My CEO Husband Says I'm Irreplaceable

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: It Depends on Your Performance

"Don’t scare her."

Jared Hawthorne shot Leon Quillan a cold glance.

Leon, knowing he had misspoken, immediately fell silent.

He bent down and swept her up into his arms. Vesper Grayson instinctively clutched the fabric of his shirt.

"President Hawthorne, my friend, she..."

"Relax. Just because the police couldn’t find her doesn’t mean she was taken. She might have already gotten away safely and will contact you soon."

Jared Hawthorne’s dark eyes fell on her hand, catching sight of the glaring specks of blood on her palm. A dark, imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes.

"Let go."

He reached out, gently prying her fingers open.

Only then did Vesper Grayson realize that in her panic, she had been clutching Shiloh Sloan’s phone with its shattered screen so tightly that she hadn’t even felt the glass shards digging into her palm.

At his prompting, a fine, sharp pain slowly began to spread.

Leon Quillan drove, and half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of a suburban villa.

"Why did you bring me here? I still need to find Shiloh..."

Vesper Grayson struggled to get out of his arms.

Jared Hawthorne’s tone was placid, yet it carried a commanding authority that brooked no argument.

"If you keep struggling, I won’t help you find her."

With that one sentence, Vesper Grayson instantly became still.

She was self-aware enough to know that with Jared Hawthorne’s connections, he could find someone far more quickly than she could by searching blindly.

Jared Hawthorne let out a low chuckle and strode into the villa, still carrying her.

But his movements were anything but gentle; he simply tossed her onto the sofa.

Vesper was speechless.

’Why do I get the feeling this bastard is angry?’

’What right does he have to be angry?!’

Jared Hawthorne placed the first-aid kit in front of her. "Take care of it yourself."

Tiny glass shards were deeply embedded in the tender flesh of her palm, the pain making her fingertips tremble.

The wound didn’t just need to be disinfected; the shards had to be picked out one by one.

With one hand injured, she could only clumsily treat it with the other. After struggling for a long time, she finally managed to clean out the glass and disinfect the wound.

And that bastard just watched coldly the entire time, showing no intention of helping.

Anger began to bubble up inside Vesper Grayson, but the thought that she still needed his help to find her friend forced her to suppress it and squeeze out a strained smile.

"President Hawthorne, could you please hurry them along? I’m really worried about my friend."

Jared Hawthorne raised his eyes, giving her a cold, dismissive look.

"What kind of friend is more important than your own safety?"

"She’s my best friend. You wouldn’t understand female friendships even if I explained it."

Jared Hawthorne sneered. "Do you have any idea what would have happened to you today if Leon Quillan hadn’t happened to run into you and intervene?"

"I brought a weapon," Vesper Grayson retorted, biting her lip and forcing herself to sound brave.

"You mean this folding knife?"

Jared Hawthorne pulled her knife from his pocket, nonchalantly fiddling with it.

Vesper frantically patted her own pocket, only to find the knife had long vanished.

"When did you take it?" She hadn’t noticed at all.

Jared Hawthorne scoffed, his tone icy. "With reaction times like yours, you’d still be helping count the money after someone sold you."

"I’m not that stupid!" Vesper shot back, indignant and annoyed.

’These are the kinds of things I usually say to lecture Gwen Grayson. How come he’s turning them all back on me?’

"Not stupid," Jared Hawthorne glanced at her coolly, "just completely unaware of your own limitations."

"..."

Vesper Grayson was so furious she gritted her teeth, wishing she could find a smelly sock and stuff it in his mouth right then and there.

Just then, his phone rang, and Jared Hawthorne answered it.

"Right. Thanks for your trouble. I’ll buy you a drink another time."

After hanging up, he looked up at her, the corners of his narrow eyes lifting slightly.

"Your friend is pretty sharp. She knew where to hide. Saved her own skin."

The weight that had been pressing on Vesper Grayson’s heart finally lifted. She immediately jumped up from the sofa. "Then I’ll go to her place and wait for her."

She had just started to walk past him when a large hand gripped her wrist, yanking her into a solid embrace.

Strong, powerful arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Who said she’s going back there?"

Vesper froze. "What do you mean?"

"She saw those men’s faces. Do you think it’s safe for her to go back to her own home right now?" Jared Hawthorne stated the facts plainly.

Her heart clenched, and panic set in. "Th-then what do we do?"

"I’ve already had Leon Quillan pick her up and take her directly to the police station to give a statement."

"She’ll only be truly safe once we cooperate with the police and round up that whole crew."

Jared Hawthorne lowered his gaze to the tense woman in his arms. His dark eyes swept over the wound on her palm, and his tone grew heavier.

"If you go over there now, you’ll be of no use. You’ll just get in the way."

’It’s better than doing nothing, isn’t it?’

She struggled for a moment, but he only held her tighter, making it impossible to break free.

"Let me go," she said in a low voice.

Instead of loosening his grip, Jared Hawthorne leaned in slightly, his warm breath ghosting over her ear.

"What’s the rush? Afraid I’m going to eat you up?"

"Who’s afraid of you? I just find you annoying!"

"Hah! Weren’t you much more docile when you were begging me to find your friend just now?"

’This woman is an expert at using people and tossing them aside!’

He’d learned that lesson before.

An unnatural expression flickered across Vesper Grayson’s face. "Those are two completely different things!"

"We may not be engaged yet, but you’re still my fiancée, more or less. We’ve done all sorts of things, both proper and improper, several times now. Are you really going to be shy with me?" He leaned down again, his thin lips brushing against her hot earlobe, planting a light, ambiguous kiss as his voice dropped to a husky, tantalizing whisper.

Vesper Grayson’s cheeks instantly burned hot, a blush spreading to the tips of her ears. Flustered and furious, she raised her hands to push against his chest.

But her feeble strength was nothing to him; it was less of a push and more like a playful gesture.

"Jared Hawthorne! Shut up! Don’t say another word!"

Jared Hawthorne particularly loved seeing her like this—annoyed yet flustered. The amusement in his eyes was so thick it was almost tangible.

Afraid of genuinely angering her, he decided not to tease her any further.

"Are you staying here tonight, or should I take you home?"

"I want to see Shiloh..."

Jared Hawthorne was displeased. He was right here, and she was still thinking about another woman!

’Are friends more important than a man?’

He released her and leaned back into the sofa. His narrow eyes half-closed, he fixed a heavy, unreadable gaze on her face, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"That depends on your performance."

Seeing the suggestive look in his eyes, Vesper Grayson’s cheeks flushed.

’Bastard! If you want to take advantage of me, just say so! Stop pretending to be some kind of noble gentleman!’

’Fine. Since he helped find Shiloh, I’ll indulge him just this once.’

A wild, seductive curve formed on Vesper Grayson’s lips. She leaned forward, straddled his lap, cupped his face with both hands, and without another word, pressed her lips to his.

Jared Hawthorne’s eyes instantly darkened to the color of ink, and a low, husky laugh rumbled in his throat.

The next second, he turned the tables. A large hand clamped onto the small of her back, pulling her forcefully against him as he deepened the kiss.

An amorous tension lingered between them, making even the air feel scorching hot.

Vesper Grayson melted under his kiss, completely routed by his aggressive assault.

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