She chuckled. “Those two are getting on a lot better than we’d expected. But I was actually asking about you and Anthony. What happened? Nora told me that you and he are married to each other. Who is that pretty young lady by his side?”
“It’s a long story, but we won’t be married anymore soon.” I shrugged. “After this project is over and done with, I’ll go to J City with him to sign the divorce papers.”
Linda was rendered speechless by my sudden confession.
“Ah!” Rachel’s voice cried out from in front of us.
It seemed that she had tripped over something and was limping.
Several people turned around at the sound of her cries. “What happened?”
Rachel leaned against a wall, eyes watering pitifully as she said, “Sorry. I twisted my ankle yesterday, so I can’t really walk well. Now it just hurt even more…”
Rolled her eyes at the sight, Linda muttered under her breath, “Does she expect someone to carry her like a princess?”
“Didn’t she say that she’d twisted her ankle?” I glanced at Linda, perplexed.
“She’s trying to take advantage of the fact that she can’t walk. Watch.”
Anthony’s eyebrows knitted together slightly, ordering Joseph, “Go help Ms. Zimmer up.”
Joseph nodded, holding Rachel up by one arm and assisting her in getting to the elevator, which was already full.
“Mr. Campbell, you and Ms. Zimmer should use the VIP elevator instead,” Armond suggested.
Taken aback, Joseph glanced over at Anthony, who offered no response. So, Joseph rejected Armond’s suggestion with a polite smile.
“Ms. Zimmer injured herself in my company building, so I have to take some responsibility. Occasionally letting other people benefit from the privileges offered to me wouldn’t hurt, either” Armond stated.
Anthony’s voice was low as he cut in, “It’ll make things easier for Ms. Zimmer. Go.”
Joseph nodded, helping Rachel enter the VIP elevator. However, Anthony showed no signs of getting in with them.
“Mr. Featherstone?” Armond spoke up, puzzled.
“I’ll take this one,” Anthony replied simply, following Linda and me into the employees’ elevator.
It was lunchtime, and there were more people than usual in the elevator. His tall height and handsome looks made him stand out from the crowd, drawing many curious looks from the rest of the employees in the elevator.
“What is Mr. Featherstone doing?” Linda was stunned.
He could have definitely fitted in that large VIP elevator with much more room to spare.
I had no idea why he was acting that way either and decided to keep my mouth shut.
The elevator stopped many times on the way down, and people kept getting off or getting on their respective floors. Somehow, in the midst of all the chaos, Anthony ended up standing in front of me, and I was being squished into a corner.
He was facing me, shielding me from the push and pull of the rest of the passengers in the elevator.
I felt awkward after having said so many cruel things to him yesterday. Fixing my gaze on the floor, I placed a hand on his chest in an attempt to widen the distance between us. He didn’t budge an inch, seemingly unbothered by my actions.
His eyes fell to my burnt wrist and furrowed his eyebrows.
The elevator stopped at yet another floor, opening up to let more passengers in.
Suddenly pushed by someone else, Anthony’s body jerked forward, and he took a step closer to me as he readjusted his balance. There was barely a hair’s breadth of space between us.
I pursed my lips and stayed silent, but the sound of my racing heartbeat was thumping in my ears. He glanced down at me, quietly murmuring, “We should be reaching soon.”
The simple sentence instantly calmed me down, and we eventually arrived at our floor, just like he said.
Armond, Rachel, and Joseph were already waiting for us outside the elevator when we exited.
Anthony walked out in front of me, and Linda hung back to nudge me with her elbow. “The two of you were getting pretty intimate there, huh?”
My cheeks flushed red. “Nonsense!” I sputtered out, speeding up my pace to get away from her.
She followed behind me closely, giggling all the way.
Our group headed towards the restaurant. At the main entrance of the restaurant, Anthony said something to Joseph, and his assistant quickly left.
The two staffers accompanying Rachel noticed that her ankle didn’t seem to have improved much. “Ms. Zimmer, should we get some ointment for you to relieve the pain?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure it’ll go away soon.” She gave them a gentle smile, which only motivated the two employees to help her even more.
They jumped to their feet, valiantly announcing, “Mr. Featherstone, we’ll be going out for a minute…”
“There’s no need,” Anthony interrupted. “Joseph has already gone to buy ointment for her ankle.”
The two men shrank back awkwardly, giving each other a knowing stare. They were both adults; they knew what was going on.
Armond glanced at me. “Mr. Featherstone is very protective towards Ms. Zimmer, I see. I should have thought of that beforehand and let Linda go to buy pain relievers for Ms. Zimmer as well as burn ointment, instead of having Mr. Campbell go out. It’s unsightly for a girl to have any scars.”
Linda jumped to her feet. “Right, I almost forgot about that! I’ll go buy some straightaway!”
And with that, she took off.
I gave Armond a smile. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Joseph soon returned, handing the plastic bag in his hands to Rachel. “Ms. Zimmer, should I help you to the infirmary to treat your injury?”
“No thank you, Mr. Campbell,” she answered, shaking her head. “I’ll handle it myself after I finish my meal.”
Linda also came back, nearly on Joseph’s heels as she rushed into the restaurant. “I’ll go wash my hands and then help you put this on!” she told me, giving me a box of burn ointment before leaving.
Almost immediately, Armond took the burn ointment from me and pulled a chair to sit down beside me. “I’ll help you.”
What?
Without waiting for a response, he took out the ointment and the cotton swab that had come with it. He carefully tugged on my hand and placed it on his thigh, squeezing out a bit of the cream and spreading it all over my burn wound.
Linda came back from the washroom, her mouth falling open when she saw us. “Mr. Murphy, you…”
“Is there a problem?” Armond glanced up at her.
“Nope! Not at all!” She quickly turned away, wiping her hands dry with a napkin.
The atmosphere around the dining table was strange and uncomfortable. The food had been ordered, but nothing had been served yet. Armond kept himself occupied by focusing on treating my burn wounds, while Anthony had on a stony expression. Everyone else instinctively turned a blind eye.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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