"Don''t worry, Mr. Connolly," Joshua replied. "I''ve troubled you once; I won''t do it a second time." He then turned to Ste. "Star, from now on, I''ll let you know where I''m going. I promise not to interfere with your time with Mr. Connolly."


    Ste felt a strange awkwardness in his words, but before she could pinpoint why, Neville smoothly responded with a smile. "Well, I''d certainly appreciate that."


    "Don''t celebrate too soon, Mr. Connolly," Joshua said coolly. "As they say, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. And pridees before a fall."


    Ste found their conversation increasingly bizarre, but before she could dwell on it, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Abby.


    *Star, I''m safe for now. You can call me anytime if you need anything.*


    Ste had discussed Abby''s discovery by Hand with Antoney. She had been debating whether to tell Abby the truth. Antoney had advised against it. "It''s better not toplicate things. Abby can''t keep a secret, and Hand is no fool. The less she knows, the safer she''ll be."


    He had a point. But as her friend, Ste felt she had to warn Abby to be careful around Hand, lest she be sold out without even realizing it. She typed back a reply.


    *Abby, is now a good time to chat?*


    *Perfect timing!* Abby replied instantly. *Hehe, and congrattions on the sess of your n, Star!*


    Just then, Neville''s deep voice filled


    the car. "Certain tactics can be


    effective once or twice, but use them too often, and they just be annoying. Joshua, do you remember Rachel? She used to. make up excuses to call Haynes away all the time, and he grew tired of her theatrics long ago. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been so merciless when he found out the truth."


    "Ipletely agree with you, Mr. Connolly," Joshua said with a lightugh. "Some tricks should only be used once. Any more than that, and it just bes a guilt trip."


    With her attention glued to her phone as she texted Abby, Ste barely registered a word of their talk.<fn95ee> Fresh chapters posted on find{n}ovel</fn95ee>


    Soon, Neville pulled up to the hospital. "Star, I''ll pick you up after work tomorrow," he said before she got out.


    Ste nodded. "Okay."


    After saying their goodbyes, Neville drove off. Joshua watched the car disappear into the night, an inscrutable light in his dark eyes.


    ***


    The next day, Neville picked Ste up


    and took her to the Connolly


    residence. Throughout the evening, her phone remained silent. Even after dinner, not a single call came through Neville found it surprising. As a man, he could read the intentions of another. He had to


    admit, Joshua had the advantage of proximity and opportunity. He hadn''t realized that in the short time he''d been away, Joshua had be so important to Ste.


    From their conversation the


    previous night, Neville knew Joshua wouldn''t remain passive. Just as he himself wouldn''t miss a chance to spend time with Stenoshua would surely try tontervene if he puffed another stunt while she was with him, Ste would eventually catch on. She had learned that lesson the hard way with Rachel and


    wouldn''t tolerate that kind of


    behavior.