Chapter 103: Movie Date II
Sean laughed quietly.
This flustered side of her was new.
After everything she’d accomplished tonight, after performing confidently in front of hundreds of people, it was hard to believe something as simple as a kiss on the cheek could leave her completely flustered.
.
He had a feeling he was going to enjoy teasing her.
The theater lights dimmed completely.
The movie began.
For a while, they watched in comfortable silence. Olivia munched on her popcorn with surprising focus, as if buying it had been a commitment she intended to honor.
About halfway through the first act, she reached across and grabbed another handful from Sean’s side of the bucket.
Sean glanced at her.
"You have your own," Sean said.
"Yours is closer," Olivia replied without taking her eyes off the screen.
"The bucket is literally between us," Sean said. "It’s the same distance."
"It feels farther in the dark," Olivia argued.
"That’s not how distance works."
"It’s how it feels."
Sean sighed.
"My feelings are valid."
Sean couldn’t help smiling.
"I didn’t say they weren’t."
Without another word, he slipped an arm around her shoulders.
Olivia leaned against him instinctively, making no effort to let go of the popcorn she’d just stolen.
A few minutes later, she leaned closer until her lips were near his ear.
"The accountant," Olivia whispered.
Sean looked at her.
"He’s hiding something."
"Ground rules," Sean whispered back.
"I’m not spoiling anything," Olivia protested. "I’m making observations."
"Go on."
"He’s checking documents that have nothing to do with his department. Nobody voluntarily reviews shipping manifests unless they have a reason."
Sean nodded thoughtfully.
"I noticed that too."
Olivia blinked.
"...You did?"
"People who draw attention to one detail are usually trying to distract everyone from another."
Olivia slowly turned toward him.
The glow from the movie screen illuminated the deeply offended expression spreading across her face.
Sean looked back at the screen, fighting the urge to laugh.
"You were going to say the exact same thing," Olivia whispered.
Sean shook his head.
"Not exactly."
"Oh?"
"My evidence was the documents."
Sean glanced at her.
"Yours was... suspicious eyebrows."
Olivia folded her arms.
"The eyebrows support the theory."
"They do?"
"They’re corroborating evidence."
Sean smiled.
"I stand corrected."
The couple sitting a few rows ahead turned around.
Olivia immediately faced forward with perfect composure, as though she hadn’t just delivered an entire investigative analysis about a man’s eyebrows.
Sean quietly reached into the popcorn bucket.
Moments like this reminded him why he’d wanted tonight.
No strategy.
No business.
No dangerous negotiations.
Just a movie.
A bucket of popcorn.
And Olivia resting comfortably against his shoulder.
She reached into his side of the bucket again.
Sean didn’t stop her this time.
She noticed.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"See?" Olivia whispered.
"What?"
"You’re learning."
Sean chuckled.
"I wouldn’t go that far."
She smiled to herself and settled even closer against him.
The movie continued.
When the accountant was finally revealed as the villain, Olivia slowly lifted a finger and pointed it at Sean without saying a word.
She held it there for several seconds.
Sean raised one eyebrow.
"Don’t," Olivia warned.
"I haven’t said anything," Sean replied.
"You’re somehow smug without speaking."
"I’ve been told."
Olivia tossed a piece of popcorn at him.
Sean caught it cleanly and popped it into his mouth without taking his eyes off her.
Olivia stared.
"...That’s the second time you’ve done that tonight."
"I have good reflexes," Sean said.
"It’s incredibly annoying."
"You keep throwing food at me."
"Because you keep earning it."
Sean looked genuinely curious.
"What did I do this time?"
"The eyebrow."
Olivia narrowed her eyes.
"You know exactly what you did."
Sean laughed.
The credits began to roll.
Neither of them rushed to leave.
Around them, the remaining audience quietly filed out while they stayed where they were, enjoying the peaceful silence that always followed a good movie.
Olivia tilted her head to look at him.
"Hey."
Sean looked down at her.
"Yeah?"
"I’m really glad you planned tonight," Olivia said softly.
Sean smiled.
"So am I."
She held his gaze for another moment before glancing toward the screen where the final credits were fading away.
"So..." Olivia said.
"Where are we going now?"
Sean smiled mysteriously.
"Somewhere else I planned."
Sean stood and offered her his hand.
Olivia took it without hesitation.
Hand in hand, they walked out of the empty theater and into the quiet night, neither of them quite ready for the evening to end.
==========
James was waiting at the curb, exactly where he always was.
As Sean and Olivia stepped out of the theater into the cool night air, he quietly opened the rear door of the Rolls-Royce without saying a word.
Olivia climbed in first.
Sean followed.
Soon, the car eased away from the curb.
Outside, the city drifted past the windows at that peculiar late-night pace. The traffic had thinned, the streets were calmer, and the bright noise of the evening had given way to a quieter kind of life.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Olivia broke the silence.
"Sean?"
He turned to her.
"Yeah?"
She hesitated for a second.
"When you say ’Business Insight’..."
She looked him straight in the eyes.
"...is that actually a real thing, or are you just teasing me?"
Sean smiled faintly.
"What made you think about that?"
"The accountant," Olivia said. "You figured him out before I did."
She began counting on her fingers.
"Then there was the restaurant. You ordered the wine without even looking at the menu."
She raised another finger.
"And tonight you knew exactly which label representative Kwon needed to speak to."
She lowered her hand and met his eyes again.
"Is it real?"
Sean didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked out the window as the city lights slid across the glass.
After a long moment, he looked back at her.
"What do you think?"
Olivia studied him quietly.
"I think..." she said slowly, "...you have a habit of answering questions without actually answering them."
--
Author Notes
Please you can support the book by gifting me power stones and golden tickets ❤️
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