Noah caught the elevator down to the underground parking lot of the hospital. Along the way, he checked the watch on his wrist. "8:30pm, he should be almost done with dinner," he mumbled to himself.
Just as he thought this, he received a message on his phone. "Change of plans. Drop my car off outside the restaurant and bring me the keys. Dinner may take longer than expected. You can go celebrate the new year," the message read. On top of the message, the caller ID read, 'Boss'.
Noah frowned and put his phone away.
[What does that man have planned?]
Although it was new year's eve and he was in Las Vegas, Noah was actually there on a trip with his boss and his original plan was to keep an eye on the man. He had only stepped away during his dinner break to warn Delilah, but he was planning to return as soon as possible. He didn't expect the man to suddenly send him away.
Just the previous day, his boss had done the same thing and he didn't like the result.
"Noah, drop my car off outside the hotel and leave the keys at the lobby. I will drive myself tonight. You can go explore Vegas," his boss had messaged the previous day.
At that time, Noah had been careless and didn't suspect anything. But when he saw him driving away from the scene of Delilah's accident, he immediately felt guilty for not keeping a close eye on him.
Noah's footsteps echoed across the concrete floor of the dark parking lot as he pulled out his keys and pressed the unlock button.
Not too far away...a black Mercedes flashed as the doors unlocked...
"Lucas Lee, I definitely saw you at the scene yesterday, you won't be able to escape this time," he thought as he boarded the car.
...
Maya held onto her phone and tried to remain calm. Quickly attaching the photo to a message she tried to contact her sister through WeChat: "Delilah, post this up ASAP!!!"
She then lifted her head, flicked her hair back confidently, and tried to distract the man as she waited, "For someone that told me he's not after a serious relationship, you seem to be really interested in my social media account..."
A slight smile appeared on Lucas' lips. "Oh, I don't have to be in a serious relationship to admire a pretty woman. I must say...you have a pretty good body. I wonder when I'll get to see you in this hot pink bikini," he said as he pointed to Delilah's photo from the previous day. He then scanned his eyes up and down Maya's body.
Maya saw the photo and furrowed her brows a little. She had been so busy with work that she hadn't checked her sister's account for a few weeks. When did Delilah post a photo like that?
[I told her to stop posting such revealing photos on social media! She's going to attract a sexual predator one day!]
Maya shuffled nervously in her seat. She knew Delilah was confident with her body and would walk around in a bikini all day if she could. But she was different. Sure, she was just as fit, if not fitter, but she hated it when men stared at her like she was a piece of meat.
If Lucas wanted to see Delilah in a bikini, then he would have to wait for the real thing.
Clearing her throat awkwardly, Maya forced a seductive smile and said, "I don't wear bikinis in winter. You will have to wait until summer."
She then lifted an oyster to her lips and tried to end the conversation. But just as she did so, the man smirked and replied, "But...wasn't this photo taken yesterday? Are you trying to be cheeky? If you don't want to wear a bikini for me...that's fine... "
Maya chewed on the oyster meat and looked at the man in surprise as he reached forward, grabbed another oyster, and offered it to her. He then said with a smile that was even more seductive than hers. "After all, I'd prefer it if you wore nothing at all..." he whispered.
Maya coughed when she heard this and almost choked on the oyster in her mouth.
The man smirked when he saw her response, "Come on, eat up... I heard oysters are an aphrodisiac. Perhaps, we can test that theory tonight..."
Maya felt her cheeks heat up and her heart race when she heard the man's comment. An aphrodisiac? Tonight? What was this man talking about? How could he say something like that to her? Maya quickly grabbed her Champagne and emptied it into her mouth to cool herself down.
Lucas glanced at the woman with amusement. This was exactly the reaction he had been hoping for. He was right, this woman was nothing like what he expected. In fact, her reaction was quite...cute...
Still holding onto the oyster, he grabbed a spoon, lifted the oyster to the woman's lips, and said teasingly, "Open wide..."
Maya quickly covered her mouth and leaned back with embarrassment.
[I can't do this. Open wide? Why does that sound...so dirty?!]
Trying to reject the man politely, she gathered her composure and said, "Actually, I realized I don't like oysters as much as I thought. You can have them if you want."
Lucas held back a laugh and happily accepted the offer. As he scooped the oyster meat into his mouth, a notification tone beeped on his phone and a little notification message popped up: "Delilah Yeung has made a new post."
Swiping open Delilah's social media account, Lucas looked at the latest post and saw a photo of an oyster on her feed. Underneath it, the caption read: "Mmm...oysters...my favorite..."
With a smirk, he looked at the woman and saw her frowning as she held her stomach. She was clearly hungry but she was refusing to eat the oysters because of what he said.
His eyes curved a little with amusement.
Without saying another word, he grabbed the entree that he had ordered - a bowl of French onion soup - and placed it in front of Maya.
"Here, you can have my soup instead..." he said gently.