Guilt
Guilt
It wasn't until he was inside that he raise his head to look around. The room was really big and wide with variety of products on the front shelves and counters so he didn't see Chloe. A frown appeared on his face as he wondered whether Michael had lied to him. But the door had been unlocked when they arrived there and Michael had looked obviously frightened so he knew Chloe was inside and he wasn't seeing her because she was hidden behind some stacked product, he guessed. What was she doing here anyway? He asked himself.
He felt it was best to pretend like she wasn't inside so he carried the crate first and began to move towards the area where expired candies and chocolate bars were kept. He cussed himself silently when he continued to walk stealthily.
After taking a few steps, he saw her. His heart began to beat really fast just by the mere sight of her. She wore a jean trousers, a white long sleeved shirt which she didn't tuck inside her trousers and a pair of low office shoes. Her hair wasn't tied in a ponytail like she liked to leave it. She looked different, but he knew that was her. He could smell her from where he was standing.
He was looking directly at her back so she didn't see him. She was trying to get something from the top of one of a shelf so he looked up and noticed it was a bottle of soap that she was trying to reach.
He was rooted on the spot and he watched how she stretched trying to reach for the soap.
With a bit of hesitation, he dropped the crate and walked towards her.
"I'll help you with it." He said in a quiet voice but she didn't turn around. He sighed before going to stand behind her. He stretched his hand over her head to pick it up for her but she stiffened and turned around immediately. The space was too small for the both of them so she ended up being trapped between the shelf and Jeremy's body.
She looked up in alarm and tried to get away but her facial expression softened when she realised it was Jeremy. His hand was still stretched to reach the soap but he was looking down at her face which had changed from shock to surprise at seeing him so close to her. Their faces were only a few inches apart.
Jeremy noticed the earphone in her ear and understood why she had no idea he had been inside for a while. The last time their faces was this close was that night at James' party where she had asked him to kiss her. He quickly shook the thought out of his head and moved away from her with the soap in his hand. He avoided her gaze and handed the soap to her.
Chloe snapped back to her senses and cleared her throat before taking off the earphone. Seeing he had stepped back to a reasonable distance, she received the soap from him.
They stared at each other for one full minute before he turned around and returned to carry the crate.
Chloe watched him walk away from her to one end of the room to arrange the things he had carried with him. He didn't smile at her, didn't turn back, didn't ask her anything. He just walked away. He had also ignored her during school hours. Were they going to continue like this?
Jeremy focused on what he was doing. He wanted to quickly finish it and leave the room but he found himself doing things really slowly. A bigger part of him wanted him to remain inside. Sharing a space with her was the least he could ask for now.
It was taking everything in him to not turn back to ask her what was wrong with her and why she left the class like that. He should just ask her right? It wasn't as if they were both quarreling. He was about to ask when he heard her footsteps behind him, then she stopped walking.
"I won't fire you." She suddenly said.
It was very surprising that Chloe was initiating the conversation because judging by her personality, he had expected her to walk away. So he stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her.
"You asked me to fire you." She reminded him. "I won't. Our private lives shouldn't affect our different businesses. They are two different things."
"What about you?" He suddenly asked. "Do you go by that principle?"
When she looked at him in confusion, he continued,
"You've been letting me off when you would have fired me a long time ago. You even offered to pay for the broken bottle of wine. Is that you being your professional self?" He asked calmly. "Let's not deceive ourselves. Our private and business lives are intertwined now."
"I don't care what you say now, I won't fire you from here unless you give me a good reason to. If you do not want to continue being my bodyguard, it's fine. I'll pay you for the past weeks but working here is different." She said stubbornly.
They both looked at each other again with none of them saying a word.
"Why do you want to keep me here?" He suddenly asked.
"..."
"Look, I am trying to stay away for myself. For my mental health. Why are you so hellbent on making me stay? That is... punishment."
"If you really wanted to leave, you would have resigned yourself." She said thoughtfully.
"You cannot put me in the position to fire you when you do not want to leave. I... won't do that."
"Why? Do you like me?" He suddenly asked seriously with his hands folded in front of his chest.
Chloe was taken aback by the sudden question. Something didn't feel right. She was always the tough one while he was the one always at the edge but it seemed now, they have swapped roles.
"Because I do not get why you want me to keep staying unless you just want me around which isn't fair to me." His heart began to pound really fast in expectation. Everyone kept hinting to him that Chloe liked him but why couldn't he see it? Or maybe he believed it a little but needed a confirmation from her? He had no idea.
Chloe closed her eyes and touched her forehead before opening them again. "Let's not argue. I'm not in the mood for this... please." She said weakly.
Jeremy didn't want to stress her since he could see she was already stressed so he nodded and went back to work.
"Hey!" She called back and threw something at him which hit the back of his neck before falling on the floor.
He looked down at what she threw and saw it was a lollipop.
He chuckled lightly, "You are throwing tantrums now?" He raised his head to look at her before bending down to pick it up.
He moved closer to her to give it back but she didn't take it.
"I bought it. It's yours." She said while looking at everywhere else but at him.
"Really?" He asked in surprise and looked down at the lollipop in his hand.
"..."
"It's the first time you are giving me a gift. Thank you." He said with a smile as he looked at it like it was a very precious treasure.
Chloe felt her throat tighten at his words. That was right. He had done a lot for her but this was the first thing she was giving him. Something so small and worthless. Seeing how much he liked it made her feel even more guilty.