Sweet Subterfuge

Chapter 10

“Such as…” Dylan’s smile became sly as his gaze shifted over to Kevan. “Having good relations with Mr. Rogers here and having him help out in dealing with them.”

Larissa’s ballooning anticipation burst like Dylan had punctured it with a needle.

“Um…” She glanced furtively at Kevan, who seemed completely indifferent. “It’s better not to bother Mr. Rogers, right?”

Kevan spoke up at this time. “What, you don’t think I’m good enough for the task?” He gazed at her with a half-smile on his face.

Larissa quickly explained. “Of course not. You’re a busy man, Mr. Rogers. How could I trouble you with something insignificant like that? Besides, I’ve only known you for a few days…”

She did not know which part of her words had ruffled Kevan’s feathers.

“Indeed.” Kevan’s smile got a little bigger, but his gaze became cold. “How could you trouble me with something as trivial as this? However—” His words suddenly took a turn. “You did me a big favor yesterday, I should repay you somehow. Why don’t you tell me what you need me to do?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Larissa did not hesitate to refuse him. “You’ve helped me to this morning. We’re even. Neither of us owes each other anything.”

Kevan still had that half-smile on his face. “Are you sure, Ms. Seymour? After this, the deal’s off.”

The moment he finished speaking, Larissa said, “I’m sure.”

“Very well.” Kevan looked away and lifted his wine glass. He tilted his head back, and the dark red liquid seeped into his mouth. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped down the wine.

Larissa had just glanced over casually, but Kevan’s amazingly symmetrical face as well as his languid sensuality actually made her stare. Her mouth went dry, and she could not help but swallow.

Although Kevan did not notice her losing her composure, Dylan sure as hell did.

“Do you think Mr. Rogers is good-looking, Ms. Seymour?” His abrupt question shocked Larissa back to reality.

“Huh?” Larissa fought to hide her panic and looked at him as calmly as she could.

Dylan repeated his question, and Kevan turned to look as well.

Unable to fudge her way out of this, Larissa nodded. “Yes.”

At least she was not lying.

Dylan refused to let her go, however, and asked, “Then do you like men like Mr. Rogers?”

This question really had Larissa stumped. She did like Kevan’s face, but… that was it.

She smiled and gave a vague answer. “What woman wouldn’t like a man like Mr. Rogers?”

“Do you, then?” This time, Dylan was not the one who asked, but Kevan himself.

Larissa hesitated, but said, “Of course I do.” Her conscience was not as important as her job.

Even though Kevan knew that she was just being courteous, he was still pleased by her answer.

“Since you like me so much…” He waved the waiter over. “The same wine as before. Another bottle, please.”

His actions caused Larissa to gape. She really wanted to know if it was too late to retract her words from before.

…

Unable to retract her words, the only thing Larissa could do was drink as much as she could. The more she drank, the less she would lose. As a result, she ended up in a drunken stupor.

Larissa’s post-alcoholic behavior was great. When she got drunk, she would not make a scene nor cause trouble, but would instead stare blankly into space while sitting still.

Dylan called out to her. “Ms. Seymour?”

After almost two minutes, Larissa only responded with a questioning hum that was dragged out. Her expression was blank, and her head was tilted to one side as if she were deliberately acting cute.

Dylan clicked his tongue lightly and teased Kevan. “The way your Lyssa looks right now could really incite criminal behavior.”

Kevan gave him a cold look and did not answer him.

Dylan rubbed his nose sheepishly and wisely shut himself up.

Larissa saw his mouth moving and could hear him. But she did not understand anything he just said. She was troubled, but her brain was completely muddled, and she could not think.

She subconsciously stuck out her tongue and licked her wine-stained lips—

In the next second, she was pulled into an embrace that was tinged with the smell of red wine.

Using one hand to press her head firmly against his chest, Kevan slipped his other arm under her knees and picked her up.

“Your treat,” he said to Dylan before walking out of the restaurant.

Gazing at his retreating silhouette, Dylan huffed with a pout. “Jackass. I see how it is. Love over friendship, huh?”

…

Kevan went straight to his room.

Along the way, he met quite a few people. However, Larissa’s face was hidden in his chest, and anyone who recognized him dared not look for long. They only gossiped behind his back about how “Mr. Rogers is carrying a woman upstairs!”

Larissa did not make a single sound. When Kevan put her down on the bed, he only realized that she had fallen asleep.

Her eyes were firmly closed, her nose twitching rhythmically, and her mouth was parted slightly. Her crimson lips were rather tempting.

Following his heart, Kevan leaned down and kissed her. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Her lips were so soft, like jelly. But it did not have the sweetness of the confection. Instead, it tasted bitter from the wine.

Even so, he was happy.

Kevan sucked gently on her lips, and Larissa seemed to be aware of it in her sleep and let out a soft whine while frowning.

She turned her head, and Kevan’s mouth brushed past her cheek. A mouthful of powder ended up in his mouth.

He hurriedly spat it out and used a paper towel to wipe his mouth. Then he went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth until he could no longer taste the unbearable flavor of the powder.

Looking down, he saw a large beige stain on the chest of his white shirt, which was unsurprising.

Kevan stripped off his shirt and threw it into the hamper with disgust. After that, he wrung a hot towel of excess water and began removing Larissa’s makeup for her while sitting on the edge of the bed.

Her makeup was quite thick, to the point that her original skin tone could not be seen.

Kevan felt that her makeup today was so much heavier than her usual get-up. Soon, he found out the reason why—without the powder concealing it, the swollen side of her face was revealed to him.

This was obviously from the woman who caused a scene this morning.

Kevan’s eyes narrowed as a hint of savage fury flashed through them. He gently touched Larissa’s face with a finger, slowly tracing a line across the swollen area.

“Idiot. Moron,” he hissed through gritted teeth as he prodded her cheek out of spite—yet he dared not to use too much force.

“Abandoning me for an asshole like that… Serves you right that you’re having it hard right now!”