Chapter 106
Noelle studied Carl in front of her for a long moment before finally speaking, “Mr. Townsend, you should know who I am.”
“I do. I think we’ve even crossed paths at a few parties before, haven’t we?” Carl asked.
“I just got divorced,” Noelle added, her tone matter–of–fac
“Yes, I heard. I have to say, I admire how decisively you ended things with Hendrix.”
Clark responded to everything Noelle said with an easy smile, which left her uncomfortable. She finally sighed and said, “I’m not interested in dating anyone right now.”
“That’s fine,” Clark replied with a grin. “We don’t have to date. We can start as friends.”
Noelle found herself at a loss for words.
“Does that mean you agree? Great! Let’s go!” Clark said as he reached for her hand.
Startled, Noelle instinctively took two steps back.
Clark looked at her in confusion. “What’s wrong? Do you think my hand’s poisonous?”
“No, I suddenly remembered I have something to take care of. I can’t go.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Work,” Noelle replied flatly.
“You still have work? What kind of work? Or are you just making up an excuse to brush me off?”
Noelle responded with a faint smile.
“Ah, so you are brushing me off. You really don’t want to go out with me, huh?” Clark said bluntly.
“We’re not a good match.”
“How can you say that when we haven’t even spent time together?” Clark protested.
“I’m boring. You won’t like me.”
“Is that so? But I don’t think you’re boring. I think you’ve been holding yourself back,” Clark said, his tone light but his gaze serious. “You should loosen up. Like when you danced that night. You were captivating
Noelle held his gaze, her breath catching for just a moment as his last words landed.
Clark continued, “How about this? Forget the movie. Let me take you to dinner instead. I’ll bring you somewhere fun, somewhere you can relax. What do you Say?”
Before Noelle could respond, he added, “It’s settled. Don’t bother telling me your address. I’ll wait for you 7:00 pm tonight‘
here at
With that, Clark turned to leave. But after a few steps, he paused, pulling out his phone. “Actually, give me your number.”
Noelle didn’t respond.
Clark smirked. “You know, you don’t have to give it to me. could always ask Brandon. He’s bending over backward to get on my dad’s good side.”
+25 BONUS
Noelle stared at him for a moment before finally taking his phone and typing in her number.
Clark immediately called it, waiting until he heard her phone ring. Satisfied, he grinned. “Perfect! I’ll see you tonight. Don’t stand me up.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
Noelle stood there for a while before she finally pulled outer phone and saved his number to her contacts. She had no intention of getting involved with Clark
Brandon had laid out all the pros and cons of dealing with him, and she’d agreed to help arrange that one dinner meeting. Anything beyond that was Brandon’s responsibility.
Her interactions with Clark should have ended there..
Yet, when evening came, Noelle found herself heading out anyway.
As she rounded the corner, she spotted Clark waiting for her. He was dressed in a simple T–shirt and pants, his bangs casually falling over his forehead. The relaxed, understated look didn’t quite match his identity.
When Noelle glanced his way, Clark met her gaze and smiled. “Over here!”
