Ex's crazy pursuit After Divorce (Chloe and Adrian) novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Lunch Invitation

Olivia’s expression finally softened. She nodded and said, “Good. Glad you’ve come to your senses.”

The next second, Chloe pulled Olivia toward the cardiothoracic surgery department.

She urged, “Alright, I haven’t been to work in two weeks. I have tons of stuff to catch up on. Let’s go.”

“Once you divorce Adrian,” Olivia continued, “let Professor Hart set you up with someone better. Don’t settle for another jerk like him.”

Professor Hart was Chloe’s mother, Margaret Hart, who had been Olivia’s graduate advisor.

Chloe laughed. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Next time I pick a boyfriend, I’ll definitely be more careful.”

After checking in at their department, Olivia and Chloe went their separate ways to handle their respective workloads.

Since Chloe took two weeks off, she got stuck with several patients who needed surgery right away.

Cardiothoracic surgery was one of the hospital’s busiest departments. Those two weeks in Norway had cost h very:03

favor she could call in, plus countless shift swaps with colleagues. Another long vacation like that would be nearly impossible to arrange.

After a hectic morning of non–stop work, Chloe had just sat down for a sip of water when her phone buzzed on her desk.

She reached for it absentmindedly–only to freeze in surprise when she saw Adrian’s name on the screen.

[Just finished a project meeting. I’m near your hospital. Want to grab lunch together?]

This was the first time Adrian ever initiated asking her out for a meal. She’d fantasized about this moment before, but only in her dreams.

On one hand, their marriage wasn’t normal, so they didn’t need these romantic gestures.

On the other hand, the hospital and Foster Group were in completely opposite directions. Their relationship wasn’t good enough to justify him going out of his way for a single meal.

Chloe stared at the message for a while, then put her phone down without replying.

She turned to the intern beside her. “Call in the next patient.”

After hitting send, Adrian found it impossible to focus on anything else.

His hand tightened around his phone, eyes flicking to the screen every few seconds as he waited for Chloe’s reply.

It was the first time he’d ever taken the initiative to ask her out for lunch. She probably wouldn’t turn him down… But after the odd distance in her behavior last night and this morning, he couldn’t be sure.

“Mr. Foster?” The voice across the table cut into his thoughts.

The man had already called his name several times before Adrian finally came back to himself.

Adrian pressed his fingers to his temples. “Sorry.”

“No problem at all, Mr. Foster. Are you feeling alright? You look a little unwell.” The project director’s tone was overly careful, almost trembling.

The deal they were discussing was nothing but pocket change to Foster Group, yet Adrian had shown up in person. That alone was enough to send the poor man into a panic.

For a mid–sized company like theirs, just being granted a partnership was already an honor. To have the CEO himself sitting across from them? That was unimaginable.

“I’m fine.” Adrian stood up. “Let’s finalize this project. You can handle the follow–up details with our project department.”

The man hurried after Adrian. “Yes, it’s been our honor to receive your personal guidance today, Mr. Foster. This way, please.”

He didn’t breathe easy until he’d escorted this intimidating figure out of their building.

Meanwhile, Liam Brooks, the assistant who’d accompanied Adrian, was equally confused.

Adrian was swamped with major projects, so why had he suddenly decided to personally handle such a small deal?

“Yes, Mr. Foster.”

Watching Adrian’s tall, imposing figure disappear through the hospital entrance, the driver, Tyler Ross, finally spoke up. “Liam, what’s wrong with Mr. Foster today? Looks like he’s got murder on his mind. Who pissed him off?”

Liam looked equally confused. “Beats me. Today’s Mr. Foster seems like… like someone dumped him.”

Tyler gasped. “Who would dare dump Mr. Foster? That’s suicide!”

Liam was about to agree when something occurred to him, and his eyes lit up. “Mrs. Foster works at this hospital. Think they had a fight last night?”

but

Tyler nodded. “That’s possible. I heard Mr. Foster was supposed to go on a trip with Mrs. Foster two weeks ago, ended up spending those two weeks with that James family heiress instead. Mr. Foster really screwed up there. No wonder Mrs. Foster’s throwing a tantrum.”

The moment Tyler finished speaking, Liam smacked him on the head.

“Hey! What the hell, Liam?” Tyler snapped.

Liam shot him a glare. “You really want Mr. Foster to overhear you running your mouth like that? Do you still want a paycheck?”

Tyler scratched his head. “My mom always says, ‘A man who wrongs his wife will never prosper.‘ As long as I treat my wife right, I’ll definitely become rich someday.”

Liam laughed but didn’t crush his dreams. “Ambitious. When you become rich, I’ll come work for you.”

Tyler blinked. “Liam, you’d leave Mr. Foster too?”

Liam chuckled. “You said it yourself—a man who wrongs his wife will never prosper. If Mr. Foster keeps treating Mrs. Foster badly and goes bankrupt, I’ll need a new job, right?”

Tyler laughed. “Ha! Liam, you’ve got a point. When I become rich, I’ll take care of you.”

Liam raised his fist playfully. “You little punk.”