Chapter 217
The next day, as Yannis drove Zinnia to the Jenkins residence, she looked at him and said softly, “I’m going to the Jenkins residence today Make sure you eat properly while I’m gone.”
“Zinnia, are you really worried about me?” Yannis kept his eyes on the road as he drove. When he heard her, he happened to stop at a red light and turned to look at her, his deep eyes shining with affection.
“Yannis, Toby told me you get so busy with work that you forget everything. When I’m not staying at your place, you don’t even bother to cook, Zinnia said. These were all things Toby had told her last time she visited Yannis’s office.
“How dare he tell you? I’ll cut his pay when we get back,” Yannis said, raising an eyebrow playfully.
Just then, Zinnia tugged on his sleeve. “I was the one who asked Toby to tell me, so don’t cut his pay,” she said, giving his sleeve a soft shake,
Yannis looked at her fingers holding his sleeve, his voice full of fun. “Zinnia, why are you being so cute again? Looks like I can’t say no now.”
Yannis couldn’t help but wonder if she had figured out he was a total pushover when it came to her. Last time, she tugged his sleeve for snacks; now, she was begging for Toby.
“How about I pay for what you’re going to cut from Toby?” Zinnia said after thinking for a bit.
Yannis shook his head. “No way.” Just then, the light turned green and the car started moving forward.
“How can I make sure you don’t cut his pay?” Zinnia begged, sounding worried. “He’s already poor. Any cut would hurt him.”
“Why don’t you tell me what exactly were you thinking when you looked at me yesterday?” Yannis teased, still curious about that look he couldn’t figure out before. Now was the perfect time to get her to talk.
‘Honestly, I looked at him several times yesterday. How would I know which look he’s talking about?‘ she wondered to herself.
“Can you at least give me a hint about which moment you mean?” Zinnia asked.
Yannis grinned, teasing her. “So what you’re saying is, you’ve been looking at me many times, you can’t even remember when?”
“Go ahead and cut Toby’s pay,” Zinnia said. “It’s not my money. I don’t care. If anyone gets upset, it’s Toby, and if there’s a grudge, blame his stingy boss.”
“If Toby knew you gave up on saving his paycheck so fast, he’d probably cry,” Yannis teased. He was amused at how easily she gave up.
“If you cut his pay,” Zinnia said, “he’ll be clinging to your leg and crying. Not mine.”
“Alright, I’ll give you a hint,” Yannis said. “It was when you and Jackson teamed up against me.” He decided to gently get Zinnia to talk more.
“We weren’t ganging up on you,” Zinnia protested. He couldn’t just accuse them unfairly. She hadn’t teamed up with Jackson against him; they were just telling the truth.
“Alright, if you say so, I’ll trust you,” Yannis said. “But what were you thinking at that moment?” He wanted to know how she saw him,
Zinnia hesitated, then looked at him. Remembering what she’d been thinking yesterday, she said, “I don’t think you’d want to hear it.”
Yannis thought, ‘I’ve already lost all dignity in front of you. What’s worse?‘
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” Zinnia asked sincerely, looking at him.
“Go ahead,” Yannis encouraged.
Zinnia paused, looking for the right words. “I just thought you seemed pretty down–to–earth,” she said softly, choosing her words carefully.
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