CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 97: PHYSICAL INTIMACY CAN BE FORCED

The shuttle bus arrived at the terminal, and Harrison Rowe and the other designers went to get their luggage, while Simon Forrester led Sienna Thornton ahead.

Harrison Rowe quickly caught up after fetching the luggage, whispering, "President Langford’s car is outside, we can directly head to the car once we’re out."

Simon Forrester sneered, "What’s the wind today?"

Harrison Rowe replied, "Mr. Forrester, it’s a north wind today."

Simon Forrester’s face darkened.

Sienna Thornton sensed the tension and quickly tried to mediate, "Who is President Langford?"

Harrison Rowe: "President Langford is the Executive Vice President of SY, and also a classmate of Mr. Forrester from Cambridge University."

Sienna Thornton was surprised, "Isn’t your Mr. Forrester from the University of London? That’s what the magazines say."

Harrison Rowe was puzzled for a few seconds, then laughed, "The magazine might have referred to Mr. Forrester’s master’s alma mater, which is indeed the University of London."

Sienna Thornton understood. So Simon Forrester has a doctorate in architecture.

Knowing the effort required to earn a doctorate from a world-renowned university, Sienna Thornton realized that Simon Forrester, in some ways, might be like her... hardworking.

Perhaps because he understood her struggles, he was lenient with her in certain matters?

As they exited the terminal, a gust of north wind made Sienna Thornton unsteady, causing her to lean towards Simon Forrester. He naturally put his arm around her and walked towards a black Maybach parked by the roadside.

The trunk of the Maybach slowly rose, and Logan Lockwood stepped out from the driver’s seat, eagerly helping with their luggage.

Simon Forrester opened the back door, letting Sienna Thornton get in first. After placing her elbow onto the trunk, he walked around to the other side of the car.

"Bang," the trunk closed heavily.

The car quickly left the airport area. Logan Lockwood grinned at Sienna Thornton through the rearview mirror, warmly saying, "Lawyer Thornton, nice to see you again?"

Sienna Thornton responded with a polite smile, "Good evening, President Langford, sorry to trouble you with the pickup."

"For a beautiful lady, it’s never too much trouble," Logan Lockwood beamed, "The last time I saw you was at the law firm, right? That was just, what, a month or so ago? You look even more beautiful now."

Although aware of Logan Lockwood’s polite flattery, Sienna Thornton playfully acted surprised, "Really? Maybe it’s because work has been paused recently, and I’ve been getting enough sleep, making me look younger."

While other women might shy away from or be flustered by compliments from a handsome man, Sienna Thornton was uncharacteristically poised, steering the conversation towards work and lifestyle habits. This quickly resonated with Logan Lockwood, maintaining a lively conversation atmosphere.

Logan Lockwood was curious, "Paused work? What happened?"

"Didn’t I fracture my foot? I’m on leave for a month."

Logan Lockwood nodded and remarked, "Speaking of sleep, our architecture profession is just as hard as your legal work. When a project is due, pulling all-nighters for several days is normal."

He brushed his fingers over his nasolabial folds, lamenting, "The other day, I suddenly noticed my eye bags and nasolabial folds appearing. At my age, that shouldn’t be happening..."

He mentioned consulting a doctor, who suggested fillers to fix his eye bags and nasolabial folds. Sienna Thornton advised him that surgery could address eye bags, and not to inject anything unnecessary.

The two chatted about cosmetic medicine until they got out of the car, never quite resolving Logan Lockwood’s nasolabial fold issue.

In the elevator, Simon Forrester, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "I didn’t know you were so talkative that you could chat all the way with a guy you’ve only met twice?"

Sienna Thornton scoffed, "This isn’t being talkative; it’s called normal socializing!"

Simon Forrester discontentedly eyed her, "Why is your socializing abnormal when it comes to me?"

"..." Sienna Thornton disdainfully pursed her lips and countered, "Interactions between people depend on chemistry. If our chemistry is off, conversation doesn’t flow naturally."

Simon Forrester: "We’ve kissed, and you’re telling me our chemistry is off?"

"..." Sienna Thornton suppressed the urge to throttle him, calmly saying, "Physical actions can be forced, but you can’t fake the mental connection."

"Alright, I won’t push the mental connection then." Simon Forrester lowered his gaze, his towering figure looming over her.

Sienna Thornton was backed into the corner of the elevator and, with nowhere to retreat, irritably glared up at him, "What do you want?"

Simon Forrester raised his hand and caressed her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing her smooth skin. His amber eyes were deep, his voice low, "You said physical actions could be forced."

Infuriated, Sienna Thornton batted away his hand, but didn’t dare blow up at him, as the guest house design blueprints were still pending.

Elsewhere, Logan Lockwood gave Harrison Rowe a ride home.

He held the steering wheel with one hand, stroking his chin with the other, and repeatedly murmured, "Something’s not right! How did Lawyer Thornton end up going upstairs with Jules? Are they staying in the same building?"

"Lawyer Thornton is staying at Mr. Forrester’s place."

"Whoa!" Logan Lockwood suddenly exclaimed, "Then isn’t Lawyer Thornton a mother?"

Harrison Rowe chuckled with a hint of ambiguity, "Mr. Forrester is pursuing her intently. I reckon the mother thing is a misunderstanding."

Logan Lockwood agreed, "You know, they do look quite compatible. But getting into the Forrester family isn’t easy..."

He stopped there, not saying more.

Harrison Rowe also shook his head, looking somewhat regretful.

...

After getting off the elevator and returning to the familiar house, Sienna Thornton was in a good mood again, quickly forgetting the earlier bickering with Simon Forrester in the elevator. She eagerly asked him, "What would you like for dinner? I can cook for you?"

Simon Forrester was in the walk-in closet organizing clothes. As he hung shirts on the rack, he said, "There’s not much to cook with in the fridge; let’s order takeout."

"Takeout," Sienna Thornton pondered for a moment, "Alright, I’ll have Maeve pick up some lamb spine hotpot from ’Old Northgate Eatery’ on her way?"

"..." Simon Forrester suddenly felt a twinge in his stomach but didn’t want to admit that he couldn’t handle lamb spine. He had to change the subject, "You didn’t tell me Maeve was coming."

Sienna Thornton hummed, smiling, "I’m telling you now, aren’t I? Why, should Maeve not come over?"

Simon Forrester retorted, "If I said no, would you listen?"

"Of course not!" Sienna Thornton happily took out her phone to call Maeve.

Simon Forrester finished his shower and saw her lying on the living room sofa, scrolling on her phone. He walked over, towel in hand, and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Taobao, planning to buy a few pairs of flat boots to wear after the cast comes off."

Simon Forrester nodded, was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you have time now? Can we talk?"

"I have time!" Sienna Thornton quickly sat up, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him, "What do you want to talk about? Is it the guest house project?"

Her mind was solely on the guest house, having forgotten what he said the day after their first kiss, about needing a proper talk after finishing the project.

Simon Forrester felt uneasy but forced himself to stay composed. He said, "The guest house project inspection is scheduled for after you get the cast off."

Sienna Thornton was curious, "Will I be taking you to see the site? Should we bring a few hard hats?"

"Yes, we’ll visit the site together and look at the surrounding environment. If convenient, you can also take me to some guest houses you like to see their style. I’ll try to get a sense of what you like."

As the conversation shifted to this topic, Sienna Thornton had much to say. She was just listing a few guest houses she had stayed at when the doorbell rang.

Simon Forrester answered the door, seeing Maeve holding the lamb spine hotpot, a subtle emotion flickered in his eyes.

Sienna Thornton and Maeve headed to the kitchen to prepare the lamb spine hotpot, while Simon Forrester returned to the study. As he sat down, he realized that Sienna Thornton had been subtly changing the subject. She was so natural and clever about it that he hadn’t noticed immediately.

Once he realized she didn’t want to revisit that night they slept in the same bed, Simon Forrester was frustrated. After closing his eyes in thought for a moment, he picked up his phone and sent a message.

"Look into someone for me: Maeve, born around 1990, independent singer."