Mr. CEO's Substitute Bride-Chapter 1075 - 1071: The Producer and the Boss Compete for Her Affection
In the recording studio, a few people gathered together for discussions. Since Beatrice Hargrave was young and easygoing, everyone cared for her, especially Alexander Zimmerman, who was not as stern or impatient with her as he had been with previous singers.
He instructed the assistant to go out and buy fast food, specifically asking for a hot drink and chicken wings.
When the assistant returned with the midnight snack, Alexander Zimmerman handed Beatrice a cup of hot drink and a portion of fried chicken wings, while the rest of them each received a boxed meal.
The other staff members laughed, accusing him of favoritism, wondering if he had any special intentions toward Beatrice...
One couldn’t blame his colleagues for teasing him like this. It was because Alexander Zimmerman had a peculiar temperament. It was well known that talented people often had big tempers, and Alexander was no exception.
In the past, during song recordings, even a small mistake from the singer would lead to his stone-faced reprimand, and in serious cases, he would angrily scold them. However, towards Beatrice, when she sang off-key or used incorrect techniques, he not only refrained from losing his temper but also personally demonstrated and explained how to sing a lyric for a better effect...
Alexander Zimmerman’s patience astonished his colleagues in the recording studio, prompting them to joke, saying, if a young girl is cute, she gets better treatment.
But Alexander Zimmerman did not justify himself. When his colleagues spoke like this, he merely gave them a cold glance, then turned back to continue explaining to Beatrice.
Nicholas Croft walked into the recording studio while a few colleagues were gathered around Alexander Zimmerman joking.
...Hey genius, are you taking special care of little Beatrice because you have some feelings for her?
...Exactly, exactly, just spill it, don’t act like you’re silent...
Beatrice Hargrave hugged a bucket of chicken wings, sitting in the corner, sipping her hot drink, pretending not to hear.
"Ahem!" After entering, Nicholas Croft deliberately coughed, and only then did a few people notice his presence, and they quickly laughed, saying, "Director Croft’s here, why haven’t you rested yet at this late hour?"
"No worries, just came to check how the recording’s going," Nicholas Croft said casually, sitting in a chair brought by the staff, and glanced at the corner, where Beatrice was watching him silently while continuing to munch on her chicken wings.
"Director Croft, it’s only the first day, there’s no way it would be so quick,"
"Exactly, Beatrice is entering the recording studio for the first time, there’s still a lot she doesn’t understand. Tonight, it’s likely going to be an all-nighter..."
Right after the staff spoke, Nicholas Croft began, "Let’s call it a night, Beatrice’s mother called earlier. I’ll take her home first. We can continue tomorrow."
Upon saying that, he got up and waved at Beatrice, "Come on, I’ll take you home."
Upon hearing she had to go home, Beatrice reluctantly got up, set her hot drink and chicken wings down, and walked toward Nicholas Croft. Inside, she would rather stay and pull an all-nighter here than return to that home.
Upon hearing Nicholas Croft say no more recording tonight, Alexander Zimmerman abruptly threw his chopsticks onto the table, then got up and went into the recording room. Though he said nothing, everyone could see the musical genius was unhappy.
The atmosphere turned a bit awkward; holding their meals, the few people looked uneasy, while Nicholas Croft casually glanced at Alexander Zimmerman’s back without reaction, grabbing Beatrice’s wrist and striding outside as she approached.
After Nicholas Croft left, the room began bubbling over, and one person commented, "Hey, did you see, our big producer is fighting over a girl with the boss!"
Another took a glance inside and said, "Don’t make baseless comments, Alexander loves talent. We’re about to finish recording a song, abruptly interrupting would upset anyone," especially someone as meticulous and serious about work as Alexander.
"There’s more to it..." said the previous person, turning to look inside the recording room, seeing through the glass that Alexander was sulking, adjusting the equipment inside.
...
Following Nicholas Croft out of the recording studio, Beatrice turned her head to look at the man with a tight jaw, and curiously asked, "Uncle, why don’t you let me keep working?"
"Aren’t you tired?" Nicholas Croft turned his handsome face over, his gaze landing on Beatrice’s face, meeting her fair and clean little face, his facial lines involuntarily softening.
Beatrice shook her head, "Not tired, I really like staying in the recording studio,"
"But uncle’s tired, uncle needs to rest."
Beatrice didn’t understand what his need to rest had to do with her, creasing her brows in confusion, "You can go rest, you don’t need to supervise here."
Amused by Beatrice’s naive words, Nicholas Croft stopped walking, raised a hand to her cheek, and gently asked, "Beatrice, do you want uncle to go home alone?"
Beatrice...
Pressed her lips together in hesitation, she wanted to keep recording not just out of curiosity, but more so because she didn’t want to return to that home. Yet, Uncle Nicholas specifically came to pick her up, she couldn’t refuse, sighing, "Alright."
"Little one, feeling so unwilling just because uncle’s taking you home to rest?" Nicholas Croft amusingly messed up Beatrice’s hair, and she suddenly reacted, blinking and asking, "Uncle, are you taking me back to your home?"
"What do you think?" Nicholas Croft replied with a helpless chuckle. Upon hearing his response, Beatrice proactively opened the passenger door and hopped in, fastening her seatbelt while urging, "Uncle, hurry and drive, I’m really tired."
Nicholas Croft...
Shook his head in mild exasperation, walked around the car’s front, opened the driver’s seat door, and sat down.
Beatrice sat in the front passenger seat, hands clasped in front of her as she stared ahead, lips tightly pressed but unable to hide her delight.
Before starting the engine, Nicholas Croft glanced over, a faint smile on his lips, mind lost in thought. This was the difference between Beatrice and Sophie Foster; the shy Beatrice was clearly happy and expectant, yet striving to conceal it. If it were Sophie Foster working this late and he came to pick her up, she’d surely be eagerly hanging on him, kissing him repeatedly...
"Uncle, why haven’t we gone yet?" Seeing Nicholas Croft still hadn’t started driving, Beatrice turned and asked in confusion, and he smiled, "Hmm, working on it."
Returning to the villa was half an hour later; well aware of Beatrice’s reserved nature, Nicholas Croft didn’t dare be too direct, fearing he’d frighten her. Though he very much wanted them to bathe together, he decided to seek her opinion first.
"Beatrice, do you want to take a bath together with uncle?"
Beatrice bit her lower lip in a shy manner, shaking her head, while Nicholas Croft sighed and disappointedly headed towards the bathroom.
While showering, he prepared hot water for Beatrice. Once the bathtub was nearly full, he wrapped himself in a towel and emerged, towel in hand as he exited the bathroom, wiping his short hair, the towel loosely wrapped around his waist, revealing a portion of thick body hair.
Sophie Foster used to love the way he looked wrapped in a towel, often praised him for looking slim in attire but muscular out of it. Each time he emerged shirtless from the bathroom, she would eagerly tumble him onto the bed, her small hand clutching his chest muscles, both squeezing and rubbing, while her mouth busied itself across his chest and abs.
