The Heiress They Lost Came Back Overpowered
Chapter 16 - 15: The Little Fox Becomes a Little Hedgehog

Chapter 16: Chapter 15: The Little Fox Becomes a Little Hedgehog

As soon as she entered the Grant Corporation, the receptionist walked over.

"Miss Lowell, President Grant is still in a meeting. He said that when you arrived, you could go straight to his office."

Yvonne Lowell paused. "You know who I am?"

"Mhm, Brother Harrison is my current favorite! I saw his post as soon as it went up. You’re gorgeous in person!"

She smiled at the receptionist. "Thank you, you’re very pretty too. It’s a shame my second brother is out for a media appearance today. When he gets back, I’ll snag some signed photos from him for you."

"AAAAHHH! Thank you, Miss Lowell! This is President Grant’s private elevator. It goes straight to the top floor, so you can head right on up." The receptionist led her to the elevator and swiped a keycard for her.

"Thanks for the trouble."

The receptionist’s smile widened. She was still waving as the elevator doors began to close. "It’s no trouble at all! Goodbye, Miss Lowell!"

’AAAAAHHH!! She’s so gorgeous!! How can anyone in the world actually look like that?!!! And she’s super polite, too!!’

The receptionist opened the work group chat. "Attention, everyone: Miss Lowell is on her way up! @President’s Secretarial Office"

’She’s kind of cute,’ Yvonne Lowell thought. ’Is the company culture at the Grants really this on point? I wonder if she’d be interested in jumping ship to Pluto.’

The elevator stopped on the 33rd floor, which Yvonne Lowell found strange. She had definitely pressed the button for the 60th.

When the doors opened, Leo Grant stepped inside.

Leo Grant hadn’t expected such a coincidence either. He was pleasantly surprised to run into her in the elevator.

"You’re here."

His special assistant, Silas Lynch, who was behind him, froze for a second before deciding not to enter. "Hello, Miss Lowell. Boss, I seem to have left a file in the conference room. I’ll head up in a bit."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow. ’He catches on quick.’

She turned to Leo Grant. "President Grant, don’t tell me you were watching the security feed, waiting to ambush me? Trying to stage a ’chance encounter’?"

"I really did just get out of a meeting. Otherwise, I would have come down to get you myself." Leo Grant leaned in slightly, taking the bag from her hand.

"Fine, I’ll believe you this time. But are you sure it’s a good idea to let me just waltz into the Grant Corporation? Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your company secrets?"

Leo Grant just smiled, completely unconcerned. "The Grant and Lowell Groups’ business sectors don’t overlap at all. Besides, would Director Lowell really be interested in the peanuts I have to offer?"

Yvonne Lowell actually lowered her gaze, pretending to be deep in thought. After a moment, she looked up, rising onto her tiptoes to get closer to him.

"Of course I’m interested. The Grants is a massive corporation. Even the crumbs that fall through your fingers would be enough for me to make a killing, don’t you think?"

Leo Grant lowered his head to look at her, the space between them shrinking. "You don’t have to steal it. I’d give it to you willingly."

Yvonne Lowell froze, not quite processing what he meant. Just as she was about to ask...

DING! The elevator doors opened.

The secretary waiting outside saw the scene and immediately wanted to turn and leave, covering his face. But that didn’t seem right either. So he just dropped his hands, bowed slightly, and said, "President Grant, Miss Lowell."

"Hello," Yvonne Lowell said, smiling at him.

The secretary’s face instantly turned bright red. ’Oh my god, save me. That smile is a critical hit!!’

Leo Grant shot him a displeased look. "Are you finished with your work? Looking to leave early?"

"No... President Grant..." ’But you told us not to be remiss in our welcome to Miss Lowell, didn’t you?’

"Then get back to work." He turned his head, his tone immediately softening as he spoke to Yvonne Lowell. "Let’s go to my office."

"Tsk, tsk. So strict, President Grant. Look how you scared the poor boy," Yvonne Lowell teased as she followed him toward his office.

The secretary silently cheered, ’Right?!’

"Ahem. Mistakes must be corrected," Leo Grant said, giving a small, deliberate cough.

Yvonne Lowell nodded with mock seriousness. "Oh? And here I thought President Grant was getting jealous. What a letdown."

With that, she strode ahead, leaving him behind.

Leo Grant shook his head with a helpless smile and followed.

As they passed the secretarial office, Yvonne Lowell glanced inside. ’Tsk, tsk. Nothing but men. Can someone really be that gynophobic? What species does that make me in his eyes, then?’

Once they were in his office, Leo Grant said, "Make yourself comfortable. I just need half an hour, I’ll be right with you."

"Hey, President Grant, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

"What species am I, in your eyes?" Yvonne Lowell was genuinely curious. ’Should I keep flirting with him or not?’

Leo Grant was stumped by her question. ’She’s my Little Marshmallow, but she’s also a little fox,’ he thought, but he didn’t dare say it out loud.

"You’re... human," he managed.

"I mean, in your eyes, am I a man or a woman? Or something in between? Neither man nor woman?" Yvonne Lowell tilted her head back to look up at him.

Leo Grant reached out a finger and gently pushed her forehead back. "What are you thinking? You’re a woman, of course."

"Then how come you’re not scared of me? Everyone says you’re terrified of women—that no woman can get within a meter of you."

In truth, Leo Grant had asked himself the same question.

’Back at Comet, he had recognized her at first glance and felt a desperate urge to get close to her. It was a strange feeling. Even with his germaphobia and fear of women, he had wanted to be near her, had even wiped her hands for her. He couldn’t figure it out. It can’t be because she kissed me when we were children, can it?’

Snapping out of his thoughts, he said, "I don’t know. Maybe you’re just special."

"Special how? Specially beautiful? Specially gorgeous? Or... you specially like me?" Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow, grabbing his tie and pulling him toward her.

Leo Grant’s fingers curled slightly, but he didn’t resist. "That depends on which answer you’d like to hear."

"Boring," Yvonne Lowell said with a pout, pushing him away. "Get to work."

Leo Grant found this amusing. ’The little fox has turned into a little hedgehog.’ He reached out and ruffled her hair. "I’ll be quick."

’Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever. Some people are a one-man army, but for you, I’m a one-woman zoo.’

Yvonne Lowell walked over to the sofa and sat down. Her eyes landed on the cigarettes and lighter on the coffee table, and she raised an eyebrow. ’This guy has good taste. He smokes the same brand as me.’

Seeing that he was engrossed in his documents, she went ahead and picked one up, sticking it between her lips and lighting it.

The flick of the lighter made Leo Grant look up. He saw her holding a cigarette between her fingers, smoke curling around her face and obscuring her features. For some reason, she suddenly seemed ethereal and fragile, as if she might vanish at any second.

His chest tightened. He nonchalantly walked over and sat down beside her. "Since when do you smoke?"

"Did you sign up for a training course when you first started smoking, President Grant?" Yvonne Lowell asked nonchalantly, exhaling a plume of smoke.

Leo Grant gave another helpless smile. He had probably smiled more in front of her in the last two days than he had in the entire past year.

’Getting roasted and still smiling this happily... My god, even he had to hand it to himself. What a glutton for punishment.’

’The well-behaved girl she was with her family, the ferocious girl who beat someone up at Comet, the quirky pixie she was with him, and now... this girl. Which one was the real her?’

’He had a gut feeling that being the secret boss of Pluto wasn’t Yvonne Lowell’s only identity. What on earth had she been through all these years?’