Joshua was probably still waiting for her at the Galaxy Club. She reached for the phone in the passenger seat, got out of the car, and called him right away.
He answered on the first ring. “Where are you?” “On the rooftop,” Joshua replied. “I’m coming up now,” Shermaine said. “Okay.”
The call was suddenly disconnected. Shermaine froze—Joshua had never hung up on her like this before. ‘Is he angry because I’m late?’
“If he’s angry…”
“Should I just try to coax him?” Shermaine wondered.
Shermaine had never coaxed anyone before. ‘If I try coaxing Joshua, maybe he won’t mind me being late. ‘Besides, it’s not like I wanted to be late. ‘Saving a life comes before anything else. ‘If no one helped that pregnant woman, it would make this world seem too callous and heartless. Besides, as a doctor myself, there’s no way I could just pretend not to see it,’ Shermaine thought.
Shermaine stepped into the elevator when her WhatsApp pinged. Opening it, she realized Joshua had messaged her fifty minutes ago. ‘He was already waiting for me on the rooftop—a full thirty minutes early?’ Shermaine thought, a wave of guilt washing over her.
On the drive back, Shermaine had meant to let Joshua know, but her phone had slipped onto the passenger seat. As a result, she didn’t see his message and couldn’t give him a heads-up that she might be late.
She was racing against time to get the pregnant woman to the hospital, and the return trip was just as rushed.
Reaching the rooftop, she was greeted by strong winds. Shermaine spotted the helicopter parked in the middle, the pilot already seated inside. She headed straight for it, and once she boarded, there in the back sat Joshua.
His long legs stretched out imposingly. In the darkness, his face—a mesmerizing blend of allure and refinement—was flawless. She caught a strong whiff of alcohol mingled with tobacco notes from him—surprisingly, it wasn’t unpleasant.
“Wow, but just how much did he drink?” Shermaine wondered.
Seems like Trance also mentioned he’d been drinking a lot.
Joshua kept his eyes closed, not even bothering to open them when Shermaine entered.
“Ms. Shue, please fasten your seatbelt,” the pilot said.
“Okay.”
Shermaine settled into her seat and buckled up. ‘How do I coax an angry man? I’ve never done this before,’ she thought, feeling completely out of her depth.
The helicopter lifted off. Its rotors thundered as it lifted off. In no time, the helicopter soared into the sky, heading straight south.
For twenty long minutes, the helicopter left Basterel, crossed the sea, and finally touched down on a helipad on an island. Yet the usually sharp-witted Shermaine, so capable in every other way, found herself completely at a loss when it came to coaxing an angry man—something she was surprisingly clueless about.
“Mr. York, we’ve arrived at the island.”
After a pause, Joshua finally said, “You go down first.”
“Got it.” The pilot quickly unfastened his seatbelt, hopped out of the helicopter, and vanished in an instant.
Having been with Joshua the whole time, he knew better than anyone how stormy Joshua’s expression turned when eleven o’clock came and there was still no sign of Shermaine.
Joshua had always been a stickler for punctuality—never missing an appointment and especially despising lateness in others. Yet this time, not only was Shermaine late, she hadn’t even bothered to inform him of the reason in advance.
But Joshua would probably be easy to placate—especially when it came to Shermaine. Maybe all it would take is a piece of candy from Shermaine to smooth things over.
As it turned out, Shermaine actually had candy in her pocket—lychee-flavored fruit drops. Back in the private room, Summer had said the lychee-flavored candy was delicious and stuffed a piece into Shermaine’s hand. She hadn’t had a chance to eat it, so she just slipped it into her pocket.
An awkward silence stretched between them.
Shermaine broke the silence and asked, “Aren’t we getting out?”
Joshua unbuckled his seatbelt, his dark gaze piercing. “Shermaine,” he finally said, “don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Shermaine paused. “Sorry, I’m late.”
But Joshua’s expression remained stormy.
“I didn’t mean to be late,” Shermaine quickly added. “On my way back, I ran into a pregnant woman in distress and had to take her to the hospital.”
Honestly, if she hadn’t run into that pregnant woman, she would’ve gone straight to the hotel to check on Trance, then headed back to the club. With perfect timing, she definitely wouldn’t have been late.