Chapter 30: Plotting

The next morning, before Eric left the house, Monica successfully intercepted him at the door.
"It's really rare to see you up so early," Eric glanced at the time, "Where are you going? Can I give you a ride?"
Monica didn't answer but looked at him. "Are you going on a business trip the day after tomorrow?"
"How did you know that?" Eric smiled. "Did you ask my assistant again?"
She hugged Eric's arm and playfully shook it. "Take me with you! I heard you're staying at a hot spring hotel!"
Eric caught the keyword sensitively. "We?"
Monica panicked for a moment. "I mean...the people from your company! I'm bored at home,home; I want to go too."
Eric took out the car keys from his pocket. "It's all arranged by the organizer. If you want to go play, isn't it better to find a few girlfriends? I don't have time to accompany you on a trip."
"I don't need you to accompany me. I can have fun by myself." Monica grabbed his clothes and threatened, "Are you taking me or not? If you don't take me, don't expect to leave today."
After looking at her for a while, Eric sighed. "Fine, but we have to agree in advance that you won't cause me any trouble."
She sneered, "What trouble can I cause you?"
"That's true." Eric smiled, walked towards the door, leaving behind a light-hearted remark, "With your enthusiasm, I guess you're going to cause trouble for someone else."
As Monica watched Eric's car slowly disappearing from the doorstep, she quickly rushed back to her room and sent a message to Steven: "Bring my earrings, see you the day after tomorrow."
After pressing send, she couldn't help but curl her lips with some satisfaction. This time, her plan would definitely succeed.
Two days later, Monica arrived in F City with Eric.
As soon as the plane landed, there were dedicated personnel and cars to pick up Eric for various business activities. Monica couldn't participate in thosetogether and had to settle in the hotel by herself.
During the check-in process, she overheard the hotel staff next to the front desk checking the list of reserved rooms, apparently doing a cautious final confirmation. It came as no surprise that she heard Steven's name apart from Eric's.
The Perez and Sterling Holdings jointly invested in a project that recently landed in F City. As the investors, they were both invited to participate in the opening ceremony. Monica couldn't help but eavesdrop.
The closing ceremony and celebration banquet are next.
Therefore, Monica followed Eric and came along, which can be considered as a renowned act, so as not to make Steven suspicious of her ulterior motives.
After spending the afternoon at the hotel, she finished dinner and intentionally passed by the second floorsecond-floor ballroom, where she indeed saw a lively scene with elegant attire, flowing hair, and a bustling atmosphere, clearly indicating that it would not end anytime soon.
According to the schedule, both Eric and Steven will attend this dinner. So at this time, he definitely won't be in his room.
Monica turned back to the hotel lobby, putting on her usual poised smile, and found the manager, asking for his help in getting her into Steven's room.
The manager firmly refused, saying, "I'm sorry, without the guest's permission, we cannot do that. Why not contact the room owner?"
Monica feigned a hesitant expression and began to lie without any burden, "Well, you see, I'm his girlfriend, and today is our one-year anniversary. He doesn't know that I'm here, and I wanted to surprise him."
The manager's expression showed a slight wavering, "Are you two a couple?"
"Yes." Monica took out her phone and found a photo of herself and Steven. "If you don't believe me, take a look. We know each other."
The person on the right, Eric, was preemptively removed, masquerading as an illusion of the couple in the photo.
Seeing the manager still hesitating, Monica brought out her final weapon, softening her tone and playing the emotional card, continuing to fabricate without changing her expression,
"Our relationship is really good. We were supposed to celebrate our first anniversary together, but he suddenly had a business trip. SoSo, I specially took leave and flew over, not wanting any regrets between us."
Her eyes were very appealing, full of tenderness, enough to soften hearts and cultivate goodwill.
The manager couldn't resist the beautiful woman's pleading, so he temporarily agreed, saying, "Okay, let me go and ask. Would that be all right?"
Monica nodded and watched him hurry away.
A few minutes later, the manager returned with a smiling face, saying, "Hello, it has been confirmed here. You can go in. Would you like us to arrange the room for you?"
"No need." Monica achieved her goal and waved her hand. "Thank you for all your help, but I'll take care of it myself."
"Alright then." The manager led her to the door of Steven's room, and another staff member handed her a gift box with both hands, saying, "This is a little something from the hotel, wishing you a sweet one-year anniversary."
The service really is thoughtful.
Monica accepted the gift, thanked them, and watched them leave before entering the room and closing the door, letting out a sigh of relief.
She opened the box and took a glance inside. It was quite abundant, containing hotel hot spring tickets, a couple's dining voucher, essential oils, fragrances, and a small doll gift. Upon reaching the bottom, she even saw a box of condoms.
...It seems they went a bit overboard with the thoughtfulness.
She casually put the box on the table and turned to search for Steven's suitcase. He definitely wouldn't have the earrings on him, so they must be in the suitcase.
Monica really didn't want to do this, but there was no other choice. Who made Steven refuse to send the earrings to her and insisted on her personally retrieving them?
He is unkind, so he can't blame her for being unfaithful.
She dragged out the suitcase and opened it, but couldn't find any trace of the earrings. She closed it with disappointment and started to aimlessly search in his room.
Where did he put them after all?
No, could it be that he didn't bring them here at all?
Startled by her own speculation, Monica's thoughts became chaotic. She absentmindedly pulled open the drawer of the bedside table, and then heard the slow and steady footsteps coming from the half-closed door.
Alarm bells rang in her mind, and she hurriedly stood up, anxiously surveying her surroundings. She saw a door and rushed in without hesitation.
To her surprise, it was a hot spring pool inside the compartment.
The sound of water trickling and the mist swirling made it seem like a fairyland.
She noticed a tall potted plant in the innermost part and wanted to hide behind it, but the floor was slippery. She was in a hurry and took a few steps when she slipped and fell into the water.
"Plop!"
A loud splash sounded, and at the same time, the sliding door was forcefully pulled open.
Monica struggled to stand up from the water and saw Steven leaning against the door, dressed in a suit and a smirking expression that seemed to say, "I knew it was you."
She wiped the water off her face and was a bit annoyed, "Why did you come back so fast?"
Steven chuckled softly, "Of course, I came back to catch the thief."
"You're the thief." Monica was a little angry. "Who told you not to return my earrings?"
The hot spring water soaked her clothes, sticking uncomfortably to her body.
She looked at Steven, who seemed completely unfazed and leisurely watching the scene.
There was no hint of gentlemanly demeanor.
She leaned over the edge of the pool and reached out to him, playfully complaining, "Pull me out."
Only then did Steven walk slowly towards her.
He half-knelt at the edge of the pool, holding onto her wrist. Taking advantage of the situation, Monica shifted her weight onto him and when he was about to pull her out of the pool, she forcefully tugged at his arm, causing another huge splash of water.
Now both of them were soaked to the bone.
Seeing Steven's dripping wet appearance, Monica was delighted. She laughed heartily and thought it wasn't enough, continuously splashing water on him.
Steven stood in the hot spring, touched the water droplets on his hair, and seeing Monica so happy, he also chuckled. He then reached out and pulled her closer, bending down to kiss her.
The wet bodies of the two falling into the water created a wet and intimate kiss.
The warm water droplets were crushed by their lips, leaving shallow watermarks, which were then licked away by their entwined tongues.
The wet hair kept sliding down, sticking to her eyelids, making it difficult for Monica to open her eyes. She struggled to push him away, forcefully wiping the water off her face, and then climbed out of the pool, leaving behind a trail of wet footprints.
When she walked into the bedroom, she suddenly realized that she couldn't go out in her current state.
She turned around to look for Steven, but saw him walking in, unbuttoning his soaked shirt.
Large patches of skin gradually revealed themselves, and Monica quickly averted her gaze, saying urgently, "What are you taking off your clothes for? Have some shame!"
"This is my room, why can't I take off my clothes?"
Fortunately, he didn't continue
Embarrassing Monica, he took off his shirt, exposing his upper body, and handed her a towel from the bathroom where she was standing still: "Are you uncomfortable? Why don't you take a shower?"
Monica was extremely unwilling, but she had no choice. She took the towel, glared at him, and walked straight into the bathroom.
When she finished washing and blow-drying her hair, she and came out, the bedroom was empty, and the water on the floor had been completely cleaned up.
She tightened her bathrobe a bit and walked out of the bedroom. She found that Steven had also finished washing and changed into another set of clothes. He was sitting calmly and peacefully at the desk, looking at the computer.
She walked to the desk and called him, "Steven."
He didn't respond.
Monica felt annoyed as if he was deliberately ignoring her. She bypassed the desk and walked to his side, shaking her hand vigorously in front of his eyes, saying, "Can you see me now?"
Only then did he raise his head to look at her, but there was a touch of a smile in his gaze that was not easy to decipher.
"What's wrong...?" His gaze made her feel uneasy.
He nonchalantly said, "I'm in a video conference."
A thunderbolt exploded in her mind. She turned her head to look at his computer screen and indeed saw a row of small squares filled with people's faces.
Without thinking about anything else, Monica quickly fled.
Back in the bedroom, her fingers seemed to be trembling. Annoyed and in anguish, she buried her head in the pillow and sobbed, blaming herself for making such a huge embarrassment.
In the late night, wearing a bathrobe and appearing in Steven's room, captured by the video conference, if those hands were recognized as hers, she would no longer want to live.
Monica tossed and turned on the bed for a long time without daring to go out. She had to send a WeChatFacebook message to Steven, asking him if he was done and telling him to quickly send her some clothes.
Steven only replied briefly, "Busy, you should go to sleep first."
He avoided the topic of clothes.
Monica knew that she couldn't rely on this person, but she didn't dare to go back to her room wearing a bathrobe, let alone ask Eric to bring clothes over. That would be equivalent to suicide.
She couldn't find a solution, so she could only wrap herself in the blanket and take it step by step.
Time passed by every minute and every second. Monica felt a little drowsy. She glanced at the time, then at the bed, and gathered all the extra pillows on the bed, throwing them into the deepest part of the closet and covering them with the spare blanket.
In this way, there was only one pillow left on the bed, which implied a clear message. If Steven wanted to sleep, he should retreat on his own and sleep on the sofa.
She was quite satisfied with her idea, lay down comfortably, turned off the lights, and quickly fell asleep.
However, things didn't go as planned.
Not long after, Monica was awakened by athe rustling sound behind her.
She groggily turned her head and saw Steven's face, unusually close, so close that it made her feel dazed.
Monica rubbed her eyes, "There's only one pillow, this bed is mine, you should go sleep on the sofa."
"This is my bed, my pillow," he paused slightly, then his fingertips gently caressed her cheek as he smiled lightly. "Even the person is mine, why should I sleep on the sofa?"
She didn't want to argue with him.
He spoke these principles and Monica pushed him away slightlypushed her away, saying, "I don't care, you are not allowed to sleep here."
He reached out and embraced her, saying calmly, "Tonight is our one-year anniversary of falling in love, shouldn't we celebrate it properly?"
Monica was shocked and her sleepiness completely disappeared. "They actually told you? How did you know?" she asked.
"Otherwise, why would the front desk let you in?" he replied.
Monica struggled to get up from the bed, but unexpectedly, a corner of her robe got caught unintentionally by him. With a strong tug, the waist belt loosened, and the fabric slipped off her shoulders, revealing a large exposed area of fair skin, showcasing her alluring beauty.
Monica hurriedly tried to pull the corner of her robe that he was holding down, but Steven didn't comply with her wishes. Instead, he pressed it down even more and pulled her back into his embrace, flipping her over and pressing her down.
His gaze slid towards her already completely undone robe, deliberately teasing her in a composed manner. "You're not wearing anything on top or bottom. You call yourself my girlfriend, sneaking into my room with a condom. Aren't you intentionally seducing me?"
"Who is seducing you? Don't flatter yourself!" she replied, embarrassed and angry. "My underwear is soaked,soaked; how do you expect me to wear it?"
"Is that so?" He leaned down and lightly bit her collarbone, "Then why did you throw away the other pillows? Did you want us to sleep together?"
He deliberately misinterpreted her intentions, which infuriated Monica. She struggled against his shoulder, saying, "You're delusional! This pillow is mine, you sleep on the couch!"
He removed the pillow and placed it beneath her waist, patting her waist with a smirk in her startled and embarrassed gaze.
"Monica, this time you won't be able to escape," he said.
**Chapter 31: Indecency**