Chapter 8

I quickly turned the phone away after returning to my senses. Disbelief was clear in Kate's tone as she muttered, "Oh dear, I shouldn't have gone on and on like that. Sorry, Nance. We'll talk again soon." Before I could reply, Kate had hung up the call. I looked awkwardly at Douglas. "I'm sorry, Bruce's mother might've misund—" "It's pretty tough, huh?" Douglas asked out of the blue, his tone laced with concern. I looked up at him, unsure of what he meant: work or having to deal with my ex's mother. He gave me another blueberry when I stayed silent. "Have some more. It'll help with your exhaustion." I didn't feel very happy, so I changed the topic. "It's almost time for dinner. Let's go." Douglas was smart enough not to push the topic further. After some time in the seafood restaurant where we were having dinner, I stared at the pile of oyster shells in front of me. I said in an embarrassed tone, "Please have more to eat, Douglas. I'm buying dinner tonight, after all." I then pushed a salmon platter toward him. Douglas looked at me and said, "You're too skinny, Nance. Your health determines whether you can make it big, so you must ensure your body is strong if you want to continue doing good in your career." He then pushed the platter back to me. I couldn't out-argue him, so I said instead, "Then let's both eat more." It was a nice dinner. But when I was about to pay the bill, the server politely informed me that Douglas had already paid. "Why don't you treat me next time, hm?" Douglas said gently. I disagreed and suggested we go Dutch instead. However, Douglas quickly retorted, "We'd still be going Dutch if you and I both treated the other to a meal each." I had nothing to say to that. … It was 9:00 pm when our night out reached an end. Douglas insisted on driving me home. The streetlights outside the car cast long shadows on his body, but he still didn't seem ready to leave yet. A moment later, he nudged his glasses and said, "See? There are other fun things to do besides coding, right?" Douglas was talking about how we'd gone to play some arcade games earlier after dinner. I didn't want to spoil his fun, so I tagged along. I could tell he really enjoyed himself. I wasn't used to this kind of gesture, so I said politely, "Thank you for tonight. Drive home safely." Douglas always had impeccable manners, so he drove off right after bidding me goodnight, not saying another word. I quietly went back to my apartment. It was a rare opportunity for me to turn in early; but for some reason, I couldn't sleep no matter how tightly I closed my eyes. I kept on recalling Kate's words. If my guess was right, tonight was the night Bruce would have brought Cindy over to meet his family. Meanwhile, I didn't even know where the Harold family household was located. There was a clear contrast between Cindy and I. Still, Bruce and I had walked our separate ways two years ago. There was something else more important right now, anyway. A knocking sound interrupted my thoughts. "Who is it?" I called, confused. "It's me," a low voice rang from behind the front door, leaving me standing in shock. It was Bruce. Wasn't he with Cindy at his family dinner tonight? Why was he here outside my apartment right now? "Open the door," Bruce called again amidst my wondering. His tone was persistent. Why should I open the door? Even an investor had no right to come knocking on my door this late at night, right? I stood where I was for a moment, only to hear Bruce's frantic knocking the next second, growing louder and louder still. I didn't want to disturb my neighbors, so I carefully opened the door, peeking through the narrow opening. "Can I help you, Mr. Harold?" I saw the dazed look in Bruce's eyes right away. The sharp scent of alcohol flooded my nose. Before I could shut the door, he'd pushed it open and leaned against my shoulder. "You're so mean to me, baby. Why didn't you leave the door unlocked for me?" Bruce groaned against my shoulder in an aggrieved tone. He was clearly drunk. Leave the door unlocked? Did he still think he deserved that from me? Anger rose in my chest when I realized this might just be a misunderstanding. Yes, he'd called me "baby" and wanted the door to be left unlocked for him—but I wasn't the one Bruce wanted in all this. As I thought about the family dinner Kate mentioned, I guessed that Bruce probably had some conflict with Cindy earlier tonight. After all, no one else could possibly make Bruce come begging for forgiveness this late at night—including me. I calmed myself and reminded Bruce, "Your 'baby' lives upstairs, Mr. Harold." I then tried to shove him away. But not only did Bruce refuse to let me go, his grip tightened around me. "You're still angry at me, aren't you, baby?" The way he tried to appease me and how eagerly his hold on me was made my anger grow fiercer. I ground my teeth and said sternly, "You've got the wrong person, Bruce Harold." Bruce was persistent. "You called me baby last night, yet here we are again. Are you going back to using my full name already? You're so mean." It seemed like he was extremely drunk. I took a deep breath and said, "Look at who I am, Bruce." Bruce slowly raised his head. I was surprised to see a hint of passion in his gaze. My heart skipped a beat as the words I was about to say remained stuck in my throat. This was the first time I'd seen Bruce so unraveled. In the next instant, Bruce cornered me in the doorway and pressed his lips against mine. I was shocked to see the burning lust in his eyes. My breathing quickened. Things had gone out of control now. My heart felt cold. The more Bruce deepened the kiss, the icier I became. When I was unable to stand it anymore, I bit harshly on his lip. Bruce hissed in pain, looking at me in shock. I stared back at him calmly, though my breaths still came rapidly. "Are you awake now?" Bruce still didn't seem to have recovered from what happened. He tensed for a few seconds and licked the blood on his lips before running out the door. As the door slammed shut, I sagged weakly to the ground. … I went to work as usual on Monday morning and met Cindy by the elevator. She had pigtails today and was in the middle of replying to some text messages. She looked to be in a good mood. Cindy greeted me happily when she saw me. "Morning, Nance!" Her joy was clear for all to see. It didn't seem like she'd been troubled during the Harold family dinner. I felt confused when I thought about how dejected Bruce looked last night. Just then, a man's voice suddenly rang out from Cindy's phone. "You did well last night. Don't worry, I'll deal with my family." Bruce's voice was raspy in the voice message, as if he'd just awakened from slumber. Cindy probably hadn't realized she was on speaker. She sneakily glanced at me before walking to the side to respond to more messages. Just before the elevator doors closed, I heard Cindy say, "I feel so happy hearing you say that, Bruce." Now it all made sense. Bruce bore all the pain alone after falling in love with Cindy and was now silently protecting her any way he could. Unlike me, Cindy had no reason to be sad. I spent the entire morning coding. During lunch break, the office doors suddenly opened and in walked a besuited man with a coffee in hand. "Hi there. I'm John Zeigler, Mr. Harold's assistant. I'm here to drop off some coffee for Mrs. Harold." The voice was a familiar one. I looked at John and suddenly pieced everything together. John was Bruce's junior, majoring in economics. He'd admired Bruce deeply when we were in university. Who knew he'd end up becoming his assistant after graduating? Drop off coffee? It seemed like Cindy really had awakened Bruce's romantic side. I smiled in self-mockery, then looked away. Just then, John began walking toward me. When I looked at him next, he said with a smile, "Your coffee, Mrs. Harold." Cindy had just exited her office upon hearing this. She lowered her head instantly, face flushing all sorts of red shades.