Adam kept his intentions regarding Ellie to himself. He can't just come out and say what he feels and thinks about the woman to her face now, can he?

She is clearly not someone who will tolerate anything from him at the moment. Adam has already seen how she reacted when she mistook his business proposal as a confession, but there were also a lot of vulnerabilities in her rejection.

It was as if deep down, she felt disappointed that it was not a love confession.

Adam has already made a great impression on her; he just needs to continue what he is doing, and soon he will be in.

And with how her relationship with her boyfriend seems to be going, Adam won't even have to work hard for it.

Soon she will be broken, and who will be there to lend a shoulder for her to cry on? Adam. He is going to use to "Best friend" tactic, but in this case, he is not a best friend, so the chances of his success are much higher.

As they shake their hand and agree to the deal, Adam rings up Clara while Ellie calls her own lawyers so that they can continue with the legal side of the agreement.

"Hey, Clara, how are you doing?" Adam asks as Clara answers his call.

"I am doing great, what about you?" Clara asks.

"I am doing great as well. I wanted to ask if you are free right now," Adam asks.

"I am. Do you need me for something?" Clara asks.

"Yes, I actually just made a deal with the owner of the restaurant I work in. We decided to be business partners, and I will be owning 49 percent of the restaurant, so I need you for the legal stuff," Adam says.

There is silence for a second before Clara speaks again. "Another one? Are you sure? You just bought yourself a company a few days ago," Clara says.

"Yes, I have a lot of confidence in my boss, that's why I am trying to get in when the price is at its lowest. I know for sure, this will be a huge success," Adam says.

"Well, if you say so. Send me the address, I will be there within an hour," Clara says.

"Thank you so much, Clara," Adam thanks her.

"No need to thank me yet. I will first need to see what you are getting your foot in before I help you," Clara says, sternly, acting like a guardian, but Adam can sense the softness in her tone.

"I will be waiting," Adam says with a smile, and the call ends before sending her the location of the restaurant.

Adam returns to Ellie. "My lawyer will be here within an hour," Adam says to her.

"Great, my friend... I mean, my lawyer will be here within an hour as well," Ellie says.

Adam just smiles and waits for Ellie to speak, but she doesn't. She doesn't know what to say, making the atmosphere awkward again.

Adam finds this very amusing, even though Ellie is six years over him. He seems to be the more mature one in the scenario. Well, it's not surprising because Adam's real age is over forty.

Ellie seems to be an introvert in every sense except taking charge in the kitchen. Whenever she is in that kitchen, her voice is loud and authoritative. She gets things done like a professional should.

Adam always gets impressed when he sees how Ellie flips that switch and turns into a confident, commanding woman, but as soon as she is out of the kitchen, she is an awkward, bumbling mess.

"How about we go to the front and drink something until both our lawyers get here," Adam speaks up, breaking the awkward silence.

Ellie couldn't help but feel great relief hearing Adam's suggestion. She quickly gets up from her chair and rushes out of her office, yelling. "Great idea, I am going to make a chocolate milkshake. You like chocolate milkshakes?" She asks, standing with one foot out of the door.

"I would love that," Adam says with a smile and follows her outside.

Ellie rushes into the kitchen to make their drinks while Adam comes to the front and takes a seat. He chose a table with four chairs, as his and her lawyers will be here within an hour as well.

Five minutes later, Ellie is out of the kitchen with two glasses of delicious-looking milkshakes in her hands.

She hands one to Adam and takes a seat, waiting for Adam's opinion.

Adam takes a sip. "How is it?" she asks immediately. "It's delicious," he answers. "Hehe, I have been perfecting my recipe for it for years, and I think I finally got it right," she says.

"Years? Isn't this just a chocolate milkshake?" Adam questions. Sure, this is the best chocolate milkshake he has ever had, but for it to take years? That sounds a little far-fetched.

"How dare you, mister? Do you know how much goes into perfecting a recipe? Every ingredient, small or large, needs to be of perfect quantity, texture, and temperature to make the best. What you are drinking there is a unique blend you will have a hard time finding," Ellie says. Her tone sounded both offended by Adam's words and proud of her own creation.

Adam smiles, seeing how passionate Ellie is about everything that is food. She is a completely different person when she is talking about anything food-related.

"Why are you smiling?" Ellie asks, seeing that same smile on Adam's face. The smile that would have had her younger self swept off her feet. Well, it still does a lot of damage to her, but she is old enough and mature enough to resist it.

"Nothing, it's just that whenever you talk about food and your craft. You turn into a completely different person. It's like I am talking to a different person. One who is confident, in control, and knows what she wants, it's beautiful," Adam says.

Ellie's eyes widen, hearing his words, and then she blushes. His words once again make her heart skip a beat.

'You can't be saying those words,' She says to Adam in her mind, but she doesn't have the guts to say it out loud.

But she also feels happy because someone finally sees the real her.

All her life, Ellie felt insecure about her looks; she wore glasses, she was a little chubby, and she felt invisible. Then she had a glow-up, and everyone started looking at her, but that made her feel even more invisible, because people only saw her outer appearance; they didn't care what she was like on the inside.

Most guys who approached her only wanted her for her body, but then she met Sean, her boyfriend, someone who had a few similar interests as her, like music, food, and books. She thought she had met the one, and slowly fell in love with him.

But after years of dating Sean, she realized that they only had a few things in common, and Sean was not willing to try to find new things with her. He also didn't understand her, didn't support her dreams. Even tried to stop her from opening this restaurant.

But this was her dream, so she went with it, anyway.

Even without his support, Ellie continued to love him because she invested so much time into this relationship. She thought she was going to marry him.

But now, she is not sure, especially after meeting Adam.

Because Adam did one thing, Sean or any other person in her life did. Looking into her eyes and seeing the real her, and supporting her dreams.

He is also exceptionally handsome, charming, sweet, but also strong, confident, and masculine. Ellie knew that Adam was the type of guy she would feel lucky to date, but she didn't want to live in a fantasy.

Sure, the idea sounds nice, but reality is very different.

Number one, Adam is barely an adult; she is over six years older than him. She doesn't think Adam would be interested in someone older like her.

Number two, she is already in a relationship, even if it seems to be on its rough road, Ellie still loves her boyfriend and would love to fix it.

And there is number three. The competition. So many girls are vying for him, there is Leila, Cassie, that motorcycle riding girl, and who knows how many other women who want to be with Adam. Ellie knows she is beautiful, but she doesn't think she can compete with all these girls.

Of course, she is selling herself short, but who's gonna tell her that? Not Adam, nor her boyfriend, nor her friends, because they don't know what Ellie is thinking.

With all these things in her way, she doesn't see herself anywhere close to being with Adam.

To her, Adam is that forbidden fruit, someone she can't have.

'The irony of it all,' she thinks. By now, she realizes that she finds Adam attractive. She is not delusional enough to deny all the signs pointing her towards how she feels about Adam. He is also the only person who seems to see the real her, but what's the point? He will never be with her.

Ellie feels a little melancholy, but she is mature enough to quickly get over it as well. She is not someone who will worry over things that are never going to happen, so why make herself feel sad over it?

Suddenly, her phone chimes, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looks at it and reads the message.

"My lawyer! She is here. I will go get her," Ellie says, gets up, and leaves Adam on his own.