“You’re already off?” she asked him.
“Yeah, I didn’t spend any time with you last night. Today I’ll make up for it.” Kathy should have been
thrilled at his response, but not after the day she’d just had. He asked, “Has something happened?”
She hesitated, then pulled a report from her bag. “This details the third stage of our drug development.
There’ve been different degrees of repelling reactions, but I can’t find a reason why.”
Joseph furrowed his brow, and didn’t take the report. “This drug is still in development. I’m not part of
the company.
“Good point. Never mind,” she said, shaking her head.
But though she’d not asked him, that night Joseph received an email from Edith regarding the drug’s
problems. Kathy, sitting at his side, saw it and asked, “Will you reply?”
“Is this project important to you?” he asked.
She bit her lip and did not respond. She was very hopeful about this drug—after all, it was the only one
of its kind, and it could be enormously helpful in treating heart disease. But she also didn’t want to be
involved. Her grandfather had wanted her to enter the Booth Group，and everything she did was
preparation for that.
She shook her head. “I don’t want to refuse my grandfather, but this project is part of Booth Group’s
research and development. I don’t want anything to go wrong.” With Joseph’s help, they might even be
able to get it on the market early. His skills were unmatched.
“My services are expensive,” he smirked. Edith requesting his help surely had something to do with
Kathy. She understood that to help her was to help Kathy.
“I know. If you don’t want to do it, it’s okay. You’ve already done so much, I don’t want to make trouble
for you.” She reached over and deleted the email herself.
“Sure?” He took her by the chin, looked deep into her eyes.
“Yes,” she nodded.
Apparently unwilling to wait for Joseph’s response, Edith called. Joseph happened to be in the shower,
and Kathy did not answer it, instead waiting for Joseph to finish. He didn’t even look at it, instead
rubbed a towel over his wet hair and pulled Kathy in for a kiss.
She pushed him away. “Answer the phone!”
He frowned, and did not. Kissing her mouth aggressively, he pushed her beneath him and said lowly, “If
I answer, you’ll get jealous.”
“… I will not.”
“You will.” Taking her by the back of the head, he made sure he had her full attention.
…
Over the course of the next week, the drug did not progress at all. As she was having lunch with Zack,
she could feel his displeasure. “I’m not hungry,” he said, waving a hand.
Kathy looked at his bowl full of porridge, and frowned with worry. The doctors said he barely ate
anything these days, and that his mood had to improve, else his condition would worsen. “Grandfather,
what do you want to eat? I’ll go make it.”
“No need. You go to work. I just want the drug finished!” he said decisively.
“It’s going smoothly. There’s no need to worry,” said Bertie, stepping in from outside.
Kathy raised her eyebrows. Smoothly? The past few days in the laboratory, problems had piled up
without end.
Zack’s eyes lit up. “Is that so?”
“It is. I promise you we’ll get it on the market.”
“That makes me feel much better.” It seemed Zack took Bertie seriously, and trusted him.
But Kathy didn’t. When they left the room, she demanded of him, “Didn’t the third-stage trial fail?”
“Yes, but Edith’s already launched a new stage of the drug. The testing began today, and the results
are promising.”
“So fast?” asked Kathy skeptically. And how could she not have known that? She was actually the
person in charge.
“Grandfather can’t wait too long. I want to finish this before he passes,” Bertie said seriously.
Thinking of her grandfather’s health, Kathy’s eyes brimmed with tears. She knew why her grandfather
was so anxious for this drug to make it to market. It was perhaps the only way she could help him.
“Let’s go to the lab.”
He quirked a brow. “Are you willing to ride in my car?”
“No, I’ll get my own.” She left promptly.
But he followed her out, saying, “Taxis can’t enter here. To leave the neighborhood, you’ve got to walk
at least an hour.”
“Then I’ll have the driver take me.”
“The car’s gone in for repairs today.” With a smirk, Bertie invited her to his car.
His expression made her nervous, but she had no choice. With a deep breath, she got in. “This isn’t
premeditated, is it?” she asked as she buckled her seatbelt.
“Perhaps. After all, it’s my honor to take you to work.”
She turned to look out the window, ignoring him. She’d thought he was taking her to the lab, but
actually he took her to Booth Group.
“The lab is doing testing right now. You can wait for the results before going.”
“So?” asked Kathy with annoyance.
“We’ll walk around here, I’ll show you around.”
She’d been here once before, but was hardly familiar with the place. Though Bertie did not have an
official role within the organization, everyone knew him as Zack’s confidant, and treated him with
respect. In order to spend as little time with him as possible, Kathy was even willing to go look for her
mother.
“Seems you really enjoy avoiding me?” Bertie asked, blocking her.
She smiled coolly. “You are right.”
“Sir, I’ve some things for you to sign,” said a secretary, rushing over.
Bertie saw that Kathy had already scuttled off toward the elevator and pushed the button for the top
floor.
Knowing Kathy had come, Linda had delayed her afternoon meeting. “Did you come with Bertie?” she
asked.
“Yes, I thought he was taking me to the lab.”
Linda furrowed her brow. “It’s good you came. There’s a dinner tonight, you’ll accompany me.”
“But I’m not dressed for it.” Really, she just didn’t like attending those sorts of things. She’d gone to a
few with Joseph, but had never managed to quite fit in. She wasn’t part of that social scene, and had
nothing to discuss with those sorts of people.
“A makeup artist will come, don’t fret.”
“Mother,” Kathy hedged.
Linda saw her hesitation, and soothed, “Kathy, you’re our daughter. There will be many such dinners in
the future. You must get used to it.”
Kathy lowered her gaze and nodded dejectedly. She told Joseph about it as she was getting her
makeup done, and he said, “Once it’s over I’ll come get you.”
“I’m a bit nervous,” she confessed. Before he’d always been at her side, allowing her to relax a little.
“Need me to accompany you? Hmm?”
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