A Lovely Obsession ( Billionaire Romance Novel )

Chapter 17

Nora's POV:-

I can't help the slight trembling in my hands as I sip on my glass of water. The man sitting in front of me watches my every move with the intensity of a lion eying its oblivious prey. I swear his eyes follow my every move from the way my throat moves when I swallow to the way I nervously lick my lips.

They darken with an emotion I either don't recognize or I am not prepared to admit I recognize.

We are sitting in a swanky restaurant that I couldn't afford to eat lunch at without giving up my entire monthly salary. It's built right on the shore with a terrace jutting out over the sea. It's like sitting on a pier in the middle of the ocean.

Someone's playing a tune on the grand piano and other people all in expensive attire are chatting quietly at their tables. I am the most underdressed here in my jeans and T-shirt. I have a feeling the only reason why I was even allowed in was because I had Derek beside me.

"Stop fretting. No one cares about your appearance. If they have something to say about it. Then I will shut them up." Derek looks into my eyes as if he can easily decipher every thought, every emotion behind them.

"How did you know it's my clothes that I was worried about? " I ask him. It means that I was definitely looking out of place here to the point that he didn't even have to guess that it was bothering me.

" I think it's time we order something. And don't tell me you are not hungry. Because I know you probably didn't have anything for breakfast." Derek opens the menu in front of him, not answering me like he was hoping to get my attention focused on something else.

"And only order something you like and something that is actually filling. If you don't I will order the priciest thing on the menu." He says once again reading my mind.

I ended up ordering a meat lover's pizza filled with sausages, chicken chunks, and lots of cheese. Derek seems pleased with my choice and there's a satisfied smile on his face.

"You may not believe this but I actually love food. I wasn't eating these days because I was so stressed I would feel nauseous in the mornings."

I watch as his eyes are suddenly filled with a cold sort of fury before his expression becomes his usual inscrutable one. But there's a ruthless look in his eyes.

"You are not thinking of killing my boss right?" I blurt.

"Don't count on it." Derek drawls.

I don't know how to respond to that. So start digging into my pizza. I wince when I think of my so-called plan to maintain a slim figure one that was enthusiastically endorsed by my grandmother.

"What's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?" Derek says quizzically.

"No, the pizza is great. It's just that I have a really slow metabolism and I end up gaining weight. My grandmother would have a fit if she were to see what I am eating." I say sheepishly.

"Is there anything you do for fun? I have a feeling you care more about pleasing your grandmother than maintaining the perfect figure."

"I have a very far from perfect figure." I scoff.

"I want m- women to have some meat on their bones." He stumbles on the words. I think he almost said something like my women but maybe that was my imagination.

" You have gotten a chicken burrito bowl with rice and beans. And you were telling me not to be diet-conscious." I point at his food.

"I never told you to not be diet conscious. But not to the point of starving yourself."