?Chapter 698:


    Steven hadn’t expected to see the girl he liked either. But the moment he did, he lit up. “Ms. Patel,e in! Ste’s just in the kitchen.”


    Without giving her a chance to object, he gently took her arm and guided her inside, shutting the door behind her with a quiet thud, almost like he was worried she might change her mind and leave.


    Josie sighed and headed for the kitchen.


    The smell of stew filled the air, and Ste already had everything set out. The ingredients were prepped and ready to cook.


    “Stel, what’s Steven doing here?” Josie asked as soon as she stepped in, clearly puzzled by his sudden appearance.


    Ste nced at her and said calmly, “Apparently someone told him I was a great cook, and he just had to try it for himself. I couldn’t say no.”


    Josie raised an eyebrow. “And who exactly told him that?”


    Ste looked directly at Josie. “He said it was you.”


    Josie’s hand mmed against the counter. “What? That’s a load of crap!”


    Ste gave a small nod. “I thought so too. That’s why I invited you, toe hear it from him directly.”


    That’s when it hit Josie—Ste had yed her cards well. If she hadn’t been invited over to rify things, a misunderstanding like this might have snowballed and hurt their friendship down the line. The thought of a guying between them made Josie’s blood boil.


    As she turned to leave the kitchen, her eyes suddenlynded on Ste’s wrist and forearm. “Hey, what happened to your arm?”


    Ste nced down casually. “Oh, just a burn. It looks worse than it is because of the bandage.”


    She had thought about taking it off earlier, but since a nurse at the hospital had wrapped it so carefully to prevent infection, she decided to leave it on.


    “How did you burn yourself?”


    Josie hadn’t heard anything about it until now. Her heart sank a little. Ste always had this habit of quietly dealing with everything on her own. And that thought frustrated her more than anything.


    Ste said, “I spilled some hot water at the institute.”


    Josie shot Ste a look—she wasn’t buying it.


    Ste was always careful. The chances of her spilling water were slim. And of all ces for it tond—on her? Yeah, no.


    She worked in research, designed jewelry, painted—everything she did required precision. She wasn’t some careless klutz like Sharon.


    “Stel, you seriously expect me to buy that?”<fnef04> Checktest chapters at findnovel</fnef04>


    Ste’s grip on the spat tightened briefly before she sighed and said, “It was Nina Carter, but it was an ident. No big deal, so I didn’t bother mentioning it.”


    The moment she mentioned Nina, Josie’s expression darkened. “She’s still at your institute?”


    After that giarism mess, Josie had assumed she’d be long gone. But no—turns out Nina was still around, still stirring up trouble. And now she’d even hurt Ste?


    “She’s got experiments to finish,” Ste said calmly. “It’s not practical to remove her right now.”


    Ste didn’t want personal grudges getting in the way of work.


    .


    .


    .