The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 364

After sending off an email, Sebastian looked back at the screen. Under the soft lamplight, the profile of the woman's face was beautifully delicate. The way she read so earnestly exuded a quiet, intellectual elegance. She looked exactly like a well-bred scholar—calm and gentle, right down to the soft strands of hair resting against her neck.

He unconsciously slowed his breathing, his gaze lingering on her face, completely unable to look away.

Pages turned one by one, and time slipped by unnoticed.

Perhaps from looking down for too long, her neck grew stiff. She frowned slightly, raising one hand to slowly massage the back of her neck.

A moment later, she tilted her head back and stretched her arms high above her head. The movement caused her loose pajama top to ride up, exposing a strip of pale, slender waist that gleamed temptingly under the light.

Through the screen, Sebastian's breath hitched. His eyes darkened, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

Just as Riley had her arms raised in the air, she suddenly remembered she was still on a video call. She whipped her head toward the phone and caught Sebastian staring at her with burning intensity.

She quickly dropped her arms, awkwardly tugging her shirt down. "I forgot we were on video."

"Go to sleep early. I'm going to take a shower."

His deep voice was laced with an unidentifiable, hoarse edge.

"Okay. You get some rest too."

The call ended, and Riley tapped her forehead in frustration. How could she forget she was on video?

She had literally just stretched and massaged her neck right in front of him...

How embarrassing.

Three days later, at the hospital's research institute.

Dr. Graves asked Riley, "How are things going with the community center?"

Lately, Riley had been coordinating with the community center's maternal and child health resources to gather data for her research.

She had gone to see the community coordinator, Zane Jenson, who had accepted the referral documents but was endlessly delaying the home visits. Despite her multiple phone calls pushing for progress, he kept making excuses.

"It's not sorted out yet. I'm going to head down to the community service center again this afternoon."

Dr. Graves nodded. "Home visits fall under community work, but gathering screening data for research isn't strictly their responsibility. Be as polite and sincere as possible."

"Understood."

That afternoon, Riley arrived at the community service center.

As soon as Zane saw her, before she could even speak, he began to complain. "Dr. Vance, the high-risk cases your hospital transferred over require a massive amount of work. Our schedule here is already packed to the brim, and we're severely understaffed."

Riley pleaded politely, "I really need this batch of follow-up data for my research. I'd appreciate it if you could do me a favor, Mr. Jenson."

Zane leaned back in his chair, his tone polite but carrying a firm, suggestive edge. "How about you arrange a dinner for us? Let everyone get to know each other. It's always easier to work with friends, right? It'll make your future data collection and sample recruitment a whole lot smoother, too."

"Is it that you can't handle it, or are you just looking down on me?" Zane interrupted, his brow furrowing.

Someone else chimed in, "Dr. Vance, if you don't drink, Mr. Jenson is going to look really bad."

Just then, Riley's phone rang. "I need to take this."

Zane blocked her as she tried to set the glass down. "Drink first. You can't expect me to just stand here waiting for you to finish a phone call, can you?"

Left with no choice, Riley gritted her teeth and downed the liquor.

The harsh liquid burned her throat. Having never drank hard liquor before, Riley felt a fiery, searing pain burn all the way from her throat into her stomach, and she immediately broke into a coughing fit.

Zane reached out and patted her back. "Are you okay?"

Riley felt the man's large hand stroking her back under the guise of patting it, his touch growing noticeably heavier when his fingers brushed against the strap of her bra.

He was taking advantage of her.

A wave of pure disgust washed over her.

Between the nausea and the burning sensation of the alcohol, Riley's stomach churned violently.

At that exact moment, the door to the private room was pushed open from the outside, and Sebastian appeared in the doorway, a phone in his hand.