Chapter 36: Chapter 36

× South Cedarville Medical Center ×

Their admitting and cashiering office looked bigger than she imagined. The pale blue walls complemented the white surfaces.

Five clerks manned the office. Two were seated at the front, entertaining the people waiting in line. Not a lot at this hour.

After the queue called her number, Jessi approached the billing clerk with her face mask snug over her nose and dry mouth. "Hi, Miss." Through the glass divider, she squinted at the name tag on the masked clerk's uniform, but the letters were too small and partly covered by her long blonde curls. "I'm here to settle my bill. Could you help me out with that?"

"Of course. Hi. I'm Caitlin. How may I help you?" The clerk entwined her tan hands and leaned forward.

"Hi, Caitlin. So, I checked my total bill online this afternoon, and the statement of account only showed me the partial estimate."

"Okay." Caitlin nodded and focused on her computer screen. "What's your full name again, Miss?"

"Jessiah Marionne Kinley. That's K-I-N-L-E-Y. Dr. Wilson just signed my discharge papers this afternoon."

"Perfect. Thank you." Caitlin stared at her screen while the click-clacks of her finger on the mouse went on. Then she printed a copy of the statement of account. "And I have emailed your latest SOA."

"Thank you. Let me just check my outstanding balance." Jessi unlocked her phone and opened the new email with the attachments.

"So the estimate and list you read online include most of the charges and fees, but that amount did not include the doctors' fees. In your case, the ER physician and the radiologist's fees, plus the payment for the recommended treatment ordered by Dr. Wilson."

"Right. So, this is the final copy of my total bill?" She showed the magnified file on her phone screen.

"Yes." Caitlin nodded. "It's on the bottom right on the second page. Red font."

"Thank you." Jessi smiled back at the billing clerk despite their masks. "My insurance will cover at least half of the bill. Right?"

"As for your insurance coverage, your employer has already sorted that out." She typed something on her keyboard. "Yup. Just this afternoon."

Employer?

Caitlin squinted at her computer screen. "Says here they paid off the remaining balance an hour ago."

Did she mean Jenson? He was here an hour ago? Wait. And he settled her medical bills? Why didn't he call her?

"Sorry. Who paid off my remaining balance? My employer paid for my bill? Here?"

"Yes." Caitlin's blue eyes stayed focused on the screen. "I was told that you emailed him the copy of your SOA. He paid off the rest with his credit card," she explained, her tone a tad unsure. "Mr. Jenson Evander Roiz. R-O-I-Z. Correct?"

"Yeah. Y-Yes." Jessi nodded and looked away. Blood just shot up her neck and rushed into her cheeks. Now her entire face felt warmer than her pits. "He's my employer."

Boss. Friend. A good friend she had been counting on too much the past couple of months. Although he didn't seem to mind, she was well aware that their friendship needed stricter boundaries.

The clerk signed something on the billing form. "Great. He's already paid off the outstanding balance and confirmed your insurance information, which you provided last week. He also verified your contact information and work address when we asked him to."

"Oh. Okay. So, um, I'm good to go now? I don't have to pay for anything else?"

"All good. Your balance has been settled. Some days our online system just bogs down. Takes an hour or so to refresh sometimes. Sorry for the confusion."

"Right. Okay. Thank you."

"Have a great weekend."

"You, too."

×

The shock had barely left her system by the time his shiny pickup truck showed up in the corner of the parking lot. Jessi clasped the strap of her bag and tried to keep still. Taking a deep breath, she waved at his pickup before approaching the quiet parking lot.

Was he alone? Probably.

Although surviving two weeks of isolation while battling health issues should be calming her down more than anything else, the relief didn't get rid of her anxious thoughts about hanging out with him again. She'd tried to say no to his plan of picking her up today, but he insisted over the phone last night.

Jenson stepped out of the driver's side with a black mask covering half of his face. A loose white shirt hid his muscles. Black jeans covered up his athletic legs, and he wore the white sneakers with pale gold streaks—a gift she bought on a whim that time he surprised her with a hefty performance bonus.

His strides were relaxed—unhurried like hers. His dark and slightly longer hair looked silkier under the waning sunset. She'd like to stare at him all day, but they shouldn't hang around out here. Alone. Someone would recognize him. One person asking for a selfie with him would be enough to trigger an unwanted fan mob.

"Hey you."

"Um... Hi," she greeted. Her heart and mouth froze when he removed his mask to show off his nice smile. Ugh.

Could he be any more adorable?

Jenson stood a few steps away, right beside his truck, his close-lipped grin crinkling the corners of his beautiful eyes. Admittedly, he still held the top spot among her secret list of the most good-looking men she'd ever met. But it wasn't just his looks that cemented his current standing. There was just an 'unassuming badass' vibe to him that she'd always admired.

To add to the emotional unrest she'd been trying to hide, he even paid for her bills and looked almost too happy to see her again. "Hey. You paid off my hospital bills?" Jessi stood closer to him and stared him in the eye.

"Yeah. I used your HMO card. Why?" Jenson leaned in and hugged her with both arms, his warmth and ever-so intoxicating cologne scorching her insides.

"Thank you. But you didn't have to." A lie, but he didn't need to know that. Now her entire head felt like it was burning up. Thankfully her mask would hide enough of her unease.  "I have the money."

"Nah. It's fine."

"The clerk said you used your credit card, for the remaining balance."

"Yeah. Why? Is there a problem?" With knitted brows, Jenson gently kissed her cheek. He pressed his soft lips near her left temple, then pulled away to stare at her.

"No. But, you didn't call. Why didn't you text me at least?"

"I was gonna. I forgot. Sorry. The guys have been phoning me all day. They wanna spend the weekend in the country club. Go golfing and get wasted."

"Oh."

Most likely he meant his bored Hollywood friends who couldn't stay indoors for too long and had too much money to waste.

"Put your mask on," she muttered.

"You good?" Jenson scanned her from head to toe. A bigger grin stretched his shapely lips and showed his white teeth.

Her insides felt like he lit them all on fire. "Yeah."

"You look good," he commented with a chuckle. He wore his mask again only when she tried to put it on him herself. "Hungry? Thirsty?"

"Um... Both." She stifled a sigh with her palm. "Thirstier now that you're here," she wanted to say.

But he might think it wasn't just a dumb joke, and then the awkwardness would probably last all night. "You got somewhere to be? You goin' on a date or something?"

Date? Was he kidding?

"No." She didn't even bother to fix her hair. She put on some mascara and foundation, but not much else.

"Great. Let's go shopping," he said in a chipper voice.

Shopping? "W-Wait." At the mall? Alone with him? "Where are we going?"

"Supermarket. Two blocks away." Without waiting for her to agree, Jenson held her shoulders and turned her around. He led her towards the front passenger seat and opened the door for her.  "My fridge is empty."

×

The store wasn't too crowded when they dropped by. To her relief, shopping with Jenson didn't turn into a total nightmare. It was actually relaxing and fun—the opposite of her imagined chaos on their way to the supermarket.

Was it something friends did all the time? Maybe he thought so. Maybe to him, they were more than just work friends now. Or it was just his idea of breaking the ice.

Her confusion morphed into another bunch of qualms and anxiety when he asked her to cook dinner. A little catch-up dinner. In his house.

Did he simply not care that she just got out of the hospital after getting treatment for a highly contagious disease? Some people had already died, in fact.

Maybe he just didn't believe that she could still be shedding the virus. Unintentionally—of course. "What? Why d'you look kinda scared?" Jenson chuckled and opened the door for her. His wide garage looked dimmer than his front patio.

Scared? "I'm not. I'm just—" Jessi unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of his pickup with the smaller paper bag.

He carried the bag with the cold cuts and produce, while she carried the one containing supplies for his pantry. "I got it. Thanks." He took the paper bag out of her hug after handing the keys to her. "Could you unlock the door?"

"Yeah. Sure." Jessi turned away from him and walked on, trying to keep up a friendly demeanor. Her nerves and the loud thumps in her chest still hadn't calmed down.

It wasn't her first time in his house, but the thought of being alone with him in his very private property was testing her composure. She should've asked first whether he had company, but bringing up Charmaine would only trigger a terribly awkward conversation. And if he did have company, Jenson would've said something during the drive.

As he stood behind her, Jessi slouched in front of his varnished door and unlocked the knob.

"DJ said he's gonna pop by." His left foot pushed the door open. "Told him we're having dinner."

"Oh. Cool." A great distraction, actually. "Is he on his way?"

"Probably." Jenson walked past her with the paper bags. "He had lunch with his sister. He said Evie just left for Washington, so..."

"I see." Jessi followed him into his kitchen.

It still looked spacious. Clean. Too big for just two people, like the dining room. Well, at least they're having Darren over, too. A barrier of some sort. Someone to break up the tension a little bit. She wasn't tense to the point of a panic attack, but, she'd rather have dinner by herself than be alone with her boss all evening.

"Should I put the meat in the freezer first?"

"Yeah. For half an hour or so." Jessi turned away from him and put her bag on the gilded dining table.

Would he mind if she removed her mask now?

"Just take your mask off. It's fine." Jenson plunked down the paper bags on the island counter.

Marble. Smooth. Spotless. It looked twice the size of the dining table in her apartment. Elegant and expensive. Like the rest of his big house.

If she recalled correctly, there were three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a rec room, a heated pool, and a basement gym in this lot. All of this probably cost him at least three million dollars. Minus tax.

"You good? Or should I just order takeout?"

"No. I'll cook." Jessi took off her face mask and gave him a smile, hoping Darren would show up already. "I'll prep the ingredients now."

×

Before she could start chopping spices, Jenson snuck up from behind after taking something out of his oven. A familiar scent wafted into the room, making her mouth water. He unwrapped a crusty artisan bread right next to her while she leaned against the island counter.

It had been weeks—the carbs were already calling out to her. Drooling over the sight, Jessi nearly dropped one of his knives on the chopping board. "Nice..." She leaned over and sniffed the oval-shaped gourmet bread on the serving plate. Rosemary. Lemon. And something minty. No doubt it tasted heavenly. "I didn't know you liked bread, too."

"Not really." Jenson grinned. "It's for you." He grabbed a long knife from one of the kitchen drawers. Then he put two thick slices on a plate and slid it next to her knife.

"Thank you." Her heart swelled at the gesture, but she tried not to look so shocked.

How did he know? "Want me to warm it up again?" He glanced at her and poured himself a glass of cucumber lemon juice.

She made it for him minutes ago while he was emptying the grocery bags. "How'd you know I'd been craving gourmet bread all week?"

"I'm actually telepathic."

"Pfft..." She rolled her eyes when he laughed.

He probably saw the recent photos on her social media profile—the carb fest snaps that had been cramming her Insta stories the past two weeks. "At one point, I thought you cut an endorsement deal with a new pastry shop or something."

"Shut up."

He let out a guttural laugh.

She muffled hers with the back of her hand. His assumption made sense, though. She might as well try food blogging if modeling didn't pan out for her. It was mostly the boredom and isolation—besides not being able to consume the foods she loved while stuck in quarantine. "So you've been stalking me online?"

"Maybe."

"Stalker."

"Yeah. It's one of my hobbies." Without taking his eyes off her face, Jenson tore a large piece off the bread and stuffed it in his mouth. His dark brows creased while he chewed.

Her heartbeat sped up again. Her throat tightened. She shouldn't keep staring at his beautiful lips and deep-set eyes, but...

Now he seemed truly preoccupied, perhaps deciding whether the mouth feel was good enough. Jenson crossed his arms and looked up, as if he needed a moment to process the taste.

"Is it a pass or fail?"

He nodded twice and licked the crumbs off his tan fingers.

Oh heck... Now she was imagining how his tongue tasted.

"Sure. I'd give it an eight. But a hard eight."

"Oh. Okay. Good enough." Gripping the chopping knife, Jessi glanced away and faked a smile just to mask her unease, distracting herself with the task at hand. She diced the onions while he stood to her right.

Not too close. But two more steps and his bare feet would be touching her socks. "Taste it." Jenson pushed the plate with the slices of bread closer to her hand. When she ignored him, he pinched her cheek.

"Ow!"

"Sorry." He snickered.

"That hurt." The pain stayed in her cheek for a good five seconds or so. She tried hard not to smile back, then backed away from him, her heart thudding away and sprinting against her pulse.

The chopping knife became a shield when he tried to get even closer. A mischievous grin showed the small dimples under his lips.

"What is up with you today?"

Jenson chuckled and ate more bread. Was he only being playful? Did he think she looked so tense? Or was he deliberately teasing her? No. Maybe he really just missed her company.

She probably looked too nervous. Unusually quiet and uptight.

"Hey." Jenson drank some juice when she ignored him again to focus on dicing the remaining onions.

What did he want now?

"Yeah?"

"I gotta apologize," he murmured.

"For?"

"Some stupid shit I did last time." Jenson sighed.

"What?"

"I know I should've done this sooner, but, I wanted to talk to you about it in person." He stared into her eyes, no longer grinning, his voice low and monotonous. Jenson frowned when she didn't respond, and his hand was fidgeting on the smooth counter. Like his feet next to hers. He took a step closer.

Now his minty and musky cologne was making her nose tingle. "What d'you mean?" She tried to match his steady gaze.

"Remember that night, when DJ..."

"When?"

Faint lines deepened on his forehead after he glanced down. "He showed up in the office, just shitfaced and screaming his guts out. Then he got violent and..."

"Yeah." How could she ever forget that night? "Why?" Jessi put down the knife on the chopping board, watching the discomfort wrinkle his cheeks and full lips.

"I poured some of my, er...the pills I've been taking. I crushed half a pill, then put it in the juice."

"Juice?"

"Yeah. Pineapple." Some nervousness muted his voice. He lifted his gaze and cleared his throat. "I gave it to you. You drank some, and then I drank the rest."

×