His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 396

The temperature inside the restaurant was perfectly comfortable, yet Virginia's right eyelid suddenly twitched twice.

She raised a hand to rub her eye, frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?" Kian set his fork down and asked gently.

"It's nothing. I probably just didn't sleep well." Virginia picked up her lemon water and took a sip, masking the exhaustion in her eyes.

Kian looked at the barely touched food in front of her. "Not to your liking? Do you want to try another place?"

"No, it's fine." Virginia managed a forced smile. She picked up her silverware and brought a piece of Chinese yam to her mouth, but the food tasted like ashes.

Kian pushed up his glasses, choosing not to call out her distraction.

He pulled a thick stack of medical literature from the briefcase beside him and slid it across the table.

"This is the literature you mentioned last time. I saw it while I was on my business trip, so I grabbed a copy for you."

If she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't pry.

Virginia's eyes lit up. She put down her fork to take it, running her hand over the cover as if it were a precious treasure, and thanked him.

Kian's gaze softened. He used the serving utensils to place a slice of lotus root onto her plate.

...

The next day, inside the CEO's office at the Vanderbilt Group.

Director Harrison stood before the massive desk. His face was flushed crimson, and his hands, hanging by his sides, were clenched tightly into fists.

"Mr. Vanderbilt, Evelyn has only been here for a few days! To give her an exceptional promotion to technical team leader... The veteran employees who have been bleeding for this company for five or six years are outraged. How is the R&D department supposed to function moving forward?"

Archer sat behind his desk. His bespoke black shirt didn't have a single crease.

He twirled a platinum fountain pen in his hand. The metal casing spun effortlessly between his fingers as his eyes remained entirely void of emotion.

The place Evelyn chose wasn't far from the Vanderbilt Group. It was a bustling roadside barbecue stand.

The area was incredibly loud. The mouthwatering scent of roasted meat mixed with cumin permeated the air.

Archer, projecting a cold, aristocratic aura, sat on a cheap plastic stool in his expensive dress shirt and slacks. His long legs had nowhere to go, making him look completely out of place in his surroundings.

Evelyn smiled sweetly and shyly offered him a lamb skewer. "Mr. Vanderbilt, try this. It's their specialty."

She knew that with her beauty, even the great Archer Vanderbilt wouldn't remain completely unaffected!

Archer stared at the meat skewer in front of him, motionless.

His memories began to drift back.

Once again, his thoughts returned to Virginia.