“Ellie, you’re back…” Nolan greeted as he looked up and saw Eliana hurrying over.
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But then he noticed her lips had lost their color and looked a bit swollen, her cheeks were flushed, and Theodore was strolling in behind her, looking completely unhurried. Nolan instantly got the picture.
“Sorry about that,” Eliana said to everyone before sitting back down.
Ryan grinned and teased, “Did you manage to clean up the dirty thing?”
Eliana paused for a moment, then instinctively glanced at Theodore. He was lazily wiping the corner of his mouth with his finger, looking smug and thoroughly satisfied.
She blushed and turned her face away, refusing to look at him again.
Everyone else exchanged knowing looks.
Even the staff Theodore brought along couldn’t help but whisper among themselves.
“Looks like Mr. Russell already got a taste in the restroom,” one of them snickered.
“I’ve never seen him so eager before…” another chimed in.
“Shh, quiet. He’s back!” someone hissed.
After Theodore took his seat, everyone noticed how delighted he had become, and the rest of the conversation went a whole lot smoother.
Soon, an hour passed.
When Eliana and the others were about to leave, Theodore glanced over and said, “Time to go.”
But as he stood up, a tube of lip gloss slipped out of his pocket, catching everyone’s attention.
Even Eliana looked over to see what happened.
The foreign businessmen, seeing Theodore carrying a woman’s lip gloss, almost assumed he had some strange fetish. But then he picked it up and said casually, “This is a gift for my wife.”
The businessmen exclaimed, “How romantic!”
Eliana could only bite her tongue. That lip gloss was obviously the one Theodore had snatched away.
“Hmph.” She let out a soft snort.
Theodore glanced over at her, only to see she had already slung her bag over her shoulder and was joining Nolan and the others to settle the
bill.
Theodore chuckled and glanced back at his team. “Guys, escort David back to his hotel.”
Someone quickly asked, “And what about you, Mr. Russell?”
“I’ll be fine on my own,” Theodore replied, then strode off after Eliana.
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Outside the restaurant, Ryan spotted Theodore walking toward his car.
“Theodore, did you come all the way over just to catch up with me?” he teased.
Eliana was a little surprised. It sounded like they were actually pretty close.
Theodore asked, “Would you mind giving me a lift?”
Ryan replied cheerfully, “Of course not.”
Then, Theodore turned to Nolan. “Mr. Hall, you and Ellie can wait for us in the car. I need to talk to them for a moment.”
Eliana remembered what he’d said in the restroom. She leaned in close to him and whispered softly, “Theodore, please don’t make a scene,
alright?”
But Theodore just handed her the lip gloss and said casually, “Hold on to your gift.”
Nolan gently reassured Eliana, “It’s alright, Ellie. Trust me, okay?”
Once Nolan had led Eliana into the car, Theodore finally turned his gaze to Beverly and Ryan. “So, did you have your fun, dear wife and son of our beloved mayor?”
Ryan sheepishly rubbed his nose.
Beverly replied with poise, “Theodore, my husband keeps bringing up Ellie every now and then, so I just got curious and wanted to meet her
myself.”
Theodore’s eyes grew sharp. “Were you really here to meet her, or just to judge if she’s good enough to be your goddaughter? You think I can’t see right through you?”
Beverly seemed a bit embarrassed.
Ryan quickly chimed in, “Come on, Theodore, don’t overthink it. My mom and I really mean no harm. Ellie’s so sweet and sensible. We just want to spoil her, not hurt her…”
Theodore cut her off, his tone darkening. “What did you just call her?”
Ryan answered, “Ellie.”
Theodore’s eyes narrowed. “So you call me Theodore, but you call her Ellie? Isn’t that a bit too casual?”
Ryan shrugged, totally unfazed. “She’s younger than me. And if she agrees to be my parents‘ goddaughter, that makes her my god–sister. So what’s wrong with just calling her Ellie?”
Theodore kept a straight face. “She hasn’t agreed yet. It’s too early for daydreaming.”
Ryan grinned. “But if she does, you’ll be my brother–in–law. I’ll become your older brother.”
Just thinking about it made Ryan grin from ear to ear. After all, anyone who could get one over on Theodore would be called a total legend among their peers.
But the next second, when he saw Theodore frown, Ryan immediately changed his tune. “I’m just kidding. You’ll always be my big bro.”
With that, he hopped into the car and ducked out of sight.
That left Beverly facing Theodore’s cold warning alone. “Tell your son to stop messing around with my wife, and I’ll keep your secret from her
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for now.”
Beverly had no choice but to agree.
On the way, Eliana held the lip gloss Theodore had given back to her, only to find a crack running along the tube. She couldn’t help but feel a bit upset.
She didn’t own many designer stuff, and this just happened to be one of them…
Theodore, sitting beside her, caught the hint of her disappointment and pressed his lips together.
Half an hour later, Ryan pulled the car to a stop and turned to Theodore. “Theodore, we’re at your company.”
But Theodore turned to Eliana instead. “Come with me.”
Eliana froze for a moment, then huffed, “I still have to go back to work.”
Theodore turned to Nolan. “It’s lunch break, so I can borrow her for a while, right, Mr. Hall?”
“Uh… sure,” Nolan replied, not about to argue with Theodore.
Eliana puffed up her cheeks in frustration and glared at Nolan. “Mr. Hall!”
“Be good. Don’t make things difficult for Mr. Hall,” Theodore said gently, but Ellie could still hear the warning in his tone.
“What are you up to?” Eliana demanded.
As soon as she stepped out, Theodore seized her hand, lacing their fingers together, leaving her no room to refuse.
Instead of answering, Theodore just stared at the department store ahead and said, “I’ll buy you a gift.”
“A gift?” Eliana blurted out without thinking.
“You’ll see when we get there,” Theodore said, pulling her along inside.
With his long strides, Eliana struggled to keep up. She couldn’t help but grumble, “Are you dragging me along like a kite or something?”
Theodore finally slowed down.
Eliana took the opportunity to size up the department store. It was built right next to the Russell Group headquarters and, as she’d heard, was one of their subsidiaries.
When Theodore led Eliana through the revolving doors, the employees on both sides bowed together. “Good afternoon, Mr. Russell!”
Theodore waved it off. “This is my wife.”
The employees all turned to Eliana and chorused, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Russell!”
The thunderous greeting had every shopper in the place turning to stare at them.
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Chapter 279
Eliana felt a bit awkward. She whispered, “Can’t you be more low–key? Even once?”
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