Chapter 124: Describing Her

Michael’s POV

I studied Emerald, amusement lingering in my eyes.

She paused with her sandwich halfway to her mouth. She slowly lowered it back onto her plate and looked at me as if trying to determine whether I was being serious.

"What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one," I replied. "You said a hard man needs a soft woman. I am curious whether you consider yourself one."

She leaned back slightly in her chair. "I suppose that depends on what you mean by soft."

"What do you think it means?"

She thought about it for a moment before answering.

"Someone who is patient, caring, and gentle. Someone who knows how to make a difficult person feel comfortable without making everything about herself."

I nodded slowly. "Those are qualities, but they still do not answer my question."

She gave me a mildly irritated look. "You asked me what I thought a soft woman was. I answered you."

"You described one. You did not tell me whether you are one."

Emerald sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Fine. If that is what you want to know, then I do not think I am particularly soft."

"I agree."

Her eyebrows rose. "You agree?"

"You argue with me," I said.

"I am allowed to disagree with you," she insisted. So I replied, "You make your own decisions even when you know I would make a different one."

"That is called having a mind of my own."

I recognised. "You dislike being told what to do."

"Most people do."

"You are stubborn."

Emerald stared at me for several seconds. "You seem to have a surprisingly long list of complaints about me."

"They are not complaints. I am simply making observations."

"You make them sound like evidence in a trial."

I smiled. "I am still waiting for your defence."

She shook her head, although I could see the beginning of a smile at the corner of her mouth. "None of those things mean that I am not soft."

"Then what makes you soft?"

"I already told you. I can be patient. I care about people I am close to, and I can be gentle when someone needs it."

I studied her expression. "And yet you are not gentle with me."

Emerald gave me an incredulous look. "That’s because you are good at provoking me."

"That is not an answer."

"It is the answer."

I laughed quietly. "All right. Then let us turn the question around. What makes me hard?"

Her expression became thoughtful as she considered the question.

"You are serious most of the time. You are disciplined, and you do not allow people to push you around. You have a way of making people feel as though they need to be careful around you. You expect things to be done properly, and once you make up your mind about something, you rarely change it."

My smile widened slightly. "So, you have been paying attention."

"You make it difficult not to." She rolled her eyes.

I asked, "And you think that kind of man needs a soft woman?"

"I think someone like you needs someone who knows how to deal with you."

"That is different from being soft."

"Yes."

I adjusted in my seat. "So perhaps I do not need a soft woman."

"Then what do you need?"

"Perhaps I need someone who can handle me."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Someone who will not simply agree with everything I say," I continued. "Someone who is stubborn enough to argue when she believes I am wrong. Someone who will stand her ground instead of becoming intimidated because I happen to be difficult."

Emerald slowly pointed at herself. "You are describing me."

"I know."

Her expression changed slightly at my answer. She seemed to realise that I had deliberately described her without saying her name.

"And what about the way you are with me?" I asked.

"What about it?"

"Are you soft with me?"

Emerald looked down at her plate before meeting my eyes again. "I do not know."

"You do not know?"

"No. I have never thought about it that way."

I rested one arm against the back of my chair and regarded her with quiet amusement. "Then perhaps we are going to have to find out."

Her eyes narrowed immediately. "Michael."

"Yes?"

"You know exactly what you are doing," she said.

A slow smile spread across my face. "Of course I do."

She shook her head, but she could not stop herself from smiling.

I picked up my sandwich again, satisfied with the reaction I had gotten from her. I had no intention of pushing the conversation any further.

I simply enjoyed watching her try to figure out where my teasing ended, and my intentions began.

Emerald took another bite and tried to focus on her food.

I watched her for another second before returning to my own meal, already amused by the thought that she had no idea how much I enjoyed these little moments with her.

---

We finished eating without returning to the earlier conversation.

Emerald seemed content to let the subject rest, and I was perfectly willing to leave her wondering about it.

When she placed her empty plate on the table, I reached for both plates before she could.

"I will take those."

I carried them into the kitchen and set them beside the sink. Emerald followed behind me. "I can wash them."

I glanced at her. "There are only a few."

"That is why I will wash them."

I considered arguing, but there was no reason to. She was already reaching for the faucet.

"All right," I said. "You can do the dishes."

She smiled as if she had won something.

I showed her where I usually left clean dishes to dry and pointed out the rack beside the sink.

"You can leave everything here when you are finished."

"Got it."

I turned to leave, but she glanced toward the hallway. "What about Adrian? I haven’t heard his voice since we stepped out of the study."

I looked in the direction of the guest room. "He must have stepped out."

"He left?"

"Apparently." I shrugged. "He probably decided to go and have fun by himself."

Emerald shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face.

"I have seen firsthand that Adrian’s definition of rest means something entirely different from the definition in the English dictionary."

I laughed. "That is probably the most accurate description of him I have heard today."

She continued rinsing the plates, still shaking her head. "I thought he came here because he needed to rest."

"He did."

She asked, "Then why does resting involve drinking half the night and disappearing the next morning?"

"Because he is Adrian."

She gave me a look that suggested she had no argument against that answer.

I smiled and stepped away from the kitchen. "When you are finished, meet me in the study."

"All right."

I left her there and walked down the hallway.

As soon as I entered the study, I closed the door behind me. The quiet atmosphere immediately felt different from the relaxed mood I had shared with Emerald earlier.

I walked toward my desk and picked up my phone.

While I had been with Emerald, I had silenced it deliberately. I did not want calls or messages interrupting the time I had with her.

There were very few people whose calls I would ignore when I was available, but I had no problem making an exception when Emerald was with me.

The screen showed two missed calls. They were from one of my men.

My expression changed slightly. I returned the call, and the response came almost immediately.

"Alpha."

"Yes?"

"We have an update concerning Miss Hugo’s biological father."

I leaned against the edge of my desk. "Go ahead."

"Our people confirmed that Paul Walker was seen in California this morning."

I frowned. "California?"

"Yes, Alpha. We are certain it was him."

I was silent for a few seconds.

Paul had only been released from prison a few weeks ago. Considering his history and the fact that he had been keeping a low profile after his release, I had not expected him to be travelling so soon, especially across the country.

"It looks like his bank account is still breathing," I said dryly. "Otherwise, how can someone who just came out of prison a few weeks ago afford a flight to California?"

My man on the other end remained silent.

I straightened. "Have you checked his financial activity?"

"Not yet, Alpha. We wanted to report the sighting first."

"Good. Keep eyes on him."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Investigate his account as well. I want to know where the money is coming from, who is sending it to him, and what he is spending it on."

There was a brief pause before he answered. "We will look into it."

"Do it discreetly. I do not want him to know he is being watched."

"Understood."

"And if there are any unusual transfers, withdrawals, deposits, or payments, I want to know about them."

"Yes, Alpha."

I ended the call and lowered the phone.

Paul Walker had already caused enough trouble by abducting Emerald. Now he was suddenly travelling across the country despite having no obvious financial means to support that kind of movement.

That alone was enough to make me suspicious.