Chapter 121 Defeat Is Not in My Vocabulary
Originally, Malcolm wanted to wait for Reese to see the expression on her face after her flustered exit, which was obviously one of embarrassment.
However, just then, his phone rang—it was Justin calling.
He slid to answer, "What's it?"
"Mr. Flynn, there seems to be a problem with a project, and we need you to come over immediately."
"Got it."
He hung up just as Reese came out, the flush on her face likely dissipated due to washing up with cold water, along with her natural composure masking any remaining signs.
Her expression was back to normal when she noticed he was putting on his coat. "You leaving?" She asked casually.
"Yeah, looks like there's trouble with a project. Justin asked me to come take a look."
“Are you coming back tonight?” Reese asked with a hint of urgency.
“Hard to say, I might not,” Malcolm replied, buttoning up his suit jacket and straightening the collar.
Reese muttered something under her breath, which, unfortunately, Malcolm heard.
He walked over to her with his lean frame and bent down slightly, as his dark eyes fixed on her inquisitively. “Seems like you really don’t want me back tonight, huh?”
Reese’s lips curved into a sly smile, but she firmly denied it. “Not at all. You must've heard wrong, besides, a man's got to prioritize his career.”
“No, I think my wife is a priority, especially since she seems to not want her husband coming home. Seems like I haven't been attentive enough. I'll stay in tonight, spend some quality time with my wife and work on our connection,” He said, his voice taking on a deep magnetic quality, laced with an ambiguous undertone.
Caught off guard, Reese bit her lip, at a loss for words. She clenched her fists, desperately reminding herself, 'C'mon Reese, you're always so eloquent, why go mute now? Push back.'
Malcolm saw her tentative expression, especially the ripples in her eyes that seemed to dive straight into his heart.
He felt if he didn't leave now, he might not be able to restrain himself from taking her right there.
As Reese was internally gearing up for another round with Malcolm, his warm hand gently caressed her head. “Just kidding; don't be scared.”
Feeling the strength and warmth from his palm above her head, along with the tender touch, she stiffened as if electrified, her face frozen.
By the time she snapped out of it, Malcolm had already left the room. Reese exhaled deeply and annoyingly patted her own head.
'What’s wrong with me?' She questioned her recent lack of resilience.
When she relayed the incident and her reactions to Calvin, he spat out a mouthful of milk onto the screen, followed by a fit of coughing.
“Pfft, Reese, are you messing with me? With your fiery nature, shouldn't you have smacked Malcolm on the head by now and accepted his challenge? Telling him loud and clear, 'Yeah right, I’m not scared of you!'”
“Come on, with your skills, Reese, you’d probably tear the bed apart tonight, leaving Malcolm unable to get out of it,” Calvin chuckled.
"Stop! Since when have I ever been that violent?"
“But you are with me, right?” Calvin quickly retorted.
Reese scoffed with disdain, “Are you even comparable?”
Calvin feigned a woeful face. “Reese, how can you treat us differently? We’re both men, and I’m your closest confidant. How can you say that I’m not—”
“I don’t consider you my closest confidant,” she cut him off firmly.
Reese didn't pull any punches when she took a jab at Calvin.
Stunned, Calvin was momentarily lost for words. Knowing Reese as he did, such remarks seemed out of character; it just wasn't her style.
He stood there, dumbstruck, then suddenly let out a shriek. "Holy smokes, Reese! Don't tell me you've actually fallen for someone?"
Without a second thought, Reese shot back, "Cut it out, stop talking nonsense. Discussing romance with a kid like you? Forget it. You’d better figure out how to tweak that Malcolm project or all my hard work will go down the drain."
"Alright, alright, just watch out for yourself," Calvin conceded.
After hanging up, Reese chewed on her pen, feeling more irritated as she thought about it. Deciding to shake it off, she opted for a shower and headed to bed.
The next morning, her phone buzzed with a new message. "Reese, don't forget it's our company's anniversary celebration today. We're all looking forward to your performance!"
The tone was unmistakable; it had to be Sophia Linden.
Reese couldn’t care less. She tossed her phone aside, got ready for the day, and stepped outside, only to see Alyssa seemingly waiting for someone in her car.
Not one to flatter herself, Reese was about to walk past when Alyssa called out.
"Hey Reese, let me give you a lift to the office."
Seeing no reason to decline, Reese accepted the offer and got into the car.
Then Alyssa started her usual prattle. "I heard Malcolm didn't come home last night. Did you sleep okay, Reese?"
Her look and tone conveyed a mix of concern and pity.
Confused, Reese retorted immediately, "Why would Malcolm not coming home affect my sleep?"
"Isn't there a saying that if two people are used to sleeping together, one will feel off if the other isn't home for a night?" Alyssa's tone suggested a mix of concern and curiosity.
Given their apparent inseparability, Alyssa assumed they'd be lost without each other.
Reese was at a loss for words. "You've been reading too many romances. What you see isn't always the truth, and just so you know, I have no plans to spend my whole life with Malcolm."
She certainly didn't want any of the Flynn family to get the idea she'd be around forever.
Alyssa gasped in shock, "Reese, you can't divorce Malcolm! That would be disastrous! What about all my fans? They’d be heartbroken."
Reese eyed Alyssa's dramatic reaction and couldn't help but laugh.
"Alyssa, shouldn't your first concern be how Malcolm would cope with a divorce, not your fans?" Reese pointed out.
At this, Alyssa realized that she might have let something slip and awkwardly chuckled while scratching her head. "I wasn't finished, I wasn't finished," she said in a hasty attempt to cover up.
Reese didn't care about these trivial issues; she merely wanted everyone to keep a level head and not pin their hopes too high on unlikely prospects.
The atmosphere in the car went cold again. Alyssa, being a chatterbox, couldn't stand silence and quickly sought out another topic to discuss with Reese. "Reese, there's the company's annual gala tonight. I overheard Sophia from your department saying you'll be performing too, is that true?"
Glancing down at her phone, Reese replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, she wanted me to join, so I agreed."
"What?! Reese, isn't that like signing your own death warrant? Sophia has dance training; you can't possibly outshine her. No, no, this won't do. If you lose, everyone at the office will ridicule you."
Alyssa was instantly anxious. Given Reese's pride, such a setback could hit her hard, especially when she had to battle for Alyssa later that evening. A loss could ruin her mood; a bad mood could lead to errors in gameplay, and that would mean losing followers for Alyssa.
Reese could easily see through Alyssa's little scheme and didn't for one second believe two rounds of gaming would equate to genuine concern for her well-being. There were no free lunches or unprovoked acts of kindness in this world.
However, Reese seemed overly indifferent, continuing to play her game, only half paying attention as she responded, "Let's just see. Besides, it's not a given that I'll lose."
The word "lose" wasn’t in her vocabulary.
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