The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella) novel Chapter 21

On the evening of Isabelle’s third day at the Larson Group, Seth appeared at her desk when it was time to go home. Isabelle hadn’t seen much of him the past two days, besides when they had lunch together. Part of it was because she was avoiding him actively–even though Jacob had accepted her explanation about their relationship, she didn’t want to risk another misunderstanding. The other reason was because they weren’t in the same departments and were both busy at work.

When he appeared, she was gathering her things, ready to leave. Most of her co-workers had already left.

“I came by to see if you want to get off work together,” Seth said when he got to her desk.

The request was innocent enough, she supposed, but she couldn’t help thinking about the last time they had left the building together.

When she hesitated, he added, “I haven’t seen much of you these last couple of days, I was hoping to catch up. You can tell me about how you’re getting along with work.”

She appreciated his concern, she really did. But besides what happened the last time he accompanied her, there was something else that made her think twice before accepting his offer. That first day they met at the flower shop, she had assumed he had long lost romantic interest in her after leaving college.

But each time they had interacted in these three days, she couldn’t ignore how he looked at her, talked to her, and sought to spend time with her. She would be fooling herself if she pretended that his attention on her was only because they were friends.

Seth Holding was pursuing her again, and she didn’t want to do anything to raise his hopes. But how could she tell him that no, she didn’t want to get off work together? He had been so kind to introduce her the first day. Maybe she could accompany him for today, but after that–

Her phone rang at that moment, and she excused herself to take a look at it. She found that it was Jacob calling, and she stepped away to receive it. “Hello?”

“Hello, Isabelle. Are you off work yet?”

“I’m about to leave,” she replied. “Why?”

“Come on, I’m waiting for you outside. I found a house near the company, I’ll take you to see it.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

She hadn’t expected him to find a house so soon. Finding a vacant place in the centre of the city was hard enough–finding a cheap one had to be way harder. He really must know a lot of resourceful people to be able to find one so quickly, she decided.

“Yes, it was quite cheap.”

“Alright, I’ll be down in a minute,” she told him excitedly. She hung up and turned back to Seth. “Sorry, I have to rush. I’m meeting someone.”

Seth could barely hide his disappointment as Isabelle gathered her bag and got ready to leave. Whatever that call was about, it had made her really happy–it had also robbed him of the chance to catch up with her. He had been unable to spend as much time with her as he liked the past two days, and he had been thrilled to find her at her desk. The previous day, he had come looking for her, but he had a meeting that ran late and by the time he got there, she was already gone. Looked like he was out of luck once again.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he replied, hiding his dejection. Right, tomorrow. He would do his best to catch her alone the next day.

Isabelle all but skipped out of the office, and it made him wonder who on earth she was so happy to see. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked over to the window and looked outside. From there, he could see the front of the building clearly.

A couple of minutes later, Isabelle emerged from the building and walked towards a tall man who was waiting outside. Seth watched as the two got closer, then the man took her bag and led her away. He felt disappointment crash his heart. Was he too late to win her heart?