Chapter 35: Chapter 35

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Oh dear...he was shirtless again.

Why...

Why must he tease her this much? Well, of course he didn't mean to, but, seeing him alone in his office, stubbled and half-naked again, workout sweat glistening all over his effortlessly gorgeous face and bare chest...

Heck. Did he not know how fucking hot he looked? Was he visually impaired? Did he think she was into women now? Or he thought she didn't give a hoot?

"Morning."

"Hey."

"What's wrong?" Jenson squinted his attentive green eyes when she stayed put on the hospital bed. Even his voice sounded sexy. Deep but breathy.

Gut-wrenchingly arousing. "Nothing," she lied. "You were workin' out?"

"Just some push-ups and pull-ups."

Some... That meant at least 50 each—she was sure.

"What about you?" Jenson leaned over his desk and cleared his throat. He tilted his laptop screen to adjust the camera angle. "How you feelin'? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Jessi sighed, faking a smile for him. If she told him how she really felt, her dirty little secrets would definitely creep him out.

"You did some reps last night?"

"A few. It was late. Couldn't sleep, so, I tried to sweat it out."

He pouted. "Why didn't you call me back?"

"Uh..."

Why? Did he expect her to call him every night before she went to bed?

"I thought you were already asleep."

"What time?" Jenson squinted again.

"Around midnight."

"I was up till two," he mumbled with a scowl.

Was he working on something with the writers again?

"Why?" She put her phone on the bedside table to fix her hair using a scrunchie.

"I was sorting something out with the other producers."

Of course. What a workaholic... "You need at least seven hours of sleep every night if you don't wanna get sick. Like me."

"Yeah. I know," was all he said with creased brows, muttering the words while staring at her. As if he hadn't seen her in a while. As if they hadn't been doing hour-long calls practically every day.

Some days they'd meet online and talk shop with the other cast members and the writing staff. But most of the time, it was a one-on-one video call with him all alone in his office. And without their constant communication, she probably would've gone insane.

The waiting and shut-in anxiety every single day weren't just the stressors she'd had to deal with lately.  One more day here in isolation and she might just forget the last time she touched another human being. For two weeks now, she hadn't seen a human face up-close. Well, it had only been thirteen and a half days, but it already felt like months had gone by.

"Hey. Take off your mask."

Why take it off?  He really wanted her to take it off? Jessi looked around. She was completely alone in the room.

Locked door. Windows shut tight. The nursing staff must be busy with the other patients, and she didn't need urgent or hands-on care unlike the others.

No one would mind if she removed her face mask for a minute. "Why?" She took it off.

Jenson smirked. "Nothing. Just wanna look at you up-close."

Um... What? Did he just drop a come-on? On a video call? While she was stuck in isolation, craving physical contact, and just crying herself to sleep every night?

"What about breathing issues? When you were doing reps." He cocked his head to the right.

She leaned back and put her hand over her mouth to hide her frown. "It's fine. The shortness of breath went away after an hour or so. And no more fatigue."

"Really?" Jenson grinned. The obvious relief thinned his voice and narrowed his eyes. "That's great."

She looked away from the camera. If she kept staring at his face on her phone screen, she might have trouble sleeping again. Like the past couple of nights. "How was the meeting yesterday?"

"We're doing another table read next week."

"Oh? With the new writers and directors? And the whole cast?"

"Yeah." He smirked again, then raked his fingers through his thick and shiny hair.

The heck...  "Could you stop being so fucking hot?" she wanted to yell.

But he might think she was losing her mind and being unprofessional all of a sudden. And worse: he wouldn't take his eyes off the screen for some reason. "I mean, not all of them, but, yeah. Darren's gonna be there, too."

"Oh. Good. He's doin' okay?"

"Yeah." Jenson smiled.

"Great. So, um..." She cleared her throat and glanced away again. "Why'd you call? Are we going over the new scripts?"

"No." He scoffed.  "Just wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah. Looks like it. But does that mean you're gettin' outta there tomorrow?"

"I guess." She hid her smile with her ponytail. Ugh. She needed a keratin blowout. Like yesterday. Even her arms felt dry. But at least the rashes were no longer a problem.

"You guess?" Jenson grunted and bit on his lip. A frown wrinkled his dark brows. "I need you back here. Like pronto. I miss your cooking and your fruit shakes."

"Miss you, too," she wanted to say. She zipped her mouth shut instead, secretly hoping he would keep ranting about how much he missed her company.

"Call me after they sign the discharge papers."

"Why?" She held back another smile, her heart just throbbing  in her chest now.

"I'll pick you up."

"Really?"

"It's ten minutes away." He made a face again.  "What— Someone's pickin' you up?"

"No."

"You got a boyfriend now or somethin'?"

"No." Jessi muffled a giggle.

His pout and annoyed look just kept tickling her funny bone. Why would he even think she's dating someone? During quarantine?

"Are you kidding?"

"What did Mykaela say?" he asked, glancing down a few times.

"She called me earlier."

"And?"

"We talked about the treatment and discharge plan."

"Yeah? What did she say?" Jenson rested his chin on his palm, his elbow touching the edge of his laptop. And he still wouldn't put a freakin' shirt on.

Thirst-trapping jerk.  She let out a sigh and pretended to fix her hair again. "She reminded me not to be complacent, 'cause reinfection's still possible. The doctors here haven't ruled it out, either."

"Okay. She's still in New York, right? Finishing her training?"

"Yeah. Why?"

He looked away. "Just heard New York's gonna be a hotspot till early Christmas. Their biggest hospitals are still crowded."

"Till Christmas? Jeez... Let's hope not. She's already stressed enough."

"Yeah. I bet. They're all panicking out there." Jenson cleared his throat and stared into the camera again.

"Really. She cried for half an hour last time I called her."

"Shit. Tsk. Sounds rough."

"Yeah." Jessi held back a sigh. "I actually feel bad that I couldn't help, or see her anytime soon."

"Maybe next month you could pay her a visit."

"Can I?"

"Yeah. File a two-day leave or something," he said with a nonchalant half-shrug.

"Let's see."

"Hey. Call me in case they give you some updates later. The nurses and doctors there, I mean," he muttered.

"Okay."

"Just text me if you need me to buy something or..."

"No. I don't."

"You sure?"

She chuckled. "Yep. Thanks."

"Okay. See you." He forced a smile now. "Hopefully they're lettin' you out first thing."

Did he really miss her that bad?

"Yep." She grinned back at his camera-ready smirk. "Fingers crossed."

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"They sent you the results?"

"The PCR tests said negative. Twice." Jessi smiled at her friend whose pale, worried face on the screen reminded her of an angel in white. "They're discharging me today."

"Finally." Kel beamed and clapped, her sigh louder than her reply, her dark bangs covering half of her pale cheek.

"Yeah. Ugh. I miss bread so much."

Kel giggled. "Samesies. Wish I could fly out soon, so we can catch up on the beach and drink milkshakes and eat gourmet bread all weekend."

The perfect BFF date. Jessi grunted. What she wouldn't give... "Sounds heavenly." She scrolled through her calendar entries. "Maybe next, next month, you could fly out with Enzo again."

"I hope so."

Wearing her headset and clutching her phone, Jessi jumped off of the hospital bed. The longer she stayed under the covers, the more excited and impatient she got. In just a few hours, she'd get to leave this suffocatingly sterile place, and feel the sun and cool dusk air on her skin again. "I don't even watch the news anymore."

"Good. Don't. They're all triggering," Kel muttered on the other line. "But, yeah. They're still heightening restrictions all over."

"But back home they're not doing so bad."

"Yeah. It's still the biggest cities in the stats. I'm just glad Mom and Jill got back before they set bans over here. Not stuck in another state or anything."

"That would've been terrible." Jessi frowned. "Stressful."

"Probably worse than that." Kel itched her skinny arm partly covered by her white sleeve. "You get enough sleep?"

Jessi scoffed and combed her frizzy hair away from her face. "I wish."

"What time d'you think they'll let you outta there?"

"Around five. Hopefully not later than six."

"You're taking a cab back to your apartment or..."

"No." Jessi stood by the windows and checked the parking lot again. No dark and shiny Ram pickup truck anywhere. No sign of the owner, either.

"Who's picking you up?"

Hesitation silenced her for a few seconds. Maybe he was too busy with work and forgot that he promised to fetch her? "Jenson," she replied.

"Oh. He said he'll come pick you up?" Mykaela asked with a pout, her soft voice full of doubt now. "He called you?"

"Yesterday."

"Ah... What else did he say?"

"Not much. We just talked for a bit." Jessi looked away from her friend's attentive gaze, keeping it casual. She wasn't entirely sure whether Kel had enough time or eagerness to listen to the minutiae. But since making a potentially life-changing decision had been brewing in her mind the past two weeks, perhaps Kel would be more understanding of her current disposition.

"So, he's been calling you every day the past two weeks? Like video chats and everything?"

"Yeah. Pretty much," Jessi muttered, unsure of how to answer the question without sounding a bit suspicious herself.

"Wait. You're going out to dinner?"

A dinner date? She grimaced at the images that crossed her mind.

Would Jenson take her out tonight? He never said anything about him treating her to dinner. If ever Charm heard about them going on dates now, she would probably blow a gasket. Or worse: Charmaine would broadcast their dirty laundry online.

If the media got wind of her jealousy and suspicions, she would definitely vilify Jessi as the younger, selfish mistress-to-be that ruined everything. As if the guilt trips weren't anxiety-triggering enough. Last week, Charmaine even posted another long caption on her photos about "trust and commitment to what is true".

Darn it. What a hot mess...

"I don't think so. I mean, I really hope not," Jessi murmured.

"Why not? I thought they're thinking of calling it off." Kel's frown scrunched up her pointed nose.

"I dunno. We hardly talk about it. Or her."

"But what if he asks you out for real? Tonight."

"Ugh."

"Where d'you think he'd take you?"

"Someplace private where they serve chunks of friendzoning with a side order of blurred lines, well seasoned with pent-up sexual frustrations, and a large glass of 'What are we?' questions."

"Yikes. No thanks." Kel crossed her arms and looked like she wanted to sneeze. "Been there. Done that. That shit's rough."

"Took me two hours just to write that letter. Not even three paragraphs long." Pathetic, really.

"What letter?"

"My resignation letter." Jessi took some deep breaths, her chest somewhat tight, her breathing growing shallow no matter how she tried to keep her thoughts calm and Jenson-free. The slight discomfort in her gut only reminded her of those three nights she spent alone with him in the office, before the paramedics accompanied them to the nearest isolation facility because of her.

"Uh-oh." Kel looked away from the camera and scratched her nape.

"I'm done."

"You signed it already? And you're sending it to him tomorrow?"

"I dunno. Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"I really don't know how he's gonna..." Jessi sighed and massaged her forehead. "I don't wanna upset him, but... I-I just can't keep pretending that everything's fine." She bit on her lip. "Shit. I don't even know how I'm gonna tell him."

"Yeah. I get it, loves."

"Is this burnout?"

"Most probably. I mean, even during quarantine, you've been working every day just so he meets deadlines and all that." Kel shook her head faintly. "I'm one to talk, but, it's so not healthy anymore. You not taking time off to focus on yourself and your recovery, just to keep his job manageable for him... It's already taking a toll on you."

"Yeah. I guess. Sometimes."

"No. Don't downplay it." Kel shrugged. "It's true. And it's a valid reason, if he asks why you wanna quit, which I'm sure he will."

"And I can tell he knows," Jessi sighed. "But we never really talk about anything besides work. So I don't really..."

"Knows what?"

"That I'm into him."

"Yeah?"

"I think so."

Kel squinted at her. "But how would he know? If you've never really discussed the issue—"

"I mean, I really like my job. I love working with him. He really cares about his work. Plus he's nice, and really thoughtful, and he's friendly to everyone else on the team. But..."

"But you just don't see yourself staying there another year."

"No. I don't."

Especially after what he said about Charmaine and their ongoing relationship drama. Charm would probably humiliate her in public if ever they crossed paths again.

"I dunno. Maybe. Shit. I just hope he won't hate me or anything."

"No. He shouldn't. On the bright side..." Kel reclined in her swivel chair and fixed her hair into a tight bun. "At least you lasted a year. You said he keeps changing assistants."

"Yeah. But, it's not because there's something wrong with him, or his attitude. He's just such a workaholic." Jessi shook her head and stared at the dimming sunset. "He keeps pushing himself, 'cause he wants to accomplish more than everyone else, mainly to keep impressing his bosses."

"Ugh.  Tell him to find another motivation."

"It's just not sustainable anymore. It's already an unhealthy obsession at this point and he doesn't even realize it, y'know?" Jessi swore and sighed, her brain still busy weighing the pros and cons of leaving Jenson this soon.

Considering they were good friends now, maybe he wouldn't stop her. Jenson might question her choice to quit, but he should understand. He wouldn't be petty or immature about it.

Hopefully. "You know, lately, it's just been so..."

"What?"

"I dunno... After he told me about them having some issues, I just kept thinking, that it's somehow my fault. That I just caused more friction. Even though he told me I did nothing wrong."

"Because you didn't." Kel scoffed and made a face. "She's just being a judgmental, insecure, emotionally immature bitch. That's why you feel like shit right now."

Wow. Okay... It was the heart-to-heart Jessi had been expecting before calling up her friend. But how Kel phrased it just felt like a cold slap in the face. "But, um... What else should I say if he keeps asking why I wanna leave LA?"

"Tell him rent's too expensive, like everything else. And your parents really want you home for the holidays, and they think you're much safer there in Minnesota."

"Right."  The perfect excuse. Even though she seldom let her parents decide for her ever since she left home, the reasons made absolute sense.

"They're all true. He'll buy it." Kel nodded and smirked. "Tell him you're gonna help him find a replacement soon, so he won't have to worry about the workload. You'll stay another month so you can sort things out while training the new assistant."

Money problems. Her living expenses. Her mental health. Her parents worrying about her safety.

Yep. All reasonable.

Hopefully Jenson wouldn't think it was all bullshit.

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