Chapter 37 No Longer Casual
“Will you please hand it over to her?” he asked, his hand still stretched through the window.
My hand moved on its own, collecting the earring from him.
“Okay,” I said, my face blank.
“Thank you,” he muttered with a small nod.
Then he rolled his window and paused halfway up.
“You two are close, so I figured you would get it to her faster,” he added and again… with that smirk.
I knew it was intentional, but before I could reply, he drove off into the street.
I still stayed at the spot, staring at the earring in my palm. Then my grip tightened around it slowly.
“Why did they meet on a weekend?” I asked myself as my mind replayed Dave’s words again.
Joan had texted me last night, and we even joked before she went to sleep, but she never mentioned going anywhere.
“So when exactly was she in his car and why?” I whispered under my breath as I turned the earring over between my fingers.
My stomach tightened as I thought about different possibilities.
After a while, I let out a short breath and shove the earring into my pocket before anyone would notice how long I had been standing there without doing anything.
As I walked into the building, my mind kept replaying the smirk I had seen on Dave’s face.
Something about it felt deliberate, as if he wanted me to think exactly what I was thinking.
And the worst part was that it worked.
Inside the building, I found Joan giving instructions and pointing out some mistakes to one of the junior designers.
I stood a few feet away from her for a second, watching her.
She looked so beautiful with the morning sunlight on her face that I almost forgot why I was there.
Then I tucked my hand in my pocket and remembered the earring I had kept there.
I walked up to her and tapped her lightly on her shoulder.
“Joan.”
She looked up immediately and handed the file she was holding to the junior designer.
“You can relay my message to others,” she said and the junior designer left.
“Hey… good morning,” she added as she turned to face me.
“Morning,” I replied, slipped my hand in my pocket, and brought out the earring.
“Dave asked me to give you this. He said it fell off in his car… yesterday,” I said, placing it in her palm as I tried to make my expression as neutral as possible.
Her brows pulled together instantly but slightly.
Then she looked down at the earring, turning it in between her fingers.
“Oh… I didn’t even know it fell off in his car,” she said quickly and in a light tone.
“Oh,” I muttered.
“I thought it dropped while I was taking my bath or something,” she added.
She avoided my gaze for a while, pretending to look at the earring before looking back up.
“Thank you,” she said.
“No problem,” I nodded.
“I need to get back to work,” she said and turned to leave.
I followed her with my eyes until she was completely out of sight.
I wished I could ask questions, but I just couldn’t.
JOAN COLE’S POV
On my way back home, I kept tapping on my steering wheel with my fingers lightly as my mind replayed the moment Alex handed me that earring.
I knew the look on his face very well.
It was that look he gave me anytime he was jealous then.
“I hope he doesn’t read meanings into it,” I muttered under my breath.
Then I pulled into the compound and parked.
When I walked into the house, I saw Lena curled up on the couch, scrolling through her phone.
“When did you get back?” I asked, dropping my bag beside the couch.
Then she looked up.
“This morning,” she replied, sitting up.
“The modeling shoot took longer than I had expected,” she added.
I nodded and walked towards the kitchen to take water before returning to sit with her.
“Dave came to the house yesterday,” I said casually and sank into the chair.
“Dave? Dave Wilton?” she muttered, her head snapping towards me so fast that I almost laughed.
“He did what?”
“He came to the house,” I replied calmly with a small smirk on my lips.
Her mouth fell open, then her brows furrowed as she threw her head back against the couch.
“I can’t believe this,” she groaned.
“Believe what?” I asked, laughing lightly.
“That a whole Dave Wilton came to where I live and I wasn’t around… that’s another level of pain,” she said.
“Why are you pained? He’s just like every other person,” I said, rolling my eyes.
She turned to me slowly with a look that said I had just said something ridiculous.
“Just like every other person? Joan, please,” she muttered.
“Isn’t he? Get a grip, Lena. You can’t keep hoeing for every handsome man,” I chuckled and shook my head.
“I can’t get a grip.”
She kept mumbling about how unfair life was while I leaned back into the couch.
For a moment, I considered telling her about the night with Alex.
“Actually…” I started then I stopped myself.
Lena looked at me, her eyes focused and waiting for me to spill.
“Nevermind,” I said and shook my head.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion but I stood up before she could say anything.
“I want to freshen up,” I said, picked my bag up, and headed to my room.
When I got to my room, I slid down onto the bed and stared blankly at the door.
“How can I tell her that everything between Alex and me no longer feels casual?”
The next day, the site felt lighter.
We were finally wrapping up the project.
Workers moved around dismantling temporary structures, packing equipment, rolling up cables, and loading materials in that truck for transport.
I was talking to one of my assistants when one of the site supervisors walked up to us.
“Mr. Wilton wants everyone to wait,” he said, and moved over to the other groups.
Words spread quickly and within minutes everyone had gathered at the large centre of the building.
Moments later, Dave walked into the building in a crisp shirt, wearing his confidence like a badge as he removed his sunglasses.
He exchanged greetings with a few supervisors before turning to face everyone.
“Good evening everyone,” he said, his voice echoing through the empty building.
“I won’t take too much of your time. I just wanted to personally appreciate the work that was done here,” he added.
Some of the workers nodded, some smiled and some clapped.
Then gaze moved to Alex involuntarily.
His jaw was tight, but it didn’t seem like he was angry.
Dave continued, praising the teamwork, the speed, and the professionalism.
“I will like to invite you all to the opening ceremony,” he said.
Everyone clapped.
“Will you come?” he said, his gaze landing on me.
Before I could even process it, all eyes were already on me.
"What is he doing?"