Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 27

Chapter 27 | know my own body like the back of my hand.

After sleeping on it. | woke up the next morning without that burning pain, but | didn’t let my guard down. Back at the office, | made sure to pop some stomach meds, no funny business

there.

As the investor, Hogan was all heartache over his precious girl, and | was all about babying the project. After all, we were counting on this game to make us a pretty penny, so | gotta keep myself in tip-top shape.

However, eagle-eyed Jack caught me red-handed taking my stomach medicine and, with a sheepish look, he said, “Xaviera, it’s on me, | shouldn’t have left you to work late alone.”

So, after seven in the evening, he didn’t take off either.

| felt pretty touched by that and suggested we treat ourselves tonight, but Jack nixed the idea, “No, dinner’s on its way.” | thought Jack had called for takeout, but in no time, | saw Darren bustle in with a big, square

box.

His glasses fogged up, he looked all rushed and flustered.

| gave him a puzzled look and asked, “What brings Darren here?”

“Come on, Darren, you're dragging your feet. Xaviera and | are starving here.”

| glanced between Jack and Darren, eyes finally settling on the big box, “Don’t tell me that’s our dinner?” Darren gave a sly smile, “Pretty smart.”

He’d actually brought over four dishes and a soup.

The scrumptious—looking food still had steam rising off it.

“It's all thanks to the thermal box,” Darren explained.

“Where’s this from? The soup’s rich and bursting with flavor,” Jack praised after a sip of the rib soup, “The chef's really delivered.”

Darren pushed up his glasses, gave a smile without a word, and then served up some ribs into my bowl. Seeing this, Jack rolled his eyes and in a mock-whiny voice said, “Darren, | want some too.”

Both Darren and | couldn’t help but laugh.

Suddenly, the door chime went off, and curious, | looked over to see Cecilia making a

comeback.

Cecilia’s gaze swiftly swept over Darren’s face and then landed on the food on the table. With at smile, she said, “Mr. Yearwood, are you here to deliver dinner for Xaviera, huh?”

Darren turned his head, paused for a beat, and then politely offered, “Ms. Irwin, have you eaten? If you don’t mind, join us?” “No, thanks,” Cecilia sweetly declined, “I’m just grabbing something and heading out.”

We didn’t press the issue, but as she went into her office, Darren's expression momentarily stiffened, and his look at me grew complex.

After dinner, | walked Darren down, only then learning he’d taken the subway over.

“Rush hour, | was worried about traffic jams. Jack said your stomach was upset, and you gottal eat food while it’s hot.” So he braved the subway just to make sure the food didn’t get cold?

Carrying that big thermal box must have been a hassle.

Feeling a bit guilty, | urged him, “Don’t go to all that trouble next time.”

“It's no trouble.” Darren said with a humble demeanor, “Teaching can be dry, so working on my cooking skills is a way to put theory into practice.”

He always had a way with words.

“Oh,” Darren hesitated, “Ms. Irwin, she-Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

He was cut off mid—sentence by a sweet, soft voice.

“Hogan, have you been waiting long?”

Darren and | both turned, and that’s when we spotted Hogan not far off.

With the first frost settling over Rivertown, the night dew was heavy. Hogan stood under the dim streetlight in a long gray coat, looking dashing, with what looked like droplets of water clinging to his slightly damp hair ends, indicating he’d been waiting for a while.”

And the girl he was waiting for was bounding down the steps toward him, full of life and joy.

A perfect match, they looked awesome together.

| quickly averted my gaze, telling Darren, “I'll walk you to the subway entrance.”

He didn’t object.

But just as | took a step forward, Hogan’s untimely greeting rang out behind me, “Ms. March, you are finishing up early today.”

Under the streetlight, the four of us stood together, looking as if everything was perfectly normal.