Chapter 148

Where did he have them flown in from?
“Try one. They’re quite sweet,” Shanley said, wiping the water off the cherry. His tone was doting, like he was coaxing a child to eat.
Juniper really wanted one and was about to reach for it when she realized her left hand was holding bread and her right was holding the cup. She didn’t have a free hand.
Shanley chuckled softly and brought the cherry directly to her lips. After a two- second hesitation, Juniper finally gave in to the temptation and ate it.
Instantly, a sweet flavor filled her mouth, so delicious that she couldn’t help but close her eyes in pleasure.
“You like them?” Seeing her joyful expression, Shanley knew he had guessed right and continued to feed her.
“Mhm.” Juniper just opened her mouth and ate, one after another. It was almost time for class. She decided to have one last cherry before heading to school.
But she was too eager, and as she leaned forward, her lips accidentally brushed against his fingertips. In that moment, she felt both of their bodies stiffen. The smile on the man’s face froze, his deep eyes gazing intently at her. The atmosphere in the car suddenly became charged.
Juniper abruptly pulled back, her body hitting the car door with a loud thud that brought her back to her senses.
“I-I have to go,” she stammered. Without giving him a chance to react, she pushed open the door and hurried away. After a few steps, she ran back, awkwardly grabbing the backpack she had left behind. She turned, walked a few more steps, then broke into a run, quickly disappearing from sight.
Watching her hasty retreat, Shanley’s lips curled into a smile, and he let out a soft laugh.
So the girl could be shy, huh? Did this mean… that Juniper wasn’t entirely indifferent to him?
The thought put him in a great mood, and the temperature inside the car seemed to rise.
“Ahem.” Flint, the driver who had been silent in the front seat, saw his boss’s smile and seized the opportunity. “Boss, the training at Sigma Network is almost done. Do I really need to go for the last day?”
Shanley lifted his eyes and glanced coolly at Flint.
“It’s like this, boss,” Flint took a deep breath, discreetly pinching his thigh to stay calm. “Felton has something on today, so he can’t be with you. And someone needs to pick up Ms. Payne after school tonight. If we send someone else
“You don’t need to go back to Sigma Network,” Shanley interjected before Flint could finish. “You’ll pick Juniper up from school personally.”
He didn’t trust anyone else.
“Yes, boss!” Flint let out a sigh of relief, silently wiping the sweat from his brow.
Phew. It’s all thanks to Ms. Payne.
He made à decision right then m now on Ms. Payne was
there
his number one boss.
Schwartz… could be number two.
“Whew—” Juniper ran all the way to her seat, her heart still pounding.
“Juniper, what’s wrong with you?” Qadir and Queenie both leaned in at the same
time, exclaiming in surprise, “Whoa, why is your face so red?”
1월 11
“It’s hot,” Juniper mumbled, trying to look calm as she rummaged through her bag. As luck would have it, her eyes landed on the bottle Shanley had prepared for her, and she couldn’t help but think of what had just happened. Her face grew even redder.
“Here, Juniper, have some water,” Qadir said, twisting open a bottle of mineral water and handing it to her.
“Hot?” Queenie propped her chin on her hand, looking at the misty sky outside, then back at Juniper. “Huh?”
Juniper said nothing. She played dead.
Just then, a buzz of conversation erupted at the classroom door.
“A perfect score? Who did you hear that from?” a girl asked, covering her mouth in shock Infiterature? How could anyone get a perfect score in literature?”
“Not just literature, math too. Even Queenie only got a 95.”
“Who could it be? Perfect scores in two subjects?”
“They must have cheated!”