Her Suspected Billionaire

Chapter 17

Sheila paced the living room of her parents’ house, still in her pyjamas with her phone pressed to her ear. One look at her and anyone could tell she was tense and worried about something. She sat on an armchair beside one of the large window that reflected sunlight into the room and the abruptly got up again. She’d been trying to reach Alice since she’d woken up that morning, and her call kept going to voicemail. The fact that she knew Alice was all alone at home scared her silly. She thought of calling the police but she decided not to, because if nothing was wrong with Alice, then it would have been a false alarm. Oh, but she had to know. Why was Alice not picking her call? She wasn’t a deep sleeper and she always heard her phone ring, even in her sleep. Sheila called it her superpower.

​After trying Alice’s number again and there was still no answer, she dialled Steven.

“Good morning, Steven. I’ve been trying to call Alice. She’s not answering and a lot of things are running through my mind...”

“Woah, calm down, Sheila. You sound hysterical. I’m very sure Alice is okay and safe.”

“How do you know that? Please, Steven, could you go to our apartment and check on her for me? Pretty please?”

“No problem, I can. I was just about to head out. I have a business client who I’m meeting later at First Bites.”

“Turning my sweet restaurant into a conference room now, huh?”

“It’s just one person and I always take them there so they can buy something to eat, hun, and also recommend it. It’s good for business.”

“I know, babe. I’m just teasing. Of course, I appreciate all you do for I and First Bites. I can’t wait to be back home so I can see you.”

“You know I miss you too. How’s your mum?”

“She was discharged yesterday. She’s back home for now. She’s still on medication and we have a check-up scheduled for Monday.”

“Okay, that’s good. I’m glad she’s better,” Steven said, and then added he needed to hang up now so he could drive. Sheila said her goodbye and hung up. As she sat in the living room after the call, she said a quiet prayer for Alice.

*​​​​​​*​​​​​

​Steven pulled up in front of the building that housed Alice and Sheila’s apartment about thirty minutes after he’d gotten off the call with Sheila. He got out of the car, took the bag containing four packets of Chinese food he’d bought on the way and took the elevator to the seventh floor where their apartment was. He got to their front door and rang the doorbell twice and when he heard no movement or no answer from inside, like Sheila, he began to get worried. He switched the bag of Chinese food from his right to his left hand and with his right hand curled up in a fist, he began to knock loudly on the door. Still no answer. He got out his phone and dialled Alice’s number and then placed his phone near the door. He could hear Alice’s phone ringing loudly from inside the apartment. She was meant to be home if her phone was inside, wasn’t she? Sheila called Steven just then, but he decided not to answer her call. He didn’t want her to get panicked again. With all his might, he used the right side of his body and slammed it against the door. It didn’t move and he steeled himself for another slam when he heard Alice scream his name.

“What are you doing?” she yelled again. She had just gotten off the elevator and was running down to the door. Steven took in her looks. Had she gone for a jog? He never knew she took early morning runs, and apparently, neither did Sheila. Else she wouldn’t have called him to check up on Alice.

“Did you want to break the door, Steven? What is wrong with you?” Alice continued. She was shouting and at this point a lady who lived next door had opened her door and poked her head out.

“We’re so sorry,” Steven apologised to the lady. Alice waved and gave a small smile in apology as well, and then looking sternly at Steven, she got her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. Steven walked in following her and closed the door behind him.

“What exactly were you trying to do? Do you think I can afford to replace a whole damn door right now? I told you I’d call if I needed company. I never said anything about you barging into my home when I’m not around,” Alice continued, pacing around the living while she spoke.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were home. Sheila called me up this morning. She said you weren’t answering your calls. You got her worried.”

“What does she mean I’m not answering my calls? My phone never even…” Alice began and stopped mid sentence as she put her hands in her pockets.

“I guess I forgot my phone at home,” she finally said, looking up at Steven with an embarrassed smile. She walked into the kitchen area and sure enough, her phone lay on the kitchen island that served as their dining area. Picking it up and unlocking it, she saw she had over fifteen missed calls from Sheila and one from Steven. She exhaled a breath of air from her mouth forcefully and turned back to look at Steven. She felt very remorseful for yelling at and scolding him like that. He was just looking out for her.

“I brought Chinese,” Steven announced, breaking the silence and lifting up the bag that contained the food.

​After cleaning up the mess she’d made in the kitchen before leaving the house, Alice had a quick shower and joined Steven to eat. They ate on the floor in the living room while a show played on TV.

“I’m sorry, Stevie,” she apologized. Steven chuckled.

“It’s okay, Allie. I’d be upset too if I met someone trying to bust down my front door.”

“At first I didn’t see your face because your back was turned to me and I just thought it was a total stranger,” Alice added, with a light laugh. Today had begun moodily, but so far, between meeting Evan at Winterhill and eating Chinese food with Steven now, it had gotten much better.

“How’d you break a mug? What happened?”

“I…I had a nightmare and I wanted to have something to drink. I got startled by the alarm on my phone and it fell,” she began and put some food in her mouth. Steven waited till she was done chewing before she spoke again.

“I was just so fidgety this morning. The nightmare scared me more than I’d like to admit, I guess. That’s why I went for a little run. I just needed to leave the house. s**t, I should probably call Sheila back and let her know I’m okay.”

“Don’t worry about that. Just eat. I already messaged her that you’re safe,” Steven said. He had chatted with Sheila while Alice was showering.

“Thanks so much for everything, Steven. You’re great for Sheila. She called and you ran over here? That was a sweet thing to do,” Alice said. “You’re deeply in loveeeeee,” she teased, using her chopsticks to poke him in the arm. Steven laughed and poked her right back.

“So did the run help?”

“Mm-hmm. It really did. I should do it more often.”

“Just don’t turn it to a routine yet. The person who’s stalking you will probably know that and might want to encounter you on one of such runs,” Steven advised. Alice nodded.

“I met Mr. Sterling at Winterhill too.”

“You ran all the way to Winterhill?” Alice nodded.

“No wonder you’re chowing down on that so quickly,” he added and Alice poked him again.

“He asked me to call him Evan. We spoke for a while. Guess if you see your boss at a park without a shirt, you earn the right to call him his first name and have a mini-hangout with him.”

“Say what now? What were you and Evan talking about…while he was…shirtless?” Steven asked, with a low growl in his voice.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Stevie,” Alice teased and they both laughed.

​After they were done eating, he helped her tidy up and then Steven had to leave for a meeting with his client. Alice called Sheila then and they spoke for over an hour until Sheila had to go. As she sat in her living room watching the show she and Steven were watching while they ate, she was grateful for the people in her life and her mind drifted back to her conversation with Evan.