Chapter
“It’s me. Come over for a minute.” Josh’s voice came through the phone, catching me off guard. I should’ve known it was him, but somehow I hadn’t expected it.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Yes,” He responded with a single word before hanging up.
He wad the lead on the lighting setup. I definitely couldn’t afford to upset him.
I quickly threw on a jacket over my sleepwear and made my way to his room. I knocked on the door, and Josh opened it. His eyes immediatelynded on my still-damp hair, and I noticed his throat move as he swallowed.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked.
The question took me by surprise. “What?”
His gaze dropped to my waist, and I instantly understood what he meant.
For some reason, my heart skipped a beat. “Oh, it’s fine.”
“Wait here,” he said, turning away and leaving me standing in the doorway.
I looked past him and saw hisptop on the desk. It looked like he had already gotten to work while I was in the shower. Impressive, I had to admit-his dedication was something I could respect.
Josh walked back toward me, his tall figure blocking my view of the room. I quickly looked away and back at him.
He was still wearing the same clothes as before, but now his T-shirt was tucked into his waistband, which made his legs look even longer. Honestly, he looked like a model walking down a runway.
It wasn’t hard to understand why Myra was so smitten with him. After all, I thought, ‘Who doesn’t like a good-looking guy?’
He handed me a small box of ointment. “Put this on your bruise. It’ll help with the swelling.”
I took it from him. “Thanks.”
“If it still hurts too much, go see a doctor,” he added.
I wondered, ‘Is he concerned about me?’
The thought crossed my mind, but before I could dwell on it, he said, “Once we start the work, I don’t want anyone’s health to dy the progress.”
I was left speechless, thinking, ‘So it isn’t concern for me-it is just about not letting anything interfere with the work.’
I couldn’t help but feel a little self-mocking for thinking he cared. I forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Josh. I’m just as eager to finish as you are.”
I thought, “The sooner we’re done, the sooner I can get away from him and turn the project over to Alvin.
“Thanks!” I shook the ointment at him, then turned to leave.
Back in my room, I tossed the ointment onto the bed and let out a long sigh.
For some reason, I felt a tightness in my chest, an inexplicable sense of being trapped. Myra came out of the bathroom wrapped in a big bathrobe and jumped onto the bed with a dramatic ir, like a diver about to make a ssh.
But the next second, she groaned, “Ouch! What is this? It’s so hard!”
She pulled out the ointment and stared at it. “Where did thise from? Zoe, is this yours?”
“Who else’s would it be?” I replied, reaching for it.
“Zoe, why do you have this? Did you hurt yourself?” Myra asked, looking at me in confusion.
I wondered, ‘She saw me get bumped into earlier, didn’t she?’ But it seemed like she was more interested in the moment when Josh held me than in the fact that I was actually hurt.
I thought, Josh must have thought I was injured. That’s why he gave me this ointment.’
Suddenly, my mind felt foggy, so I closed my eyes and forced myself to stop thinking about it. Iy down on the bed and picked up my phone. There were a few unread messages, including some group chats and a few private ones.
Jasmine: [What are you doing now?]
Philip: [When do you have time to show me this city that’ll make me get lost?]
Alvin: [Your friend has retracted a message.]
I stared at the notification from Alvin, wondering, ‘What has he retracted? Did he send it by mistake? Or did he regret it after sending it? Maybe it is just some angry words?’
I quickly closed the chat with him and opened the one with Jasmine. Just as I was about to reply, my phone buzzed-it was a friend request on WhatsApp.
I opened it and saw a profile picture of a ginkgo leaf, followed by the name: Josh.
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