Chapter 169 Cooking Noodles
Mitchell sat in front of his computer, still concerned. He took out his phone and sent Willow a Facebook message, "Feeling unwell? Maybe you should go to the hospital?"
But after waiting a while, he got no reply.
Soon after, Luca arrived with Kieran. "Jonah, this is Kieran, a team member on the same project as Willow. I brought her along to listen in."
"Hello, Jonah."
At that moment, Kieran had lost all her usual whimsy and stood respectfully beside Luca, waiting.
Mitchell set his phone down, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Let's move to the next-door meeting room," he suggested. "Marigold, did you bring an electronic version of the documents?"
Marigold immediately stood up, "Of course. I've got a USB drive. We can use it directly when needed."
Her confidence was evident, and even Kieran was taken by it.
The group made their way to the small conference room next to Mitchell's office.
Marigold began by presenting the project's details. Standing confidently, she covered everything from her firm's strengths and weaknesses to the partnership's mutual benefits and the specifics of the implementation process.
Even Mitchell was impressed with her proposal, with the only concern being the small scale of her company and whether it could deliver on its promises during the actual collaboration.
Typically, the JK Group's criteria for third-party partnerships would have ruled out a company of her size in the first round.
"My presentation is finished," Marigold concluded. "If anyone has questions or suggestions about the plan, feel free to bring them up, and we can make adjustments." She stepped down and took a seat next to Mitchell.
Luca was astute enough to recognize that the relationship between these two individuals was out of the ordinary. Under normal circumstances, Jonah wouldn't personally review a project, especially not for a small company.
Though the proposal was indeed impressive, it was obvious that they were trying to cut corners.
Mitchell leaned back in his chair and said, "Take a look and see if there are any issues you'd like to address now."
Luca stayed quiet, and Kieran kept his head down, playing possum.
Mitchell glanced at them before flipping through the proposal in his hands. "We'll discuss other details internally at our next meeting. The only other concern is your company's small size, which might be a challenge when it comes to delivery. It's best if you prepare for that in advance. That'll be all for today."
He handed the folder to Luca, "Take this back with you and give it another thorough review."
Luca accepted the folder and left with Kieran, a mere accessory to the proceedings. Mitchell, too, exited the conference room, with Marigold playfully following behind, asking, "Jonah, it's almost lunchtime. How about letting me treat you to lunch to show my gratitude?"
Her youthful and mischievous demeanor starkly contrasted with the confident and professional way she had just presented herself onstage.
Mitchell paused and turned slightly. "I won't have the opportunity today. I had the secretary order takeout since work's been hectic, and there's no time to go out. You should go ahead," he said, checking his phone and heading toward his office.
Marigold stood there, watching his retreating figure, thinking to herself that he was a tough nut to crack, but no matter—it only added to the challenge.
She then turned and took the elevator down.
The lunch the secretary had bought back in his office was already on his desk. He wondered about Willow, the girl who had yet to reply to his messages.
After a moment's consideration, Mitchell decided to call Daniel, "Willow, are you free this afternoon?"
Daniel was on a film set at that moment, taking a lunch break after a morning shoot.
"Hey, what's up? Is there something you need? I'm on set and will be busy this afternoon."
Hearing that she was on set, Mitchell didn't press any further, assuming she must be swamped.
"Oh, no worries then. Carry on."
With that, he ended the call.
Daniel, staring at her hung-up phone, was somewhat perplexed. Her brother just called to check if she was busy.
Unsatisfied with not receiving a reply, Mitchell tried calling Willow again, but no one answered. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This girl really knows how to worry someone."
Finally, he quickly finished his lunch and drove over to Willow's apartment.
Willow had slept for several hours, stirred only by the persistent ringing of the doorbell, which finally roused her from her slumber. Groping for her phone on the nightstand, she checked the time and realized it was nearly two in the afternoon.
She couldn't believe how long she had slept, completely missing lunch and not even feeling hungry.
The doorbell relentlessly continued, now accompanied by an urgent knock. Willow got out of bed and grumbled, "Who is it? I'm coming. Stop ringing, already."
Upon opening the door, she froze in place, "Jon... Jonah."
Why was Jonah here? Wasn't he supposed to be with Marigold?
Mitchell had been pressing the doorbell and knocking without a reply, which drove him to nearly seek the building's maintenance staff to break in out of concern.
"I've been knocking for ten minutes. I was about to have the locks picked if you didn't answer," he exclaimed, his heart racing until he saw Willow, and then it finally settled.
Head bowed, Willow meekly replied, "I just fell asleep."
Mitchell crossed the threshold, his concern overtaking him, "Luca said you weren't feeling well. How are you now? Did you go see a doctor?"
Willow responded as if she were a schoolchild, admitting to a small transgression, "I'm mostly better after sleeping. Just didn't sleep well last night and woke up a little dizzy."
"That's a relief," Mitchell exhaled easily. "Why didn't you answer your phone or respond to messages?"
Only then did Willow remember to check her phone, discovering several unread Facebook messages and missed calls; she had muted it and hadn't heard a thing. "My phone was on silent..."
Mitchell didn't fuss over it, relieved to find her okay, "You probably skipped lunch, didn't you?"
Willow shook her head, "No, I didn't."
Mitchell stood up, rolled his sleeves, and entered the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, which was almost bare, and pulled out two eggs and a tomato.
Willow cautiously followed behind him.
Turning to see Willow shadowing him, Mitchell sighed, "Go sit in the living room and rest. I'll make you some soup."
"Oh," Willow obediently went to the living room to wait. Soon, a delicious aroma wafted her way, and Mitchell appeared with the soup.
The smell alone made Willow's stomach audibly grumble, betraying her earlier lack of appetite. She felt genuinely hungry now.
Willow took the soup and eagerly went to take a bite, only to spit it out quickly, "It's hot!"
Mitchell quickly passed her a cup of ice water, "Eat slowly and don't talk. You can't even spare a word."
Willow stuck out her tongue, carefully picked up the morsel with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and popped it into her mouth, "Delicious!"
Mitchell was sitting beside her, his eyes filled with affectionate indulgence.
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