Chapter 673 Natalie, Whenever I Want
Completely oblivious to the speculations about her identity, Natalie had momentarily shoved aside the matter involving Lilian as she made her way to the meeting. it was the young girl's personal matter, and it was not her place as a cousin-in-law to meddle too deeply.
Oliver had already been waiting impatiently in his leather executive chair for over half an hour, gazing at Natalie with a look that held a hint of reproach.
"Natalie, did you say twenty minutes?" He glanced at his wristwatch, signaling the passage of time.
Natalie checked the time herself, she was only seven minutes and some seconds late.
Before she could even formulate a response, Oliver inquired, "Does time move slower on your planet?"
The question, linking time calculations to the Earth's rotation, would have made Secretary Kensington burst into laughter if not for her professional composure.
Who would have thought that Mr. Windsor, typically the epitome of aloofness and prestige, would reveal such a petty, almost childish, side in Natalie's presence?
Secretary Kensington was quite aware that Mr. Windsor had little patience and loathed waiting for others. There had been a client who arrived five minutes late, and Oliver had emphatically crossed out the deal on the spot. In years past, executives who showed up late for meetings were summarily ordered out by Mr. Windsor.
Yet only Natalie could afford to arrive late and still be welcomed into Mr. Windsor's office, albeit reluctantly.
When Secretary Kensington inquired if Natalie wanted anything to drink or any snacks, she declined. Holding back her curiosity for juicy gossip, Kensington politely exited the office and closed the door behind her.
"Oliver, are you upset?" Natalie approached tentatively, her guilt was visible as she placed a wrapped package on his desk and pushed it toward him. "Don't be mad. My tardiness was actually because I was picking out a gift for you."
The word "gift" seemed to lighten Oliver's mood a bit.
The last gift Natalie had given him was a pair of cufflinks from the previous year. Such a distant memory. They had been married for over a year, and she had only given him two gifts? Thinking of this, Oliver's expression soured again.
As Natalie got closer, Oliver caught the scent of a perfume with floral notes. The top notes were white balsam and blackcurrant leaves, the middle notes were tuberose and jasmine, with something else he couldn't quite identify, and the base was sandalwood.
"New perfume?" He asked, intrigued by the fresh scent, "Did you just put it on?"
She nodded, a touch embarrassed, "Didn't you mention that I lacked a sense of occasion whenever I came to see you?" She remembered a passing comment he had made back at Silvercrest.
Oliver felt a piece of his irritation crumble away as if the previous displeasure had evaporated in an instant.
"What gift did you buy?" he asked, opening the branded package to reveal an article of clothing.
It was a men's piece. Upon unfolding it, Oliver's face darkened again.
It was a white shirt that looked quite appealing at first glance; the fabric and cut were meticulous. But... the tail of the shirt was oversized and even sported a large colorful embroidery. It was a bird of some sort, which to him looked somewhat... flamboyant.
Oliver held up the shirt, glanced at the embroidered bird, and raised an eyebrow at Natalie, "Are you sure this wasn't meant for Lucas?"
At the time, she was in a rush to buy and didn't look closely, plus the store's designer had a reputation for classic, understated styles. Who would have thought he'd go for something more... daring this time?
"Of course not!" Natalie quickly pulled another shirt out of her pocket, unfurled it, and held it up against herself, "Matching couples' shirts!"
Oliver was speechless.
Natalie had intended to say that she had bought the shirts too hastily without examining the designs carefully. She figured that not many people wore these matching sets, so Oliver, who hated wearing the same thing as others, might not mind as much.
Besides, with Oliver being a ‘natural’ at wearing clothes, he could make even a burlap sack look like a high-end, custom-made piece from a luxury brand. Who would have expected that there would be such a flashy embroidery pattern?
Oliver took the shirt from Natalie's hand and glanced at it. On the back of her shirt, he saw a bird pattern that was similar but not identical to his.
The designs were clearly from the same series, and upon closer inspection, one could see they complemented each other. They indeed were a couples' set.
"If you really don't like it, I can choose another gift for you some other time," Natalie said, not realizing that Oliver's expression had softened.
The same man who had just been verbally disparaging the shirt quickly folded it neatly, declaring with a sense of righteousness, "You gave it; why would you take it back?"
His face might as well have had two words written on it, ‘Dream on!’
Natalie couldn't quite figure out his line of thinking, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that she had managed to appease him.
"By the way, Oliver, was it you who pulled some strings to get me out of my contract so quickly?" she asked. "The company said it wasn't you, but I don't believe them."
Oliver internally rolled his eyes at the executives of HHY Company, finding it ridiculous that they couldn't keep a secret. That they had managed to grow the company to its size was a small miracle.
"It wasn't me. It was Isaac." Oliver cleared himself of involvement.
Natalie burst out laughing. "I wasn't blaming you. But since it has nothing to do with you, I'll go thank Isaac then!"
"It was me who instructed Isaac," Oliver confessed. He didn't want any other man getting thanks from his woman.
Natalie laughed again.
Oliver clicked his tongue and pinched her cheek with a bit of a threatening grit to his teeth, "Don't laugh."
"My mouth is my own; I'll laugh if I want to," Natalie retorted with pride.
But her pride only lasted three seconds before her mouth was silenced by Oliver's kiss, stifling any laughter that might have followed.
"Mrs. Windsor, lips might be on your body, but they aren't always under your control." Releasing her lips, Oliver licked the corner of his mouth with lingering satisfaction.
Oliver didn't summon Natalie for any pressing matters; he merely wanted to keep her within his line of sight.
He sent a message on his computer, and soon after, his secretary brought Natalie some top-grade spring green tea and a selection of low-fat pastries.
Natalie suddenly spotted a hanging chair and a beanbag chair next to the floor-to-ceiling windows in Oliver's typically austere executive office, seeming oddly out of place..
"Do you want to give it a try?" Oliver noted the look in Natalie's eyes.
The spot for the beanbag chair was bathed in sunlight but not overly so, making it an ideal spot to read a book in the afternoon.
Natalie picked a management book from Oliver's shelf and reclined on the beanbag chair, within reach of both the tea and the pastries.
"Why not try the hanging chair?" Oliver could tell Natalie was quite pleased with the beanbag, but she had clearly given the hanging chair several curious glances and still didn't try it, which he found odd.
Natalie looked at the hanging chair, hesitating to speak, and finally said, "I find the beanbag a bit more novel."
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