His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 175: New Neighbor

** Harper **

They did end up making great use of the rest of the night, including trying out the swivel chair. The acrobatic experience was so eye-opening that Harper decided she simply had to recreate the scene later with a dedicated Chapter of her web novel.

Apparently, Eli agreed with her thoroughly impressed assessment, because the same pattern repeated itself when they made even better use of the next evening ... and the news about the weekend cruise completely escaped Harper’s mind, until she packed her daypack and got ready for the mini trip on Saturday.

The realization that she was going to spend the next thirty-six hours in a completely different type of place finally hit her as their van arrived at the dock for an early morning boarding.

"Wow, this must be the most gorgeous harbor I’ve ever seen!" Lindsey exclaimed as soon as they climbed out of their seats. "Look at those mountains on the coast! The ocean waves and the sailboats! This is truly my idea of a postcard view."

Harper squinted against the bright sun as she followed her coworkers down the checkin line. The winds were indeed strong today — easy to imagine why the original cruise route was canceled — and the high waves gave the coast an utterly different vibe from the romantic beach at sunset a few days ago. The open ocean was vast and full of life, dotted with sailboats, jet skis, and cruise ships riding the emerald water.

One of those ships would be the one to take her away from the resort and the presidential suite for a whole weekend ...

"Ah, and it’s truly my idea of a perfect cruise!" Wallace chimed in after Lindsey. "That ship over there is ours, isn’t it? She’s so beautiful! Look at those soft curves and the spotless creamy white color. A perfect size too — just enough to fit all of us without feeling too tight!"

... Maybe it was the lingering effect of the web novel drama, but Harper thought that the comment came off quite a bit ... creepy?

She kept that judgment to herself, staying in a low profile as she checked in and boarded the ship.

Wallace wasn’t far off in his assessment though. The ship was beautiful indeed, designed in an elegant modern style and trimmed in sleek shades of white and beige. It wasn’t one of those huge cruises with a whole amusement park built in, but the modest size was perfect for a weekend trip, roomy without sacrificing the air of privacy. Finely decorated details filled every corner of the hallways and salons, exuding an unmistakable vibe of exclusiveness.

All of which screamed "Eli’s signature choice", Harper thought with a smile as she made her way toward her room.

The guest cabins were on the middle deck, aligned conveniently so that each one had its own window offering ocean views. Harper followed the map, arriving at an end unit, and she was just starting to wonder whether she got assigned a suite near Eli’s again when she heard giggling chatters coming from the other end of the hallway.

"Pretty sure I saw the vice president from Sterling Trust go in that room," said a young woman’s voice. "Can you believe it? He’s our next door neighbor!"

"For real?" another female voice gasped. "That would truly make it an amazing sightseeing weekend! Did he say hi to you?"

"Nah, I don’t think he recognized me from the earlier meetings ... But there’s time. I’m sure we can ’conveniently’ run into him all the time on this cruise, and then he’ll easily recognize us next week when it’s our turn for presentations!"

Harper paused over the threshold of her door, turning to the direction where that conversation came from.

It was two Miracles employees around her age, one of which she recognized to be from the finance department. Both girls were darting longing looks at a certain cabin door at the far end of the deck, and the expression on their faces seemed suspiciously like ... a paparazzi fangirl type of look?

Harper didn’t particularly like such a scene.

"Do you think we should just wait here until he comes out? Not sure how long that would take though ..." the first girl continued. Neither of the two had noticed the presence of a coworker behind them, as their eyes were too busily locked on the door that separated them from the handsome vice president.

"Why, that’s not a big deal. We can just pretend to be enjoying the view of the harbor here while we wait," the other girl offered. "No one can blame us from being so distracted by the beautiful view at the end of the hallway—"

She turned to gesture at the end of the hallway where Harper was standing, and then both fangirls froze when they realized they weren’t alone.

"..." Harper returned a slightly awkward smile. Ugh, should she try to pretend that she was simply enjoying the "beautiful view at the end of the hallway" as well? Or—

The sound of a short creak interrupted the uncomfortable silence descending upon them. The door that was the center of everyone’s attention opened, and the two girls beside it gasped as Eli emerged from within. One of them looked so excited that she almost squeaked, and the other quickly stepped forward, clearly ready to start the conversation that had been well prepared for the moment.

But Eli was facing Harper’s direction, and he was already smiling as soon as his eyes landed on her. "You’re here!" He beamed with unmistakable joy before he noticed the room she was still standing in front of. "Oh, crap. I forgot to remind Justin about your room assignment ... Do you mind waiting a second? I’ll tell him to rearrange the suites next to mine, it won’t take long."

"..."

Harper didn’t need to look to see that the faces of the other two girls must’ve turned green at the words — after all the excited thrill of being assigned the most "convenient" room, who would’ve thought that this would be the first thing they’d hear when Eli made his appearance?