Noah's fierce eyes darted at her as he said, "Don't you play 'hard to get' with me, Luo. You agreed to sleep with me!"

  Luo's eyebrows knitted as she answered, "Yeah… That's why I'm here, right? So what are you waiting for? Close these eyes of yours and let's now sleep…"

  Noah's ears were about to explode as his nostrils flared. He rose and sat on the bed and said, "Get up."

  Luo did and faced him.

  "Are you playing with me? Don't tell me you're just literally planning to sleep on my bed!" Noah growled in disappointment.

  Everything suddenly went to light and seeing that mischievous grin curved on Luo's lips, he knew he had committed a grave mistake while bargaining with her.

  "Yeah, we said SLEEP. Did we agree about getting intimate? Did any of us mention anything like having SEX or something? Hey, what's wrong with you? You were bargaining with a lawyer, so you should have been more specific." Luo innocently mumbled.

  "You said about being a virgin, so I thought we are on the same page!" Noah fumed.

  "Oh right, yeah! Of course I'm a virgin, so literally I haven't slept with any man on the same bed. What were you thinking? I'm NBSB so you're the first man to have the opportunity to sleep together with me…" Luo said with a fond look. She was obviously making fun of him.

  "I spent millions!" Noah barked.

  "And you will be able to sleep with me anytime you want… Wherever you want as agreed!" Luo answered with a wink, followed by a loud yawn.

  She then laid back on the bed and murmured, "Stop getting worked up too much. Sleep and let's enjoy each other's warmth. I will let you hug me, but nothing more. Remember, anything you will do against my will has a corresponding penalty in the eyes of the law."

  Noah did not know whether to laugh again or shout loudly in annoyance as he watched Luo close her eyes with a smile. She was testing his patience. He was annoyed, but at the same time he could not hide the fact that the woman in front of him was not like any other he had ever met. His views of her had changed drastically and also he looked at her differently. He understood that Luo was someone who couldn't be manipulated that easily, but she was capable enough and could do that the other way around.

  It was extremely irritating for Noah because he had been played by her, but he was amazed that somewhere deep in his heart he felt satisfied as well. Maybe that was why he was interested in her because of that badass attitude. She was very different. He lied down straight thinking about her and dozed off to sleep with those deep thoughts in his head.

  Luo on the other hand opened her eyes when she finally felt Noah was in deep slumber already. She lied on her side and stared at his face and heaved a deep sigh.

  She did not know if her approach was right, but she noticed it was effective in getting Noah's interest. Noah was the first ever man in her life who ever attracted her. A man who had everything and could give her everything…


  But that was not something about Noah that attracted her, there was something more than money which made her emotions well up for this man. She saw something in his eyes… His cold eyes were filled with emptiness and loneliness…

  For some reason, even unknown to her, she wanted to fill a feeling of belonging in those empty eyes… but she knew she was probably not worthy of a relationship with him, the business God, but the stubborn woman Luo knew she had treated on a path of emotional derailment that had no U-turn.

  ******

  Meanwhile, at Craig's unit, Gale sighed as she turned around to look at the direction of the door.

  She wondered if something wrong had happened because Craig suddenly rushed out, saying Noah called and had asked him to do an urgent task.

  They were both still awake when Noah called because they were watching a movie together that was about to end in his living area. She scrunched her face as she looked at the wall clock, then sighed.

  It had been many days already since Craig told her that he loved her. She was speechless and was unable to answer him at that time. She was grateful enough that Craig was not pushing her very hard to sort out her feelings. He said he just wanted to express himself in front of her but would not ask anything from her in return because he understood her situation very well.

  Right now their relationship was getting deeper. They were getting to know each other more deeply and were enjoying each other's company very much.

  She could still not clear her mind enough to give a proper name or designation to their relationship, but what was important was that Craig was always there for her. He was someone she could lean on for anything and at any time.

  She had found a good companion in him. Yes, she did realise that she was being a little unfair towards him, but then she was not ready for any commitment in relationships at that point of her life.

  "It's so late already. What a cruel boss to call Craig at this hour when it's not even office hours!" She irritably hissed pertaining to Noah. She did not like it that Noah would call anytime he wanted and Craig would every time run to his aide, but then Craig said it was a natural thing because Noah only trusted him with important things.

  It had been hours already, and Gale was feeling sleepy. She was yawning over and over again. She grabbed her mobile phone but only stared at it for some time. She wanted to call Craig and ask when he would be back. She missed him at this hour of night, but she did not want to act so clingy in front of him. She then kept the phone back and decided to just wait for him.

  Soon she dozed off on the couch while waiting for Craig to arrive.