"Cough cough!" This is not a pretense. William was clearly not good at acting. He would rather run into the forest and hide than pretend and lie to the smart girl in front of him.
"Sir, are you all right? I'm sorry if I spoke carelessly. You really confused me with that nonsense, you know?" Marion grumbled while cleaning William's clothes and table which was full of spilled wine and food spilled by William because he was choking.
"Come on, just leave it, Marion! Let the cleaners clean it later. You go back to where you were. After this, they will come."
"B-but, sir ... you haven't even called anyone." Along with Marion's words, a janitor walked in and deftly cleaned up the mess the man had caused.
Meanwhile, Marion just followed the janitor's movements from the corner of her eye. She then couldn't help but ask her boss how the officer knew that William had wreaked havoc in his room.
"Th-this ... how did that woman know that—"
"Don't worry about it, Marion. Come back and sit down ... and talk to me until the food runs out." Of course, William wasn't telling the truth. All the employees in this building are members of his pack.
Marion, who was still engulfed in confusion, finally went along with what William asked. She returned to her place and sat opposite the man who was enjoying the meal that had stopped a while. "Please sit back. Where did we talk about?"
William again cut the strips of meat on his plate. Now and then he turned to Marion who still looked confused by what had just happened. Does William have telepathic powers?
"Marion? Haven't you been listening to me since?" asked William, who succeeded in making Marion gasp, then tried to remember the discussion that had been the topic of their conversation earlier.
"Uhm ... sorry, sir. Earlier we discussed the issue of contracts that might be your means to find a mate, am I right?" Marion asked while confirming the change in her boss's expression.
"No. Uhm ... I mean, yes. Uh ... whatever you call it," he replied, resigned. It's useless trying to explain everything, Marion probably won't understand. And even if she understood, maybe by now she was running helter-skelter out of fear.
William is on a mission to familiarize himself with his assistant, so as much as possible he will turn into an ordinary and friendly human being. It was no longer the curt, arrogant, and cold William.
At least for the time being. Next, it depends on how well the two are matched.
"So ...."
They didn't realize, the awkwardness that finally made the two of them talk at the same time.
"You go first, I've been talking for a while. Now it's your turn," William said, inviting Marion to speak. He wanted to know what she would ask him, what she wanted to know about him.
Marion wanted to curse the taste. Even in her heart she never stopped voicing curses against herself, and also cursed the current situation. This is already like a matchmaking arena for her. Not like boss and assistant anymore. And she didn't like this condition.
"So ... as you said earlier, that I should know you well, may I ask you something personal?" Marion finally got up the courage to start something a little deeper in her boss's life. She was just faking it, but if William said 'yes', then Marion would use it for her.
Who doesn't want to know the secret of the life of a handsome billionaire like William? Who wouldn't be interested to know even deeper? Even Marion wanted it.
Maybe Shana was right, if William had decided herself to be an assistant, maybe William felt right for her.
William stopped the movement of his hand. "Hmm ... depends how deep you want to dig."
"Not too deep, sir, take it easy. I know where my line is. May I start? Think of it like ... what should we call it?"
William seemed to be thinking.
"How about I consider this an interview? I prefer things that are stiff and formal. Casual things always make me feel anxious."
Marion nodded with a chuckle. "I can see that from your look. You look ... old-fashioned. Sorry," she regretted, for being too honest. However, William seemed to have gotten used to it. He just shrugged.
"Yeah ... I'm old-fashioned sometimes, but is my appearance old-fashioned too?" William asked, disapproving. This time it was Marion's turn to shrug. Is she being too honest now?
Perhaps.
"Hey! I'm the owner of the biggest fashion company in this country. How can I be old-fashioned!? How dare you!" William cursed when he saw the girl's reaction, which made Marion laugh. The girl then immediately returned the serious look on her face.
"Well, you're not old-fashioned, sir. Just ... a little stiff. I was just wondering, doesn't your girlfriend teach you how to be romantic to a woman?"
There was silence for a moment after Marion asked a question that might be sensitive to William. She looked up several times, checking the change in her boss's expression, but the man's handsome face only turned expressionless.
"S-Sorry, if my words offended you. I thought you'd let me—"
"No. It's fine." William snorted a wry laugh in response to Marion's question which WAS slightly sensitive to him. "I just ... didn't I tell you I don't have a girlfriend yet? More like I don't have a girlfriend."
Okay. This was more awkward than Marion could have imagined. She didn't think that William would so lightly mention his current status. Shouldn't Marion know? Because a few hours earlier William had discussed the matchmaking event, right?
What a fool you are, Marion!
Okay ... then? What else would you like to ask, Marionette?
"Oh, sorry. Since when did you start on your own? I mean, decided to be alone. Isn't that right? Because from your answer it seems that you did decide not to be in a relationship with anyone. Young, successful, and physically attractive ... I think it's impossible if no woman is chasing after your love. Even for just one night's love, maybe they will be willing."
Again and again ... Marion asked very reckless provocation questions. Has she never played chess? All her words and actions this time seemed out of control. Several times the girl cursed herself in her heart. However, the sentence that has been thrown out may never be swallowed again, right?
Meanwhile, William seemed to be interested in the direction of Marion's conversation. He put down his cutlery, then removed his food from in front of him. He corrected his sitting position, to focus more on the girl in front of him who was now starting to look attractive in his eyes.
"Do you think so, Marion?"
Marion blinked at William's question which seemed like a sudden shot to her. This is really beyond expectation. She had not imagined at all that her question would eventually backfire on her.
"If you didn't know me as your boss ... if we hadn't seen each other before, would you think so? Would you be willing to spend the night with me?"