Dear Sweetheart

Chapter 45

Chapter 45 Take My Card

Meanwhile, James was keeping watch of Kristie at a condominium in Cerulean Bay and cooking. When he heard Rayna calling him on the phone, he turned off the stove immediately and rushed into the bathroom.

Having ensured no one was around, he picked up his phone. “What is it, Rayna?”

“Must I have a good reason to call?” Rayna snapped. “Is everything okay at school?”

“Everything’s pretty okay.”

“Are you sure? Did you jump over your school wall just to skip class?”

“Rayna, do you think I’m someone who will do that?” James asked, rubbing his nose.

I finished my homework early and went out through the gate above board, but still, I can’t let Rayna know I’m part-timing. She’ll skin me alive.

“Well, I must be wrong, then,” Rayna mumbled on the other end of the phone. “By the way, didn’t you say you don’t have enough money? Why didn’t you accept the money I wired over to you?”

“Ah, I wanted to buy some equipment, but I didn’t have enough, so I asked Mom instead,” James answered with a slight cough, his voice betraying a hint of hypocrisy. “But I didn’t buy it in the end because my friend gave me his.”

“But sharing it with your friend is not the best solution.” Rayna thought James needed some clothes or shoes. “Come home if you’re free this weekend. I’ll bring you shopping.”

“I’m not sure about that. I’ll ask later in the afternoon.” The truth was that James could always go home since he was just right outside, but since Rayna was under the impression that he had been at school for a few months, it would be weird for James to agree to go home right away.

“Let me know when you find out. I’ll pick you up.”

Bang!

Someone pounded the bathroom door loudly before James could even reply to Rayna. “What’s taking you so long? Get out already!” Kristie shouted from the outside.

On the other side, Rayna vaguely heard a woman’s voice and asked softly, “Is that your girlfriend?”

“No. She’s just a classmate. I’ll hang up first, Rayna. Bye!” Afraid that Kristie might shout again and give his game away, James quickly hung up after saying goodbye.

He pulled open the door and glared down at Kristie with his face gloomed. “Ms. Winton, do you have a problem with me using the toilet?”

“I do!” Kristie snarled, glaring back at him with her eyes wide. “This restroom is for my private use. You can only use the one in the guest room. Is that clear?”

James was stumped for words.

He had always thought that Roxanne was the fussiest person on earth until he met Kristie, but he had no choice but to give in because he was cash-strapped.

“Yes, Ms. Winton. Understood.”

This is the best offer ever. I get twenty thousand per month, five hundred for food, and another five hundred for allowance daily. All I need to do is drive her around and carry some shopping bags for her.

Having gotten a lecture from Kristie, James pulled a long face and went back to the kitchen to make lunch.

“Why are you cooking again?” Kristie asked, going over to the kitchen when she smelled the aroma. She was horrified by the dishes on the table.

“I’m poor. I can’t afford to eat out.”

Kristie pouted. “I can’t let my bodyguard live so cheaply.” With that said, she walked into her room with her slippers on and returned again after a minute with a card.

“Take this. The password is 123456. You can buy anything with it.”

“I don’t need it.” James turned her down coldly. “Ms. Winton, I’m here as your bodyguard. You’re not the person who employs me, so I can’t take anything from you.”

“What about you teach someone a lesson for me? I’ll give everything in this card to you,” Kristie asked, going closer and tugging his sleeve with a pitiful look on her face. “Something bad happened recently. I ran into an annoying woman and ended up being asked to write a hundred apology letters because of her.”

To Kristie, her humiliation after returning from the golf course that night was scarring. She bawled her eyes out as she penned one hundred apology letters till three or four in the morning that day.

Whenever she recalled that incident, she would feel an urge to chop Rayna into pieces.

“Ms. Winton, I’m not a gangster. I’ll never do something that offends the law,” James replied, pushing her hand away and filling his plate with spaghetti.

Kristie stared at him, baffled, as James went over and sat down in the kitchenette.

What’s wrong with him? Curtis and Wyatt would always give in whenever I talked to them like this. They would give me whatever I wanted. Why does this not work on this guy?

Kristie took up the kitchen knife and looked at her own reflection on the smooth surface.

My makeup is on point, and so is my hair. Everything’s so perfect there’s nothing to nitpick on.

“Don’t you find me attractive?” Kristie inquired as she walked over to James with the knife. Unlike other bodyguards she had before, James had not spared her an extra glance over the past days when they were together.

Those bodyguards would secretly eye her and use her credit card, and one of them even installed a pinhole camera just to spy on her like she was a piece of meat.

Kristie gazed at James and continued, “Are you gay?”

“Pfft!” Food spewed from James’ mouth the moment he heard that. His color changed, and he almost swore at her, but he quickly reminded himself to behave since he was Kristie’s bodyguard.

“Ms. Winton, I’m straight.”

“Then why doesn’t my charm work on you?” Kristie questioned, inching closer with the knife as if she would break James’ neck. “Am I not pretty? How is it that you don’t find me attractive?”

James was at a loss for words.

“I have a girlfriend, and she doesn’t like me checking out other girls,” James lied and pushed the knife away from his head.

Kristie was surprised. “You might be handsome, but you’re poor. I can’t believe you have a girlfriend.”

James ignored her and continued eating.

“Is she prettier than me? Is she also a bodyguard at your company?”

Her words fell into silence. “Come on! Answer me!”

Kristie kept bugging James with the same question, but the latter completely disregarded her and ate away. Looking at him eating, Kristie sniffed and realized that the food smelled delicious, despite looking oily.

She suddenly felt like having some too, so she went to the kitchen and grabbed some cutlery.

At first, she was reluctant, looking at the greasy gumbo, but when she took a slice of meat in the end and put it in her mouth, her eyes sparkled.

“This tastes heavenly!” Kristie exclaimed, holding her cheeks. “I can’t believe you’re such an amazing cook!”

“As you said, I’m the one who cooked this, and I don’t intend on sharing it with you,” James said, pulling the dish back. “Ms. Winton, your meal will be delivered in three minutes.”

“Hey, are you the boss, or am I the boss?” Kristie shouted, pulling back the plate. “I’ll ask Curt to fire you if you bully me.”

Speaking, she took another piece of meat and mumbled, “Get me some spaghetti.”

“I only cooked my portion!” James retaliated.

“Can’t you make more? It’s not like I don’t have noodles in this house!” Kristie demanded.

The gumbo tastes so good. I must have it with spaghetti!

Kristie eyed James’ spaghetti and suddenly had an excellent idea. She ran over to the kitchen to fetch another plate and scooped away the spaghetti James had not eaten into her own plate.

James’ lips twitched.

I can’t with her.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was the delivery guy, James got up and went to get the door. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Mr. Tylinski!” It turned out that the person at the door was no delivery guy, but Gabriel, who had earlier on sent James to the hospital for a checkup and assigned him as Kristie’s bodyguard.