At lunch time, Rachel thought that she finally played her role. She whispered in Jack's ear, reminding
him of what he should eat and what he shouldn't.
Jack followed her instructions, avoiding spicy and oily food.
The others observed them quietly, lost in their own thoughts.
They left after lunch, and Jack went back to the 23rd floor with Rachel.
Jack closed the door of his office, and told the receptionist not to disturb him before 3 p.m.
He entered his private lounge.
After taking a shower, Jack changed his clothes. He put his arm around her waist, kissed her on the
face, and said, "Take a shower and then relax."
Flushed, Rachel pushed him away and murmured, "I'm not tired."
He was about to lean against her again, but Rachel turned away and said, "I'm going to take a shower,
too."
Although she wasn't sweating, she decided to follow Jack's advice and take a shower.
When she came out again, Jack was nowhere to be seen, but she heard a faint sound.
Rachel was a little confused. She turned to the right and opened a door. She had been there in the
morning, but she didn't realize that there was another room.
She heard a loud clacking and saw a pool table in the room.
Rachel walked in and found it was a room full of fitness equipment.
The room was covered with a deep green carpet, and it was narrow and long.
There was sports equipment on both sides of the room along the walls, and the pool table was at the
end of the room. Jack was bending down and aiming his cue at his goal on the table.
There was another clacking sound, and a ball fell into a pocket of the table.
He raised his head and saw her standing at the door. He stood up straight and motioned for her to
approach, saying, "Come here."
Rachel looked around and walked down the room to the table. It was a small fitness room.
She could tell that Jack spent much of his time here. She walked up to him.
Jack pulled her closer to him and raised his chin slightly, beckoning for her to look at the table, asking,
"You want to play?"
Rachel shook her head and said, "I don't know how to play pool."
He smiled and handed the cue to her. "Hold it tightly." Rachel had to clench it.
Then Jack moved closer to her and whispered in her ear.
Rachel hadn't played pool before, and at that moment, she was very eager to learn it. With his
guidance, she began to learning to play pool.
It looked so simple at first. But Rachel seemed to have trouble making the white ball go where she
wanted it to go. She was a little discouraged.
She shook her head with a smile and gave the cue back to him. Jack grinned and asked her, "You don't
like it?"
It was unusual for her to be so easily discouraged, but Rachel pouted like a child and said, "It's not fun
at all. I can't hit it."
It was a bit stuffy in there, so Jack fumbled with a row of buttons on the wall and turned on the central
air conditioner.
The machine worked well. Rachel was surprised, and asked, "You use air conditioning in the gym?"
He turned back and raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"
She said seriously, "It's easy to catch a cold in the cold air while sweating."
"Come on, don't lecture me." Jack raised his hand and gave her forehead a gentle flick. "I don't turn it
on when I work out."
He put the cue back into Rachel's hands and said softly, "Let me teach you how to play."
And so he began teaching her again. This time he guided all her movements with his hand, as if she
were his puppet.
He did a good job of it. Rachel's hands and body followed his instructions completely. Jack didn't let her
go until they completed several moves.
He went around to the other side and hit the last few balls. Then he walked to her side and kissed her.
Rachel still wasn't comfortable enough to accept his sudden kisses now and then.
She felt like he was about to transform into some kind of animal.
"How is it going?" he asked. "Shouldn't you give me a compliment?"
Rachel smiled slightly and replied, "What kind of compliment do you want?"
He rolled his eyes a little, and there was a look of mischief in his eyes. Rachel suddenly stiffened up.
"That's enough. Do you want to turn into a horny goat?"
He smiled lightly and threw up his hands innocently. "I haven't said anything yet."
Rachel didn't want to make any reply. He was not only cunning, but also had a thick skin.
Not bothering to hide his intentions, he put the cue aside.
He stepped forward and gave her a deep kiss on the lips.
Rachel took a step back, with her back against the pool table. She raised her head slightly to receive
his kiss. Jack guided her hands to go around his waist.
The central air conditioner whirred faintly. The kiss lasted until she was almost breathless. Then he let
her go and pressed his forehead against hers.
They looked into each other's eyes closely. Her eyes were as clear as water and as deep as the sea.
When he touched her forehead, Rachel was panting. Jack kissed her again and whispered, "Rachel."
"What?"
"Are you afraid?"
She blinked and was confused. "Of what?"
He said in a low voice, "Are you afraid of accepting me?
Will you get cold feet?"
If she stood by his side, she was bound to meet with even greater challenges and rumors in the future.
However, Rachel's life had always been simple and clean compared to his.
He would do his best to protect her from those things. He was afraid that Rachel would regret choosing
to live a life with him.
It was clear to him that she didn't like the way he lived.
Rachel remained silent. The longer she stayed silent, the more apprehensive Jack felt.
He loosened his grip on her waist, and said in a hoarse voice, "Rachel..."
She raised her head slowly and said, "I can't promise you anything now.
I just do what I want to do when I am with you. I don't have the courage to make promises about the
future. It's possible that we'll break up if we can't get along well with each other."
Jack's breath became heavier. Rachel continued, "I can't resist what my heart tells me to do, no matter
how much I try. I wonder if there's anyone in the world as shameless as you. But I feel quite good when
I'm with you."
'No one is as shameless as me?' He bit her lightly on the tip of her nose and smiled lightly.
Rachel tilted her head and continued, "I'm satisfied with our current way of living with each other, as
long as you respect me and treat me well like this. Do not lose your temper, or kiss me like a dog, or lie
to me."
Several of Rachel's words troubled him. 'Like a dog?
What kind of a man do I look to Rachel?'
Rachel knew what she wanted to say, but she hadn't exactly chosen the right words to express her
point.
It was too embarrassing for her to say it straightforwardly. Or, rather, it didn't feel like the right time or
place to say it.
She wasn't even sure what she had already said.
She became a little depressed, and fell silent.
Raising his eyebrows, Jack asked, "Have you finished?"
She hesitated and then nodded. Their foreheads were still against each other. Thinking of them being
like this, Jack smiled and rubbed her forehead. "Rachel,
you've said so much, but you haven't mentioned the most important thing?"
She was a little stunned. "The most important thing?"
'What's the most important thing?'
He said slowly, "I'll do what you say. But Rachel, don't you still owe me the answer I want?"
The buzzing in her ears seemed to fade away at that moment. She opened her eyes slightly.
Then her heart suddenly thumped in her chest, and she intuited the answer that Jack wanted.
She gently bit her lips. It had been a very long time since she had ever felt so nervous.
At that moment, she couldn't say it aloud.
She felt her heart beating so fast that she couldn't look straight into his dark eyes.
The more she wanted to hide, the more exposed she felt.
It was hard for Jack to keep his patience.
'Enough of this. How long do I need to wait for her to speak up and give me an answer?
I'll just ask her directly.'
"Rachel, are you in love with me?"
She squeezed her clothes and summoned up the courage to look at him. 'Yes, I'm in love with you. But
what about you?
Am I just a suitable wife in your eyes?' she wondered.
However, one couldn't see as clearly from the inside as those standing outside. Rachel was blind to the
significance of what Jack had said to her.
He wanted more than just to have her by his side. He also wanted to have her heart.
Without understanding it, Rachel was nervous and confused. She asked, "Jack, what about you? Have
you fallen in love with me?"
Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. Rachel thought he was surprised merely because he didn't
expect her to ask him the same question.
Abruptly, he took a step backward, looking surprised and doubtful. Then he raised his hand and
pressed his forefinger against his forehead.
At that moment, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
His sudden movements and expressions really stunned and perplexed Rachel.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda