Chapter 24
1375 Words
Rachel
After we got the misunderstanding out of the way, I happily left Chase to his work.
Now that everything had been resolved, I knew Chase would call me or text me when he is less busy.
There was no need for me to be too stubborn. I did not want to stay in his office and obstruct his work.
I got to my family house with happiness radiating off me.
Tomorrow, I was going to go to work. I don't care if I had used up the required off days that Chase had given me or if I had not.
I sat on the chair at the living room. The soft material caressed my skin.
I groaned in comfort before switching to a tv channel that I liked.
My mother came down from the upper floor.
She was a freelance content creator and blogger so she stays at home frequently.
She was the person a visitor would have a higher chance of seeing whenever the visitor comes to our house.
She liked traveling or strolling once in a while.
She was holding a laptop with one hand.
Her other hand was typing swiftly on the keyboard.
"You are back?" She asked as she raised her head to smile at me.
She came to sit by me after descending the stairs.
"Yes." I said in a soft voice.
"Has the issue with Chase been resolved?" She paused her work on the laptop to ask.
I blushed in embarrassment, "Who told you we were having issues?"
My mother laughed.
"You two were obviously in disagreement. It showed on your face and behavior. All through yesterday, you walked around with a dark face that would make outsiders think the people living with you owed you a million dollars." My mother said with mirth still in her eyes.
I shrugged.
"It was just small misunderstanding. We have resolved it." I said in defeat.
I did not know I was reflecting my mood like that.
I rubbed my nose.
I thought my thoughts were as discreet as they can be. I did not know that I was deceiving myself.
My family knew something was wrong, they just didn't ask because of my feelings.
The rest of the went uneventfully.
When it was time for me to sleep, I received two messages. One was from Chase and the other was from Steel Cell Group's intranet group chat.
The group chat was for employees.
I decided to check Chase's message first.
Chase: I miss you.
It wasn't an elaborate message but it sent warmth straight to my heart.
I moved on to the next message after obsessing over the one Chase sent for a few minutes.
The whole gist of the message that was sent in the group chat was informing all employees of an important fact. Chase had organized an outing for all employees of Steel Cell Group.
It was a day out at a hot spring resort.
I had to marvel at the way Chase deals with his work and employees.
He knew how to make others trust him enough to do his work wholeheartedly.
For some reason, my happiness reduced and it was replaced with an irritating thought at the back of my mind.
I could not help but think of Patricia's threat.
Her tone was eerie.
A rabbit would bite back if it was pushed to a corner. I was dealing with a malicious human being here.
A person that can foster intelligent thoughts that would not favor me.
A person that would not hesitate to do anything to harm me.
Now, Patricia ended up in a worst situation as a result of plotting against me. I can not imagine what she would do after all this development.
I wasn't scared of rumors about I and Chase flying about.
I knew it was a lost cause when Patricia got on our case.
We didn't confirm anything so the rumors would always be what it is, rumors. Even with this, I was still worried.
I don't know what was going on in Patricia's mind.
I dialed Chase's number.
It rang once before connecting.
"Chase," I called with a smile in my voice, "How are you doing?"
"I am doing fine. How's my baby?" Chase said.
A tiny hint of red colored my cheeks at the nickname he gave me.
I wasn't always like this. I did not know that Chase would bring a blush to my skin at the slightest provocation.
He just had a way of getting under my skin and going to my heart.
"Chase," I called again. My tone was more serious this time.
It was better to discuss my worries quickly.
"What's wrong? Did anybody trouble you?" He asked. His voice held worry.
He might have noticed my solemn tone.
"It is about Patricia and her cohorts. I want to talk about them." I started. I did not tell him about what Patricia said.
I would tell him later. I would prefer it if we discussed the incident that Patricia's scheme almost caused.
"Patricia had a friend that was related to the underworld. That was where she was able to get that drugged they spiked your drink with." Chase explained.
I nodded to show him that I was listening before I caught myself mid-action.
Chase wasn't here, he would not be able to see me.
I hummed to show him I was following.
The underworld was basically the mafia. It was this huge entity that had hands everywhere.
Deep within me, I felt like Chase was involved with the underworld somehow.
Still, there was no direct evidence so I did not jump into any conclusions.
He continued, "This drug is mainly created to be used in clubs and other things related to s****l intimacy. That is the reason why the drug is not made up of just one aphrodisiac. The antidote is difficult to make."
"Patricia wanted to have a video recording of me going crazy after ingesting the spiked drink. She wanted to use it as blackmailing material. She is targeting the relationship I have with you. She is aiming to use the connection between us." I said calmly.
"Yes, that is part of her plans. She wanted to gave you under her control." Chase affirmed.
I had already guessed that Patricia was going for the relationship between I and Chase.
Hearing it from Chase hits differently though.
It made my hazy guess more real.
My head buzzed.
"Rachel, I know you are a very careful person. Why did you take the drink they offered?" Chase asked in worry.
My mother asked a similar question.
"I guess I did not believe that a coworker would go as far as drugging me to blackmail me." I said wryly, "That aside, I saw them drink from the same bottle so I kept my vigilance on the low. I did not know they would unaffected."
"They had taken the antidote in advance. No worries, I would deal with them." Chase said in a dark voice.
I could feel the chill his anger generated.
"Patricia called me yesterday." I informed him, "She apologized and then, she asked me to plead her case with you. She wants you to restore their jobs. I refused and she left some threats. She said she would reveal our relationship to everyone."
Chase stayed silent for a moment.
"It looks like I have been too lenient with my punishments. Don't worry, I will take care of this matter. I am sorry for stressing you." Chase said in a voice that was eerily calm.
Even if Patricia was my enemy, I could not help the act of lighting a candle for her in my heart.
I knew that any mercy Chase might have been considering to gift her would be non-existent now.
Still, hearing Chase's words assured me more than ever.
"I miss you too." I said.
I was referring to his text message.
My words signaled that the conversation about Patricia was over.
Talking about her was a great way to spoil my mood.
I hanged up before I squealed into my pillow.
I did not even wait for Chase to say goodnight.
This night was going to be a long one.
- Writer
