"Why don't we skip breakfast? I can think of better things to do than have breakfast!" Sheffield suggested, grabbing Evelyn and lifting her up.
She let out a cry of surprise and lowered her head to regard the man holding her. "No, breakfast is ready. I was wrong. Put me down!"
"Oh? Wrong about what?" he asked with a smirk.
"Um... I... I don't know." She gave up.
He felt a headache coming on. "Listen up. I'll tell you!"
She nodded.
"I don't give a damn what happened to Gillian. I don't care where she goes. She can live on the streets for all I care!" When that woman had decided to mess with Evelyn like that, she flushed the last trace of her friendship with Sheffield down the drain.
"You brought it up!" She felt wronged.
"Yes, I did. It was a simple question. That bitch Lea complained about me to Peterson. He texted and asked me about it. That's why I said anything at all. Get it?"
"Yeah. Can you put me down now?" She hadn't washed her face yet.
Sheffield lowered her gently so she could get her footing. "You're off the hook for now. But if you make me unhappy next time, I'll..."
His voice disappeared in the woman's feigned serious look. "Sheffield," she said in an expectant tone.
'Uh-oh, this can't be good.' He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Yes, honey?"
"What will you do?"
"I'll... I'll apologize to you honestly!" This was absolutely not what he was going to say.
"I ticked you off. Why apologize to me?"
"If I'm not happy, that just means I'm being petty. I shouldn't fight with you. It would be all my fault if things soured."
Evelyn kept silent. She didn't know what to say about his honeyed tongue.
After breakfast, they agreed to go out and have some fun the next afternoon. And take Gwyn with them. Then they went their separate ways.
At Theo Group
When Joshua arrived at Sheffield's office, Sheffield was on the phone. "You heard me, I want 9, 999 blue roses and red roses delivered by air in two days. The sooner, the better. It's urgent."
When he heard Sheffield placing such a huge order, Joshua muttered, "Holy shit!" under his breath. If Sheffield hadn't been on the phone, Joshua would have been louder.
As soon as he hung up, Joshua leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Tang, please let me live off you. I can do a lot for you. I can keep you warm at night, I have a huge appetite, obviously I can eat, and I know how to spend money. It'll be like old times. What do you say?"
"Back off!" Sheffield bellowed brusquely.
Joshua sat back in his chair and clicked his tongue.
"Well, you definitely know how to fill a set of clothing. No matter how you're dressed, you look like a professional. In scrubs, you looked like an evil doctor. Now you look like an evil CEO."
All in all, his key point was that Sheffield was a terrible person.
Sheffield snorted, "Humph! I'm evil? Said the kettle to the pot. Maybe I'm evil, but you're no saint!"
"Fuck off! You are evil, and you love it. So about those flowers—is this some kind of grand gesture?"
"Yeah. Evelyn and I have been through a lot. And then being apart for two years... Now that I have everything, it's time to start a family." His life would be perfect if he could have a kid as cute as Gwyn.
Staring at the ceiling, Joshua leaned back in his chair and sighed, "I'm jealous, man. You know what you want and you go for it. Maybe I should figure my own life out."
"Don't worry. After Evelyn and I get engaged, I'll help you bag Terilynn. After all, if it works out between you two and you get married, I'll be your brother-in-law," Sheffield comforted him with a grin.
"Yeah, maybe. Problem is, I'm two years older than you, and by seniority, you'll be my elder brother-in-law? That sucks!" Joshua complained.
Sheffield said with a smug smile, "Well, what can you do about it? You like the younger sister. If you don't like it, you can marry someone else."
"Forget it, I'd rather call you 'Brother-in-Law' than somebody else."
"That's the spirit. I'm surprised to see you here. Did you want anything?"
"Naw. I just popped in. So you're proposing to Evelyn?"
"Yeah. I need your help. Terilynn's too. But don't tell Evelyn. I want to surprise her."
Joshua nodded. "I know. I gotta be a witness. Just call and I'll be there."
"Makes sense. And we'll have to set aside some time, so I can teach you how to make Terilynn fall for you. Then you can get married, too!"
"Wait a minute. Why don't we propose on the same day?" Joshua thought it was a brilliant idea.
"Get out of here. I want this to be an unforgettable proposal. I'm hoping you can stay by my side and cheer me on. I don't want you to steal my thunder."
Joshua gave him a cunning grin. "Come on! You're always in the limelight. How can I possibly steal your thunder? Let's do this together."
"If you propose on the same day as me, I will propose to you! I'll make Terilynn think you like guys." Sheffield and Evelyn loved each other dearly. Evelyn would never believe he was gay. Terilynn might be more easily misled.
"Hurl..." Joshua pretended to vomit. He waved his hand at Sheffield and said, "You win. Forget what I said."
"Humph!"
"Got the ring yet?"
"Yes, I got it from the store yesterday," Sheffield replied with a nod.
"Weren't you on a business trip?"
"I got in yesterday morning. Then I went to grab the ring." The ring was customized for Evelyn. He didn't want anyone else to touch it. So, he drove to the store to fetch it himself.
"All right. Good luck, bro!" Joshua cheered him on. He was almost thirty. And Sheffield was about to settle down. Joshua couldn't help thinking maybe he should start considering his own wedding too.
That evening, Sheffield went back to his apartment alone. Since they were going to meet the following afternoon, Evelyn wasn't there with him.
Sheffield was going to sleep in the office, but he recalled that Evelyn's scent was all over everything at home. He missed that. So he decided to make it home, never mind the fact that it was already past midnight.
He left the elevator and walked to the door. Before he opened the door, he noticed something suspicious about the lock.
He caught a glimpse of the camera in the upper right corner of the corridor. He couldn't see the little LED light that was usually lit up. The camera wasn't working.
He was sure that the camera was still fine when he left his apartment that morning. Still, he opened the door anyway. He pushed the door open but didn't rush in. Standing there, he listened for suspicious noises. But he heard nothing.
Yet he was sure it was not a burglary. An ordinary thief wouldn't be able to break into his apartment easily.
He walked into the living room vigilantly, turned on the light and looked around. There was nobody else there.
He fixed his gaze on the half-closed door of the bedroom, but it was too far away for him to be certain if there was anyone inside.
As usual, he took off his jacket and walked to the clothes rack. He took this opportunity to look to the bedroom out of the corner of his eye.
The bed and table were in the same places as before. Nothing unusual.
He turned around and walked towards the fridge. When he was about to open the fridge, he suddenly found something coating the handle.
Though it was transparent, the strange smell alerted Sheffield.
He took out his phone and called Joshua. "Josh, what are you doing? Oh, I just got home and felt a little hungry. How about we go out for a midnight snack?"