Dating the Bossy CEO Next Door
Chapter 36- Karl

Chapter 36: Chapter 36- Karl

For Morrison, desire was inevitable, yet he could only suppress it.

Reason always prevailed—he knew she wasn’t someone he should get involved with, so he never once crossed that line.

In his thirty-two years of life, this was the first time he had a relationship so clean and pure. Even he was surprised that he hadn’t broken up but instead held on for over half a year.

He didn’t even know why he persisted so long. Being with Lilian made Morrison feel an unprecedented ease.

She was simple-minded and asked for little. Perhaps because she had never lacked anything, her abundance shaped a mindset that never demanded too much from others—whether love or material things—because her heart was already full.

Their half-year together was uneventful, just simple and steady.

But every time he saw her blush from his teasing, he found it endlessly amusing. Watching her light up with joy over his small thoughtful gestures made him smile just as much.

Yes, of the two of them, he was the one who put in more effort. After all, he was the teacher. It was his role to teach her how a man should give romance and affection—and he was a master at it—so he often created little moments of romance for her.

Whenever that happened, she would beam like a child, her smile curving even her eyes.

Whenever he missed her, he’d call her up, steal a kiss, then let her go.

Over time, she got familiar with Nortonsean as well, though she often mixed up the two—especially Sean, who loved putting on glasses to pretend to be Norton and tease her. At first, Morrison was unaware, but once he found out, he sent Sean to oversee a project in the remote Northwest for a month. After that, Sean never dared to tease her again.

Sometimes, when he was in a good mood and work was light, he’d go to the finance department to find her—but he would wait hidden in the stairwell, watching as she nervously hurried inside, then scoop her up in a hug and steal a kiss. She would angrily warn him not to come there again, but the next time he’d threaten to just show up at finance and force her to give in.

He thought maybe it was this rare peace that made him keep dating her.

He had always assumed that passion in a relationship must involve physical intimacy, but now he realized that without that heated, passionate entanglement, this simple kind of love was just as captivating.

There’s a lyric that says: The best taste is the lingering taste.

He truly believed that.

New Year’s Eve.

Morrison went home to celebrate the New Year with his parents. Karl, who had originally promised to come home, postponed due to some academic research, saying he’d return sometime after the New Year—but no one knew exactly when.

Morrison’s Lady Tiffany was also alive and well, so she joined the family reunion.

Every year at this time was the hardest for Morrison, because not only did Linda pressure him to marry, but Lady Tiffany did too.

This year was no exception. As the New Year’s Eve dinner was winding down, Linda started her usual matchmaking remarks, but this time she nearly choked Morrison with what she said.

Linda glanced at him. Morrison knew it was coming, so he prepared to listen carefully. But then Linda asked,

"The reliable girlfriend you were seeing recently—did you break up?"

Morrison was speechless.

If his business sense wasn’t so much like Linda’s, he might really doubt if she was his biological mother.

Seeing Morrison’s speechless expression, Linda immediately understood he hadn’t broken up with the girl. She chuckled, switching tactics.

"So you haven’t broken up—meaning it’s been what, half a year now? Isn’t it about time you brought her home to meet us?"

Ever since that incident with the chef buying groceries tipped Linda off, Morrison had taken over all the shopping himself just to keep her off his trail. He never mentioned the girl in front of Linda again, and no matter how many subtle hints or not-so-subtle prods she threw at him, he parried them all with the ease of a seasoned diplomat. Eventually, Linda gave up—at least on him—and turned her matchmaking ambitions toward her younger son.

The older one’s hopeless. Time to move on.

The younger one was obedient. At twenty-seven, he’d be coming back to the country soon. If she lined up a decent match for him, they could start dating, marry by the end of the year, and by next year, she could finally hold a grandchild in her arms.

That was the plan.

After years of getting nowhere with her eldest, Linda had practically lost hope. So when she asked Morrison to bring the girl home, it was more out of habit than real expectation.

But then Lady Tiffany, Morrison’s grandmother, chimed in as well.

"Exactly! Morrison, if you think she’s the one, bring her back already. Once we’ve met her, we can start planning the wedding!"

She started going on about how at his age, he should already have children, how she and Lord Tiffany were dreaming of four generations under one roof...

But Morrison’s thoughts had already drifted to a certain lovely young lady. What was she doing now? Ever since the office closed for the New Year, he hadn’t seen her once.

Before he realized it, he was speaking out loud.

"I’ll bring her back after the holiday," he said casually. "Pick a date. I’ll bring her home."

The entire table went dead silent.

Everyone stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

This was the man who, in all these years, had never brought a single girlfriend home—not even once. His parents only ever heard about his love life from the tabloids. Linda had tried asking him to introduce someone before, but he always brushed it off with a frown and a sharp refusal.

He’d say things like: "I’m not getting married, so what’s the point of bringing someone home?"

So now, for him to agree so easily—everyone was in shock.

Even Morrison himself was surprised by the words coming out of his own mouth. But then he chuckled and added,

"I must be drunk. Don’t mind me—I was just talking nonsense."

Yeah... probably the alcohol talking.

Or maybe not.

Linda slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet.

"No way! A real man keeps his word!"

Even Mr. Mo and the two elders of the Mo family backed her up, voicing their disapproval at Morrison trying to take his words back.

Morrison waved it off half-heartedly, trying to weasel his way out.

"Let’s talk about it after the New Year, okay?"

He hurried to change the subject. "Come on, let’s eat. Not bad, huh? My cooking’s improved, right?"

After all, tonight’s entire New Year’s Eve feast had been prepared by Morrison himself.

Linda sat back down with a snort.

"Hmph. Your cooking really has improved. I guess your girlfriend’s been eating well these past six months."

Morrison: "..."

No wonder she used to rule the business world—those sharp eyes could cut steel.

After dinner, Morrison wasted no time retreating to his room. The moment he shut the door behind him, he dialed Lilian’s number.

But on the other end of the line, the girl sounded distracted—her mind clearly elsewhere. No matter what he asked, her answers were either completely off or came with long, awkward pauses.

Morrison frowned.

"What’s wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"

He guessed it was probably because of Daniel and Tiffany’s impending divorce. It was likely her first New Year’s Eve without both parents under one roof—no doubt a hard pill to swallow for someone like her.

What he didn’t know was that Lilian was in a complete state of shock—still reeling from something Tiffany had dropped on her earlier.

Apparently, Tiffany wanted to set her up with Karl.

Yes, that Karl.

It had started casually enough—Tiffany had mentioned the idea while they were roasting a chicken together earlier. But then, during dinner, she brought it up again, this time with Dave also present, and Dave agreed. He said Karl, with his academic background and quiet personality, was very similar to Lilian. They were both calm, grounded, and close in age.

Just thinking about it, they all agreed, it sounded like a match made in heaven.

Lilian felt like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

If it were just her mother favoring Karl, she might still find a way to push back—but now even her big brother Dave was on board?

What was she supposed to do?

She was dating Morrison, for heaven’s sake.

Her mom and brother clearly thought the world of Karl. This arranged meetup wasn’t something she could wriggle out of.

But... dating the older brother in secret, while being pushed to go on a blind date with the younger brother?

What kind of twisted drama was this?

She’d tried to gently refuse her mother’s idea, but Tiffany had only smiled serenely and said:

"I know you young people don’t like these arranged introductions. Don’t feel pressured. I’m just suggesting the two of you meet. No one’s forcing anything. If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t. Just think of it as making a new friend."

"But... but I really don’t want to go..."

Her voice had wavered with protest, but Tiffany only sighed, her tone turning softer.

"Lilian, it was Linda who brought this up first. I can’t very well turn her down flat, can I? Just meet him, sweetheart. For my sake, alright?"

With her mother putting it like that, Lilian was at a complete loss.

She’d always been the obedient, well-mannered daughter—rarely defiant, almost never the type to upset her parents.

And to be fair, her parents had always respected her choices. Even when Dave had fiercely opposed her decision to major in accounting, their parents had backed her, letting her chart her own path.

So now, with her mom asking this of her, she really couldn’t say no.

She was miserable.

She hadn’t even dared to let her family know about her relationship with Morrison. She had no intention of telling them either—not anytime soon.

Yet now, out of nowhere, this whole Karl-blind-date scenario had been dumped on her.

Seriously, what kind of mess was this?