Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Smoldering

When Jessie Sterling saw Victor Morgan’s final reply, she collapsed onto her bed in a fit of laughter, tears welling up in her eyes.

[Jessie Sterling: That’s enough, that’s enough! You don’t need to look for any more pictures.]

She was worried that the next photo Victor Morgan sent would be yet another official ID picture. These photos weren’t much help as references for her chibi-style avatars!

Still, the work ID photo was usable enough. She could just imagine the rest of the details.

[Victor Morgan: Alright. Have you decided on the mascot we talked about last night?]

[Jessie Sterling: I have, but it’s a secret for now. I’ll show you once I’ve made it.]

Victor Morgan didn’t press her for more details. He would have liked to chat more with his fiancée, but Jessie’s mind was already racing. She wanted to finish the chibi drawings as soon as possible so she could send them to a factory for molding and processing. After sending Victor an “end of chat” sticker, she set down her phone and picked up her tablet.

On the other end, Victor Morgan looked at his phone’s chat screen and gave a helpless smile.

’His fiancée is a busy woman.’

Jessie was quick when drawing herself, but her pace slowed considerably when it was time to draw Victor Morgan.

She saw her own face in the mirror every day; she knew it by heart.

But she had never once had the chance to study Victor Morgan’s face up close.

Now, all she had were the two photos on her phone.

For most people, their ID photos are an embarrassing part of their past. But Victor Morgan’s ID photo didn’t look all that different from his professional headshot for work.

The man had a prominent brow bone, which naturally cast a shadow over his deep-set eyes.

The peaks of his brows were sharp, the tails arching toward his temples. His eyes were somewhat narrow, and because they lacked a certain warmth, they appeared a little cold and detached.

Capturing a person’s essence in a chibi drawing wasn’t easy. Jessie found herself studying the photos over and over again.

When she finally put pen to tablet, however, she drew him in one smooth, nearly uninterrupted motion.

She chuckled as the sharp, chiseled jawline from the ID photo transformed under her stylus into a round, chubby, bun-like face.

She didn’t know what kind of suit Victor Morgan would wear for the wedding, but most suits were pretty similar. So, she drew two versions based on her imagination.

In one version, Victor wore a standard suit; in the other, he wore a more elegant tailcoat.

Once she was done, Jessie leaned back against her headboard and couldn’t help but yawn.

A glance at the time showed it was nearly midnight.

She thought for a moment, then decided to send the drawings to Victor Morgan anyway.

[Jessie Sterling: Ta-da! What do you think? Our wedding mascots?]

She sent over the drawings of herself and Victor Morgan.

Jessie didn’t know if Victor Morgan was asleep yet. In any case, after sending the message, she placed her tablet and stylus on the nightstand and got ready for bed.

But just as she did, her phone screen lit up.

[Victor Morgan: They look great.]

[Victor Morgan: You’re very talented.]

Victor Morgan hadn’t expected the wedding mascots Jessie came up with to be chibi versions of them in their wedding attire.

Looking at the adorable little figure in the poofy, sparkly wedding dress, an image of Jessie Sterling’s own charming face instantly popped into Victor Morgan’s mind.

’Cute,’

he thought.

[Victor Morgan: Can I use these images?]

[Jessie Sterling: Of course.]

’Of course they’re for you to use. Why else would I have sent them?’

But before she could send that message, Jessie saw the look of her chat window with Victor Morgan suddenly change—

His profile picture on the left, which had been the Morgan Group’s logo of two overlapping ’M’s, was now the chibi drawing of her in a wedding dress.

Jessie: “???”

Jessie had been feeling sleepy, but the moment she saw that Victor Morgan had suddenly changed his profile picture, she was instantly wide awake. She even shot up in bed.

[Jessie Sterling: What the hell?!]

As she frantically typed out those three words, Jessie felt a layer of sticky sweat break out all over her body.

She touched the back of her hand to her cheek and felt it burning.

[Victor Morgan: Hm? I can’t use it?]

In his penthouse apartment in Aethelburg, Victor Morgan stood by the window dressed in a set of dark blue loungewear. The corner of his mouth curled up as he typed.

Jessie: “…”

’Of course he can use it, but I never would’ve imagined someone like Victor Morgan would use such a flamboyant profile picture!’

’The picture doesn’t match his personality at all…’

[Victor Morgan: I think it looks rather nice.]

Jessie hadn’t even figured out how to respond to his last message when another one popped up. She face-planted into her soft, fragrant pillow with a muffled groan, her entire body flushing red.

’What is with this man!’

’What does he mean, “it looks rather nice”?’

’What exactly is he complimenting?’

Jessie’s mind was buzzing.

[Jessie Sterling: Is this… just your personal account?]

A personal account would only be known to family and a few close friends. If that was the case, Jessie figured she could accept it.

’After all, we can just treat it as a matching couple’s icon!’

’Although, she still felt the words “matching icons” had no business being associated with a man like Victor Morgan.’

[Victor Morgan: No. I only have one account.]

Jessie: “…”

[Jessie Sterling: Is that really okay?]

[Victor Morgan: Hm? What’s the problem? Copyright? Didn’t I already get permission from the artist herself?]

The artist herself: “…”

[Jessie Sterling: Weren’t you using the Morgan Group’s logo as your profile picture before? If you suddenly change it to this, people will think your account was hacked…]

[Victor Morgan: They won’t. The invitations have already been sent out. I used the company logo before because I was unmarried. Things are different now.]

Jessie felt like she couldn’t continue the conversation. The “old man’s” deadpan seriousness was making her face burn hotter and hotter.

Unaware that he had just been branded with the two-word label “old man,” Victor Morgan slept very soundly that night.

The next morning, just as Jessie had expected, everyone who had Victor Morgan’s contact info did a double-take when they saw President Morgan’s new profile picture. They thought they were looking at the wrong account.

[Keegan Sanders: Sir? Is that you?]

Keegan Sanders had gotten up early to report on his work. He glanced instinctively at the pinned chat at the top of his list, clicked on it in confusion, backed out, and then clicked on it again. Even after confirming it was the right person, he still wasn’t entirely sure, and sent a tentative message.

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