watched Vince spoon a soup. When the soup bowl was complete, he placed it on her plate. He is really a gentleman.

"Which one do you prefer to eat first?"

Hailey heard Vince querying her. She snaps herself and stops dazing all of a sudden. Her eyes swept the table, and she saw a mouthwatering crab.

"The crabs look appetizing," she told Vince, who immediately picked up a smaller plate, placed two on it, and then put it down on the left side near her plate.

She let him place different dishes in front of her. She was grateful that he was in a good mood now.

She learned more about Vince after what happened earlier at the resort and her refusal of the slipper thing. And in those situations, she should add that to the List of What Triggers his Mood.

Then, once his future wife is keen to consider these things, there will be no misunderstanding between them. Hailey mused.

She watched Vince continue fixing food on the plate.

'It's no doubt. His future wife would be so lucky,' she thought inwardly, drawing the soup spoon on her lips and leisurely sipping the wonderful beef soup.