Sebastian Lockwood left the office. Donovan Sheridan was muttering to himself about how shameless some people were when he heard a knock. Looking up, he saw it was the female doctor who had been in the elevator with them earlier.
"Nancy, what's up?"
"Dr. Lockwood..." Nancy Zane glanced into the office. "Has he left already?"
"Just left. Did you need him for something?"
"He seemed very interested in some of the case files we discussed in a previous meeting. I happen to have them with me and wanted to let him take a look. Since he just left, I can probably still catch up to him. Dr. Shaw, I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, Nancy Zane hurried out, leaving Donovan Sheridan to just shake his head.
'They say the male-to-female ratio is all out of whack these days. Even with a one-to-one pairing, tens of millions of men would be left single. But reality was even more brutal. Here he was, an outstanding guy, with no one paying him any mind, while on the other hand, you had Sebastian Lockwood...'
'It was a classic case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.'
**
「Meanwhile」
After picking up her prescription, Sydney Sawyer was walking toward the south entrance of the hospital when her phone vibrated. It was an unknown number. She hesitated for a moment before answering, "Hello?"
"Is this Sydney Sawyer?"
"Speaking. Who is this?"
"This is Andrea Wyatt."
Sydney Sawyer was taken aback. He had been so disrespectful to her that day, and she had no desire to speak to him. She certainly never expected him to be the one to reach out. "Is there something you need?"
"It's about what happened the other day. I was completely in the wrong. We hadn't seen each other in so many years, and I can't believe our first meeting turned out like that..." Andrea Wyatt said with a laugh. "When are you free? I'd like to take you out to dinner to properly apologize."
"I accept your apology. But dinner isn't necessary."
"No, I insist. You pick the time and place; I'm free whenever. My mom's been chewing me out every day over this, and I know I was completely out of line. If you don't want to come out, you must still be angry, and I totally get that."
Sydney Sawyer didn't care what Andrea Wyatt did, but Regina Lockwood had always treated her very well.
In all the years since she and her mother had left Keston, she would still send them gifts for the holidays.
'There could be any number of reasons for Andrea Wyatt's apology, but since he was willing to make peace, Sydney decided that for the elder's sake, she wouldn't make things too difficult.'
"I haven't been feeling well lately, so I don't feel like going out. How about we talk about dinner some other time?"
"What's wrong? Have you seen a doctor?"
His sudden warmth made Sydney Sawyer feel uneasy all over. "It's not necessary. Just a minor bug."
After hanging up, Andrea Wyatt began to analyze Sydney Sawyer's intentions.
'She hadn't shut the door completely, which meant she would probably still accept his dinner invitation. She was just using sickness as an excuse to buy a few days. She was likely still angry and wanted to give him the cold shoulder for a while.'
'That was all perfectly reasonable; he could understand. If he was going to apologize, he needed to show some real sincerity.'
Andrea Wyatt called his assistant over. "Go pick out a few gifts for me. They're for someone."
"Who are they for, sir?" the assistant asked, needing the details to do his job.
"Just something a girl would like."
"For Ms. Dillon?"
Andrea Wyatt frowned. 'This was about Sebastian Lockwood's impression of him—it concerned his future.' He worried his assistant would make a poor choice. "Forget it," he said. "I'll go pick something out myself."
The last time Andrea Wyatt and Kiara Dillon had gone to the hospital, a rumor had started that she was pregnant. To let the gossip die down, the two hadn't seen each other in a while. So when the assistant heard this, he naturally assumed the gift was for Andrea's girlfriend.
'Picking it out himself showed how much he cared.'
Word travels fast, and the news soon reached Kiara Dillon. Overjoyed, she immediately made plans with her best friend to go out and buy some new outfits in anticipation of their date.
**
Sydney Sawyer, of course, knew nothing of this. Having dealt with Andrea Wyatt, she headed for the south entrance with her bag of medication. Before she even reached the doors, she saw Sebastian Lockwood talking with the female doctor from before.
He was holding some files, and the two of them were standing by his car, talking. They were too far away for her to hear what they were saying.
Sebastian Lockwood was strikingly handsome. The female doctor, though not a rare beauty, had a certain charisma. Dressed in a gentle, flowing dress, she looked intellectual and elegant standing beside him.
"Looks like your niece is here. I'll get going then. See you at work tomorrow." Nancy Zane smiled, her voice gentle. As she passed Sydney Sawyer, she nodded in greeting. "Hello."
"Hello," Sydney Sawyer replied, her grip tightening on the plastic bag of medicine.
'They brushed past each other. It was only a brief greeting, but that sense of rivalry between women can spark with just a single tone of voice or a single glance.'
"Get in." Sebastian Lockwood casually opened the passenger-side door for her.
Sydney Sawyer thanked him and got in, but she felt a persistent unease. The joy she'd felt the first time she'd ridden in his car was completely gone.
'They were colleagues. They saw each other every day. They had things in common.'
'Even though she lived right across the hall, she could count the number of times they'd met on one hand. How could she possibly compete?'
Sebastian Lockwood noticed her sullen mood but didn't say anything. 'She seems a little upset, doesn't she?'
'Is it because of Nancy Zane?'
He had no experience placating unhappy young women. His fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel as he mulled it over...
——
The Emperian was close to the hospital, so the car soon pulled up to the apartment building. Once they were in the elevator, Sydney Sawyer glanced at him again. "Thanks again for all the trouble today."
She was still wearing her mask, so her voice came out muffled.
"You're welcome." His tone was, as always, mild and emotionless. "Be careful when you go out, and take proper precautions. If you feel it getting worse, call me anytime. My phone is on 24/7."
Sydney Sawyer gave a muffled nod and pursed her lips. "Oh, right. How has the little cat been? It hasn't been trying to run around since you sealed the window, has it? Not that it could get out even if it wanted to."
"He's been very well-behaved these last couple of days."
"That's good. You really do have to be careful when you have a cat in a high-rise."
'You should be careful with cats in high-rises. But Sydney had her own selfish reasons. She'd hoped that if the cat kept visiting, she could use it as an excuse to see more of Sebastian Lockwood. But then…'
'...he sealed the window, completely dashing her hopes.'
Sebastian Lockwood nodded. "Do you like cats?"
"I do. I used to have one, but it ran away. My mom wouldn't let me get another one after that," Sydney Sawyer said.
"Do you have any other plans for this evening?"
"Not really."
Sydney Sawyer didn't know why he was suddenly asking, but she answered honestly.
"Timmy's been wandering around the window a lot lately. It looks like he still wants to climb over and find you. He seems to quite like you."
Sebastian Lockwood tilted his head, his dark eyes staring at her from behind his gold-rimmed glasses. He leaned in slightly, getting closer, and deliberately lowered his voice. "Since you like cats so much, and you're free this evening, how would you like to…"
"...come to my place and see the cat?"
His voice was low and husky, each word a slow caress, as if trying to lure her in.