CHAPTER 2

His body twitched, and for a second, while it happened, his bulge bumped into mine. It was so abrupt and so unintentional, but the fact that something down there grew hard made me think that maybe I wanted all of this. 

“This better be something important or else—” Boss said as he surrendered back to his office table to pick up the call. “Hello?” 

Meanwhile, I remained stuck on the wall. Like a fly waiting for prey. 

I skipped a heartbeat, observing how his heavy breaths fill in the gaps in the air as he listened to the static voice over the phone. He did not utter a word in response to the caller, nor did I hear anything audible from whoever it was speaking, but one thing was clear at least to my knowledge. He just got bad news. 

“What was it?” I asked, which I instantly regretted, considering it was way too obvious that whatever it was was none of my business. 

He refused to answer. Instead, he only picked up his suit and hung it on his shoulder as he hurriedly swiped his car keys off the ashtray on the table. 

He walked past me with a clenching jaw. I wasn't sure if it was anger or disappointment that was painted on his face but for heaven's sake I hoped I wasn't the reason. Again. 

*****

*SOMEONE SENT YOU A MESSAGE. TAP TO VIEW*

It was already sundown by the time I received a notification from the dating app I downloaded.  As obvious as the fact that Spencer was the only match I made so far in the app, I already anticipated that the message came from him. However, what the message was all about was completely a different thing. 

“I need you to come over here at St. Luke's Hospital.” 

I stared at the texts flashed on the screen of my phone. Just the weight of reading it alone already made me feel nauseous. I knew it had to be something about Mr. Johnson. The older and kinder Johnson. 

“I'm on my way now,” I replied as I rushed out of the building and flagged for the nearest taxi cab. 

It was a private hospital. One that looked more of a fancy hotel rather than a hospital itself. Chandeliers were all over the ceiling, porcelain statues lined up on both sides of the hallway, and nurses were dressed like cabin crews of a popular airline. 

I ran in between heavy breaths until I reached the lobby. There, I saw the other Johnson tucked in the corner of a crimson couch. 

“Hey, boss,” I called. “Is everything okay?” 

He stood up as soon as I got in front of him. “Follow me. I don't know what to do.” 

He began walking at a pace so fast it almost seemed like running. “It's Dad. He had a heart attack. He's still unconscious until now.” 

“But he's okay, right?” I asked, concerned. 

“That I don't know. I can't really tell.” Boss prompted the elevator doors to open and we slid inside. There were overwhelming numbers of buttons on the pad, enough to tell how tall of a building this hospital was. 

When we got to the twenty-seventh floor, Spencer could not help but just run to a room where I assumed his dad was in. I followed him. There was a doctor with his three nurses assisting him by the time we arrived inside. 

“How is he doing, Doctor?” 

“I think the patient might have just fallen into a coma. He must've hit his head somewhere when he got a heart attack. This is bad,” the doctor said as he turned around to face us, flipping page after page of what looked like findings of the patient's records. “Though it's not really definite. We are trying our best to conduct immediate actions. We will let you know of the results once they're done.” 

Hearing those words mouthed by the doctor made Spencer sink down a sofa. 

“Hey, boss,” I moved closer to him as soon as I recognised the sudden look of concern on his face. “He's gonna be okay. Let's just hope for the best as we wait for the lab results.” 

He ignored me. Not because he did not hear me but because he intentionally did not want whatever words came out of me. Instead, he faced his father who was almost lifeless on the bed, held his hand, and pressed it hard hoping he would react. He did not. 

“You can't leave me just yet, Dad. Not until I'm ready to take over the company,” he whispered, his voice husky and airy. 

I froze on the same spot, contemplating whether or not I should leave to give him some space. But just in time as I planned to empty the room, a hand suddenly clipped my pants. “Help me wake him up!”  

I wanted to. I was about to. But it seemed like Boss and I were too late for that, as the monitor beeped in a long steady sound along with the lifeline turning flat.