Chapter 124

Her wildly pounding heart came to an abrupt stop, like someone had injected her with a shot of ice-cold calm. From head to toe, silence took over. There was no point overthinking. She wasn’t on the clock right now—had every right to pretend she didn’t see or hear a thing. Julian slowly turned his head toward Theresa Butler. His brows were drawn together under a gloomy shadow, totally different from the polite and composed man she’d met on the blind date. Now he looked like he was dipped in frost. “Miss Butler.” “Nice to see you again.” Theresa noticed the chill on his face but still tried to stay upbeat, thinking maybe if she was warm enough, he’d ease up. But Julian remained ice cold. He gave the faintest nod—zero enthusiasm—then turned his head back again. Not a word of small talk. Not even a basic “please, sit.” He just left her standing. Theresa froze in place, totally embarrassed. She couldn’t bring herself to leave, but staying felt even worse. The guy clearly had no intention of