Chapter 82: Chapter 81
Being so direct on camera was practically a confession.
If this post-interview segment aired, it would definitely go viral. The reporter was incredibly excited and wanted to ask a few more questions, but a staff member hurried over and whispered something in their ear.
The reporter’s face filled with astonishment. The way they looked at Joanna Kennedy changed instantly. They forced a smile and said, "Okay, that’s great. Thanks, Jojo. We can wrap up the post-interview here..."
Joanna Kennedy was lost in her own thoughts. Only when she heard the reporter say it was over did she slowly get to her feet.
The moment she stepped out, Walter Young couldn’t help but scold her. "Why are you so honest? They ask you something, and you just say it. Don’t you know how to hold anything back?!"
"...I don’t think there’s any need to be secretive about this kind of thing. I’m an actress, not an idol..." Joanna Kennedy retorted under her breath.
"Oh, so you *do* know the difference between an actress and an idol!" Walter Young said with a humorless smile. "Then why aren’t you afraid of netizens doxxing you after you just announced you have someone you like?"
Joanna Kennedy fell silent.
Head Agent Young took a deep breath, his head throbbing.
’One after another... I really wish this world of love-addled fools would just die.’
*
Southland Group was rolling in money. Even though the weather had turned cool, the air conditioning was kept at a constant 75 degrees Fahrenheit as usual.
The moment Joanna Kennedy pushed open the glass door and stepped inside, she felt the comfortable temperature wash over her skin.
A pretty receptionist in a professional uniform walked over. Upon seeing who it was, the woman was visibly startled for a moment before her expression quickly shifted to an even warmer, more amiable smile. "Miss Kennedy," she said softly, "are you here to see Mr. Lockwood?"
"Mhm. Is he in the office?"
"Yes, he is," the young receptionist said with a smile. "Let me just inform Assistant Warren, and then you can go right up."
"Thank you." Faced with the receptionist’s change in attitude, Joanna Kennedy’s expression didn’t betray her inner awkwardness, unsure of what to say.
After hanging up the internal line, the receptionist asked Joanna Kennedy to wait a moment.
A few minutes later, Jack Warren appeared before her, dressed sharply in a suit.
"Miss Kennedy." Jack Warren drew closer, a trace of difficulty flashing across his face as he lowered his voice. "Mr. Lockwood said... you should go home."
"...He doesn’t want to see me?"
"No, no, that’s not it," Jack Warren immediately and anxiously refuted, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Why would you think that..."
’It’s only natural for me to think that, isn’t it?’
After a moment of silence, Joanna Kennedy said, "Assistant Warren, please tell him that I’m moving back to my apartment today. He... doesn’t have to avoid me anymore."
’Moving back to her apartment?!’
The usually composed Jack Warren was stunned. He didn’t know what had happened, but his gut told him that if he relayed this message, a certain someone would be angry enough to explode.
"Miss Kennedy, Miss Kennedy!" Seeing that the young woman had already reached the door, Jack Warren hurried to catch up.
"Is there something else, Assistant Warren?"
Joanna Kennedy was in a bad mood and didn’t want to lose her composure in front of an outsider.
Jack Warren could also see she didn’t want to talk much. Thinking about the man who had been holed up in the CEO’s office for days, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind to tell her.
"Mr. Lockwood really isn’t trying to avoid you..." A complex look appeared in Jack Warren’s eyes. Under Joanna Kennedy’s silent gaze, he sighed and said, "The truth is, Mr. Lockwood is sick."
"He caught a cold just a couple of days after the Chinese Valentine’s Day—the flu. He didn’t take any medicine, and he started running a fever this morning. He doesn’t look too good..."
Jack Warren made sure to emphasize that he got sick not long after the Chinese Valentine’s Day.
And just as he’d expected, he saw the young woman’s shocked expression, tinged with a hint of unease and confusion.
「The CEO’s Office.」
The air conditioning inside was turned down so low that a normal person would shiver upon entering. Dark gray curtains billowed gently with the airflow from the vents, casting faint shadows on the white floor.
Simon Lockwood twisted open a bottle of mineral water and slowly took a sip. The cool liquid brought some relief to his dry, burning throat.
His lips were slightly pale and pressed into a thin line, a stark contrast to the unnatural flush on his face.
When people who rarely get sick fall ill, their symptoms are often more severe, and recovery is slower.
A wave of dizzying nausea made Simon Lockwood’s brows furrow tightly. He took a fever reducer from a nearby medicine box and swallowed it with a swig of water.
You weren’t supposed to take too much of the fever reducer, but in the span of just one hour, he had already taken two pills.
His temperature on the thermometer remained stuck at 38.5°C. After he took the medicine, it would briefly drop to 37.5°C, only to climb right back up.
The family doctor was still on the way. Simon Lockwood propped his forehead on his hand, resting his head against the desk. His mind was hazy and dull.
He was so out of it that when the door was pushed open and someone entered, he only sluggishly lifted his eyes to look, before his brows knitted together tightly.
Serena Sutton was carrying a thermal container in one hand and a bag of various medicines in the other. Dressed in a white dress, she shivered the moment she stepped into the frigid room.
"Mr. Lockwood, are you feeling unwell?" Serena Sutton asked in a gentle, concerned voice. "Why is the temperature so low? It’s not good for you. Let me turn it up a bit for you..."
"Not necessary," Simon Lockwood cut her off, his voice cold. "If there’s nothing else, get out."
Serena Sutton gazed at the man’s handsome, quiet face, which was clearly flushed. She was certain now that Simon Lockwood really did have a high fever, yet she still found it hard to believe.
’It was a strange feeling. Simon Lockwood was so powerful, like a tireless, hyper-intelligent robot. To see him fall ill like an ordinary person was something she was reluctant to believe.’
’But, she had heard that people are more vulnerable when they’re sick, more likely to open up their hearts. On that thought, she could grudgingly forgive Simon Lockwood for not being as invincible as she had imagined.’
"I made some congee. You barely ate any lunch, so you should at least have a little."
As Serena Sutton spoke, she opened the thermal container, and the fragrant aroma of rice congee wafted out.
Simon Lockwood’s temples throbbed painfully. A hint of red crept into the depths of his eyes, his aura thick with hostility. "Get out."
His tone was utterly cold. Serena Sutton looked up and met the man’s dark, loathing gaze. Startled, she took a step back, struggling to maintain a calm and gentle expression. With a feigned, pitiful vulnerability, she said, "Simon, you know I like you. I just want you to get better soon..."
’A clumsy imitation.’
"Get the hell out." Simon Lockwood, who was always aloof and rarely showed anger, now let his face fall completely, his eyes like chips of ice.
Serena Sutton had no doubt that if she dared to say another word, Simon Lockwood would make her wish she were dead.
In the end, fear won out. Her face pale, Serena Sutton stumbled away in a hurry.
The cloying, unfamiliar scent of her perfume lingered in the air. Simon Lockwood’s eyes were bloodshot as he quickly threw open all the windows.
DING. The elevator doors slid open. Just as Joanna Kennedy stepped out, she saw a familiar, slender figure emerging from the CEO’s office. Serena Sutton was leaving in a hurry with her back to her, so Joanna couldn’t see her expression.
’Simon Lockwood was sick and didn’t want to see her, yet he was willing to let Serena Sutton into his office. Was it for work... or for some other reason?’
