Chapter 25

Flashes of the time they last had a conversation about his father waved through Kevin’s memory. Lee is struggling so hard to avoid being like his father that would do everything with just a lift of a finger. Even though he was the victim of misinformation from the dead man connections, he still felt a little grief from what happened to him.

It was all too sudden; for them to be free of the issue, one must sacrifice their conviction to make it happen. It so happened that Lee pulled the short straw of these.

“What will happen to you now?” Kevin asked another question, steering away from the topic of their conversation just now.

As if planned this the whole night, Lee spoke in a straight manner, composing himself, and instructed Kevin for the first time ever. “I transferred a huge sum of money to your account. Use them as you like to put the company in its stardom just like what the girl group would like to have to achieve.”

“And then?”

“I will hand in my resignation to your company, and I will face my father. Alone.”

“You don’t need to resign,” Kevin halted his instructions, wanting Lee to think this through a little slower. “What if –”

“He will not touch you if I separated myself from the people I care about.”

Kevin gaped his mouth, trying to argue with him any longer, but then he thought of the time when Lee’s father would try to close the school down from a simple cut that his son took accidentally. It is not far-fetched that he would do it again to the company that he has built.

He better listen to an aristocrat before they are going to be devoured by another aristocrat.

“Will I get your word that you will be all right?”

Lee chuckled on the other line, giving Kevin his reassurance. “Of course, buddy. Just like always, I will be fine on my own.”

Safe and already having their conversation settled, Kevin was about to turn the line off when Lee had the last thing he forgot to say.

“By the way,” he said in a longing and tense manner.

“What is it? Did you still forget anything to say?”

“Tell Amy my regards, and sorry about putting her into a sudden work.”

The line was then cut off, Lee did it and Kevin only stared at his phone dumbfounded, wondering what that was about. His curious lips then twitched upwards into a smirk, realizing that he might have been harboring some feelings for Amy.

Even though he has a lot to do today and wants to clear up the information that he has not participated in Stewart’s death, Kevin judged that there is no point in talking about that information any further. Their generation uses a lot of what is in social media lately, and there would be no point in talking about a thing that does not have any proof online.

He then took a bath and dressed, getting ready for work, but he remembered one more place that he needed to go.

Fetch Bethany and convince her that everything is already fine now.

Kevin turned on the engine of the car and drove to her home. If memory serves him right if she still has not moved from her house since they were students, then he could still visit her a few times just like this.

It took him half an hour to reach the house. The garden outside still has not been changed, and all of the grasses are there, just a little taller than before and the flowers that were once there are only reduced to a few good ones that can survive a little.

A hit of nostalgia filled his mind, going back to when they were kids and Kevin did not notice it, but he was already on their front porch, going to knock on her door. He lifted his finger and was about to do it, but he stopped all of a sudden.

Would Bethany feel different now that they visibly changed inside and out, and she would find it rude for him to knock on her door as if nothing happened in the past?

He paused midway and picked out his phone, about to call her instead, but before he could dial her number, the door opened up and an already-dressed Bethany is in front of the surprised Kevin, and both of them stood in silence, an awkward feeling enveloping the two of them.

“It… it has been some time, huh?” Kevin asked in a sheepish manner, regretting that he even said a thing to her at this time.

Bethany is left stunned at the beaming face of her boss and the one she liked during her younger years, now standing in the house where he used to come in and hang out with her. This used to be the place where their small, silly discomforts of the world were relieved when they were together, and they would talk for hours until they ran out of things to say.

No one spoke for a solid fifteen seconds. Bethany found herself looking and being mesmerized by the green, emerald eyes that she found to be the saving grace of the stressful week that had gone by for her. She felt the urge of pulling him and wrap her arms around his broad shoulders, saying everything that she has kept inside that bothered her.

She knew how capable Kevin is listening to people as he always used to before, and she wanted to wager on that trait, believing that he still can be depended on and be the friend that she used to have.

Bethany found herself walking up to Kevin, step by step, closer and closer until she stopped at the very last step when suddenly, her hand stopped moving and she was frozen on her spot. She could hear her heart beating so loud that it could not be stopped even if she wanted to, and the fact that her throat suddenly went dry even if she was not thirsty all of a sudden.

It was as if with him, Bethany could not compose herself and that made her a little dizzy and drowsy at the same time.

“Is there something wrong?” Kevin already asked in a concerned manner, managed to get ahold of her arms and checked on her already flustered face. Bethany snapped back into reality and shook her head, gulping a huge lump in her throat again.

“I-it’s nothing, don’t worry,” she answered him and faked a laugh, managed to get away from him and only tapped his left arm.

Her mind would have been blanked out if she had let Kevin continue what he was about to do with her, even if the intention is not what it looked like.

“What’s up with you, anyway?” Bethany asked him, locking the door behind her and trying her best to hide her face in the sudden embarrassment. “How come you still know the way to my home? Are you perhaps following me?”

“What? No!” Kevin denied in a panicked manner, cracking Bethany into a cackle, and the atmosphere between them eased up a little. “I just came here…”

He then trailed off and Bethany turned around to find Kevin looking upward, observing the house that had no changes after all these years.

“… because this was my home once too, you know.”

“Yes, it was,” Bethany answered dismissively, quickly reminiscing about the times that Kevin spent hours inside her house, and they were able to be friends with each other despite the different sections that they were assigned to when they were young. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Just checking on you,” Kevin said and held up the phone in front of her with Amy’s messages flooding his inbox. “Amy has been stumped with loads of work and the company is in deep trouble when we are gone for almost a week.”

“Has it been almost a week? I did not notice.”

Bethany could not even feel that a few days had already come by and that she was even scared to go outside of the media that were pestering her, linking with James, whom they adore and almost worship, for an idol.

“She is worried now, and that we are going to straighten some things inside our company.”

“We?”

“Yes, as the boss and his secretary. I need your help.”

“Did something happen when we were gone?” Bethany asked while opening the door to Kevin’s car, welcoming herself. Kevin followed and did not complain about what she was doing as he smoothly and quickly buckled his seat with the seatbelt.

“Yes, a lot has been –” Kevin was about to explain when he found Bethany having trouble with her seatbelt. The man made a deep breath and quickly unbuckled his belt to adjust Bethany’s. He leaned in her direction and held her hand together with the latch plate.

The woman was surprised at the sudden gesture made by her boss. She turned around to see his face close to hers. Bethany was about to freak out, but she could not. In one smooth and swift movement, Kevin has already buckled her seatbelt and buckled his, making their way outside of her parking way and into the road.

“Thank you,” Bethany said her thanks in an almost muttering manner. Before their ride turned into an awkward, quiet one, she remembered the information that he was about to tell her earlier. “What were the things that happened this week, anyway?”

“Well, the first one is that Lee already resigned from work.”

“You mean the snobbish one with glasses?”

Kevin chuckled lightly at her comment. “He only looks like that, but he isn’t. Lee’s a good guy, trust me.”

“But I can’t prove your statement anymore if he is already gone, right?” There was silence at first until Kevin only nodded to her argument. “Was he a good friend of yours?”

“Lee? Of course, yes,” Kevin said to her, flashing a glance in Bethany’s direction. “He was a good friend.”

“When did he resign?”

“Last night…” Kevin paused for a moment before revealing the news to her secretary. “… and it was also the same time that Stewart died.”

“What?” Bethany was surprised by his comment, could not find the words to say.