Nothing Better (Than You) - English Vers.

¤ Chapter 16

As Julian stepped out of the bathroom, his eyes roamed over Nate's entire length, taking in every detail. Nate's hands moved self-consciously to smooth her hair, her comb strokes a little too deliberate.

"You're wearing a skirt," Julian said, his eyes flicking to her outfit.

Nate just grunted a casual "Hm", since Julian's comment didn't really require a response.

"You don't normally wear skirts," Julian said, his expression unreadable, but his tone betraying a hint of discomfort.

"It's just that you always make a fuss when I wear skirts, not that I don't like wearing them," Nate said, her voice tinged with frustration.

Julian looked at Nate for a moment, then turned and picked up his clothes, which Nate had considerately arranged for him on the bed. "I'll drop you off at the office," he said.

Nate glanced up at Julian's reflection in the mirror. "You don't have to, I can go by myself," she said.

"You'll be uncomfortable on the bus in that skirt."

"Women wear skirts on the bus all the time in this city. You're overreacting."

Following their argument, Julian eventually agreed to let Nate take the bus. As it happened, Nate wasn't keen on wearing skirts, and Julian was aware of this. Nevertheless, since Keith had asked her to wear one, she had fetched a few skirts from storage that Annie had given her.

Nate spent the morning at the office in the marketing and sales department, looking forward to meeting Keith. But he didn't appear. As she was on her way to check on the day's shipments, her flip phone vibrated.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked, his tone friendly, as Nate answered the call.

"I'm organising today's shipments," Nate answered. "Where are you? You're running late."

"I'm out with Mr. Paul today, so I won't be in the office."

"Ah, okay," Nate said, a touch of surprise in her tone. "Why didn't you let me know you'd be out?"

"I wanted to hear your voice, so I figured I'd just call you."

Nate's cheeks went red as she pictured Keith's flirtatious smile. She swiftly put on a poker face as Lily approached.

"I've got to go. Have a safe drive," Nate whispered.

"Okay. Have a nice day."

Nate ended the call as Lily arrived with a delivery note. She didn't receive any further messages from Keith that day, which didn't strike her as unusual, given that he was likely with Mr. Paul.

Nate ate lunch with the others in the kitchenette. Alicia arrived with food her boyfriend had sent over. Nate felt envious; Alicia's boyfriend seemed really thoughtful.

"How long have you been seeing each other?" Layla asked, enjoying her meal.

"We've been dating for two years, and we're planning to get married later this year," Alicia said, blushing slightly as her coworkers looked on in surprise.

"Are you two engaged, then?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy," Alicia said. "My parents didn't approve of my boyfriend at first 'cause he didn't have much. So, he went abroad to work as a graphic designer, saved up, and came back to buy a house in Nottingham. That's when they finally accepted him."

"Your parents just wanted to make sure you ended up with someone reliable who'd look after you. Your boyfriend's shown he's that person, so you should cherish your relationship," Mrs Jenny said.