Chapter 11: Chapter 11

"What are you doing here?" I ask, astounded.

Joshua takes off his coat and runs his right hand through his hair, shaking it a little in an attempt to get rid of the excess water.

"Mrs. Taylor said you left the apartment upset without saying where you were going," he explains.

"Upset?" I arch my eyebrows. I presume she didn't tell him the whole story.

"I just came for breakfast," I justify.

"Do you know what time it is?" he gives me a critical look.

Joshua points to a wall clock above the table where I was sitting. I quickly shift my attention to my phone screen and realize that I had made the mistake of not adjusting the time to London's time zone. It was already late afternoon.

"I swear I didn't realize."

Joshua shakes his head and chuckles.

"What possessed you to wander around a city you don't know?" he asks incredulously.

Recalling the event that forced me to leave the apartment, I sigh and lean back on the sofa. I wasn't going to tell Joshua that I had been bothered by an issue that had him as the main reason, so I preferred to lie.

"I just wanted to see the neighborhood," I say.

"You could have at least told Mrs. Taylor," he emphasizes.

I know it was reckless of me, but I wasn't going far. I knew what I was doing.

"You could have gotten lost, Alice. How was I going to find you in a storm like this?" he says, still disbelieving.

"But she's here, right? You can see she's fine. So let's not think about what could have happened or not. She found a good place," Gregory intervenes.

Joshua seemed to have only just noticed the guy sitting in front of me and gives him a sarcastic look.

"Did she, though?"

As they exchange glances, I sense a certain rivalry, which makes me hesitant.

"I'm pretty sure she did," Gregory confirms.

Given the positions they were taking in relation to each other, I feared a discussion might break out.

"But I think we should go," I interrupt.

I grab my things and stand up next to Joshua.

"Gregory, it was a pleasure meeting you! Thanks for the hospitality. I'll definitely come here more often. But now we need to go before the rain gets even heavier."

I smile gratefully and walk towards the exit, stopping in front of the glass door and briefly analyzing the storm outside. The weather was really bad. Even to get back to Joshua's apartment, I would have to get quite wet, but it was better than witnessing a supposed fight inside.

I push the glass door and step outside, feeling intense, icy raindrops hitting my face even though I was still under the cafe's awning.

Joshua leaves the shop and stops beside me.

"I parked my car around the corner," he says, throwing his coat towards me. "So you don't get wet."

I shake my head.

"I'm fine."

Joshua steps back and walks towards where he parked his car. I follow him in quick steps. Thank God it wasn't too far away, so we avoided getting even more wet. The doors are unlocked, and I get into the car right after Joshua.

Although I hadn't been out in the rain for very long, I was freezing. The London cold was quite different from what I was used to.

Seeing that I was shivering a bit, Joshua turns on the air conditioning heater on the car's panel.

"You're shaking," he observes. "I think I have something hot here."

Joshua leans towards the back seat, getting closer to me. He comes back with another coat and hands it to me.

"Are you not cold?" I ask, noticing that he preferred to warm me up instead of himself.

"I'll survive," he opens a small smile.

I squeeze the warm fabric in my hands and quickly cover myself. Although I refused the first coat, I couldn't reject this one because the cold was too much. I watch Joshua turn around the block to the internal parking of the building where he lived, where he parks the car and turns off the engine. Finally, we were away from that rain, but something bothered me.

"How did you find me at the cafe?" I ask.

"I figured you wouldn't go far. But it was luck," he shrugs without any further justification.

I slide my gaze to the tips of my fingers, a little pale from the cold, and hear Joshua say something else.

"And I admit I was worried."

His words shake my whole body, making me automatically look at him surprised.

"I wouldn't forgive myself if something bad happened to someone under my responsibility."

I gaze into his dark brown eyes, enchanted.

"But now everything is fine. You don't need to worry anymore."

"Just promise me you won't do it again."

I nod, trying to reassure him. He nods and prepares to leave the car.

"Joshua," I say his name before he leaves. "Thank you for caring."

He opens a smile and shakes his head, then leaves the car.

After witnessing a part of Joshua that cared about someone, being close to him had become a bit more comfortable. Obviously, I still had concerns about his past and what Mrs. Taylor had said, but maybe I should be a bit more skeptical since he had not shown any signs of ulterior motives after I found out about his small ‘fame’.

The elevator doors open, allowing us to exit and continue our way to his apartment. But the only thing I did not expect was that as soon as we set foot inside the apartment, a nearly freaked-out Mrs. Taylor would appear.

"Oh my God! What happened?"

"Well, it's raining outside!" I grumbled mentally.

"It's okay, Mrs. Taylor. We just got a little wet," Joshua explains.

"You call that getting a little wet?" She furrows her brow, perplexed. "Look at you, you're soaked! You need to change clothes and take a hot shower urgently! I don't want you to catch a cold."

I observe with surprise, and at the same time, sarcastic, Mrs. Taylor's attitude, after realizing that her attention was solely focused on Joshua, as if I were not there and not wet too.

I follow Joshua with my eyes as he makes his way to another room in the apartment, leaving Mrs. Taylor and me alone.

"Did you like his attention?"

Her arrogant tone echoes in my ears, making me look at her astounded. The youthful-looking woman, with well-cared-for gray hair and medium height, persisted in not looking at me, her vision focused in the same direction that I had as my focus before.

"What did you say?"

She chuckles before answering me, leaving me confused.

"Girl, I know your type," she turns to me. "But it's not going to happen. Joshua is not for you."

"Wait, do you think I wanted to get his attention just because I left the apartment? Right after you practically threw in my face that I would easily be with him, like all the girls he's been with?" I spit out each word, indignant.

"If you had the chance, you wouldn't hesitate."

I end up letting out a nasal chuckle and shaking my head.

"Why does that bother you? Are you interested in him, Mrs. Taylor?"

I retort and launch a sarcastic smile at her, then passing by her and heading upstairs.

Honestly, I didn't know what that woman's deal was, but it certainly wasn't anything good. In just one day, she seemed to have hated me at first sight.

***

All I needed was a hot shower. I finished drying myself off and searched for comfortable clothes, ending up choosing gray sweatpants and an oversized black t-shirt that was twice my size but very comfortable to wear.

I left the room and went downstairs. It was already dark, and the view of the city at night through the enormous glass windows in the living room was magnificent. I felt like I was in the apartment from the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, but of course, without Christian Grey and the red room.

"Are you hungry?"

I startle at the sound of Joshua's voice behind me, but soon compose myself and turn to him.

"A little," I reply.

"Mrs. Taylor left our dinner ready."

He nods, gesturing for me to follow him, and I do. I sit on one of the stools at the counter and watch as Joshua makes his way through the kitchen. He grabs a pair of gloves from a hook near the dishwasher and takes some trays out of the oven and places them on the counter. The smell was amazing.

"Betty once taught me how to cook," Joshua begins, "but I moved to London and now Mrs. Taylor practically kicks me out of the kitchen every time I get close." He chuckles, which makes me join in that moment.

"I think Betty would hate Mrs. Taylor."

"You think? I'm sure," he says, intensifying his laughter. "They are two women with incredible skills and completely different concepts."

He puts two plates and cutlery on the counter and sits next to me on the right bench.

"I admit that I tried to bring Betty to live with me when I arrived in London, but she's attached to the life she has in Los Angeles. So, I had to get used to Mrs. Taylor."

I analyze the food after putting it on the plate.

"You know... I had a slight impression that she didn't like me very much."

"That's just the way she is. And it's probably because of me. She knows about my adolescence and is afraid I might relapse. So, she ends up being a little suspicious, but I'm sure you guys will get along."

If she keeps up the same treatment, I find it hard for us to get along.

I take the first forkful of the spaghetti bolognese to my mouth. It was really good, just like the smell.

"And what about you, Alice? I don't know much about you. You weren't from Los Angeles, were you?"

I shrug, not having much to say.

"Well... I'm the daughter of a British man and a Brazilian woman. My father lived in Brazil for a few years, so he ended up meeting my mother, but they separated when I was still very young. And... I saw an opportunity to try a different life in the United States, and then I managed to find a job at your parents' house. Betty supported me a lot when I got there. So, I have a lot to thank her for."

Joshua looked at me attentively.

"So, that's it," I end up letting out a shy chuckle. "I don't have many interesting things about me to tell."

"But now you will, Alice. Tomorrow you will meet your new workplace. I'll take you to my company."

A shy smile automatically appears on my lips. I was very grateful for Joshua offering me that opportunity. I could finally grow in life, help my family, and pursue my artistic career.