Chapter 242

I noticed a subtle smile in Royce's eyes as he looked down at me. "What did you just say?"

I felt a wave of embarrassment. How could I, in my thirties, say something like that?

"I didn't say anything, and you didn't hear anything."

But he leaned in closer. "Oh, but I did hear you. You said you like me, right?"

I covered my face and shook my head, refusing to speak.

He chuckled softly. "Well, I think you're right. I do like you a lot."

I was stunned, my hand dropping from my face as I looked at Royce.

He leaned in and kissed me fully on the lips.

His warm breath brushed against my face, and I didn't know how to react. I could only stare at his fluttering eyelashes.

Our moist lips pressed together, and the sensation left me at a loss.

I could smell his pleasant cologne, and for some reason, I wanted to ask him what brand it was.

When the kiss ended, he lifted his head, breathing lightly, his eyes shining as he looked at me.

I was still in a daze, staring at him blankly. "You..."

"I really like you, Caroline."

Being confessed to in such a situation felt surreal.

Outside the door, people were bustling about, but inside, it was just the two of us, with an intimate atmosphere lingering in the room.

I coughed. "Who gave you permission to kiss me?"

"No one. I just wanted to."

I was silent for a moment, pressing my lips that still held his warmth.

"Next time, don't do that..."

What I didn't know was that my soft protest sounded like a playful complaint to him.

Royce's expression changed, and he kissed me again.

This time, I quickly pushed him away, and he looked at me with a hint of reluctance.

"Royce, what if someone comes in?"

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

I glared at him, wondering why a simple sentence from him always seemed to carry another meaning.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to ask the question that had been on my mind. "By the way, what cologne are you wearing? It smells really nice."

Royce was taken aback. "You've been thinking about that?"

"Yeah, why?"

I saw a hint of helplessness on Royce's face, as if he was amused.

"You..."

He stood up and shook his suit jacket. "I don't wear cologne."

With that, he turned and left.

I could still smell the lingering scent, but I really thought it smelled nice. Why wouldn't he tell me?

That evening, the bidding event concluded. We had to evaluate the strengths of several companies before making a choice.

Coincidentally, the two strongest contenders were Alfonso's company and Royce's company.

The other companies either lacked qualifications or had financial issues, among other reasons.

Of course, I couldn't make any suggestions, so I could only hope in my heart that Royce's company would win the bid.

Until the results were announced, I couldn't meet with Royce and his team.

Instead, Alfonso started calling me again.

"Ms. Sharp, as far as I know, our two companies are the most likely to win the bid, right?"

It seemed Alfonso had someone inside the company feeding him information. How else could he know everything so clearly?

I sneered. "That's none of your concern. Just wait for the news."

"I heard Mr. Carr has already prepared a celebration party? Isn't that a bit too confident?"

"I have my ways. You don't need to worry about me, Ms. Sharp."

"The only thing I'm curious about is, do you really not care about your child's well-being?"

"Or is this project more important to you than your child?"

I leaned back in my chair. "Think what you want. If you think you can get this project through me, you're mistaken. If you have the strength, the project will naturally be yours. Otherwise, you wouldn't resort to these tactics, right?"

Alfonso fell silent. He knew he lacked the strength and was trying to manipulate me.

If he had the capability, he wouldn't need to resort to such measures.

"Ms. Sharp, don't be so sure of yourself."

I sneered. "I wonder who's being overconfident here."

It was clear Alfonso didn't know that my child was already back with me. I wondered where his blind confidence came from.

I hung up the phone and went home.

Kelly was holding the baby, who had just returned, and soothing him. When she saw me, she said, "This child is much more well-behaved than you were. He eats and sleeps, and then eats again."

"He only cried a bit when he first came back yesterday, but now he's not crying anymore."

I put down my bag and looked at the baby. He was sleeping soundly, looking adorable.

"I was well-behaved as a child too, wasn't I?"

"No way. You gave your dad and me a hard time. You cried whenever you woke up, and we had to keep soothing you."

"We even thought about having another child to keep you company, but then we decided against it. One like you was enough."

I smiled helplessly. Just then, the baby woke up and looked at me with wide eyes.

I wiggled my finger in front of him, making him laugh.

His eyes sparkled.

I couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of genetics. The moment I saw him, I knew he was my child.

And it seemed the baby knew this was his home too. He was adapting quickly, no longer crying like before, and his emotions were stabilizing.

That evening, Carl called me. "Ms. Sharp, we have two companies as finalists for the bid. Which one do you prefer?"

"Both are companies from Skyview City. I heard one of them has a connection with you..."

"Carl, I'm not getting involved in this. If I do, people might think I'm manipulating things because of my connection with that company. To avoid such trouble, I'm staying out of it."

"Just choose based on their strengths. Even if you pick the other company, it's fine."

Carl was taken aback, then nodded. "Alright, I understand."

After hanging up, I couldn't help but worry about Asher, hoping he would win the bid.

So I called him. "Asher? How do you feel about your chances?"

"Honestly, it's hard to say, but our company is pretty strong."

Hearing that made me laugh. I admired Asher's confidence.

"It's good to have that confidence. Asher, you don't blame me for not helping, do you?"

"Caroline, what are you thinking? It's right for you to be cautious in your position."

"Besides, do you think I'm useless? I can handle things without your help."