Chapter 34 The Morning After
ALEX HART’S POV
Joan went into the bathroom, the door clicking shut behind her. Then I stood up from the bed to pack the plates back to the kitchen.
That was when her phone’s screen lit up on the bed.
I wasn’t trying to look.
I could swear I wasn’t, but the phone kept vibrating as if it wanted my attention. My eyes turned down out of reflex and what I saw made my heart skip.
The number was saved with Dave Wilton.
The screen flashed again, then went dark in an instant.
The call had turned into a missed call.
I picked up the phone immediately, not to snoop but to hand it to her who had called before I would start overthinking things.
Just as I got hold of it, a notification popped up.
I waited all day for your text yesterday. Did you like the gifts? At least so that I would know what to get you next time.
My jaw tightened as I read that text.
“Next time?” I muttered under my breath.
For a second, I just stood there, staring at the screen and I hated how jealous I was at that moment.
Just then, the bathroom door opened.
I turned sharply.
“Your phone rang,” I said quickly before she could say anything.
“I wanted to tell you who was calling but it dropped quickly,” I added, handing the phone to her.
She looked at me, then at her phone, her expression unreadable.
“Thank you,” she said, picked up her bag, and stepped out of the room.
I followed closely behind her.
JOAN COLE’S POV
On my way back home, I kept seeing Alex’s face, the look I couldn’t quite place.
I wondered if it was because of Dave’s text, then I shook my head slightly and let out a sharp breath.
“Why would it matter?” I asked myself.
We weren’t dating… at least not yet. And what happened between us the night before was just sex.
Even if he saw the text, he didn’t have a claim over me.
Just as if my mind was waiting for me to think about sex, my night drifted back to the steamy night I had with him.
Before I knew it, I was already smiling.
A foolish smile at that.
A few minutes later, I pulled over at the front of my house, parked my car carefully, and stepped out.
When I got inside, there were no traces of Lena.
Thankfully, I had just one person left in the house to nag me.
I locked the door behind me and was just about to head to my room when Theo walked out of his room, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, his hair rumpled as if he had just woken up.
“Oh, you are just coming back?” he asked, blinking at me.
“Yeah,” I said, trying really hard to sound normal.
“But it’s morning already,” he frowned slightly, concern clear on his face.
“I know,” I said quickly.
“We had to work on a design overnight at the office. It was kind of sudden… they called me out of the blue after I got back from the site,” I added.
He nodded slowly, still half-awake.
“That sounds exhausting. You should get some rest,” he said.
“I wish I could, but I still need to be at the site this morning,” I replied with a small smile.
He didn’t press further, he just nodded and skimmed into the kitchen.
As I walked into my room and closed the door behind me, I let out a sigh of relief.
Then I leaned my back against the door for a moment with my eyes shut.
I hated how quickly I had mastered the art of lying.
After that, I quickly dressed up and left my house, my body still sore from last night.
I smiled and turned on my ignition then zoomed into the street.
When I got to work, Alex wasn’t there yet.
I dropped my bag and pulled out my helmet from the locker and buried myself in work.
A few minutes later, Alex pulled in.
I didn’t look up immediately, but I felt his presence and when I finally looked up, our eyes met.
Just for a second.
Then we both looked away.
We worked like professionals. We kept our distance and only talked when necessary. Still, I caught him stealing glances at me countless times.
I wouldn’t deny the fact that I didn't do the same a few times.
At some point, the site engineer… the same one who had interrupted us that day at the back… walked over to where Alex was standing.
She leaned a little too close and smiled sheepishly.
I pretended not to watch, but my mind had already lost focus.
I watched her touch his arm as they spoke. Her finger also lingered on his body as if she wanted him to respond in kind.
Alex shifted, not immediately but clearly.
He stepped back and crossed my arms, his body tilting away from her.
Then he looked in my direction, but I quickly turned away before I was caught staring.
After that, I let out a fulfilling smile. Then I adjusted my helmet, wincing slightly. My body hadn't forgotten last night, even if we were pretending to.
ALEX HART’S POV
We were working, pretending nothing had happened between us the night before, pretending we didn’t feel a quiet spark every time our eyes met.
I kept my focus on the blueprint in front of me, but my attention had other plans. I found myself following every movement Joan pulled… the way she touched her hair behind her ears anytime it got in her way even to the littlest bit.
I told myself to keep it professional.
Just then, my phone beeped, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I reached into my pocket, my brows furrowed.
Then I saw the name on the screen.
It was Cassandra.
My heart skipped, almost jumping out of my chest.
“God, no,” I whispered, still staring at the screen.
I didn’t know what she wanted and the suspense was killing me.
Then I picked up the call, slowly raising the phone to my ear.