Chapter 774 Annoying Admirer

Hayley’s POV:

“Horace?”

I blinked in surprise. “What are you doing in my room?”

He raised an eyebrow, then chuckled softly. “Your room? Come on, Ms. Carson, don’t tell me you’ve had too much to drink and got a little mixed up. I’ve been staying in this room for a whole week now. Don’t you think I would have noticed if a beautiful woman like you had also been living here?” He joked.

I quickly craned my neck to check the room number.

That’s right. Except this is B1303. My room is A1303, just across the hallway.

“Oh no–I’m so sorry. Looks like I walked into the wrong room,” I apologized at once, embarrassed, already turning to leave.

“Wait, Ms. Carson,” Horace called after me. “Since you’re already here, how about coming in for a cup of coffee?”

“No, thank you,” I said politely. “It’s late, and coffee will keep me up at night.”

“In that case, let me walk you back.”

He shut the door behind him and stepped out with long strides.

“That’s not necessary,” I replied awkwardly. “It’s just a few steps.”

“I’m heading out anyway. Come on.” He gestured forward in a gentlemanly way, and I didn’t feel like making a big deal out of it, so I let it go.

We’d barely taken two steps when he started chatting again. “How’s Mr. Johnny doing lately?”

“He’s doing fine–his spirits are great,” I replied, keeping it short.

Horace offered, “And how about you, Ms. Carson? What brings you here? Maybe there’s something I can help with?”

“Nothing in particular. Just visiting,” I answered coolly. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

Hera didn’t like his scent. She hated when any man apart from Benjamin got too close to me.

Well–Benjamin and, oddly enough, Truman. Even now, I still couldn’t figure out why Hera was so tolerant of Truman.

While that thought drifted through my head, we arrived at my actual room.

“Well, here we are. You should get going, Mr. Boyd,” I said, quickly waving him off.

Horace glanced up at the room number. A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes, but he quickly masked it and smiled gentlemanly. “Ms. Carson, before you go in, could I get your number?”

“Is that even necessary?” I asked, a little guarded. “I’m not much of a social person.”

“Well, they say we meet about ten thousand people in a lifetime, but not every encounter gives us a second or third chance to cross paths. Just having a coincidence like this is reason enough for me to want to call you a friend.”

Still smiling, he pulled out his phone and held it out to me. “So–what do you say?”

It would seem rude to turn him down after all that, especially since he knew my godfather.

But then, I had an idea.

I smiled lightly and took the phone. On the new contact screen, I quickly entered a random number.

Then I handed it right back.

Horace took it with a suggestive little grin, like he’d just been handed a priceless treasure.

His expression made Hera–and me–deeply uncomfortable.

“Well, now that we’re friends,” Horace said as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, pushing his luck, “how about breakfast together tomorrow?”

I was starting to lose my patience.

What’s with this guy? Why is he suddenly so clingy? Maybe I’d been too polite–made him think I’m too easy to get close to.

Holding back my irritation and calming the restless Hera inside me, I opened my mouth, ready to shut him down for good.

But before I could say a word, a figure suddenly stumbled out from the side and collapsed straight into my arms.

I caught the person instinctively, not even thinking.