The Apple of My Eye novel Chapter 1281

In Bernard's head, though, Holley didn't really have to thank him for anything. It wasn't like he was doing it for her—he was simply helping Rachel.

"I remember I told my colleague, Rachel, to contact you. Is everything alright?" Holley tentatively asked. She presumed that Bernard and Rachel were, at the very least, acquaintances.

'I don't think it's a smart move to hire him if he's attracted to Rachel. He could end up speaking for her…' Holley thought.

Not wanting to expose his feelings for Rachel, he merely said "yes" and nothing more.

Hearing that, Holley told herself that Rachel really wasn't so special to him and that she needn't be worried about anything.

"Well, sometimes, Rachel can't control her emotions and has bursts of anger. It's not so easy for you to get on with her, I assume? Maybe it's us who have spoiled her," Holley smiled and said.

Bernard's facial expression changed in a blink. Luckily, for him, Holley didn't even notice it.

Eventually, he came to realize that Holley didn't like Rachel at all—she probably even hated her. If it weren't because of that, she wouldn't try to put Rachel to shame before someone unfamiliar.

As he could recall, Rachel once did all she could to save Holley and almost lost her life when she managed to collect evidence. It seemed like it was nothing to Holley. 'What a kind and foolish girl she is…' Bernard thought.

Feeling too tired to speak with her, he just walked away. The action didn't seem unusual for his cool and quiet character, so Holley didn't think that anything was wrong.

Now, Holley enjoyed some good news—many shareholders she secretly contacted were willing to transfer their shares to her.

After her constant mergers and acquisitions, Holley's stocks increased up to forty percent, which happened to be five percent more than Rachel's. Five percent!

For Holley, the achievement was something to be celebrated. Her persistent efforts were finally paying off and she believed that it could be the day she had been waiting for for so long—her dream was nearly a reality. How could she not be giddy with excitement?

Unless Rachel could acquire Black's stocks, Rachel wouldn't possibly be able to fight back at that time. Regardless, she wasn't expecting that Holley had already made a verbal agreement with Black.

Now, Holley knew what needed to be done—she had to reinforce the cooperation with Black.

An idea came to her.

When Black invited her to visit his place, she gladly agreed as she sensed that it was a good opportunity to enact her new plan.

When she arrived at his home, she learned that he was planning to cook for her.

'It's said that if you want to make a woman stay, you have to attract her appetite, ' Black believed.

"It's nice having you here, Holley. Please make yourself at home. What would you like to eat? Name it and I'll cook it for you." In spite of the situation, Holley couldn't help but burst into laughter when she saw Black wearing a cute, teddy bear-patterned apron. It was an adorable sight—he rubbed his hands on the apron and smiled awkwardly.

"Come on, this was the only one I could find."

"Wow, I'm amazed that you can cook. I'm looking forward to it—surprise me."

For some reason, Holley didn't have the heart to see him feel awkward, so she changed the subject.

"Oh, I'm flattered. But I'm afraid that you'll probably be disappointed. I actually haven't done it in a long while," Black smiled and said.