Cassi's lips parted, but she quickly pressed them together when she caught Ezekiel's eyes going down and lingering on her mouth.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Miss Jones, I brought your lunch tray," the nurse chirped from the doorway. Cassi flinched and turned her head, her cheeks burning.
Ezekiel straightened, expression unreadable. "We'll finish this conversation later," he said smoothly. "Lydia will come back to assist you - let her. Or else I'll be here every day."
"What?!" she blurted, eyes wide.
Was he trying to kill her with a heart attack? How was she supposed to breathe properly with him around?
He turned to leave, but paused, just long enough to glance over his shoulder.
"Don't forget… you started this."
And then he was gone.
She stared at the door, her chest rising and falling, her thoughts an absolute mess.
"Seriously?" she muttered under her breath, too consumed with calming her erratic heart to respond properly. She simply nodded as the nurse, who had set her tray on the table, bid her goodbye and left.
As if perfectly timed, the door swung open again and Lydia entered with a bright, beaming smile.
"Let's get you fed, Lady Boss!" she chirped, holding up a few paper bags. "The Boss asked me to pick up some things you might need, clothes, snacks, comfort stuff. Oh! And healthy food, of course."
She set the bags down and added playfully, "Also, he told me I'll be fired permanently if I don't convince you to let me stay and help you with everything you need."
Cassi's lips parted, stunned. She didn't know what to say.
She could only watch in silence as Lydia rolled over the wheeled table and carefully setting up her lunch.
Cassi slowly relaxed, watching Lydia move with ease as she arranged her lunch. Despite her earlier embarrassment, she found herself smiling a little.
"You seem really comfortable doing all this," she said softly. "How long have you been working with Ezekiel?"
Lydia looked up and beamed. "A little over four years now. I actually started right after I graduated, worked as a private nurse for his grandmother."
"Oh," Cassi blinked. "So… kind of like a family nurse?"
"Mm-hmm," Lydia nodded proudly. "I took care of his grandmother until she passed. After that, Boss Ezekiel moved me into the company's medical team. Since then, I've handled health screenings and private care for company executives when needed."
Cassi nodded, absorbing that. "So… you're really trusted, huh?"
"I guess you could say that," Lydia chuckled. "Boss might look like an iceberg most of the time, but he's loyal. If he trusts you, he makes sure you're taken care of. Strict, but fair."
Cassi's smile faded slightly as her gaze dropped to the food tray in front of her.
So Ezekiel wasn't just playing along. He was serious. And somehow… that made everything even more complicated.
'Don't forget… you started this.' His words echoed in her head, making her scrunch her face in frustration.
Narrowing her eyes, she thought, 'So he's really planning to go along with what I started? Should I just ride the wave?'
She stabbed a piece of meat with her fork and started chewing, taking longer than usual, not because the food was tough, but because her mind was too busy spiraling.
If she were being completely honest with herself, she didn't dislike him. Not even a little. In fact, on a purely physical level, Ezekiel Hastings was exactly the type of man every woman would drool over. And yes… she was one of them.
Her thoughts drifted unexpectedly to her late mother, Aries Jones. Cassi used to ask her, as a child, why she ever married someone like her father. Her mother would always laugh and say she was too taken by his face. That marrying a handsome man would at least make it easier to forgive him when he made her mad.
'Lie,' Cassi mused with a small pout. A handsome face like her father's didn't lessen the pain. It didn't stop the heartbreak. It didn't save her mother's life. In the end, charm and good looks didn't matter if the heart behind them was cold.
Cassi poked her rice absentmindedly, her thoughts still tangled.
Then she glanced at Lydia, who was now tidying up the bags she'd brought in. "You've been working with him for four years, right?"
Lydia turned with a curious hum. "Boss Ezekiel? Yep."
Cassi leaned her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her hand. "So… how much do you really know about him?"
Lydia raised a brow, grinning. "As much as he lets anyone know. Why?"
Cassi shrugged, trying to keep her tone light. "I mean… he's obviously not the type who posts about his life or goes on talk shows. The world barely even knows what he looks like. So… I don't know anything. Like… does he have a girlfriend? Or someone close to him?"
Lydia blinked, surprised by the question, then shook her head with a little laugh. "No girlfriend that I know of. And believe me, if there was someone special, the entire company would've caught wind of it. But Boss is… well, kind of a lone wolf."
"No flings? Flirtations?" Cassi asked, almost regretting the words the moment they left her mouth.
Lydia chuckled. "Honestly? Women try. Especially at events or meetings. But he's either oblivious or just cold. Some say he's just too focused on work. Others think he just doesn't like distractions."
Cassi chewed slowly, absorbing every word. She leaned back slightly on the pillows, Lydia's words swirling in her head.
No girlfriend. No woman rumored to be close to him. No scandals. No secret flings.
That seemed so hard to believe.
A man like Ezekiel Hastings… wealthy, powerful, dangerously attractive, and completely unreachable, had no one? No trail of broken hearts? No hidden mistress waiting in the shadows?
"Either he's really that private…" she murmured, mostly to herself, "or he's the most disciplined man alive."
Lydia laughed softly. "Or both. That's Boss Ezekiel for you. All work. No nonsense. No drama."
No drama, huh? Cassi stirred her soup with her spoon. "Then what the hell am I?"
"Pardon?" Lydia blinked.
Cassi cleared her throat quickly. "Nothing. Just… thinking out loud."
But her thoughts were anything but quiet.
She was now torn because deep down, something in her gut told her that Ezekiel was someone she could trust. Like a comrade. Someone who would protect her, not betray her.
He didn't need to say much. His actions already spoke louder than the people who claimed to love her.
But…
There was also a part of her that was scared.
Scared of getting it all wrong again.
Scared of being fooled, of misreading another person the way she had with Rick. She had fallen blindly once, so blindly she never saw Anne creeping in behind her, never noticed the lies forming beneath her own roof.
Could she really afford to trust anyone again?