It was an odd question. Manager Crawford looked confused for a moment. "Okay from what?"


    "I heard you and Joshua were in a car ident," Ste exined. "And that it was serious, with casualties."


    Manager Crawford''s expression cleared. He gave a short, relievedugh. "Oh, that! Yeah, there was a pile-up. It was incredibly close. But Joshua''s reflexes saved us. He saw what was happening, swerved, and we mmed through the guardrail. Totaled the car, but we walked away from it with barely a scratch."


    Recalling the scene, a look of lingering fear crossed his face. "Thank God Joshua was there. If he hadn''t been, I don''t think I would''ve made it out alive."


    Ste asked, "Where is Joshua? How badly is he hurt?"


    "He''s still upstairs," Manager Crawford replied. "His injuries are a bit worse than mine, but nothing life-threatening."


    After getting Joshua''s room number, Ste took the elevator upstairs.


    ...


    Arriving at Joshua''s room, Ste knocked softly. From inside, a familiar, clear male voice answered, "Come in."


    Ste pushed the door open. Joshua was inside, straightening his clothes as if preparing to leave.


    When he saw Ste, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Star, what are you doing here?"


    "I heard about the ident," she said. "I came to check on you."


    "It''s just a few scrapes. Nothing serious."


    Ste''s gaze fell on the thick white gauze wrapped around his arm. "Joshua, how are you really? Does it hurt?"


    "A little injury like this is nothing to me," he replied.


    Seeing that his injuries did seem superficial, Ste finally allowed herself to rx a little.


    She nced at the closed door before asking in a low voice, "How did the ident happen? Do you think..." Her expression grew serious. "Was it Sellers?"


    Joshua saw the worry clouding her features and knew how stressed she''d beentely.


    He gave her an ambiguous answer. "It was probably just an ident. I doubt Sellers would want me dead."


    Sellers''s recent actions had been so targeted. Ste had assumed they were all aimed at her and hadn''t considered otherwise.


    She said to Joshua, "Let me take you home so you can rest."


    "Alright," Joshua agreed.


    They had just gotten into the car when Ste''s phone rang. It was Aicken, his voice tense. "Ms. his voice


    Cameron, the board is extremelet


    unhappy about you missing the meeting. Can youe backright away?"


    Ste knew that going back now wouldn''t make much difference. She paused. "I''m noting back yet. Don''t worry about things there for now. I''ll deal with fater tonight."


    After she hung up, Joshua looked at her. "You skipped the meeting?"


    "Yes," Ste said, starting the car. "It''s probably about those online rumors. Even if I


    went, it would just be the same arguments over and over. Pointless."


    Despite her words, Joshua was


    acutely aware that Ste had never missed a meeting before, big or


    small. A meeting at ch


    was crucial


    wher


    time like this she had


    dropped everything ande


    straight here.


    A brilliant light, like a shooting star, shed through the man''s deep eyes before vanishing.


    A faint smile touched Joshua''s lips. "It''s just a minor injury. Don''t let me interfere with your work. You should go back."