It took almost four hours for Chloe to finish her pot roast. Because she had to check the taste and prepare for the plating. She was scared that Vernon would not touch the food once if she didn't make it aesthetically pleasing.
After putting everything at the dining table, she walked to the living room and saw Vernon was still working on his iPad. He seemed to be fully focused, so before she called him, she peeked a little to know what he was working at.
As expected, Vernon was checking his personal stock and also studying the stock market since his company was also operating in investment.
However, Chloe gasped loudly when she saw the amount of money inside Vernon's portfolio.
She had never seen that much money in her life, to the point that she couldn't count the amount of 0 on the screen.
Vernon looked over his shoulder. His hawk gaze looked displeased because Chloe was checking his stuff.
"Did I give you the permission to peek at my work?" Vernon got up from the sofa and turned around, towering and covering her with his broad shoulder.
Chloe was a short lady, and she instantly shrunk in front of him, "I—I'm sorry, I was… I just want to tell you that lunch is ready!"
Vernon was still displeased. He never liked seeing someone peeking at his work because the money would always incentivize people to be nice to him, including Chloe.
He opened his mouth, ready to yell at Chloe;
"You—"
Gruuukk….
…
…
Both of them went silent when they heard Vernon's stomach growling loudly, a sign that he was really hungry right now, that chicken noodle soup wasn't enough to fill him.
"W—We will continue this later. I'm a little hungry," Vernon said. His cheeks reddened, his anger deflated instantly because of hunger, and he walked to the dining table, acting as if he hadn't almost burst out, yelling at Chloe again.
Chloe sighed in relief. Thanks to that growling stomach, she was free from scolding, for now at least.
Vernon sat on the chair and looked at the pot roast in front of him.
He wanted to ask first, but she quickly moved by taking off the pot lid and then started preparing everything for Vernon's plate.
The delicious aroma coming from the pot almost made Vernon's stomach rumble twice. Luckily, his stomach didn't actually rumble again because that would be damn embarrassing after the first one.
Chloe put the meat, mashed potatoes, roasted green bean, diced carrot, and cherry tomatoes on the plate before serving it in front of Vernon.
"You like cherry tomatoes and carrots covered with gravy, right? I—I put extra for you…." Chloe tried to remember all that Vernon liked when he was a child. "Would you like more for the meat?"
Vernon only stared at her in silence, reminding him of what Chloe usually did when she was still in high school and university. He was only a ten-year-old kid. She did and asked the same thing.
His mood gradually improved, but he still said nothing.
Chloe took his silence as a yes. She added more of the meat to the plate.
"Would you want a glass of ice or warm water?" Chloe asked.
"… Warm."
Chloe nodded. She put a glass of warm water on the table for Vernon. She wanted to take a step back and let him enjoy the food, "If… you need anything, you can just tell me—Ah?!"
Chloe was startled when Vernon suddenly wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her closer. fre ewebno vel.com
"I want my first bite," Vernon said.
"Huh?"
"I said I want my first bite. That should be the part of your service," Vernon repeated his request, and Chloe was confused.
Vernon clicked his tongue, "Do I need to make it clearer? I want you to feed me the first bite."
"Ah— Okay…" Chloe thought it was so weird that a Vernon-- the unpredictable, ruthless CEO wanted to be spoonfed by her. But she conceded and picked the spoon and fork.
She mixed the tender meat and mashed potato on the spoon and a cherry tomato on the fork.
"Remember, if it's not good, you will be fired and I will kick you out of the apartment. I don't want to eat nasty food every day," Vernon warned her.
"T—This is how I always cook it. I hope you find this acceptable…." Chloe said.
"Good."
Vernon opened his mouth, ready for his first mouthful of pot roast with mashed potato.
Chloe felt strangely nostalgic when she saw Vernon opening his mouth. She put the spoon first and then the fork for Vernon to bite his favorite cherry tomato.
Vernon munched slowly to savor the taste while his hawk gaze was eyeing Chloe. Chloe gulped nervously. After Vernon finished swallowing, she asked, "How is it? I—is it passable for you?"
...
Vernon said nothing. He just grabbed the spoon and fork and started eating in silence.
"V—Vernon?"
…
"Vernon?"
…
"Vernon—"
"Silence, sister-in-law. I'm not supposed to speak while eating," Vernon said. But since he had already opened his mouth, he looked at Chloe, standing behind him like a servant. "Just sit beside me, and where is your plate? Do you think I can finish everything by myself?"
"I—I will eat after you're done—"
"Nonsense, sit here, eat with me, and stop making me talk. I need to eat first!" Vernon grumbled.
…
'How could I sit still and eat with you when my job is on the line?! You could just say yes or no. No need to make me nervous like this! What a brat!' Chloe complained in her heart but dared not voice it out loud.
Chloe picked a plate and picked very little meat and mashed potato. She also picked none of the side dishes and the gravy.
Despite the taste, she ate very slowly and seemed to have no appetite. Of course, it tasted really good, but she couldn't eat much, or she would puke it all, unfortunately.
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