Chapter 367 Are You Scared
Alexander realized that Courtney was cold and indifferent toward him for the past two days.
Initially, he didn’t take Gale’s phone call to heart, but judging from her behavior lately, it seemed like there was some sense in what he said.
Before getting off work, Josh was called to the office by Alexander.
“President Duncan, you were looking for me?”
Alexander studied him.
“Are you married?”
Josh froze, and his face turned pale. “N-No.”
“Then, have you ever dated anyone?”
“No…” Josh broke into a cold sweat. Looking at the profound gaze Alexander was giving him, he instantly panicked and lifted three fingers on his right hand.
“President Duncan, I came to work for you at Sunhill Enterprise as soon as I graduated. Back then, I promised you that I would not consider marriage before I turned thirty-five, so I won’t break my promise. I swear I really didn’t get married.”
Alexander was momentarily stunned. “You made such a promise before?”
Josh froze.
“You… don’t remember?”
Alexander frowned. “Why would I want you to promise me something like that?”
Josh looked shocked, and even a bit sad.
After he graduated, he returned to Melrose City to work in Sunhill Group with Alexander, and he dedicated his whole heart to working there. Later on, for a period of time, Alexander reckoned the internal strife was too complicated, and he knew that Josh’s family was arranging blind dates for him, so Alexander suggested for him to find another way out.
At that time, he was young and vigorous, so he said, “I won’t leave Sunhill, and I won’t consider marriage until I’m thirty-five years old. If I break my promise, I’ll return all these years of salary.” Alexander only allowed him to stay after he gave such guarantees.
He had worked so hard all these years, yet Alexander had forgotten it all!
It made Josh rather angry. When he got married two years ago, he didn’t even have a banquet, but had secretly invited his relatives to have a meal in his house instead. Because of this, he never won when he quarreled with his wife; he had suffered a lot of grievances for this matter.
“There was such a thing?” Alexander asked after Josh remained silent for a long time.
Josh clenched his teeth and forced a smile.
“No, I’m kidding. That didn’t happen. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”
When the topic of the conversation was pulled back on track, Alexander pondered for a moment before asking, “What do ordinary couples do in a relationship? Do you know?”
Josh gave it some thought. “Just go on the usual dates.”
“Be more specific.”
“For example, buying breakfast for the girl in the morning and waiting downstairs, going to the amusement park together, having fun and going for dinner at night, going to the movies after dinner, then sending her home afterward.”
Rubbing his chin, Alexander was deep in thought.
“I’ve done most of this.”
He often bought her breakfast, and he would regularly bring her and the two little ones to the amusement park. Having dinner was a sure thing, and they often watched movies together as well. They all lived together, so there was no need to send her home.
Josh saw the problem at once; he hesitated before he spoke. “Breakfast must be special; for example, writing something like, ‘Good morning. It’s so nice to see you early in the morning’ on the milk carton.”
Alexander was stunned. “Carry on.”
“Don’t bring the children with you to the amusement park. Couples don’t bring children along on dates. You must also take pictures of her. You must hold her hand on roller coaster rides, and you must go to the haunted house together.”
When he mentioned the roller coaster, Alexander’s face stiffened a little.
He rode it with Courtney once, and it was a feeling he didn’t want to experience a second time.
However, they could give the haunted house a try.
“What else?”
“You must go for dinner at a place that’s trending, the kind that’s beautiful enough to take pictures at so she can post it on social media. Girls like that feeling. Then, go for a movie.”
Josh let out an awkward dry cough. “I don’t mean reserving the whole cinema. I mean buying popcorn and Coke together, then watching it with many other people in the cinema.”
Alexander frowned.
Do ordinary couples do such excessive things?
“Anymore?”
“Also, when you send her home at night, you must prepare a gift. It’s best if it was something that she saw that day which she liked. It can be a doll, a snack, or an accessory. In short, you should show that you’ve been paying attention to her all day.”
Filled with excitement, Josh said, “When I first started dating my wife, I gave her a Peter Rabbit doll that she had her eyes on, and she married me because of that.”
Alexander nodded, then his head snapped up after a while.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t married?”
Josh stiffened, and the smile on his face instantly froze.
Sh*t!
…
On Tuesday morning, Courtney received a call from Alexander right after breakfast.
After informing her aunt, she went out to see Alexander standing in front of the yard, dressed in casual attire.
“You could’ve just come in. Why did you want me to come out?”
Alexander handed over the paper bag in his hand.
“This is for you.”
“What is it?” Courtney took a look at it. “A sandwich? I’ve already had breakfast.”
Alexander paused for a moment. “Then, go somewhere with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“The amusement park.”
Courtney was stunned at first, then her eyes brightened. “Oh, it just so happened that last night, Jordan and Tina asked me when I’ll be taking them there. I’ll go call them.”
Just when she was about to turn around, Alexander held her in place. “Don’t go.”
“What’s wrong?”
Courtney looked confused.
Alexander said solemnly, “Today, it’ll just be the two of us.”
“The two of us?”
Courtney stared at him in confusion, then reconfirmed, “The two of us are going to the amusement park?”
“Yes.”
Like a magic trick, Alexander brought out a Mickey Mouse headband from behind. “Will you go?”
Courtney cast him a surprised glance. After accepting the headband, she stared at it for a while, then smiled.
“Are you serious?”
Still skeptical, she followed Alexander to the amusement park.
It was a working day, and it was cold as the temperature had dropped from the snow, so there weren’t many people at the amusement park. As soon as they entered, Alexander dragged Courtney somewhere deep into the amusement park.
Before long, the two were standing in front of the empty haunted house. The cold winter wind brushed past their ears, inexplicably making them shiver.
Courtney coughed.
“Are you sure? You just came to the park to go in here?”
She had never seen anyone entering the amusement park just to go straight to the haunted house. She looked doubtfully at Alexander, but she didn’t know where to start with her questions. Did something happen with the company that triggered him?
“Yes.” Alexander held her hand. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. I heard this is fun.”
The corners of Courtney’s lips curled up. “Let’s go in, then.”
After passing through the double heavy curtains, they got to the real entrance of the haunted house, which was flooded with an eerie green light.
Courtney felt the grip around her hand tighten, so she turned and saw the nervous look on Alexander’s face. He was staring unblinkingly at the door, and he looked like he was about to fall apart.
She hesitated, then asked, “Are you scared?”
