Chapter 7

Dinner was bland and unappetizing as I patiently entertained Kate's small talk. Bruce didn't say a word throughout dinner, nor did he even try to contribute to our conversation. His phone never stopped vibrating, though. Instead of getting irritated, Bruce patiently replied to the messages, occasionally smiling. He barely ate his dinner. It didn't take much to guess who was texting him on the other end. Kate grew more anxious as she watched Bruce respond to his texts. When Bruce stepped outside, she grumbled to me, "Say, Nancy, why do you think Bruce seems so obsessed all of a sudden?" I understood where Kate was coming from. In the past, Bruce would never spend so much time replying to text messages—but things were different now. The Harold family driver awaited Kate outside the restaurant after dinner. She glanced at Bruce, who was still replying to text messages, and said, "Drive Nancy home, Bruce. It's so late at night now." Bruce ignored Kate entirely. I came to my own rescue. "I've already called for a cab, Kate." Guilt flared in Kate's eyes, but she still left both Bruce and I behind outside the restaurant. Just when I was about to leave for the taxi stand, Bruce said, "Let's go." I looked at him in surprise, only then realizing he meant to drive me home. "Thank you, Mr. Harold, but I've already booked a cab." Bruce stopped walking and asked sarcastically, "What? Are you worried your boyfriend will have a misunderstanding?" I didn't insist on taking the cab. After all, I needed to save all the money I could—including the cost of hailing a taxi. When I got into Bruce's car, I couldn't help but feel that the comfort of luxury cars really was unmatched. Minutes after I sat in the car, I began feeling drowsy with the added influence of alcohol from earlier. It had been several days since I'd gotten proper sleep. Bruce noticed this very quickly. He said gently, "Rest. I'll wake you when we reach." His tone was rather friendly. I hesitated for a moment before exhaustion swept my rationale away. After an unknown amount of time, there came the sound of a phone vibrating. Only then did I slowly open my eyes. I could see how close Bruce was in my blurry vision. He was gazing at me. But instead of coldness in those eyes I knew so well, there was only tenderness. It all felt like a dream. I could smell the familiar fragrance of his bath soap. His presence was slowly enveloping all my senses. My eyes traveled down to find that Bruce's collar had been unbuttoned, revealing his smooth white skin and collarbone. He sat there unmoving—like how he often did in so many dreams of mine—creating an incredibly alluring sight. But if this was a dream, why did heat suddenly flare in his cold eyes? As if he was some disciplined monk who suddenly harbored uncouth thoughts. Bruce and I silently gazed at one another as the night went on. But dangerous desires grew within me, unable to be restrained. My breathing grew heavier as my heart trembled. As my reason left the room, I reached out to tug on Bruce's collar, closing the distance between us. After all, this was just a dream, right? As we grew closer, I heard myself murmur, "Baby…" Bruce's warm breath sprayed across my skin, feeling so incredibly real. The sensation on my face forced me out of my daze. I was about to pull away when he grabbed my shoulder, stopping me. How domineering of him. Wait, this wasn't a dream. I opened my eyes wide and turned my face away without hesitation before Bruce leaned in. The amorous atmosphere quickly died down. My heart pounded wildly, as if returning me to my senses all at once. "Your phone is ringing." I flinched, then noticed something had slid down to the floor of the car with my slight movement. It was Bruce's suit jacket. I pretended not to notice and looked at the name flashing on my phone screen instead. It was a call from Douglas. "Aren't you going to pick up?" Bruce asked flatly. "It's been ringing for some time." I clasped my phone and looked out the window, realizing we'd already arrived at my apartment. "Thank you for the ride, Mr. Harold. Have a good evening," I thanked Bruce. "You're welcome. It wasn't too inconvenient a trip," Bruce said lightly. I couldn't read much emotion from his tone. If it weren't for my racing heart, I would've suspected that what happened just now was all a hallucination. I glanced at Bruce, noticing him tap the profile of a user with a pink cat profile picture. He gently asked, "Have you gone to sleep yet?" I'd seen that profile picture before. It was Cindy. Only then did I realize Bruce's "not too inconvenient" trip really wasn't inconvenient at all. His beloved lived right above my floor, after all. My nails sank into my palm before I quietly exited the car. In the end, it was all just a dream. When my phone rang again, I calmed myself down before answering. Douglas' gentle yet somewhat anxious voice rang out, "Are you alright, Nancy?" I was stupefied. "Yeah, I am. Why?" I heard from David that you've been working overtime for the past two days. When you didn't reply to my messages, I…" Douglas was the one who recommended David to our team. Based on how anxious Douglas sounded, he was probably worried I'd passed out from overexertion. I felt overwhelmed thinking about all the messages he'd sent and the handbag he'd given me. I was lucky to have a friend who cared about me like this in a city as big as Joddesdon and Saza. So I suggested, "Are you free tomorrow night? I'd like to treat you to dinner." "Huh?" I felt like my suggestion was too sudden, so I added, "Or we could have dinner another day." "Tomorrow night then," Douglas said hurriedly. "Text me once you're done with work. I'll go pick you up." … As promised, Douglas arrived at the office the next evening. He was dressed in a white shirt and brown slacks, looking quite classy. He had brought along a grocery bag too. When he saw that I was still busy coding, he brought a packet of blueberries into the pantry. I cleared my desk, preparing to leave. Just then, a video call request came on my phone. I tapped it open to find that it was Kate calling. Why was she looking for me at this hour? I hesitated several seconds before answering the call. Kate immediately said worriedly, "Nance, Bruce is about to do something foolish. He plans to bring Ms. Lane to our family dinner tonight and won't change his mind no matter what I say." Kate already couldn't tolerate Bruce bringing Cindy to a mere family dinner; imagine how she'd react when she learns Bruce had invested five million dollars to help her complete her graduation project. Yet I still had to keep this a secret for Bruce. Neither revealing it nor continuing to keep it felt right. Kate continued over the call, "Can you help me talk to him, Nance? Bruce has listened to you in the past before." I was at a loss for words. Right when I was thinking about how to refuse Kate, Douglas suddenly walked over with some washed blueberries. "Try this, Nancy." Douglas brought a blueberry to my mouth, shocking me. I then heard Kate's gasp. "Is that your new boyfriend, Nance?" Douglas' face had been perfectly captured by my phone camera in the video call.