Chapter 110 Be My Woman
They all piled into the car.
Bennett took the passenger seat while Adeline and Lauren squeezed beside Jasper in the back.
Leaning casually against the leather upholstery, a slight smile on his lips, Jasper remarked, "I've just realized, Lauren, you bear a slight resemblance to Adeline, too."
Adeline stiffened at the comment.
Lauren's face also changed gradually.
"All beautiful women share a certain likeness," Bennett mused, buckling his seatbelt with a flourish before leaning back comfortably. "Beautiful people look alike; the unattractive ones are unique in their own ways."
Bennett's nonchalant words nearly coaxed a laugh from Ryan at the wheel.
Relief washed over the two ladies in the back seat at this deflection.
Jasper just offered a light chuckle. "Well, that's one way to see it."
"But…" He gave Adeline a quick, meaningful glance, "Lauren does take after my wife more."
Adeline collected herself, offering him a small smile. "Of course she does."
She was a different person now, unlike the Adeline of the past.
"Lauren, the boy who offered you candy yesterday morning—did he come by in the afternoon?" Bennett asked, breaking into the mounting awkwardness with a bit of gossip.
Lauren shook her head silently. "No."
"He asked me to be his girlfriend, but I said no."
The few words furrowed both Jasper's and Adeline's brows in concern.
They forgot what they were about to say, looking down at Lauren in unison.
"You got asked out with candy?"
"How can you have a boyfriend in preschool?"
Lauren suddenly felt the pressure bearing down.
She looked resentfully at Bennett in the rearview mirror before slowly explaining to Jasper and Adeline, "Well, this..."
From Adeline's house to the preschool was a fifteen-minute drive.
During that quarter of an hour, Lauren was busy narrating yesterday's events, trying to calm the adults' nerves.
Meanwhile, Bennett lounged in his seat, basking in the sunlight.
Occasionally, he'd exchange a joke with Ryan. "Nice weather we're having today."
Ryan just shrugged helplessly. "You sure know how to stir the pot."
The kid winked at Ryan. "Isn't this a more intriguing topic than who Lauren resembles more?"
Soon enough, the car pulled up outside the preschool.
After Lauren had repeatedly promised not to give any little boys the time of day, and after Bennett had assured her several times that he'd keep her safe, the two youngsters finally hopped out of the car and entered the daycare.
The car door shut.
Adeline watched their small figures disappear into the building and let out a sigh of relief. "They never make it easy, do they?"
Jasper arched an eyebrow, a wry smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Well, you know, Lauren's my daughter."
"If they didn't know better, they'd think Lauren was your kid."
Adeline's eyes darkened for a moment; then she laughed softly. "I've taken care of Lauren for so long; of course, I've grown attached."
Her gaze shifted out the car window to the passing scenery, and she fell silent.
"When we get to the office, I'll make sure everyone knows you're with me."
He gave her a cursory glance, his tone indifferent. "I'm allowing you to swipe secrets, but whether or not you succeed is entirely up to you."
"Of course, you'll also need to play your part in every scene with me."
“After we succeed, I might drop some information for you. Who knows?"
Adeline couldn't help but smirk inwardly at his words.
The confidential information of the Foster Group was worth a fortune to him, but to her, it wasn't beneficial.
The only thing about him that genuinely occupied her thoughts was...
Remembering a night not long ago, Adeline quietly refocused, stopping herself from wandering that path again.
"Thank you, Mr. Foster."
She flashed him a smile. "I'll play my part well."
The car arrived at the base of the Foster Group skyscraper.
Adeline thought that when Jasper talked about revealing her role to everyone, it would be during a morning meeting or other public event.
She hadn't expected that as their car pulled up to the skyscraper, there was already a crowd of the company's executives waiting outside.
Employees and managers stood flanking the entrance, clearing the way for them.
Looking out from the car, Adeline was greeted by a sea of faces on both sides of a red carpet—a spectacle she had never witnessed before.
She turned to Jasper, a bit dizzy.
"A welcome fit for a VIP of the Group."
His voice was low and casual. "You're the first woman to receive this honor."
Adeline was speechless.
Was all this formality necessary?
Then, there was a knock on the car door.
Outside, Scarlett stood with a beaming smile.
Dressed in a flowing pink gown, with her long curly hair cascading down her shoulders adorned by a crystalline hairpin, she looked like a fairy-tale princess.
She tapped the door gently and smiled. "Mr. Foster, are you ready to step out?"
"Has the guest arrived yet?"
Jasper smoothly swung open the car door.
When the door gaped open, Scarlett smiled and said, "May I ask if the guest..."
Her words halted mid-sentence.
The smile on her face froze.
Because there, sitting behind Jasper, was Adeline—the very person who had been irking her since yesterday.
Scarlett pursed her lips, reined in her emotions, and turned to Jasper with a forced smile. "Did you happen to come across Miss Wilson on the road and kindly offer her a ride?"
After speaking, she even gave Adeline a frigid glance. "Miss Wilson, even though you know the CEO, it's not very common to hitch a ride and then refuse to leave the car when we have an important visitor.
What if the folks from Foster Group assume that all the women in our company share your... etiquette?"
Adeline chuckled lightly. "Then I shall get out."
With that, she began to get up.
Jasper held her back.
The man stepped out of the car with a detached air.
His towering stature beside Scarlett made her heart race involuntarily, her cheeks turning a bashful red.
Being this close to him was more than she had ever hoped for!
Blushing, she bit her lip. "Mr. Foster, you..."
In the next second, Jasper stretched out his long arm and scooped Adeline from the car effortlessly.
Scarlett was stunned.
So were Mia Turner and Lucia in the crowd.
Every employee and executive of the company was dumbfounded.
Even Adeline herself was too surprised to speak.
She dared not struggle. She only whispered in his ear, "What are you doing?"
"The treatment fit for my woman," he replied with a smirk, his voice deep. Holding her, he strode through the crowd toward the building.
The sudden lift and motion made Adeline instinctively wrap her arms around his neck.
Her chest pressed against his, the rhythm of his heartbeat, his breathing—she could feel it all.
And that scent of his she had been addicted to for nearly a decade.
Looking up, she could see the sleek lines of his jaw.
Around them, the employees gasped.
Adeline had never been the center of attention.
She held on tightly to his neck, unsure whether the feeling in the pit of her stomach was more of bitterness or pain.
She had once longed for him to treat her with such assertive tenderness.
The love Adeline had harbored for him over so many years, the things she had never received, this new Adeline had acquired them all in less than two months.
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