Chapter 33: Stuck with You

No surprises. No phone call. Nothing.

Charmaine plainly ignored him and his quick rant via text. It'd been hours now. She didn't even care to return his calls or reply with a short message. Not even a single "OK."

He was sure she read his message already. The green icon and "online" status on her email profile told him so. Like always, he and their relationship weren't a priority.

He shouldn't have expected otherwise. Fine. He would just have to wait. As usual. It pissed him off beyond words, but his pride held him back.

If she wanted to fix things, Charmaine would call him now to talk to him. If not, then he would have to move on and just figure out a way to make the breakup easier for both sides.

Maybe she thought he only wanted to call off their engagement—not kick her to the curb. Well, he broke up with her through text. Most likely she didn't take it seriously.

Stewing in his jealousy-induced frustrations, Jenson snuck under the covers again. It was late. Almost dawn, in fact. He was exhausted. He should get at least five hours of sleep before hopping on a direct flight to New York.

The darkness in the room replaced his thoughts as he lay on his side, eyes and limbs heavy, with only the deafening silence keeping him company. He slammed his phone onto the other pillow. Charmaine's pillow.

Before he could try to shut his brain off, a familiar beep beside his head distracted him. Jenson grabbed his phone again. He swore inwardly. He almost forgot; he should check up on Jessi. But he didn't want to disturb her sleep.

There was a red blob on the Email app icon. He scoffed. Another work email this late?

He opened it, then frowned at his phone when it showed his assistant's full name on the screen.

-

1 new email

From: Jessiah Marionne Kinley

Subject: Travel Reqts UPDATED

-

Heck. Why was she still up?

Was it the pill's fault?

The thought stirred his senses awake again, forcing him to keep his eyes open as he read through her new email. Jenson sat up on the bed, leaning against the wall and reading through the rest of Jessi's latest email.

Even at this ungodly hour, and despite the alarming unbridled violence she witnessed back in his office, she was eagerly doing non-essential, non-urgent work for him. She wouldn't even charge him a single cent for it, like always.

Perhaps she thought he forgot to look up the updated travel requirements. As he'd planned, he would have to get swabbed and get his lab test results first thing before he could proceed to the airport. But why was she up and busy sending emails again?

If the pill worked on her, it should've erased some of her memories of the previous night. Long shot, but he hoped his haphazard plan worked. He hesitated for a moment, and then he rang his assistant's number after reading the rest of her email.

Jessi picked up after the second ring. "Hey."

"Hey. I'll leave before lunch, after I get my test results. Is that fine?" He got up from the bed, frowning at his own words. He sounded like a guy asking for permission from his wife. Funny.

"Yeah," Jessi muttered, her hushed voice sounding pinched on the other line. "What time did you go to bed?"

"Don't remember. You?"

"Same."

"Why are you up so early doing overtime again?"

"I'm not." She snickered, sounding giggly and groggy, like she just smoked weed.

It sounded like a flirty giggle, but why would she flirt with him? She thought he and Charmaine were getting married soon. Besides, Jessi wasn't the I'm-down-with-being-a-side-chick type.

Or at least he thought so. "You did a bit?"

"What?" she murmured on the other end.

"You sound like...you smoked a joint."

"I didn't." Jessi laughed again. "Wait. Do I sound high?"

"A bit. What're you doing?"

"I'm on my laptop."

"Oh. But you do hash sometimes? Or you had a drink?"

"No." She chuckled. "Just woke up."

"Oh. Okay." He grinned to himself, pressing his phone onto his ear. Her dazed voice just sounded oddly relaxing, distracting him from his anger-fueled thoughts earlier.

She sounded pretty normal, though. Maybe the pill helped her fall asleep early. Maybe it was still doing its job. If it actually erased or blocked off some of her memories, he should be able to tell.

"I just thought you sounded a bit off."

"Sorry," she murmured. "Just...feeling kinda weird."

"Why?" He stood still against the cold wall beside the nightstand and waited for her explanation. Was she alone in bed? Bored to tears like he was?

"Honestly?" she mumbled after a lengthy silence, giggling again afterwards. "I thought you were out cold. Didn't expect you'd call."

"Why're you feeling weird?" Was she still thinking of what Darren did to him and the scandalous things she heard earlier?

"I was laughing 'cause I felt like you just busted me when your name popped up on my screen."

"Busted?"

"Yeah." Jessi chuckled. "You called right before I was about to watch some smut."

Oh. He just disturbed her "me time." He shouldn't have called her up at this hour. What she said still made him laugh, though. Twice. Damn. He hadn't laughed this much in a while. "Go back to bed. Sleep some more."

"You think I smoked some?"

"Yeah. But what kind of smut do you like? Just out of curiosity," he muttered casually, just to keep the conversation light. He grinned again when she failed to hold back another laugh. "What kind?"

"Just...the basic." She snickered after another awkward silence. "Hetero. Sometimes, not so basic or hetero." She giggled again. "Sorry. It's just how I deal with stress sometimes."

"Hey. No judgment here. You do you." He smirked. Then for some strange reason, he recalled that day he basically rescued her from that corporate douchebag who liked to string along and assault women as a pastime. "Pun intended."

"G'night!" She muffled another laugh. "No more R-rated talk. Go back to bed. Just text or call if you need anything later. Keep me posted."

"Yeah." Jenson sighed in relief.

She didn't mention a thing about Darren. So the pill worked? Or it sedated her anxious thoughts at the very least.

"You goin' back to bed now?"

"Yeah. How's DJ?" Jessi asked before he could say goodbye.

He held in a sigh. He swore in his head and checked the time. The pill didn't work at all.

Her memories of last night stayed intact even eight hours after she drank half a dose. On the other hand, nothing bad happened to her, which gave him some comfort and eased some of his anxiety. She sounded totally fine. For now.

"He's fine. Snoring in bed, probably. Goodnight."

"Okay. Talk to you later."

× 8:39 AM ×

Breakfast. Done.

Packing. Done.

Swabbing and sample collection. Done.

"We will send you an automated notification through email and text in a few hours confirming whether you tested positive or negative. Thank you."

That's what the hazmat-wearing medical staff said before he walked out of the diagnostic clinic. If his swab sample test results came back negative, then he would be allowed to travel to New York today.

The public health emergency warnings had been broadcasted all over the affected countries the past few months. The rising number of detected positive and active cases had also been making rounds on local and international news channels. On the daily.

Thousands of confirmed cases in the US now. Rising detection rates as of late. But not enough testing globally, especially in poorer nations. No strict travel bans yet all over the country.

Jenson pulled a face and sat on his bike. It looked like the epidemic would continue for another couple of months. Or even an entire year if people didn't care to be cautious all the time.

Contact tracing, masking in public places, immediate isolation, and voluntary quarantining weren't being strictly observed or mandated in all affected countries, according to the news. So far, here in California, stringent quarantine and contact tracing protocols had been implemented since the number of active cases hit the 1,000+ mark.

Like Jessi and most of their co-workers, he masked up whenever he stepped out of the house. Especially in crowded public places. Just following the rules...not because he didn't like getting recognized on the street by total strangers.

He didn't have underlying health issues besides the faulty werewolf genes and non-human blood running through his veins. But he wasn't invincible or immune to human diseases. He wasn't born a pureblood alpha.

×

"Hey. Joss, you there?"

"Yeah." Jenson removed his helmet after parking his bike in the corner of the basement, wondering why his ever-handy assistant called him up again. "Morning."

"Morning. Where are you exactly? Airport?"

"No. Just got out of the clinic. Got swabbed. Just have to wait for the results. Three hours tops."

"Oh. You forgot some stuff on your desk and your passport," Jessi replied, her tone bordering on concerned and bothered.

"Yeah." He frowned and eyed the elevator waiting for him. "On my way to the office now." He forgot to check up on her again, but she still sounded normal. "How'd you know I forgot my passport?"

"I'm in the office."

"Huh? Why?"

"Someone from HR called. She said they're gonna be testing everyone now. Mandatory. Here in the building."

"Why?"

"Three tested positive. The second one's Jonah, and he's in the ER now." Jessi sighed over the phone, her voice muted. "I had direct contact with him the other day, during the meeting. They said he's showing flu-like symptoms now, plus brain fog. Neurological, respiratory, and digestive issues basically."

"Really?" He straightened up and pressed his headset into his ear. At the news, he stopped dead in front of the basement elevator, suddenly at a loss. Definitely not what he expected to hear from her this morning.

"Yeah. They got my swab five minutes ago."

"Shit." He put his mask back on and sighed. "Wait for me. On my way up."