Chapter 56

"You wanted to crash here with me, remember?" Marcus suddenly leaned in close to Elaine's ear, voice low and teasing. "Forgot that already? How about we just sleep here tonight?" "No way!" Without thinking, Elaine shoved Marcus away. He stumbled back, clearly caught off guard, but didn't seem mad. Instead, he studied her expression carefully. "Marcus, what I meant was..." Elaine looked flustered, but still tried her best to explain. "If we really spend the night here, and the people at work find out... it's just got bad optics." "What's so 'bad' about it?" Marcus scoffed, eyes narrowing. "That a married couple shares a bed? Or is it worse if they find out we slept together? Or maybe it's..." "Okay, okay, you win!" Elaine couldn't let him keep going, she gave him an exaggerated thumbs-up in surrender. Marcus furrowed his brows. That smug compliance? Not exactly the reaction he was looking for. Suddenly, Elaine stepped up and poked his chest playfully, her voice sugary-sweet. "Babe~ this