Spencer was looking through the ajar door and saw Cynthia lying on the bed, while Zachary leaned closer. Then she hugged him and they kissed
Ahem. Someone coughed, and Spencer scurried away, though not without casting a death glare at Ben. Ben only shrugged, and he went to close the door.
Their lips were about to touch, but Zachary instinctively pushed her away. He could pretend to be in a relationship with Cynthia, provided there was no direct contact with her, as he would be repulsed by any kind of skin contact.
Cynthia gesticulated, ‘I didn’t mean it. Someone was peeping on us, so I—’
“I know,” Zachary interrupted. “It was Spencer.”
Shocked, Cynthia bit her lip and nodded.
“Thank you.” Zachary left the bed. “Sleep tight.”
Ben was waiting for him outside. “Mr. Spencer has gone back to his room,” he reported once Zachary came out.
Zachary closed the door, but instead of going back to his bedroom, he went to the study. Ben poured a glass of wine for him. “You’re pretending to be in a relationship with Ms. Cynthia so Mr. Henry will leave you alone, aren’t you?”
“You noticed too?” Zachary arched his eyebrow.
“I’ve been working for you for a long time now, so that much is obvious for me.” Ben smiled. “The same thing goes for Mr. Henry. You can’t fool him with half-hearted acting.”
Zachary frowned. True. I did tell him I’d try to date her, but if I don’t go a mile further, that sly old fox isn’t gonna buy it.
“You might have to go to the extremes if you want Mr. Henry to leave you alone,” Ben reminded him carefully.
“What do you mean I have to be aggressive?” Zachary barked, “Insolence.”
“My apologies, Sir.” Ben bowed.
Zachary glared at him, but Ben had a point. This is going to be a headache. I might have to turn to extreme measures to make him leave. But I don’t really want to do that. Maybe I can get away with it without anyone noticing. After all, nobody’s gonna know what we’re doing behind closed doors.
“Good idea.” Zachary squinted.
“But you’d have to make sure your kids don’t bump into you guys when you’re going at it,” Ben suggested. “Especially Robbie. He’s really sensitive, and it’s going to hurt your relationship with him if he sees you getting intimate with Ms. Cynthia. That’s probably why he ran away today.”
“True.” Zachary frowned and nodded. “That’s important.”
“So what will you do?”
“I’ll be surveying Ashenville Garden for the next couple of days. Ask Cynthia whether she would like to come with me tomorrow morning.” Zachary wanted to ‘get closer’ with Cynthia while keeping his children away from his business.
“I think she’ll be delighted,” Ben said. “But Mr. Henry can’t see what you’re doing then.”
“He’s no fool. I bet he’ll have spies snooping around.” Zachary knew Henry well. “He’d probably check in on us too.”
“I see.”
…
When they had breakfast the next morning, Ben asked Cynthia if she’d like to go with Zachary on a stay in Ashenville Garden. Of course, Henry was there to listen in. Ben even told her the hot spring there could help with her recovery.
Henry arched his eyebrow. “Go get some fresh air, Cynthia. Staying at home all the time isn’t good for your health.”
‘Okay!’ Cynthia was still hesitant, but not after Henry encouraged her to go. She smiled. ‘Thanks for having me, Ben.’
“No prob. I’ll tell Mr. Nacht about it, and Raina’s going to go get prepared.
Ben was about to leave for the preparations, but Henry suddenly said, “I can’t let her go alone. Take Cain and Kyle with you.”
Just as Mr. Nacht has predicted. ”Of course,” Ben obliged.
