Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: I Can’t Hold It Anymore

A flash of jealousy flickered in Sharon Ainsworth’s eyes, while Mrs. Ainsworth’s eyes, for some reason, grew moist.

”Nora, that dress looks great on you.”

Nora Ainsworth nodded. ”Leon gave it to me.”

Mrs. Ainsworth said with relief, ”I’m very fond of Leon. I feel at ease entrusting you to him.”

Just as she spoke, Sharon Ainsworth said in a low voice, ”Dad, Auntie, Mr. and Mrs. Grant are here.”

Mrs. Ainsworth stopped talking, a smile on her face as she greeted Mr. and Mrs. Grant.

After some pleasantries, Mrs. Ainsworth said to the younger group, ”You youngsters go join Quentin. We elders are going to have a chat.”

Sharon Ainsworth led the way, with Leon Lynch and Nora Ainsworth following behind.

After a few turns, they finally saw Quentin Grant by a sofa in a quiet corner.

He wasn’t alone. Ethan Ellsworth and Chloe Marshall were there too, along with a devilishly handsome man she didn’t recognize, who exuded a captivating charm as they chatted and laughed.

Sharon Ainsworth dashed over, nearly ruining the ladylike image she worked so hard to maintain.

Nora Ainsworth’s expression stiffened. She walked toward Quentin Grant and the others step by step, and by the time she reached him, her smile had completely vanished.

The change in her expression did not escape Leon Lynch’s notice.

Sharon Ainsworth sat down next to Quentin Grant, so Leon Lynch and Nora Ainsworth had to sit on a nearby empty sofa.

His hand held Nora Ainsworth’s tightly the entire time, the sweat from her palm seeping into his.

”And this is?” Leon Lynch asked, looking at the devilishly handsome man who wasn’t Ethan Ellsworth.

Quentin Grant lowered his gaze and smiled. ”I’m sure Young Master Lynch knows of him. This is my friend, Herman Hawthorne.”

Those few words made Nora Ainsworth break out in a cold sweat.

’I remember hearing Quentin Grant say that car belonged to Herman Hawthorne. I lied to Leon, telling him I knew Herman, that we just hadn’t seen each other in a long time. But this is the first time we’ve ever met... How am I going to cover for this lie?’

’Besides, shouldn’t a university professor be an old or middle-aged man?’

’How can he be so young and handsome?’

And indeed, a moment later Leon Lynch looked over at Nora Ainsworth and commented casually, ”I heard from Nora that she and Herman Hawthorne are good friends. But you’re acting like you’ve just met. Nora, aren’t you going to say hello to your friend?”

Nora Ainsworth looked at the man in question, Herman Hawthorne, who had an amused look on his face and didn’t immediately deny it.

She forced a smile. ”We’re old friends. We don’t need to greet each other every single time we meet, right?”

Herman Hawthorne, sensing her nervousness, chuckled lightly. Holding a glass of whiskey, he said, ”That’s true.”

Leon Lynch smiled faintly and didn’t say anything else.

But then Sharon Ainsworth blurted out, ”Nora, so it was true that you got in the car with him that night, went drinking, and didn’t come back until the next morning.”

Nora Ainsworth tensed up, finding the situation spiraling out of her control. ”A girl’s got to have a guy best friend, Sis.”

Sharon Ainsworth nodded, her attention completely focused on Quentin Grant. She quickly raised her glass. ”Quentin, happy birthday.”

Everyone clinked their glasses together. The conversation that followed seemed to have nothing to do with Nora Ainsworth, and she sat there feeling completely out of place.

”Excuse me, I’m going to the restroom.”

A smile played on Leon Lynch’s lips. ”Want me to walk you?”

Nora Ainsworth blushed and glared at him. ”I’m going to the restroom. What’s there for you to walk me to?”

”It’s my way of loving you.”

For him to say that in public—the first time he’d ever said he loved her—Nora Ainsworth figured he must have lost his mind. She huffed, ”I really can’t hold it anymore. I’m done talking to you.”

Leon Lynch’s face instantly darkened, all because of her crude remark: ”I really can’t hold it anymore!”