Chapter 41 The Awkward Elevator Ride
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Each of the four stripes, which represented the rank of a captain, on his shoulders appeared as tense as the lines of worry on Anneliese’s forehead.
Slightly raising his lips, the man teased, “Taking home a captain pilot with six–pack abs, huh?”
Anneliese fell silent. Eventually, she accepted her situation and was no longer on tenterhooks.
Urgh! Having someone in the elevator with me is startling enough, and to make things worse, that someone is an acquaintance and happens to be a captain in a pilot uniform! Ah!!! D*mn you, Jessica!
Anneliese’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment at the thought of this. Finally, after much struggle, she managed to squeeze out a few words.
“Hey, what a coincidence! Do you live here too?” she asked, though having doubts about him actually living here.
Arching his eyebrow, Jonathan replied, “Of course. What’s wrong? You’re planning to take me home with you?”
Once again, Anneliese was tongue–tied.
As the elevator’s light shone under Jonathan’s perfect nose bridge, his lowered eyes cast a faint shadow.
His patronizing gaze gave Anneliese the distinct impression that he seemed to condemn her audacity in harboring such twisted thoughts toward him.
Thus, she shook her head stiffly and said, “No, not at all! I absolutely have no such intentions! Everything you heard just now wasn’t true. My friend was just teasing me.”
With that, she let out entrancing yet awkward laughter, which echoed in the elevator.
Jonathan noncommittally raised his eyebrow again. “So, you want to come home with me?”
“Huh?”
Anneliese took a while to process his words before following his gaze. It was then that she realized she had forgotten to press the floor button, and the elevator had been moving up for a while.
Panicked, she hurriedly pressed the button for the 25th floor with shaky hands, only to discover that Jonathan coincidentally happened to live just one floor above her.
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Chapter 41 The Awkward Elevator Ride
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Given its proximity to the business district, Anneliese’s grandmother had given her this apartment as a gift to ease her commute to work.
Just then, a thought was brought to her mind. That’s right! AeroAir’s headquarters are also in the business district. It’s no surprise that Jonathan lives here. Still, this is all way too coincidental.
Anneliese hung her head in frustration. With her back facing Jonathan, she simply wished the elevator would move faster and that he would stop talking.
Perhaps her prayers worked, for Jonathan’s phone vibrated, prompting him to answer the call.
Anneliese breathed a sigh of relief, and her awkwardness swiftly subsided.
“Grandma,” he greeted, his voice calm.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Penelope spoke affectionately. As usual, their conversation always involved her nagging him about marriage.
“Jonathan, have you found my lifesaver yet?”
Upon hearing that, Jonathan answered helplessly, “Grandma, what lifesaver? Don’t let your imagination run wild.”
“If I really were an elderly woman without family support on the streets, that young lady’s ring could have ensured me a comfortable old age!
“Tell me how can she not be my lifesaver? Now, hurry up and find her for me. By the way, you didn’t lose that ring, did you?”
Raising his hand, he pressed the bridge of his hat against his forehead.
“No, I haven’t lost it. But Grandma, finding her is like finding a needle in a haystack. At least give me a little bit of time, right?”
“Hurry up then! I like that girl. She’s really charming, and a good match for you.”
Jonathan involuntarily gazed at Anneliese, who nervously hunched her shoulders and retreated to the elevator door, again at the mention of charming.
Jonathan ended the call. His eyes landed on her anxiously intertwined fingers, and he mused, Each finger on her delicate hands is empty–no sign of a wedding ring.
Yet, there’s a noticeable indent where a ring had once been on her right hand’s ring finger. Could there
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Chapter 41 The Awkward Elevator Ride
really be such a coincidence in this world?
:
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Suddenly, he asked, “What’s your ring size?”
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“Huh?” Anneliese, startled by Jonathan’s sudden question, realized he was staring at her hands. Subconsciously, she hid her hands behind her back. “Ring size? I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“Nothing.” A faint smile played on Jonathan’s lips, amused by her startled reaction.
As expected, the smile from a usually cold person had a fatal effect, as it could always cause one to overthink. Hence, Anneliese felt uneasy all over.
Just then, she noticed she was holding a shopping bag, which she had put in her car earlier after shopping at a couture dress store and had brought it upstairs with her.
She quickly handed the shopping bag to Jonathan, which also served as a reminder that he shouldn’t be asking an unknown woman such odd questions, considering that he was a married man with a daughter.
“Mr. Fullbuster, this is the clothing I owe you. Thanks again.”
As she spoke, the elevator reached her floor. Seeing this, Anneliese stuffed the shopping bag into Jonathan’s arms, nodded, and hurried out.
Jonathan returned home with the bag. Once inside his apartment, he hung his hat on the rack and changed into a pair of comfortable shoes.
After that, he loosened his tie, took off his watch, casually threw it on the console by the entrance, and carried the shopping bag into the living room.
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