Chapter 3 Secret House

Seeing that many reporters crowded the area in front of Claudia's apartment, he wasn't sure if he would go inside. Just sticking out the head does not dare.

Dave didn't care, choosing to wait for the woman beside him to get off, and his job was done. As the night went on, Amsterdam became colder and colder. And sadly, Dave catches a cold quickly.

"Dude, you brought a lot of money or not?"

"My name is Dave, not Dude, Miss."

"Lend me a loan, please. I have to find a nearby hotel. There's no way I can break through that crowd!"

Even Claudia had opened her palms as if the man would be reluctant to loan her.

Dave did know how famous Claudia was now. His face often appears on the main cover of youth magazines-a woman who has a baby face and is adorable.

Stop! He is nothing and never will be.

"Get down! Hurry up, and I have to go home. Our business is done, Miss."

Dizzy, dealing with a famous woman, would end up like this. Pressed by journalists, lots of camera glare, also the same questions.

Dave had been through it enough and didn't want anything to do with the same woman again.

"You know that I can't stay here long, right?"

"Take me with you, Dude. Anywhere, I have no reason to face them."

Claudia's tears almost broke, either dramatic or factual. The woman is too good at acting in front of anyone; crying is not a drama that is difficult to endure.

Unable to bear Claudia's annoying whining, Dave chose to turn the car around, leave Claudia's apartment and head somewhere.

Claudia wondered where they were going. But that didn't happen because Dave was focused on the road.

Honestly, for him, Dave is super mysterious. Not much to say. Calm, look arrogant but quite considerate. Well, at least he didn't behave meanly to her.

They had arrived in front of the retro house, dark and as if surrounded by tuberose flowers rooted down. Fragrant.

"This is your house? Very unique."

However, Claudia hesitated. It's not because the place he went to was terrible or anything. It's just that he saw the appearance of Dave's house as if he couldn't believe that this man was rich.

Too small to wear a tuxedo worth under 100 million, let alone Dave driving a Rolls-Royce model car which costs almost 200 billion.

"Dude, you're some kind of Tarzan?"

"You mean?"

Claudia pointed at some of the plants with roots running across, covering the fence and all around it. It's good, just that it doesn't match Dave's frightening stature.

Choosing to go in and have a look, this house is only occupied by Dave when he wants to get away from the crowds, the pile of work at the company, get away from the meetings, and the hustle and bustle of the people in his life.

Booking a hotel seems more straightforward, and he has a lot of money. The problem is. Indeed, the people he meets later will be the same. They must have been kind enough to reveal that a special guest was staying at their hotel.

"Yeah, I see. This house has a lot of roots and leaves. It's nice, but it must be like living in a forest."

Dave chose to ignore Claudia's pouting about his home. He just wanted to rest in peace. The problem is, there is only one room and a bed.

It's also impossible for Dave to let his back ache sleeping on the floor. Dizzy, thinking about where to sleep, Dave looked at what was available in his kitchen. Not bad. At least Josh always obeyed to provide food and ground coffee stocks.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Of course. But you don't mean to trick me, do you? Yeah, just like in the movies. Men always give sleeping pills to guests as beautiful as me."

"Not interested, Miss. Thank you."

The more here, Claudia became more curious. Why is Dave so cold and picky, even though there are many men out there lining up to be able to sleep with Claudia?

Yeah, her past is so long, and to this day, Claudia still buries all the memories of that man.

"It's still hot, but I think your body will feel better after drinking this coffee."

Nodding slowly but surely, Claudia started sipping coffee that wasn't too strong. He spits out the coffee that had just touched his tongue, extraordinarily bitter.

"Dude, that's not good."

"It's traditional coffee, and it's got spices in it. At least your stomach will be fine. Have another drink."

How evil. Claudia, the best medicine for her pain is sleep. But because he appreciated Dave's hard work in making drinks for him, he gave up and forcibly swallowed the glass he tasted again.

It was over, then Claudia entered the room, which she believed was the bedroom. Spacious, not themed, just whitewashed, yes, everything is all white like a painting in a fairy tale book.

"Ah, how soft. Feels like I haven't slept in years."

Dave lay down, too, making Claudia startled and dodged. "Why are you here, Dude?"

"Then, where do you mean I sleep? Well, this place is suitable for me to sleep."

"But..?"

"Don't worry, all I need is sleep, Miss. Nothing else. Change your clothes, and there are lots of my casual clothes in the wardrobe. At least you can rest comfortably."

Claudia bit her lower lip, and she didn't even realize that Dave had changed into more human clothes. The man tilted his body, not caring about Claudia, who was still hesitating to lie down.

Finally, Claudia chose to open the wardrobe Dave pointed at, taking out an oversized shirt that could cover her body up to her thighs.

He went into the bathroom and hastily changed clothes. Dave seems to have fallen asleep. Is she too tired?

Now Claudia chose to lie down, keeping her distance by limiting roles between herself and Dave. Careful as if that guy would do anything with her.

"Goodnight, Dave," he said very slowly.

Though, Dave could still hear it. Yes, who can sleep in a bed with a woman? What's more, Dave didn't know Claudia. He only knew her name at a glance.

***

Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.

The sound made Claudia's ears sensitive enough to hear, like someone had awakened him on purpose.

"Gina, what are you doing with Jacob? It's so loud."

Again and again, Claudia finally chose to open her eyes and realized where she was. Claudia realized that neither Use nor Jacob was there.

"Where is the man?"

Again the knocking sound forced Claudia to walk and look for the source of the sound. Yes, there was a man who was busy chopping something it looked like vegetables.

"You will cook?"

"Isn't it too wasteful to ask something you can already guess?"

"I'm just asking."

"I don't like being asked."

Claudia shrugged, not caring about Dave's objections. He saw the man who now showed how good Dave was at cutting vegetables, chopping meat, and grinding spices. He felt like he was looking at the famous Chef before him.

His lips lifted slightly. Behind Dave's cold and unpredictable nature, the man seemed to have a warm and reconciling personality.