Kiss Me if You Can Novel Completed - Chapter 33

It was late afternoon when he woke up. Josh blinked blankly, lying down, then slowly sat up. The reason he could sleep so soundly until this hour was probably because he’d used a cold as an excuse. Thanks to that, his body felt very light now.

Thank goodness a heat cycle didn’t come.

He let out a short, involuntary sigh of relief before getting out of bed.

“Huh?”

“Huh.”

When he opened the door and stepped into the hallway, Josh’s eyes met Isaac’s, who was just walking from the other end. Isaac quickened his pace, approached him, and asked warmly,

“How’s your cold? Are you okay?”

Josh nodded.

“What about you yesterday? Mark seemed really angry.”

“Well, I’m fine.”

Isaac also replied briefly. He seemed disinclined to talk about what happened the day before, so Josh didn’t press further. As they continued walking down the long corridor together, Isaac spoke up.

“…What happened with C?”

“What do you mean, ‘what happened’?”

“I mean…”

Josh caught on to what he wanted to say but pretended not to know. Isaac hesitated, then opened his mouth again.

“C hasn’t come out of his room since yesterday. So… I was wondering if, maybe, you knew something…”

“No, I don’t know.”

Isaac’s curiosity was singular: why had he returned covered in so many pheromones? Unless Isaac bravely asked directly, he would never get an answer. Of course, even if he asked outright, Josh had no intention of telling him.

Eventually, the conversation died, and the two reached the hall.

“Then I’ll go on patrol, so…”

“Ah, Josh.”

“Why?”

Isaac called out to him as if he had made up his mind, then hesitated again. Josh waited for a moment, but he showed no further sign of speaking.

“Say it later if you want to. I’m going.”

With a simple farewell, Josh turned around. Behind him, a phone rang, followed by the sound of Isaac answering it.

“A visitor? …Did C allow it? Okay, I’ll guide them in…”

Josh continued walking and stepped out of the mansion. The strong sunlight poured down as usual, and he took out his sunglasses from his pocket and put them on.

Other than the occasional cool breeze rustling the leaves, it was simply quiet. He felt strange, somehow, in this unbelievably peaceful world. What had happened the day before felt like an illusion. Doing that with Chase, Seth finding out he was an omega, even what had just happened.

Surely, I haven’t really been dreaming something ridiculous all this time, have I?

As he was half-doubting, a car sped across the garden.

Huh?

Suddenly, he stopped. It was a familiar car. He blinked in confusion, and the car, which had whizzed past him, stopped in front of the mansion’s entrance. Then, the car door opened, and someone emerged from the driver’s seat. When she turned her head, the woman’s face showed as much surprise as Josh’s.

Emma.

As he unconsciously repeated the name in his mouth, the entrance door suddenly opened. He flinched and turned his head, and Isaac, who then appeared, spoke to her.

“Hello, I received your call. Please come in.”

“Thank you.”

Emma skillfully put on a professional smile. Isaac turned first and guided her into the house. Emma, following behind, glanced back. As her eyes met Josh’s, her smile vanished like a mask. The meaning was clear.

Let’s talk later.

Emma, who had conveyed her message with a piercing gaze, turned back to Isaac with a miraculously gentle expression.

Chase had been in a bad mood since morning. To be precise, it was from the moment he opened his eyes. No, considering how messed up he was even before going to sleep the night before, it wasn’t as if his mood had suddenly changed with the new day.

There were several reasons: lack of sleep, self-loathing, hypersensitivity.

And sexual frustration.

He ground his teeth loudly. When he reluctantly recalled the biggest factor, anger surged, unbearable. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, making sleep impossible. Chase sat there for a moment, then abruptly stood up and headed for the bathroom.

The cabinet was packed with various types of his usual medication. He picked out a few, poured a handful of pills into his palm, and immediately swallowed them. It was enough that he had to fill the sink with water and drink two cups before he could finally get all the pills down.

Haa, haa.

Chase gasped for breath, staring straight ahead. There was his pale face, with disheveled blond hair, tired red eyes, a hazy gaze, and wet, gleaming lips. Unconsciously, his hand tensed, and he almost punched the mirror without realizing it.

At that critical moment, he was stopped by the sudden ringing of the phone. A moment later, the answering machine clicked on, and a man’s voice flowed out.

[Mr. Miller, are you awake? You have a visitor.]

The calm, professional voice belonged to one of the bodyguards. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the voice of the man who had kept Chase awake last night. He continued speaking.

[It’s Mr. Pittman’s secretary. She said she came to greet you regarding yesterday’s party. Should I let her in?]

For a moment, Chase was silent. Across the silence, the bodyguard called him again.

[Mr. Miller, are you still asleep? Should I send her away?]

If he didn’t answer, it seemed he would hang up. Just as the call was about to disconnect, he picked up the wall phone.

“Let her in.”

[Understood.]

The call immediately ended, followed by silence. Chase sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.

“Hello, Mr. Miller. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Emma Bailey. Mr. Pittman’s secretary.”

Chase indifferently watched the glamorous face that introduced herself smoothly in a polished voice. She was an amazing beauty, flawless enough to be on screen right now, with a slender figure and perfect pronunciation. It almost seemed as if she was flaunting the level of Keith Pittman’s secretary right before his eyes.

Nevertheless, he showed no particular reaction. With an expressionless face, he rummaged through a script, ignoring her, but Emma remained unfazed and smoothly began her prepared speech.

“Thank you for coming to the party. Thanks to you, it concluded well. For gracing us with your presence…”

“I left halfway through, what nonsense are you spouting?”

At his blunt first words, Emma paused for a moment. But like a professional, she quickly resumed her business smile and continued.

“I came to check if you experienced any discomfort. I heard there was a small incident before you left. Though friction between guests at a party is quite common.”

Emma deliberately added that last part with a significant tone. Chase showed no particular reaction. With only a dry face that merely blinked, Emma thought he must still be half-asleep.

Indeed, Chase’s eyes were slightly red, and his face was full of fatigue, as if he had just been forced awake. Is he even understanding what I’m saying? It would be troublesome if he later denied it. While worrying, Emma continued speaking.

“You’ll be starting filming next week, won’t you? I came to convey that we’d appreciate your diligent participation. And before that, we hope you’ll have completed all preparations for the work.”

She added, without losing her smile,

“So, can I report that there are no problems? And will the filming proceed smoothly as scheduled?”

Chase raised his head and looked directly into her eyes. Emma wanted to step back but instead straightened her posture and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“Everyone is really looking forward to Mr. Miller’s Dr. Flame.”

Suddenly, Chase threw the script he was holding. The thick book hit the wall with a heavy thud. Emma flinched, then fixed her gaze on Chase. Chase opened his mouth, clearly showing annoyance.

“Alright, just tell him to leave me alone. …I’ll forget what happened at the party.”

“Thank you.”

At the unexpected words, Emma bowed with a genuine smile. At any rate, it was a relief that this difficult person had offered to let it go first. She had come all this way, anxious that he might cause trouble and waste time again, like during the contract phase. If she finished her report like this, everything would be over. Emma quickly concluded before his mind could change.

“If you need anything, please let us know anytime. I’ll take my leave now.”

Her tone might have been a little fast, but it seemed to have ended reasonably well. Emma gave a brief smile and then turned away. Thanks to her controlled steps, her high heels made almost no sound, just as when she arrived.

“Are you finished?”

Seth, who was passing by in the hallway, spotted her and asked. Emma recognized from his voice that he was the man who had asked her purpose from the monitoring room.

“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Seth smiled and asked,

“I’ll escort you to the entrance.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I can go alone. Thank you.”

Being so coolly rejected, he couldn’t press further. Seth smiled awkwardly and stepped back. Emma gave a light nod in lieu of a bow and turned away without lingering. Leaving behind a muscular handsome man who was very far from her ideal type.

“Emma.”

As she closed the mansion door and stepped outside, another man, also far from her taste, was waiting for her. Unfortunately, he was family. The moment Emma saw Josh’s face, she dropped her formal smile and immediately revealed her true nature.

“Josh, what’s going on? Is this your workplace now? Was your assignment this time to guard Chase Miller?”

“That’s how it turned out. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but…”

“I have professional secrets too, so it doesn’t matter. But it’s still absurd. To meet Josh here of all places.”

She demonstratively raised her hands for a moment then lowered them. Josh didn’t prolong it and grabbed her arm.

“Come here for a second.”

“What do you have to talk about, honestly.”

Emma grumbled but reluctantly followed him. Josh led her to a secluded area behind the mansion.

“Why, what’s wrong?”