A plethora of questions surged in Lola’s mind as she stared at the man seated in the living area. Just over an hour ago, this man had left... didn’t he?
He even told her that he would leave the children in her care for tonight.
How come he was still here? And he seemed like he was also trying to kill time in his pajamas!
Atlas just stared at the woman in an onesie with a white panda facial mask on her face. He tilted his head to the side, just staring at Lola’s taste.
"Uh... hello?" Lola laughed awkwardly, turning on her heel as she walked in his direction.
Still, no reaction.
"..." Lola pressed her lips together, conflict flickering in her eyes. This was her home, and yet, he was looking at her like she was the one who had intruded on his place!
To her surprise, Atlas suddenly closed the book he was holding and pushed himself up. He strutted toward her, making Lola, who wasn’t ready for any sudden alien contact, almost take a step back. But she barely pulled her foot back before she stopped.
In the end, she stood motionless in the same spot until he was standing right before her. Her brows rose in intrigue, staring at him up close. She had been looking at him, but this was the first time he was this close. Surely, his face hadn’t changed much since high school—just a little more mature, but still as sharp and perfectly structured as she remembered.
Under his gaze, she couldn’t help but remember the times when he stared at her with those same eyes that gave nothing away.
"What?" she asked.
Seeing him raise his hand, she clasped her hand tightly. She held her breath as he reached out, almost giving her a heart attack as he pinched the side of her facial mask on her temple.
"Huh?" Lola looked at him in utter confusion while his hand pressed on her temple.
"It bothers me," he said, trying to fix the portion of the mask that wasn’t sticking to her temple properly.
For a second, Lola just stood there while he tugged at the mask and even fixed it as a whole to cover her entire face.
"..." She blinked, staring at him blankly.
No kabedon or anything like that? Seriously? It’s just the mask that’s bothering him?
The thought almost made her jump and laugh to herself. After all, some of her earlier stories had the most insane interactions between leads that sometimes, she too had to admit didn’t make sense.
What made her think this man would do such a thing?
"By the way," his quiet voice snapped her out of her thoughts, his fingertips slow as he dabbed at the facial mask. "It seems there’s a misunderstanding between you and your family."
Hearing that, her brows arched. "There’s no such thing as a misunderstanding between us," she corrected, her tone changing since he brought up her family. "They knew, and just chose not to understand."
"I’m not talking about that." His hand stopped, but his fingertips remained gently pressed on her skin. He slowly met her eyes as he continued, "It’s the partnership between Summit Partners and the NL Group of Companies. Harvey made a mistake and didn’t clarify who to credit."
Deep lines appeared between her brows as she tried to process his words.
"Today, I told Allen to forget about clarifying the misunderstanding," he added just as quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Would you mind? Or do you like to be thanked by them?"
"..." Her mouth opened and closed slightly, but instead of answering, she blurted out, "You... you’re the one who bought Summit Partners?"
"Does it matter?"
Of course, it does!
Atlas slowly retrieved his hand from her facial mask. "Do you want to be credited for it?"
That was so easy to do. After all, there was only one reason Atlas had that made him want to keep the misunderstanding going. Still, he thought he should tell her.
"..." Lola touched her neck as she thought about it, trying to process this revelation as fast as she could. However, this was something she couldn’t just process right on the spot. Hence, she focused on the matter at hand, which was easier.
"No," she answered, looking him straight in the eye. "I want none of them bothering me."
"I see." He nodded in understanding. "Then, I’ll let that be."
Having said that, Atlas took a step back and turned on his heel. He strode off like what he had just discussed was something so casual, something one would easily forget.
But as he went, Lola suddenly blurted out, "And the investment in the series?" She almost bit her tongue as she realized what came out of her mouth. But it was too late. He had already stopped and looked back at her.
"Isn’t that because of Melissa?" she followed up.
"Who is she?"
"..." Lola pressed her lips into a thin line as she didn’t ask anymore.
"It’s for you," he clarified. "From me."
"I see—"
"Does it bother you?"
Her brows crinkled, studying the look on his face. Nothing changed in his expression, but the more she conversed with him, the more she wondered what was going on in this man’s mind.
"No, but everyone thinks she should get a role because of her backers."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No," she said, her tone carrying a strong sense of certainty. "Not at all."
"That’s what I thought."
With that, Atlas resumed his steps toward the living area to pick up his book. Once he did, he was about to turn and head to the room he had already claimed when he suddenly paused.
"I don’t have a habit of locking my room," he said without looking back at her. "But I would still appreciate it if you knock... just in case."
He cocked his head and cast her a look. "Don’t jump on me again... is what I mean." And then he strode off without looking back.
"What?" Lola stood motionless, taking her time for his words to sink in. But when it did, her mouth dropped open.
"Excuse me? When did I jump you?"