Chapter 15


    Sebastian walked into the house and found Natalie stretched out on the sofa, her eyes fixed on her


    laptop screen.


    She had cucumber slices stered to her face, and one of her hands was holding arge tumbler with


    a straw peeking out of its rim.


    “You’re back? Have you eaten yet?”


    She had heard him arrive, yet she just couldn’t bear to miss a second of the TV series she was


    watching.


    Sebastian found her endearing.


    “I already had dinner with a friend,” he said softly.


    Noticing that her long, slender legs were bare, he quietly fetched the gray nket from the sofa and


    draped it over them before plopping down next to her.


    “How did your job interview go?” Natalie perked up.


    She closed herptop, then grabbed the cucumber pieces from her face and popped them into her


    mouth.


    “You won’t believe what I’m about to say,” she said seriously.


    But Sebastian already knew everything.


    Chuckling under his breath, he leaned back and listened intently as Natalie recounted the day’s events.


    “Maybe thepany just values your talents,” Sebastian said lightly when she was done.


    “I saw your resume yesterday, and even I think that you have excellent skills.”


    Natalie had been looking forward to his shocked face, so she was caught off-guard by his reaction.


    Sebastian didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised.


    “Maybe,” she murmured.


    In the end, Natalie brushed it off, thinking that the gravity of the situation might be beyond his


    understanding.


    She opened herptop again, meaning to carry on with her series.


    But then she paused at thest minute, and looked back at Sebastian.


    He was reading a magazine beside her, looking all rxed and unbothered.


    His jacket had faded into a dull yellow color, and his jeans were worn-out, but his face more than made


    up for his clothes.


    If she didn’t know better, she would have even thought they were from vintage designer brands and he


    had dressed this way on purpose.


    “Sebastian,” Natalie said, her curiosity getting the better of her.


    “What on earth is it that you do?”


    All she knew about him, apart from his name, was that he had this small house, a deceased mother,


    and the Klein family that had abandoned him for being a bastard child.


    When it came down to it, she knew virtually nothing at all.


    Moreover, he always went out early in the morning and came homete in the evening.


    He often looked tired, too, which could mean that he was toiling rather hard throughout the day.


    Sebastian put down the magazine he was reading and picked up a different one from the coffee table.


    ‘I’m something of a part-time worker.I do odd jobs here and there.”


    He paused then, as if an idea had just urred to him.He lifted his eyes and looked at Natalie sharply.


    “I’m afraid I don’t have a stable job.Do you think you’ll grow to resent me for it?”


    “Of course not,” she replied without a second’s hesitation.


    Natalie didn’t care about these things; she just happened to ask out of mild interest.


    ‘I’m awfully poor and she’s okay with it?’ Sebastian was taken aback by her response.


    His eyes gradually softened.


    He cleared his throat and was about to tell her that he would work hard in order to earn more in the


    future, but the woman beside him beat him to the punch.


    “In any case, we’re nothing more than a couple in name.I didn’t actually expect you to support me.Don’t


    put too much pressure on yourself.”


    Sebastian’s grip tightened on the magazine.


    “I see,” he said after a while, his voice low and cold.


    Natalie peered at him, confused at the sudden shift in his mood.


    It was he who had proposed a contractual marriage in the first ce, and she had just said that she


    wouldn’t take his circumstances against him.


    What was he so displeased about?


    Natalie attended the second round of the interview on the date the Larson Group had assigned and


    sessfully passed it.


    At the end of the month, she received an offer.


    The Larson Group had two separate buildings in the city.


    The design department was on the seventeenth floor of the first building.


    It housed a talented team of designers who possessed exceptional skills and experience.


    All the designers had graduated from well-reputed universities with flying colors.


    Natalie believed the Larson Group would be the ideal ce to start her career.


    Before going upstairs, Natalie went to a convenience store near thepany to buy coffee.


    “Miss, your change is on the floor.”


    Someone nudged her shoulder from behind.


    “Oh, thank you.”


    Natalie turned around, took the money from the man, and put it into her bag.


    “You’re wee.” The voice sounded familiar.


    Natalie looked up and met the man’s gaze.


    Her eyes widened in astonishment.


    “Chris?”


    “What a coincidence!”


    The man looked equally surprised.He had ck hair and brown eyes that twinkled with glee.He was


    wearing a navy blue shirt and suit pants.


    Aptop bag was casually slung on his shoulder.


    Although he didn’t seem handsome and eye-catching at first nce, he was tall and graceful.


    Natalie never thought that she would meet Christopher Garrison – her senior from college who had a


    deep crush on her — here, in a convenient store like this.


    They had never met after she graduated from college.


    Natalie was not interested in a rtionship back then, so she politely refused Christopher’s advances.


    The two parted ways in harmony, so she didn’t feel embarrassed to meet him now.


    “Do you also work in the Larson Group?”


    Holding a cup of coffee in her hand, Natalie walked out of the convenience store and looked at


    Christopher’s ID card hanging around his neck.


    No wonder ine was so hostile to her.


    It turned out that Christopher also worked here.


    “Yes, I worked as an intern in the Larson Group when I was in college, so I joined thepany right


    after graduation.You work in the design department?” Christopher asked, smiling.


    “Yes.It’s my first day at work.”


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    The two chatted along the way.


    Apparently, Christopher worked in a different department and held a higher position in thepany.


    She wondered if Christopher had stood up for her when ine rejected her application.


    The Garrison family was also a wealthy and powerful family.


    When they were in college, the information about all wealthy students was printed on the university


    forum, and Christopher was one among them. That was perhaps why thepany listened to him and


    gave her another chance.


    “Thank you, Chris.” Natalie smiled gratefully.


    Thinking that she was thanking him for picking her coins, Christopher chuckled.


    “It’s not a big deal.Why do you always feel grateful even for a small favor?”


    Natalie smiled, revealing her dimples.


    “I just don’t want to owe favors to anyone.”


    In the past, Natalie had deliberately kept a distance from him at college after he proposed to her.


    A few years had already passed, and Christopher had just helped her, so Natalie felt much closer to


    him than before.