The Contract With Her Father's Billionaire Rival-Chapter 93. Richard—Wrong Moves.

"Suzie," Richard called, but she had already run out the door.

He rushed to the entrance and then stopped.

What was he planning to do?

Run outside naked after a horrified woman?

He sighed and locked the door.

Why hadn’t he done that before?

He had just come in for a quick change of shirt. But then he had realized the oil had penetrated his skin, and so he decided to take a quick shower.

That was supposed to be it.

Until Suzie had walked in unexpectedly.

His dick throbbed as he remembered her face. The horror in her eyes. The shock—so clear. But then... the flicker of something else. Was it desire?

She had stared at him and it had ignited something inside him.

It didn’t help that he had been thinking about her in the bathroom, already hard before she even entered.

That little blush, that little hesitation... it had almost made him lose control.

His phone rang, pulling him out of the thought. He bent and picked it up from the floor, where Suzie had thrown it before running off.

He groaned when he saw it was Clara calling.

"Not right now," he muttered, tossing the phone on the bed.

Clara was probably calling to dump another ridiculous task on him, and he didn’t need that. What he needed now was to fix what Suzie had seen.

Own up to it? Or deny it?

He could lie and say he wasn’t even hard.

He could flip it on her for barging in without knocking.

Or he could admit that from the first day he saw her sitting in the office reception, the day Alaric booked Le Rez for her and her son, something inside him had lit up. That had been the day he had been captivated.

And yesterday, when he saw her in that towel... Good God. He thought he was going to die from sheer need.

And now this.

What will it be?

He got dressed, pulling on his clothes one piece at a time. He brushed his hair with a small comb, then made his way downstairs.

He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself as he neared the white room. He knocked gently, not wanting to wake Walt. When Suzie didn’t respond, he tried the doorknob and found it locked.

Of course. Not everyone was like him.

He was about to leave when he heard the bathroom door. He could always tell from it was the door from its weird creak.

He stepped back quickly.

Was she going in or coming out?

He shook the thought off.

How awkward will it be to see her naked too?

Stop it!

He cleared his throat and left the hallway.

What now?

This place had always been his. Quiet, private, simple. The perfect escape.

But now he had to share it with a stunning woman and her cute son.

Which was way better than being alone.

He walked into the sitting room and looked around. For the first time, the emptiness struck him.

He had always liked the clean, couch-less look. But with Suzie and Walt around, it felt truly bare.

Maybe it was time to get some furniture.

As he considered it, he pulled out his phone and dialed his head of security.

"Hey Jarvis, I would love to order a family cou—a couch, for the sitting room."

"On it, boss," Jarvis replied firmly.

"Thanks," Richard said, ending the call.

Family couch?

Had he just...?

He shook his head and made his way to the kitchen.

He hadn’t eaten properly after feeding Walt, and now he was starving.

He opened the cabinet. What could he cook?

He knew Suzie hadn’t eaten either. Maybe he could make something for both of them.

He pulled out a rib of steak from the fridge and set it aside to thaw. Then he brought out other ingredients: potatoes, spaghetti, risotto rice, chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes.

He filled the workstation with food and stepped back to take it all in.

Just then, the kitchen door creaked open. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Suzie walked in, dressed in a yellow gown, her short hair tucked behind one ear. Her cheeks turned pink the moment she saw him.

"Hey... I didn’t know you were in here."

"It’s okay," he said softly, his own cheeks warming up. "I was just trying to make something..."

She took a careful step forward. "What are you making?"

"I don’t know," he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "I just pulled a bunch of things out." He gestured to the ingredients on the counter.

"Okay," she said, her eyes lowered.

Was now a good time to talk about earlier?

He cleared his throat. "Um, sorry about—"

"Oh no," she interrupted quickly. "I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have barged in like that." As she spoke, her cheeks reddened even more.

She was beautiful and he wanted to tell her that.

Maybe he should.

"Suzie..." His voice dropped, a tightness gripped his chest.

"What are you trying to make?" she asked, a little too high.

He understood what she was doing and he respected it.

No need to push.

"Uh, I’m not sure yet," he said, going along with her.

She picked up the potatoes. "We could make some hash? Or something with steak. I’m no chef, though," she chuckled. "I can barely make anything edible."

"Oh, I’m not a chef either," he said, smiling. "But I’m a decent cook. I could whip something up for us."

Us? Wrong word.

She immediately teased, shifting further away from him.

"If... if you’re hungry," he added, trying to recover.

Her cheeks flushed again, and she crossed her arms. His eyes dropped briefly to her chest, then snapped back up.

"Sure," she said, smiling softly.

"Alright then. Let me get to work."

She nodded.

For a split second, their eyes met and time stopped.

Richard wasn’t even sure he was breathing until she looked away.

He saw the emotions in the eyes—the need, the desire, yet the hesitation.

He wanted to reach out to her, but she already turned to the door.

"I’ll be outside," she said and left.

He sighed, his heart pounding at her exit.

If only he could overcome his fear and just talk to her.

Maybe he should take it slow.

Get to know her. Open up, talk about himself and then pick up from there.

"Great idea," he said out loud.

He walked to the fridge and saw that he still had a bottle of wine left.

Perfect.

They would pick up from there.

Good wine always paved the way for good conversations.

He couldn’t wait to learn so much about her.

A smile tugged at the corners of lips as the idea settled.

Now, food.

He looked around again and just decided to try something.

He washed the steak and chicken, seasoned them, and boiled them together. He used the broth to prepare risotto, and topped it off with a tomato and lettuce relish.

It took close to an hour, but he was proud of it.

As he was plating the food, Suzie walked in.

"Oh wow, smells amazing," she said, her eyes lighting up as they fell on the dishes. "And it looks great too."

"Thank you," he said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"What’s it called?"

He thought quickly. "Let’s just call it... steak and chicken roulade over cheesy risotto. I don’t know—lettuce stuff, tomato and lettuce relish."

"Ooh, fancy! A five-star experiment." she laughed, clapping her hands excitedly.

He laughed, his heart fluttering at the joy in her face. He finished dishing their meals and handed hers to her.

He watched as she took a spoon, scooped some relish and brought it to her mouth.

"Mmm," she moaned. "This is so delicious."

He laughed, watching as she closed her eyes to the taste. "Is it really that good, or are you just starving?"

"It is really good," she said through a mouthful.

He laughed, unable to hide the joy in his voice.

"You really are a good cook," she said with a nod, as she reached for another scoop. She chewed, nodding to the meal.

He folded his arms and watched her eat, warmth spreading through him.

He could do this all day.

Watch her eat. Smile. Laugh.

God, it felt amazing to have someone enjoy his food. Aside from Alaric, Suzie was the only person who had reacted like this.

He was basking in the moment when his phone rang.

He checked the screen and saw that Jarvis was calling.

"Hey, Jarvis."

"Hey boss. The couch just arrived."

"Okay. I’m on my way," he said, ending the call.

Suzie looked at him. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, slipping the phone into his back pocket. "I just got a delivery."

"Okay," she nodded.

He left the kitchen and went to the living room. He punched in the security code and the door opened.

Jarvis and another guard carried in a soft ash-gray couch and set it in the center of the room.

"Thanks, guys," Richard said as they left.

"Wow, this is cute," Suzie said as she entered the living room. "It gives the room some real character."

"Absolutely," he agreed with a grin.

"And the color, it’s just perfect," she said, running her hand over the fabric.

Without thinking, he said, "I got it so we could sit together and watch TV."

Wrong move.

Suzie stiffened. Her eyes sharpened slightly, and she stepped away from the couch.

"I’ll just take my food to the room. In case Walt wakes up."

Before Richard could say anything to fix it, she had dashed in and out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

He sighed, all the earlier excitement fading off immediately.

So many wrong moves today.