Harem Investment System: Getting Money And Women-Chapter 180: Chaffeur?

He could have pressed her on it.

But he didn't.

Instead, he simply smirked again, leaning back slightly on his hands. "Alright. If you say so."

Riley puffed her cheeks slightly, clearly annoyed at his response. But she didn't argue.

Silence stretched between them for a few moments before she finally cleared her throat. "You — uh —you're not eating?" she asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Ethan glanced at the untouched sandwich sitting beside him. "Eh, I'll eat in a bit."

Riley frowned. "You should eat now. We still have a long way to go before the next break."

He huffed a laugh. "Yes, ma'am," he said, reaching for the sandwich.

He took a slow bite, watching as Riley pretended to be very interested in the contents of her lunchbox.

It was kind of amusing, really.

Who would have thought that Riley — the no-nonsense, always-professional site worker who liked teasing him — would get this flustered over a little eye contact?

Whatever had her distracted, he had a feeling it had something to do with last night.

The dinner, maybe?

Ethan chewed thoughtfully, his gaze drifting back up to the sky.

Riley poked at the rice in her lunchbox with her fork, her mind racing as she searched for something — anything — to say.

It was painfully obvious that she had been acting off all morning, and the last thing she wanted was for Ethan to get the wrong idea.

He had already noticed her distraction, had called her out on it, and now, as she sat a short distance from him, she could feel his gaze flickering toward her every now and then, as if he was waiting for her to slip up again.

She refused to let that happen.

Taking a steady breath, she forced a casual tone into her voice. "So… how's the sandwich?"

Ethan, who had just taken another slow bite, raised an eyebrow at her sudden attempt at conversation. He chewed thoughtfully before answering, "Not bad. Bit dry, though."

Ethan leaned back slightly, his hands resting behind him as he studied her. "You feeling alright now?"

Riley's breath hitched slightly. She kept her eyes glued to her lunchbox, pretending to be extremely focused on picking up a piece of carrot.

"Yeah. Just… a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Hm."

That hm made her nervous.

She could tell he didn't fully believe her, but he wasn't pushing either.

Instead, Ethan took another bite of his sandwich and let the silence stretch between them again.

Riley exhaled softly. She needed to keep this conversation going, otherwise, she'd start overthinking again.

'And if I overthink, I'll just get flustered all over again.'

"So," she said, forcing a casual tone, "did you sleep well?"

Ethan let out a short laugh. "Aside from waking up in just a towel? Yeah."

Riley choked on her drink. "What?"

Ethan grinned at her reaction, obviously entertained. "Yeah. Went to bed completely exhausted. Woke up, realized I forgot to put on clothes. Not my proudest moment."

Riley pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to burst out laughing. "You — what? You actually fell asleep like that?"

"Yep."

Riley shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "You really are something else."

Ethan smirked. "I try."

She could feel his gaze lingering on her again, and she refused to make eye contact.

Instead, she busied herself with finishing her food, acting like the grains of rice in her lunchbox were the most fascinating things in the world.

Ethan let her have her silence for a while, but after a few moments, he stretched and spoke again. "You know, if something's bothering you, you can talk about it."

Her fingers tightened slightly around her fork.

It was such a simple statement, but the way he said it — low, casual, but still attentive — made something twist in her stomach.

She forced herself to chuckle. "I told you, I'm fine."

Ethan hummed again. That same knowing hm from earlier. The one that made her nervous.

But thankfully, before he could say anything else, the foreman clapped his hands together, calling everyone back to work.

Riley nearly sighed in relief.

"Guess break's over," Ethan said, standing up and stretching.

Riley nodded quickly, stuffing the last of her food into her mouth and hopping up to her feet. "Yep! Let's get back to it!"

#####

By the time the workday wrapped up, the sun had already begun its slow descent, painting the sky in hues of soft orange and deep purple.

The workers stretched their tired limbs, wiping sweat from their brows as they packed up the tools and secured the materials for the next day's work.

Riley exhaled, looking down at herself with a grimace. She was dirtier than she had wanted to be.

Her clothes were stained with mud, dust clung stubbornly to her sleeves, and there was even a stray smudge across her cheek.

It was one thing to get dirty while working, but this? This was downright embarrassing.

She glanced toward Ethan, who, despite helping with some of the heavy lifting, had only a few patches of dust on his hoodie and jeans.

He still looked presentable — annoyingly so. Meanwhile, she looked like she had wrestled with the earth itself and lost.

Riley clenched her fists, biting her lip as she watched Ethan dust off his hands and make his way toward his car.

He was already preparing to leave. If she let him go now, she would lose her chance.

Before she could second-guess herself, she took a deep breath, pushed down her nerves, and quickly stepped toward him.

"Um — Ethan!" she called out.

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Ethan stopped just before reaching his car, turning to face her with a raised brow. "Yeah?"

She swallowed. "Do you... want to go for dinner again today?"

The words tumbled out faster than she intended, her voice laced with a nervous edge.

For a brief moment, Ethan just looked at her. Then, with an easy shrug, he said, "I don't mind."

Relief flooded her, but it was quickly replaced by hesitation.

She shifted her weight, glancing down at her mud-streaked clothes. "Actually… can I ask for a favor first?"

Ethan leaned against his car, arms crossed, clearly amused. "That depends. What kind of favor?"

Riley clenched the hem of her shirt, feeling the grime against her fingers. "Could you, um… take me home first so I can change? I don't want to go out looking like this."

She motioned to her disheveled state, her face burning slightly at the admission.

Ethan's smirk widened. "So, what you're saying is… you want me to chauffeur you around?"

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "You make it sound so dramatic."

"It is dramatic. You're making me go out of my way because you decided to roll in the mud." His tone was teasing, but his eyes held amusement.

"I did not roll in the mud!" Riley huffed.