What If?

Chapter 32 - Did I Miss the Plot Last Night?

The morning sunlight piercing through the curtains, which had been abruptly yanked open made Glenn’s eyes sting brutally. His head felt like it was being hammered by a hundred-ton mallet, throbbing violently from the hangover.

As he struggled to piece together his scattered consciousness, a highly familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Good morning, my handsome young master," Jerry greeted him with a deliberately forced, friendly smile, even though his face was completely sour and super annoyed.

Glenn jolted awake, clutching his splitting headache. He scanned the unfamiliar room, his brow furrowing deeply. "Where... where the hell am I?"

"In my apartment, obviously! Where else!" Jerry snapped fiercely, planting his hands on his hips right in front of the bed. Before Glenn could even open his mouth to protest, Jerry cut him off instantly, "What? You wanna ask something? Why does your head hurt? Why are you nauseous? Because last night you drank alcohol like it was water, you i***t!"

Glenn clicked his tongue in annoyance, rubbing his tired, rumpled face aggressively. "Tch. You're too damn loud for this early in the morning."

Jerry let out a long sigh, trying to suppress the anger that was already hitting the roof, before sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Glenn. "Not every problem has to be solved by running to alcohol, bro. How long are you going to keep doing this?" Jerry said, his voice softening with the genuine worry of a true friend.

But in the next split second, Jerry hissed cynically, his gaze turning sharp. "And on top of that, you actually hooked up with a girl last night. Are you tired of living or what?"

Glenn blinked in utter confusion, his brow furrowing even deeper. "Huh? H-hooked up with a girl?! Since when?!"

Jerry exhaled a heavy breath, rolling his eyes lazily before finally recounting the series of crazy events from the night before.

Last night, frustrated because his calls kept being cut off, Jerry finally took a gamble and headed to the high-end bar Glenn usually frequented. The bartender there, who knew Glenn's habits inside out, immediately tipped Jerry off, saying that his boss had just been led out by a sexy girl in a skimpy dress toward the hotel area upstairs. Armed with the room number the bartender had tracked down, Jerry bolted straight up.

Without a second thought, Jerry hammered on the door and barged right into the hotel room. Inside, Jerry absolutely lost his mind, ripping into the sexy girl for having the audacity to take advantage of Glenn while he was completely wasted. Realizing that the man who had just stormed in was Glenn Ellsworth’s right-hand man, the girl panicked, grabbed her clothes, and bolted out of the room just like that.

Hearing Jerry’s story, Glenn stared blankly, his jaw dropped. He literally couldn't remember a single thing about what happened at the bar or in that hotel room.

"All... all I remember is going to the harbor with Launa, and then dropping her off back at her place," Glenn explained defensively, trying to piece together the fragments of his memory that had suddenly gone completely blank.

Jerry scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, that’s the only part your brain actually kept! What about the parts you don't remember? This is your toxic habit, if you haven't completely blacked out yet, you just won't stop drinking!"

Glenn swallowed hard, staring at Jerry in pure horror. "Y-you mean... I was r***d?"

Jerry shrugged, equally at a loss for how to describe it. "Well, swallow whatever conclusion you want. When I walked in, you were half-conscious on the bed, and that girl was completely naked. You were too. Fortunately, whether your self-control last night was as thin as tissue paper or what, I don't know. But what's clear is that I got there before you could actually put it inside her."

"But, how do you know if mine..." Glenn glanced down toward his private area.

Jerry clicked his tongue. "Well... I can't say for sure. Let's just hope you hadn't yet."

Glenn ruffled his hair in sheer frustration, feeling incredibly cursed yet deeply grateful that Jerry had shown up at a time that was either perfect or entirely questionable. Ignoring his embarrassment, Glenn forced his body up with whatever strength he had left, desperate to change the subject.

"Last night... I got some crucial intel from the harbor, Jer," Glenn said, his voice gradually turning serious and cold. "I ran into Chriss, the former field coordinator for the Coast Guard team from two months ago."

Jerry, who had been ready to keep nagging, shut his mouth the instant he heard Chriss’s name. His aura shifted immediately into focus. "And? What did he say?"

Jerry listened intently, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper by the time Glenn finished his story. "Holy shit... so our theories all this time were right. There’s an internal conspiracy that deliberately sabotaged your mom’s ship."

"I have to find the person who forged those documents, Jer. They’re the key to uncovering Frank Robert’s real identity," Glenn emphasized, a spark of fury reigniting in his eyes.

Jerry fell silent for a moment, then gave Glenn’s shoulder a brief pat before standing up from the bed.

"Alright, we can deal with that harbor ghost later. Right now..." Jerry suddenly yanked Glenn’s arm with enough force to nearly send his boss tumbling off the bed.

"...you are getting in the shower! Your body reeks of alcohol, and your face looks like a crumpled mop. Hurry up and clean up, we have to get to the office!"

"Damn it, Jer! Easy there, my head is still spinning!" Glenn cursed instantly, but he still stumbled his way toward the bathroom, clutching his throbbing head.

*****

Launa let out a long sigh, shaking her head vigorously over and over again to banish the intrusive thoughts that had been wrecking her focus since dawn.

Unfortunately, the sound of that woman's heavy, feral moans on the phone last night was still ringing crystal clear inside her head.

Was this just how wealthy people lived their lives? Launa fought tooth and nail to keep a positive mindset about Glenn. Remembering the herbal soup he had ordered for Grandma Emma yesterday, Glenn had seemed so kind. But last night's audio recording completely forced her brain to think the absolute worst of her boss. Oh, whatever why was she even busy obsessing over Glenn's behavior, which was clearly completely out of her control? Besides, her job here was strictly limited to being a personal assistant.

Anything else, including her boss's bedroom affairs, was none of her business to interfere with.

Slide...

The glass door to the office slid open. Launa instinctively sat up straight and turned her head. Yes, the man himself walked in, followed by Jerry pacing right behind him.

Instantly, the atmosphere inside the room turned suffocatingly tense for Launa. Her heart hammered in sheer panic. She was completely at a loss for how to act right now. The sheer awkwardness of it all was hitting the roof!

"Morning, Launa," Jerry greeted her, friendly as always.

"M-morning, Mr. Jerry," Launa replied awkwardly, doing everything she could to avoid looking at Glenn.

Meanwhile, Glenn walked straight toward his executive chair and sat down. His appearance today looked a little different than usual, yet he still maintained his signature fashionable flair. He was wearing a crisp white, high-collared shirt with the top buttons casually left undone. The shirt was layered under a thick, textured brown tweed jacket, exactly the color of milk coffee adorned with a row of white pearl buttons down the front and at the cuffs. Paired with formal black trousers, Glenn truly looked like a model who had just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Unfortunately, he looked incredibly handsome.

Glenn stared at the draft on his desk for a brief moment, then looked up at his new assistant. "Launa, come here. You brought the draft that Chriss gave us last night, right? Let's double-check the coordinates now," Glenn called out, his deep voice completely flat, showing absolutely no sign of guilt or embarrassment.

Hearing the voice that had groaned so brutally last night call her name, Launa’s cheeks instantly flushed a deep crimson. A sharp shiver ran down her spine.

Glenn, catching the drastic change on his assistant’s face, furrowed his brow in confusion. Jerry, too, narrowed his eyes, baffled by Launa’s sudden odd behavior.

"What's... wrong with you, Lau?" Jerry asked, puzzled.

"U-uh? What do you mean, sir?" Launa replied in a panic, her voice pitching up an octave.

"Your cheeks are bright red, Launa. Are you sick?" Glenn chimed in, immediately standing up from his chair. He took a step forward, intending to check on his assistant whose face suddenly looked like a boiled lobster.

Seeing Glenn, who was wearing a brown tweed jacket, walking toward her, Launa panicked half to death. Reflexively, she took a step backward. "I-I'm totally fine, sir! I'm healthy!"

Glenn grew even more perplexed. He took another step forward, but Launa backed away again until her back almost hit the bookshelf.

"Don't lie to me. Let me check," Glenn said firmly, reaching his hand out to touch Launa’s forehead.

"N-no need, sir! I-I'm sorry, please excuse me, I need to use the restroom for a second!" Launa cut him off, her composure completely shattered. Without waiting for her boss's reply, Launa spun on her heel and bolted out of the glass room, trying to save her heart, which felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

Glenn froze in place, his hand still suspended in mid-air. He blinked in utter confusion, completely oblivious to the fact that Launa’s bizarre behavior was the direct aftermath of his blackout from the night before.

Glenn turned back to Jerry, his brow furrowing deeply. "What the hell is wrong with her? It's like she just saw a ghost."

Jerry could only shrug helplessly, equally mystified. "I have no clue either."

"Is she on her period or something?"

*****