Chapter 36: We're Okay

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"It's kind of my fault." Jessi sighed in frustration as she sat in front of his desk, blaming herself for what they just found out.

While reclining in his chair, Jenson squinted at her and placed his phone on the desk. "What?"

"I should've sat far away from Jonah...after he told me he was at a party. He sat close to me again during lunch."

"But you wore a mask the entire day."

"Yeah, but no eye covering," she muttered while absently toying with a pen. "Sorry."

"I'm fine." Jenson frowned as if bothered by her apology. He sat behind his desk, no longer wearing a face mask.

What's the point? They already caught the bug just because someone on their creative team couldn't stay hunkered down at home for another night.

Besides, the room felt stuffier than usual now. Perhaps they'd just been too cooped up in this office after another busy work week. Thus her unpleasant thoughts and feelings.

She felt fine, though. No flu-like symptoms. No fatigue or brain fog. No breathing problems, chest pain, or anything. She felt pretty normal, save for the hyper-anxious thoughts from time to time.

"You okay? Still feel fine?" Jenson eyed her with a straight face, his voice low and hushed by some doubt.

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm okay," he murmured with a little smirk that tilted his pale lips. He didn't get enough sleep again the previous night, clearly. "Stop worrying. Tell me if something bothers you."

"The results they sent could be wrong, though..." she sighed, gauging the odds of the results being incorrect. "Kel and other doctors online said rapid tests aren't accurate all the time."

"Yeah." Jenson tsk-ed and scratched his trimmed beard while she stared at him. "I guess we got two days left to find out, if they did it right."

"Anyways, what d'you want for lunch and dinner?"

"The usual."

She put on a smile and got up from her chair. It was almost eleven. No use dwelling on negative, anxiety-inducing thoughts that would only worsen her mood. She should start prepping food for their lunch and keep busy.

He liked to eat heavy lunches whenever he was stressed out. And judging from his frowns, terse replies, and muffled swearing the past hour and a half, he sure seemed agitated and more stressed than usual. Well...who wouldn't be?

"Can I hug you?" She watched him when he slouched in his swivel chair with his head hanging low, with both of his palms pressed onto his forehead.

Once her question sank in, he budged in his seat to regard her. His green eyes squinted at her for a moment. "Why?"

"Just a quick hug." She held back a smile, opting to keep the mood light despite the heap of bad news they had to deal with this morning. "You just look like you need one."

"Yeah." Jenson let out a noisy sigh after seconds of strained silence. He sat still when she walked around his work desk and just leaned over to hug him.

She put her arm around his back and let her face touch the side of his head. Her mask kept her nose and mouth covered, but she still smelled his apples-scented shampoo and minty cologne.

It wasn't more than a quick, friendly hug. It was just to distract him from his probably frustrating thoughts and comfort him in some way. He must be as anxious and bothered as she was but trying his best not to show it.

"There." She pulled away to stand beside him and observe his reaction.

His deep scowl eased bit by bit, although the look on his face didn't really change for the better.

"What?" She grinned. She watched him closely, waiting for him to crack a smile. "I'll give you another one if you won't stop making that face."

He squinted at her again, and then rolled his eyes when she giggled.

"I don't have any good jokes, just free hugs. Take it or leave it." She shrugged casually when he finally let a grin show. "I don't enjoy watching you frown all day. It'll just give you wrinkles. Botox isn't totally painless, y'know."

"No thanks. I don't like needles."

"Then stop making faces and just laugh it off." She scoffed when he didn't respond and kept busy with his phone again. "It kinda feels like we're rehearsing an episode right now. Maybe a post-apocalyptic episode in the next season."

Instead of replying, he scowled at her comment and blew a raspberry.

The room fell quiet after she laughed out loud, all the while he kept himself busy with his phone. Jessi sat on the edge of the desk to watch him.

Maybe he was contacting his fiancée to let Charmaine know about his sticky situation here in LA. Or he must be following up and talking about his canceled New York trip with his boss, that rich executive, Magnus.

She had yet to meet the man, though. Quite a mysterious figure in Jenson's tight circle of business associates. She didn't even know the man's full name. "Did Charm text back yet?

"Yeah." Jenson sighed and pulled a face. "Said she's going on a vacation with her sister in London."

"Vacation? When? I thought she's working in Beijing?"

"Don't know." He scoffed and got up to sit on the couch in the corner, a.k.a. his bed for the entire weekend, until Monday. Come Tuesday morning, they might be allowed to go home again after surviving quarantine without any issues.

Hopefully that would be the case. Jessi made up a short prayer and muttered it under her breath. She didn't want to end up in the hospital like her co-worker. She wasn't used to getting sick. Not at all. Besides putting up with her sporadic allergies, she just wasn't used to being unhealthy.

"You called her?" she asked her poker-faced boss. "Or she called you?"

"No," he mumbled with wrinkled brows, avoiding her eyes again. Sometimes he seemed like he missed his fiancée a lot, and it upset him that their careers always kept them apart pretty much all year round.

"But she already knows you're in quarantine?"

"Yeah." Jenson smirked for a brief second. He glanced at the locked door afterwards. "Couldn't care less."

Jessi made a face, not expecting his sardonic reply at all. Big trouble in paradise?

"And she thinks I'm having an affair." He shook his head faintly and blankly stared at his phone screen.

"What?" She stood closer to him, crossing her arms below her chest, eager to hear an explanation.

Why would Charmaine think he was cheating? He didn't even like going out. If he wasn't at home resting up, he was stuck in here doing office work till late. It had been his routine after he and the cast finished taping the show's latest season.

"An affair?" She held her breath when she caught the unmistakable look of disappointment and frustration in his eyes. "With who?"

"With you."