Small Talk

Natalie scowled in annoyance after being distracted by her phone that kept ringing. With her eyes still closed, she fumbled for the desk drawer beside her bed, looking for the cell phone. Natalie did not notice who was calling her, she immediately picked up the call.

"Hello?"

[Good morning, did I disturb your sleep?]

"Huh? Who are you?" Natalie muttered, her soul is not fully collected and still very sleepy. She looked again at the contact's name on the screen of her cellphone. She gaped in shock and immediately got out of bed. "S-sorry, I'm still not fully awake. Mo-morning, Nic," Natalie said nervously.

She did not realize it was Nicholas who called her! Her sleepiness suddenly disappeared somewhere!

[I know. What are you going to do today?]

"Hm? Ah ... I do nothing, mostly eat, watch movies, and read books," Natalie replied as she stretched her body.

[Only at home?]

"Yeah, and as usual I'll be doing a live stream tonight."

[Want me to order some food?]

"Huh? No need, Nic. Looks like I'm going to cook, there are some foods that are going to expire soon. Before that, I have to finish them first," Natalie politely refused as she got out of bed to go to the kitchen. Natalie was still impressed with Nicholas, who was really considerate and so easily squandered money on a woman like her.

[You can cook?]

"Just simple cooking. Isn't cooking the most basic skill for everyone? If I buy more food from outside, it will be wasteful," Natalie replied. She took some groceries from the fridge. Thinking about what to cook. "You can cook? Ah, but maybe someone like you must eat the chef's cooking every day."

[Someone like me?]

"Rich people."

[...but I can cook.]

"Oh, really? That's great! I want to taste your cooking."

[Sure, you can try my cooking.]

"Are you serious? Wow, I'm really looking forward to it."

[You have to be my wife first. We can cook together every day.]

Natalie blinked, still digesting the words that came out of the blonde man's mouth. After a while, her cheeks turned red. She shook her head to shake off her embarrassment.

"Are you working today?" Natalie asked about changing the subject.

[Yes, I'm already at the office. In fifteen minutes, I have a meeting with some business partners.]

"Ah, I see."

[Nat.]

"Hm? What is it?"

[Is ... there's a man close to you too? The same as me.]

"Huh? That ...." Natalie bit her lower lip, she did not know what to say. If she said "yes" it was just a trick and there was no reason for her to lie to Nicholas. But if she said "no" would Nicholas go after her even more? "What if the answer is no?"

[Otherwise I'm happy. We can continue with this approach.]

"If the answer is yes?"

[The same. I will do it anyway.]

"Then why do you ask?" Natalie asked a little annoyed with Nicholas, who turned out to be quite strange.

[I just wanna ask. Before you actually have a serious relationship with someone else, I will try to get your love.]

As soon as Natalie's heart skipped a beat, she quickly shook her head, not wanting to sink into Nicholas' charm. Natalie kept reminding herself not to fall in love with him so easily.

"Well, you guys can compete for me, haha," Natalie joked, of course no more men approached her.

[Ah, so there's another man. Alright, then I have to get back to work.]

"Okay, bye-bye~"

[See you later, I will watch your live stream.]

Natalie chuckled, then said, "You don't have to do it every day, you must be busy."

[No, I'm glad to see you there. It makes me excited again.]

"So you're just happy to see me on the app? Aren't you happy to meet me in person?" Natalie teased noisily.

[You want me to be honest?]

"Of course."

[Seeing you in person is better. That's why I'm sure to make you my wife.]

Blush!

Natalie could not hold herself back any longer with these sweet words from this man named Nicholas Ramirez!

"Y-you should get back to work. I'll be cooking too."

[Okay, sorry to bother you.]

"N-not at all!" Natalie took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself and pretending that everything Nicholas said was a thing of the past.

[See you later, Natalie.]

"Y-yes, see you later."

The call ended, Natalie leaned her body against the kitchen table. She had a bad feeling just because she had a small talk with Nicholas, but the man seemed to have messed up her heart, which had always had a solid fortress that was very strong and difficult for anyone to penetrate.

"No, Natalie. Act as usual, just pretend that Nicholas is your client and you're the host. Don't be fooled by sweet words from men!" Natalie said encouragingly to herself as she slapped her cheeks hard enough to make a red mark on them.

Since the departure of her ex at that time, Natalie was traumatized and did not want to have a special relationship with anyone anymore. When she looks more beautiful and works as a host on a live streaming application, her feelings are even more trained not to be deceived by sweet seductions.

It should not be this easy Natalie fell in love. However, who can not resist the charm of Nicholas Ramirez? Until now, Natalie had not seen the man's flaws!

"He can cook he says? A man who must have been born rich and handsome can cook? Ugh, he still looks perfect. I have to look for Nicholas' ugliness," Natalie grumbled as she washed the chicken and a few other ingredients.

She does not know how to get Natalie to believe in Nicholas, but Natalie wanted to convince herself to the core that Nicholas really loved her not out of curiosity or some other reason.

"What makes him like me? Shouldn't there be a lot of beautiful women around him?" Natalie muttered again, remembering the moment with the blonde man.

On the other hand, Nicholas has just finished a meeting with partners to market one of his hotels by conducting attractive promotions with his partners so that they can benefit from each other.

"Have you surveyed there?" Nicholas asked Denzel, who had just arrived at the company.

"Yes, the area is quite good and it will definitely be profitable for us. If we manage to set up a cafe there," Denzel answered, walking hand in hand with Nicholas into their room.

Nicholas and Denzel are the current owners of hotels in several American cities, after their parents retired and gave it to them to take care of the hotels. Nicholas is more often in charge of the room, meetings, and direct business with important people who can benefit their business. As for Denzel, he is in charge of outside surveys, looking for a suitable place to add to their business apart from hospitality. An extraordinary collaboration. It can be said that Nicholas strengthened the defenses on the inside, while Denzel did so on the outside.

"Cafe? Didn't you say before that it would be suitable to set up a hotel there?" Nicholas asked in surprise.

"I changed my mind. It's close to campus, so I think a cafe is more suitable," Denzel replied.

"Then later, I have no intention of opening a cafe business. We will withdraw the request there," Nicholas said.

"What? I've been struggling to go there!" Denzel protested.

"This isn't the first time you've done it, is it?"

"Argh, damn it. It's up to you; I'd better call Joy," Denzel grumbled, reaching for his cellphone from his pants.

Nicholas looked at his cousin flatly, then said, "I don't want your work performance to drop after meeting love, Denzel."

"Reflect on yourself, Mr. Ramirez~" Denzel replied with a crooked smile. "You're also in the approach stage, you've even proposed to your favorite host."

The blonde man was silent, actually a little unsure of what to do after getting rejected by Natalie.