Chapter 284
Halting mid-sentence, Joy wished she could smack herself in the face.
Had she lost her mind, actually defending Curtis?
“What am I even saying? Curtis must have poisoned me,” she gasped, clutching her throat dramatically. “The chicken soup is toxic! Help…”
Leanne collapsed into a fit of laughter on the couch.
All night long, Joy was glued to her phone, brows furrowed as she scoured through recipe blogs with a vengeance.
The next morning, she whipped up some chicken noodle soup, tossing in some spinach for good measure. It was deliciously aromatic.
As much as she resented Curtis leaving a lingering taste in her life, she slurped down the noodles and broth until the bowl was spotlessly clean.
After breakfast, Leanne got dressed for work.
“Going back to work after just a day and a half off? Are you sure you’re up for it?” Joy asked, hastily applying foundation. “I’ve already called in sick for today.”
“I’m fine, no fever anymore,” Leanne replied, wrapping a scarf around her neck and donning a face mask. “Dr. Chase caught the bug too, Donna’s kid’s down with pneumonia and needs care, and Sandra’s away on a course. Our department is short-staffed; I need to step in.”
The relentless pace of the hospital didn’t slow down for anyone. Despite not fully recovering her strength, Leanne found herself dizzy with fatigue after a day’s work.
Joy came over every evening to keep her company.
Curtis hadn’t shown his face since, and to prevent Leanne from feeling the absence, Joy pulled out all the stops.
Though her culinary skills were hopelessly irredeemable, Leanne barely ate anything anyway, her throat feeling as though she was swallowing razor blades with every sip of
water.
Joy even skipped out on overtime at work, telling Austin over the phone, “Fire me if you dare!”
Leanne was astounded. “You’re really bold these days, huh?”
Joy sat back down to eat. “Should I just flirt with him for nothing? Of course, I need to see some benefits.”
Leanne appreciated Joy’s efforts, and after a couple of days, when her symptoms started
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09:53
Chapter 284
to improve, she urged Joy to return to her own place.
Joy had stayed with her for three days and remained in peak health, boastfully claiming that even the flu would have to take a detour around her.
Curtis hadn’t visited Golden Grove Manors again.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; he was afraid of becoming a nuisance.
He felt like he had failed miserably in Leanne’s eyes, without even a chance for a redo.
Without a legitimate reason to care for her, he lacked any excuse to show up.
These days, he spent his time from dawn till dusk at the office, whether in meetings or meeting clients, exuding a profound sense of boredom – a stark contrast to his previous
contentment.
It was on a Saturday when he started feeling a tickle in his throat, occasionally massaging his Adam’s apple, thinking it was just strain from too many meetings. His assistant
brewed him some licorice tea.
By evening, he began sneezing frequently during a meeting.
A concerned executive asked, “Mr. Richardson, you didn’t catch the flu, did you?”
Curtis, who had been intently reviewing a due diligence report, paused, his gaze
inscrutable.
“What are the symptoms of the flu?”
“Usually starts with a mild fever, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, then escalates to a high fever…”
Before the executive could finish, Curtis had Caleb fetch him a brand-new digital
thermometer.
The flu was rampant recently, with many colleagues falling ill, prompting the company distribute thermometers and fever reducers to all employees.
Caleb handed over a pristine thermometer, and Curtis, having promptly ended the meetin retreated to his office to take his temperature, settling into his chair with an oddly eager
anticipation.
212
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