"It’s definitely something." Valeska was the one who responded with a soft murmur that could only be heard by those standing close to her.
The others were left stunned as they realized that they weren’t overthinking, but there was actually something going on between their Boss and Davian King Parker.
While the septet was busy analyzing the situation, Davian’s men were also going through something similar, especially Rio who could hardly believe what his eyes were seeing.
Since when Boss learned the art of flirting? He wondered silently.
Unaware of the chaos that their interactions had created among the hearts of their spectators, Davian and Grace continued to spar.
Davian smirked at Grace again when he deflected another one of her attacks and pulled her closer to the point that their faces were only inches apart.
Grace felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She hated that he could get under her skin so easily. With a burst of determination, she swung her leg out, aiming to sweep him off his feet. But he seemed to have already anticipated her move as he caught her by the waist and pulled her in a way that her back was pressed against his chest the very next moment.
"Caught you," he said softly. His voice was low enough that only she could hear him.
Her breath hitched, and for a second, she couldn’t move. His closeness was disarming, and her body reacted with a rush of warmth. It took every ounce of her willpower to shake it off and push him back, breaking free of his hold.
"Not quite," she returned as she aimed a punch at his chest. As usual, he deflected it easily, but the moment gave her enough space to regain her composure.
On the other side of the room, the septet exchanged looks among themselves and some even went as far as shaking their heads.
"Boss is actually flustered," Seth was stunned as he said the words. "I never thought I would see the day."
"But it feels good to see someone giving her a hard time on the mat, even if it’s through a different way." Valeska added with a soft chuckle that earned her a little slap on shoulder from Aleena.
Grace too realized that the training was going nowhere, hence, she decided to end the match with a decisive move. She stepped forward, shifting her weight and sweeping her leg up in a roundhouse kick that made Davian stumble back a step. But instead of pressing her advantage, she took a deep breath and signaled the end.
"That’s enough for today," she announced, hoping her voice sounded steadier than she felt.
Davian smiled as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and commented, "Impressive as always."
Grace nodded as she forced herself to meet his eyes. "Thanks for joining us, Mr. Parker."
The team clapped and cheered, some out of genuine excitement, others because they were relieved they hadn’t been the ones facing her.
Aleena caught Kevin’s eye and whispered, "Did you see the way he looked at her? We might need to prepare for more than just training next time."
Kevin smirked. "I would say we are already seeing more than we bargained for."
Right at that moment, Grace turned away from the mat as she felt the stares of her team and Davian’s men. But most of all, she felt the lingering heat from Davian’s gaze, and that unsettled her more than she was willing to admit.
"You all can take a break and rest." She announced as she headed straight to the door. All she wanted was to get away from that place and... Davian. Unfortunately for her, the man had different plans. He followed her into the elevator and stepped out on 21st floor instead of heading to his own unit.
"Do you want something?" She asked as she turned to face him outside her apartment.
She noticed how he suddenly appeared at a loss for words to speak, but after a moment or two, he finally spoke. "I was wondering if we can have dinner together this evening? Since we are now partners, we should be spending more time together to plan for our future."
Grace’s first thought was rejection, but she stopped herself right before she could have spoken the words out loud. He was right. Since they were now partners, they needed to be on the same page about their future plans.
After thinking about the matter for a moment, she finally replied, "Let’s do that. But you will be the one doing all the cooking. I will see you at your apartment around seven."
And with that being said, she turned away and entered her apartment. She gave him no time to either accept or reject her decision. She had always heard stories of how good his cooking skills were, but despite knowing him for so long, she had never been lucky enough to taste his cooking. Since she finally had a chance now, she wasn’t going to give up on it.
Once inside her apartment, she immediately headed to take a shower and got changed into a deep green dress that matched perfectly with her eyes. She styled her hair in a side braid and settled down on the couch in her living room with a cup of herbal tea.
It was only 4:22 pm and she had a lot of free time on her hand before the supposed dinner appointment with Davian. She used this time to scroll through recent updates about the rain.
It had been over twenty hours since the rain started, and it had already caused so much chaos in several cities. Fortunately, Sunspire City was located at aviation which kept it safe from the issues of flooding. However, it was also a matter of time before this city too would succumb to the disaster of rain that was just in its beginning phase.
Till this moment, no one had realized that the rain was signaling to something far more dangerous.
Just as she was about to put her phone aside, it started ringing.