Nonetheless, Hannah perked right up after receiving an affirmative answer. At least now I won’t get another earful from the senior editor.
“Wren, take her to Mr. Jackson’s office,” the receptionist said.
Once Hannah was out of sight, the receptionist grumbled aloud to herself, “I knew it! There’s no way that she’s only here to interview Mr. Jackson; she’s taking advantage of her identity as a journalist to seduce Mr. Jackson.”
“Alright, this is Mr. Jackson’s office,” Wren declared. He stepped closer to the door and knocked on behalf of Hannah before leaving.
“Come in,” a sensuous and insistent voice called from the inside. It soothingly drew her attention.
Hannah straightened her collar before entering. As she crossed the door. Hannah caught a whiff of a fruity yet floral aroma. She trailed after the ambrosial scent and saw that Xavier was brewing some tea.
Xavier wore a white suit, which was a rare occurrence. However, his slender fingers stood out more as they moved nimbly, as well as elegantly while preparing the tea.
Xavier didn’t even spare her a glance. Instead, his eyes focused on the tea brewing before him as he said through a smile, “Have a seat.”
Hannah’s lips curled over her teeth into a tense smile. “I came over because I’d like to interview you. I hope you’ll kindly agree to do it.”
Xavier placed a teacup in front of Hannah, then lifted an intricately painted teapot to pour her a cup of tea.
“I knew it. Here I was wondering why you would seek me out, turns out it’s for this reason.” Xavier filled another teacup for himself.
Bringing the teacup to his lips, Xavier took a sip and lightly shook his head in satisfaction. “Try it. I had someone source it from abroad recently. It tastes rather good.”
Hannah sampled the tea as if she knew a thing or two about professional tea-tasting. Fabian had taught her a bit about tea quality when they got their marriage certificate back then. After taking a sip, her lips smacked lightly. “The tea has a refreshing note on the first sip and ends with a slight sweetness. It’s really good.”
Xavier widened his eyes at Hannah’s evaluation. She’s well-versed in the subject of tea?
“Impressive, Ms. Young. I have never expected you to be a tea connoisseur.”
“You’re flattering me, Mr. Jackson. I only know a thing or two when it comes to basics of tea.”
Xavier assumed that Hannah was humble, not wanting to boast about her knowledge. Little did he know that she had actually told the truth. Even her evaluation earlier was a repetition of what Fabian used to say.
“I’m starting to wonder if fate sent you here as my love interest, or perhaps you just came over to seduce me. After all, we just met yesterday; isn’t it a little too coincidental that you’re here to interview me today?” Xavier had a playful smile and tried to flirt with her.
Hannah’s face scrunched with skepticism towards Xavier’s improper behavior. Nevertheless, she put on a stern face and reminded, “Mr. Jackson. My reason for being here is purely for the sake of interviewing you. Please, I hope you refrain from making such jokes again.”
For a slight second, a bright red blush crept across Xavier’s face. He felt appalled that she hadn’t behaved like other timid, mice-like journalists who only nodded and bowed at his words. Instead, she was the first to talk back to him in such a reprimanding tone. Yet, it immediately reeled in his attention, making him more intrigued. His lips curved at the woman sitting before him.
“I was only joking Ms. Young. There’s no need to take me so seriously,” Xavier explained and lifted the teacup from the table, then downed its contents. A bitterness burned down the back of his throat.
Women often flocked around Xavier, throwing themselves at him willingly. Now that he finally encountered an exception to those women, he was obviously not going to let her off easy. He wanted to have a bit of fun with her and see how long she could keep her prudish composure.
Xavier Jackson. Typical womanizer and has probably dated more than half of the women working in showbiz. Decently capable of managing and maintaining order in his family’s company, Jackson Group.
These sentences surfaced in Hannah’s mind. She recalled reading them in Xavier’s information in the file that the senior editor gave to her. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks, but the more she looked at Xavier now, the more he seemed like a pervert in disguise.
At some point, Hannah texted her current location to Fabian, thinking that he may go around searching for her since she wasn’t home and hadn’t left him any calls despite it already being noon.
Fortunately, Xavier had stopped with the inappropriate jokes after Hannah’s warning. So she picked up her camera and began the task that she came to do.
