Chapter 721 "What’s the matter now?" Rachel asked, confused.

"Rachel, are we here to talk business or to sell my body?"

Rachel’s mind was still on areas of improvement in the proposal; she was mumbling to herself about ways to cut the cost of investment.

Tyler’s brows were furrowed, the light from the floor-to-ceiling windows reflecting off his face. He tapped his fingers against the table.

“Rachel!”

Rachel finally snapped back to attention, picking up from where they last left off.

“We’re here to talk business, but you should know better than I do why Anne wants to work with us. Is she here for the project? She’s here for you. The proposal is critical, but you’re even more critical. If you don’t make her happy, she can choose not to sign the contract, no matter how good the proposal is.”

Rachel’s perspective on the matter stood in stark contrast to Tyler’s.

Tyler was looking at it from an emotional angle, but Rachel was being rational about it. She had one goal in mind, and that was to secure the deal as quickly as possible. She had to resolve the crisis that Tyler’s company was facing right now.

Tyler drew nearer to her, casting a shadow over her. He reached out to pull a lock of her hair from behind her ear, his movement gentle yet firm.

“Must I use my good looks to prove my merits at work? Or do you not mind it one bit that I go out for drinks with her and allow her to have her way with me, or raise any demands of me? Are you totally alright with that?”

“You’re taking this too seriously,” Rachel said, instinctively avoiding his hot gaze. “Come on, you’re a man. It’s good enough that you don’t force yourself on women. How could a woman force herself on you?”

“Is that so?” Tyler chuckled, his warm breath tickling her blushing earlobes. “There is technically no difference between the desire a man has for a woman and the desire a woman has for a man.”

Rachel seemed to understand what Tyler meant. She looked at Tyler, taking note of his tense jawline. His watch peeked out from the edge of his sleeve, the glint reflecting off it resembling that within the depths of his eyes.

She finally started channeling her emotional side.

“We don’t have any other choice right now! All you can do is tread with caution. Anne isn’t even afraid of being taken advantage of by a man, but it feels like you’re guarding against a thief.”

“Am I any other man?” Tyler asked Rachel.

Rachel was stunned; she had no response to Tyler’s question, even after thinking it through. That seemed to be a fact.

Anne’s eyes were always filled with confidence whenever she looked at Tyler.

Rachel didn’t want to hear any more of his wisecracking and said seriously, “Alright, then. Based on your thoughts, what should we do now? Anne has already made it clear that she wants to meet you alone tonight.”

Tyler grabbed Rachel’s wrist, the pad of his thumb rubbing against her soft skin. A storm was brewing in his eyes.

“So you’re willing to sell off your boyfriend for the sake of securing a business deal?”

Rachel shook his hand away. “Tyler, why are you acting like a child at a time like this? This is not the time for romance and love! You should give up on all your negative emotions and think about how to clinch this deal with Anne.”

Tyler smirked at the look in Rachel’s eyes. “Fine. Since you want me to care more about the bigger picture, I’ll do as you say."

He took a step back and kept his distance from Rachel. She suddenly felt as though she could breathe again, but she could also sense that he was rather upset. He wasn’t being obvious about it, but she could somehow sense it.

However, she didn’t have much bandwidth right now to coax him. She was determined to clinch this deal.

“Get yourself ready, and I’ll reserve seats for you two at a bar. I’ll try to pick one that’s quiet and conducive to talking.”

“I’m fine either way."

This time around, Tyler didn’t turn her down. His lack of resistance surprised Rachel, who gave him another look.

Rachel retracted her gaze and searched for nearby bars on her phone. She eventually settled on a place called Bellefleur’s Bar, mainly because of its vintage ambience and furnishings. It even had a live band performing on the first floor, which may quell the tense atmosphere without being too loud.

Rachel immediately made a reservation. She excitedly showed Tyler her phone screen.

“Look, this place I chose for you two is perfect!”

In the past, Tyler would have pushed Rachel’s phone away and told her irritably to just decide on her own.

This time, however, his interest was piqued.

“Looks good, but you should reserve a private room instead. That would be quieter and easier for us to hear each other speak. Anne doesn’t like discussing work at noisy places.”

Tyler leaned toward Rachel’s phone, his hair accidentally brushing against her jaw. It tickled, and Rachel could even pick up the scent of his shampoo. It smelled pleasant and refreshing, a great match with his cool personality.

Rachel was slightly taken aback by how he mentioned Anne’s name and shot him another look. Why did his mood change so rapidly? He previously kept addressing Anne as Ms. Charlton, but now, he was calling her by name so intimately.

At that moment, Rachel felt an odd twinge in her heart.

Before she could identify what that feeling was, Tyler went on, “Also, order some snacks for us that will go well with alcohol. One more thing, get someone to decorate the private room. She likes something gentler in style…”

“Shall I buy some flowers to decorate the place? It might make her even happier.”

Rachel didn’t look pleased when she asked, but Tyler didn’t seem to notice, seemingly absorbed in trying to please Anne instead.

“Sure, do as you deem fit. You’re a woman, so you probably understand Anne better than I do.”

With that, he removed his jacket and made a move to lie down on the bed, leaving Rachel stunned where she was.

He suddenly called out to her, “Come here and sing me a song.”

Rachel shrugged, feeling helpless, but she went in anyway. Coaxing Tyler to sleep was her job, too.

As she sang for Tyler, she started falling asleep.

Tyler’s eyes were closed when Rachel stopped singing. He opened his eyes and looked up to see the fatigue etched on her face. His heart ached as he reached out to gently caress her cheek.

“When will you ever understand my heart, woman?”

He was starting to wonder whether he was paying her to coax him to sleep or to coax herself to sleep.

Why was she always falling asleep before he did?

At eight o’clock at night, Rachel was awoken by her alarm. She opened her eyes and sat bolt upright on the bed when a thought came to mind.

“Oh no!” She hurriedly looked at her phone, her eyes widening. “It’s already eight!”

Tyler and Anne’s date was scheduled for 7:40 pm.

She looked around her and realized that Tyler was no longer on the bed. Rachel patted her forehead in frustration.

She really had to hand it to herself. Why did she always manage to coax herself to sleep when she was supposed to coax him to sleep instead?

She pulled the covers aside and looked around for Tyler in vain.

Where did he go? Did he make a run for it just to avoid going to the bar with Anne?