Chapter 32: Delivering Food

After Michael bounced, Anna shot a look at Charles. "What are you doing here?"

Charles plopped the lunchbox on the table and slouched into the chair across from her. "Bringing you lunch," he said, all casual-like.

Anna eyed the four-tiered lunchbox, eyebrows shooting up. "Charles, seriously, don't you have anything better to do?"

Charles shrugged, "Nah, I'm bored outta my mind. Figured I'd come hang with my wife."

She set her pen down, totally baffled why he suddenly decided to play delivery boy.

"Charles, you know Radiant Life Hospital's got a cafeteria, right? They serve three squares a day."

Charles shot back, "Yeah, but does hospital food ever taste good?"

She thought, 'I'm here to work, not to chow down on cafeteria slop.'

Charles didn't give a damn what she was thinking. His eyes drifted to a door inside the room. "Is that a break room?"

Anna nodded.

Jasper had been worried she'd get wiped working all day, so he hooked her up with the biggest office, complete with a break room. That way, if Anna didn't head home for lunch, she could crash in there.

Anna watched as Charles got up, grabbed the lunchbox with one hand, and took her hand with the other, dragging her into the break room. He set the lunchbox on the table in front of the sofa and scoped out the room.

It had all the basics: a bed, a cabinet, a sofa, a table, and chairs. Jasper had clearly gone all out setting up Anna's office.

Charles started laying out the food from the lunchbox and, seeing Anna still standing at the door, called out, "Babe, come on, it's gonna get cold."

Anna walked over, but before she could sit, Charles yanked her, making her stumble right into his arms. Charles wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight.

He smirked, "You must be starving, throwing yourself at me like that."

She swatted his hand, "Let go of me."

Instead of letting go, Charles just held her tighter. "Why should I? You're my wife. What's wrong with a little cuddle?"

As he spoke, he adjusted her into a comfy sitting position, held her close, and planted a kiss on her lips.

Five minutes later, he finally let her go. He licked his lips, still savoring the moment.

Anna dodged his intense gaze, "Quit messing around, let me go."

Charles said, "This sofa's tiny. No room to move. Just deal with it for a bit. I'll hold you while you eat."

As soon as he finished talking, he grabbed a shrimp and, catching Anna mid-sentence, popped it right into her mouth, shutting her up.

Tasting the familiar flavor, Anna asked, "Did you make this yourself?"

Charles grinned, "Touched, aren't you?"

Anna shot back, "You're the CEO of a multinational company. How do you have so much free time?"

This morning at 7:30, Charles had left the house with her. Now, it was only 11:30, and he had already whipped up lunch and brought it to Radiant Life Hospital. That meant he must've gone back to Regal Retreat to start cooking by at least 10:00.

Charles picked up a piece of meat and fed it to Anna, saying, "Anna, you know what’s made Apex Holdings Group so big?"

"What?" Anna asked, curious.

"Delegation," Charles said. "A good leader doesn’t hog all the power."

"One person’s energy is always limited. If you try to micromanage everything, the company will never grow. The leader’s vision and perspective, in a way, set the company’s scale," Charles explained.

Even though Anna had never worked in a company, she had to admit Charles made a lot of sense. The amount of authority a leader gave to their team determined how far they could go.

In the break room, one fed while the other ate, creating an unexpectedly chill vibe. Twenty minutes later, Anna was stuffed. She leaned back to dodge the food Charles was trying to feed her again.

"I'm full. Let me go, you should eat," Anna said.

Charles smirked lazily, bent his elbow, and brought the food to his mouth. He still didn’t let her go, holding her tight as he slowly ate.

As Charles took his first bite, Anna’s attention was on his hand around her waist. Seeing he wouldn’t let go, her eyes drifted to the utensils he was using.

When Charles took his third bite, Anna suddenly grabbed his wrist. "Use a different set of utensils," she said.

Charles played dumb. "What’s wrong?"

Anna clarified, "I used those. Get a new set."

Charles chuckled, "Do you mind this?"

He lowered his voice, his eyes smoldering, "We’ve kissed so many times, and you are still not used to it?"

Anna didn’t respond. Her gut told her he was about to say something cheeky.

Sure enough.

Charles teased, "If my wife isn’t used to it, then I’ll help her get used to it."

Anna knew she couldn’t win against Charles. So, she wisely turned her gaze away, ignoring him.