Chapter 32 When Guards Fall
As I stepped closer, he gave me a polite smile. The smile was even almost friendly.
He looked at me as if he were searching for something on my face, while Joan stood beside him, his expression unreadable.
“I was told you took sick leave,” he said.
“Yes, I was a bit sick, but I made sure it didn’t affect my work here,” I replied.
“It’s fine. I was just genuinely concerned,” he said, his expression polite.
“I’ve been observing the workflow here and I noticed you run a tight site,” he added.
“Thank you,” I replied in a neutral tone.
He nodded once and turned his gaze to Joan, staring at her longer than necessary as if he was trying to pass a message to me.
“I especially appreciate professionalism. It keeps the project clean, efficient and… less complicated,” he continued.
“I agree,” I said but something in my chest tightened.
“Because emotions have a way of getting in the way if you are not careful,” he added and smiled faintly.
My brows furrowed as I stared at him.
“We are professionals, and we know how to separate things,” I replied, not hiding my expression.
Joan shifted uncomfortably beside him.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he replied, his eyes meeting mine.
Then he turned to Joan.
“You’ve been impressive. I love the way you pay attention to detail, and your composure. Not everyone handles pressure like that,” he said.
Joan blinked, clearly caught off guard.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Dave’s smile widened a bit before he looked back at me.
“You are lucky to have someone like her,” he said with a mocking smile.
“On your team I mean,” he added.
“What the heck is he trying to do?” I thought to myself.
But before I could respond, he stepped back, looking at his watch.
“I will let you get back to work,” he said, turning to Joan.
“I just wanted to see if everything is running smoothly.”
Then he turned to me, fixed his gaze on me for a few seconds, and gave that sly smirk… again.
“Of course, we should,” I replied with a half smile.
Then he stepped into his car and drove away.
JOAN COLE’S POV
I just stood there as if I was between two men who were emotionally charged.
Something was wrong between them, but I couldn’t place it.
“Was Lena right about the jealousy after all?” I thought, looking lost.
When Dave left, I stared at Alex for a few seconds.
Something in me wanted to ask him if they’d met before but something in me asked me not to.
“I… I will leave now,” I said, my voice breaking.
Then I turned to leave.
As we started working again, Alex was quieter, very quiet than he was earlier. I glanced at him and I saw him studying the blueprint, his brows drawn together and his jaw tight.
I remembered he was always like that when he was angry but pretending not to be.
“Only God knows what’s going through his mind,” I muttered to myself as I glanced at him.
I wanted to just focus on work, but I couldn’t. Then I moved closer to him.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said too quickly, not looking up.
“Are you sure?” I asked again, my brows furrowed.
Finally, he lifted his face and turned to me.
“I’m fine,” he said, forcing a smile.
“Okay,” I nodded and went back to work even though I wasn’t satisfied with his answer.
A few moments later, I wanted to show him something on the blueprint and I noticed he had been staring at me.
Our eyes met and he looked away immediately as if he had been caught doing something bad.
My heart skipped.
“Did I do something wrong?” I thought to myself.
“You are overthinking things,” I exhaled slowly.
When we closed, we exchanged greetings and departed.
When I got home, I offloaded the gifts and dragged my feet into the house.
“Why did you bring them back?” Lena asked, her gaze landing on the bags in my hand.
I dropped the paper bags and sighed.
“I tried but he didn’t collect them.”
“Oh,” she muttered, clearly not surprised.
“And again, I couldn’t pack the gifts down from my trunk into his. I am not ready for another round of gossip,” I added quickly.
“Hmm,” she muttered again.
“I’m going to my room,” I said and walked towards my room, then I paused midway and turned back.
“You can take anything you want from the bags,” I added and waited for her reaction.
“Say less,” she said, and hurriedly bent down to unpack the bags.
Her face got an instant lift and that was exactly what I was waiting for.
I smiled and headed straight for my room.
I closed my door behind me and let out a sharp breath, Alex’s face flashing in my mind.
I undressed slowly, still thinking about Alex.
“What’s wrong with me?” I whispered, staring at my reflection.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
It was a message from Alex.
“Can you please come over to my place? It’s urgent.”
My heart skipped, and then my phone buzzed again.
“Please.”
I stared at my phone screen for a long while, trying to guess why he wanted me to be at his place, but I couldn’t get any reason.
Then without overthinking it any further, I dropped my phone, quickly dressed up, grabbed my keys, and stepped out of my room.
“I will be back soon. Please talk to Theo about those video games he’s always spending time on. I don’t know why he’s not at home at this time of the day,” I said.
“What kind of soon are you talking about? Soon like now or soon like later,” Lena teased.
“Sooooon,” I replied, already heading out.
The drive to Alex’s place was unusually short. I just wanted to get there as fast as possible. When I parked and stepped out of my car, I told myself to breathe.
Then I knocked and the door opened.
“Hi,” I said nervously.
He gestured for me to step in, and when I did, everything in my head went blank.
“Oh, my God!” I gasped.
The living room was lined with candles and rose petals were scattered across the floor. Then at the center of the living room was a small table set for two with food, wine, and neatly arranged plates.
For a second, I just stood there, staring at the whole setup while my mind was still trying to process what it had just witnessed.
“Did you prepare all of this yourself?” I asked, still surprised.
He smiled and moved to the center of the living room. He sat down on the floor and rested his back on the couch, then he looked up at me and patted the space beside him.
“Sit,” he said softly.
I sat closely beside him… closely enough for our shoulders to touch. He reached for the wine glass and poured slowly into two glasses, the soft sound filling the silence between us.
Then he handed one to me.
“To renewed ties and great beginnings,” he said, raising his glass.
Though I didn’t quite understand what he meant, I smiled and clinked my glass against his.
We both took a sip at the same time.
For a while, we sat there in silence, side by side, the warm glow of the candlelight dancing on our faces.
Then I turned around slightly, only to see that he was also looking at me.
Our eyes locked and the room suddenly felt too small.
My heart thudded once.
Then thudded again.
Alex didn’t move, nor did he lean in. He just stared at me, his eyes betraying all the composure he thought he was displaying.
The look in his eyes was what made my heart flutter.
I set my glass down carefully, then I turned fully towards him, leaned in and kissed him slowly like a plan that had already been set in place.
“Fuck! I let my guard down,” I thought to myself as he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer.