Chapter 144 Jonah's Looking for You
As they reached the ground floor of the office building, Declan handed Willow her bag and said, "Big sis, there's a basketball game this Friday. Why don't you come to school to watch?"
Willow took her bag, surprised to hear that the tournament was still ongoing, "It's not over yet?"
"It's the finals. You have to come this Friday. I'll be playing," he said with enthusiasm.
"Alright, since you treated me to lunch, I'll bring along a couple of beautiful friends on Friday to cheer for you," Willow promised heartily, patting Declan's shoulder.
"It's a deal."
Just as Willow got upstairs, Luca came out of his office, grinning from ear to ear. Spotting Willow's return, he couldn't resist teasing her: "Willow, it looks like you had a lunch date with your boyfriend, huh?"
His certainty was as if he had been there at lunch with them.
Kieran, the office gossip, leaned in with a smirk and sized up Willow, "Hey, Big Sis Willow, so you're in love now? No wonder I couldn't find you for lunch; you had vanished."
Willow waved her hands with a laugh, hurrying to quell the curiosity of her gossipy coworkers. "Hey, let's not jump to conclusions. I just went out to dinner with a friend. Why does it seem like any guy who shows up beside me automatically becomes my boyfriend in your eyes? With that kind of talk, I'll never find a real date. And just so you know, I was off work promptly at midnight. Ask Luca – actually, I bumped into Luca on my way out."
"Hahaha, yes, that's true. I can vouch for that. But Willow, that young guy at lunch wasn't your boyfriend? Jonah and I saw you two laughing and chatting on your way to the mall next door," another coworker chimed in.
Willow felt a flicker of surprise and a momentary daze. Had Jonah seen her at noon? She thought she had left sneakily enough that Jonah and the others wouldn't have noticed her, but she seemed to have been caught red-handed.
"It really wasn't; he's just a younger guy I mentor."
Her colleagues gave her knowing looks, and Willow gave up on further explanations. No matter what she said, they would still assume the guy was her boyfriend. Her coworkers seemed fixated on the idea, refusing to hear anything else.
She returned to her desk, dropped her bag, and prepared to get to work. "I'm done talking. I have work to do."
As Luca continued to chat with everyone else, recounting a tale about going out with Jonah at midday, Willow booted up her computer, pretending to tidy her desk while secretly listening in.
"Jonah is seriously incredible. We went out to sign a contract today. Everything was pretty much agreed upon already, but then Jonah sits down without saying a word and somehow gets the other party to give up an additional two percent. Now, that's what you call a presence. You all could learn a thing or two..."
The rest of her coworkers gasped in admiration; after all, in their eyes, Mitchell was as legendary as Matthew, who worked on the top floor and seemed so distant. But Jonah was different; they interacted with him more often at work, so in comparison, Mitchell felt much more down-to-earth. As a result, even though no woman in the department would openly swoon over him, many secretly had a crush on the department's most eligible bachelor.
Willow just smiled and didn't join in with their admiration; she knew Jonah was already very skilled.
She was getting ready to dive into her work when Luca came over, tapping lightly on her desk. "Willow, Jonah wants you to swing by his office. Better hurry."
Once Luca had headed back to his office, Willow was puzzled. Why hadn't Jonah just messaged her on Facebook instead of asking Luca to relay the message? They both used the social network.
Still, she got up and went upstairs to Mitchell's office, choosing to take the stairs rather than the elevator.
When Willow arrived at the door of Mitchell's office, she found it closed. She took a deep breath before knocking, not understanding why, but every time she had to see Jonah alone, she felt an immense pressure. Hearing a deep and pleasant voice from inside, "Come in."
Willow turned the door handle and walked in.
Mitchell was seated behind his desk, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, not even lifting his head.
Standing in the expansive office, Willow felt out of place. Seeing Mitchell engrossed in his work and not speaking, she couldn't help but break the silence, "Jonah, did you want to see me?"
Mitchell seemed to be busy and still didn't look up. He instructed Willow, "Please, take a seat."
Willow walked over to the office sofa and sat down, quietly lifting her eyes now and then to observe Mitchell working.
About twenty minutes later, Mitchell finally stopped what he was doing, raised his head from the computer, and adjusted the glasses on his nose. Through the lenses, he looked straight at Willow, who was sitting on the sofa.
Mitchell wore his glasses infrequently, only when working in the office, as his prescription wasn't very strong. Even for Willow, seeing him with glasses was a rarity. Now, looking at the scholarly gentleman behind the desk with glasses on, Willow inexplicably thought of four words.
Educated scoundrel...
Mitchell sensed the girl on the sofa was clearly in a daze, her cheeks flushed red. He frowned slightly, wondering what she could be thinking about—was it the man who had lunch with her at noon?
Clearing his throat, Mitchell grabbed Willow's attention. She turned her head away, embarrassed. Internally, she screamed in panic, "Oh no, what was she doing daydreaming about Jonah? She was doomed."
"Ahem. Today, we just signed a new cooperative project. I wanted to discuss the upcoming overtime preparations with you," Mitchell said seriously.
"Understood, Jonah," Willow replied, almost visibly sighing in relief. She was glad Jonah hadn't noticed her embarrassment. She was too tense to realize it, and she didn't grasp that Mitchell didn't need to handle these work arrangements personally—he could have coordinated with their colleague Luca.
Mitchell stood up from his chair and poured a glass of milk for her from the small refrigerator in his office, then sat down opposite her on the sofa.
"Will the heavy workload be too much for you?" Mitchell asked suddenly.
Willow took the milk and drank a big mouthful. The cold, fresh milk was her favorite.
And he replied, grounding his response in stark reality, "No way, I'm usually not that busy. The busier the work, the fatter the bonus, right? With you sealing that collaboration project, Jonah, my wallet's about to swell next month."
A smile curled the edges of Mitchell's lips, and Willow, holding her cup of milk, found herself transfixed. Jonah's laughter, even behind those glasses, was utterly irresistible.
She hastily gulped down half the glass to cool the sudden flare of irritation in her chest.
Mitchell saw her eagerly drink, and he cautioned, "Take it easy. There's more in the fridge."
Willow hurriedly waved him off. "This is enough, really. I had a big lunch and can't fit much more. Jonah, you have the rest."
Without missing a beat, Mitchell prodded further, "Who did you have lunch with today?"