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Chapter 422  A Troubled Friend

“Jeremy…why are you still here? Did work end late for you too?” I asked while trying to contain my sense of disappointment.

I tried to remind myself that it wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t Ace and that I should still treat him kindly despite my sour mood. While putting on a smile that I hoped looked natural, my mind was still thinking of reasons why Ace hadn’t replied to my text. Hopefully, the meeting went well, and I would hear some good news from Ace soon.

“Yup, we just managed to wrap things up. Are you done for the day?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m done…” I replied before reaching for the lip of my laptop and closing it.

I watched in silence as Jeremy waited for me while I gathered my things to get ready for my trip home. Since he didn’t say anything, I didn’t know what he wanted from me and why he had turned up. I glanced over at him while wondering if he needed my help with something.

“Are you done?” he asked.

“Yes, I don’t have much to take back home with me today,” I replied casually.

Jeremy stood to the side of the door to allow me out of the room. I took a few steps along the hallway and realized that he was following me silently. Of course, this was the way to the elevator which we had to take down to the lobby of the building and our way out, so it wasn’t strange that we were walking the same path. At least, that was what I tried to tell myself as a strange feeling that I couldn’t quite identify started growing inside of me.

We got into the elevator together and it was just the two of us. It wasn’t usual for Jeremy to be so silent like this around me and that made me feel a little uncomfortable as I stood next to him in the enclosed space of the elevator.

“How are you going home today, Karina?” Jeremy asked me.

“Oh…I…I’ll just take the cab,” I replied when he suddenly asked me a question.

The elevator door opened right at that moment and Jeremy let me step out first. There were a few people in the lobby, and everyone seemed in a hurry to head home. I thought that I should hurry home as well because I could freely give Ace a call when I’m alone without worrying about anything overhearing our conversation.

“I can give you a ride. I have my car with me today,” Jeremy offered with a smile.

“Thank you for the offer but I’m fine. There’s no need to bother,” I declined his offer without thinking much into it.

I was used to travelling back to my place from work alone and truly didn’t see why Jeremy had to be bothered to help me. At my response, Jeremy had a slightly troubled look on his face.

“Are you feeling, ok?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Jeremy looked hesitant to answer my question and I immediately took that as a sign that he wasn’t fine. Something was bothering him, and I have had that nagging feeling for a while now that that had to be the case. I looked at the time and figured that having dinner out wouldn’t be so bad while waiting for Ace to contact me.

“Umm…are you hungry?” I asked brightly.

“A little…” he replied softly.

“If you’re free, should we stop by for dinner?” I invited him with a smile.

Jeremy did not reply to me in words, but he immediately nodded his head. I felt a little victorious while thinking that I could use this opportunity to squeeze the truth out of him about what was making him look so down. I would like to think that we were close friends and colleagues by now and that was why I wanted to be there for him to help him when he faced problems. Then again, if I couldn’t help him, I could at least listen while he blew off some steam.

…

“Let me drive you back as thanks for having dinner with me,” Jeremy suggested.

“Yeah…sure…” I replied softly.

By the time that dinner had ended, I was even more confused than before about what was wrong with him. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that dinner with him felt awkward, but it did make me feel slightly uncomfortable and the main reason was because Jeremy barely talked. Simply because I couldn’t take the silence and dead air that seemed to stretch on unnaturally, I began talking a lot just so that silence wouldn’t overtake us.

I was sure that the food tasted great, but I could hardly taste anything at all. Talking and going on and on by myself to entertain Jeremy and to keep the conversation going drained me of a lot of energy. I found myself feeling so tired when the dinner came to an end that I was no longer bothered to argue with him about driving me home.

“Thanks…” I thanked him when he opened the passenger door to his car for me.

When I got in the car, I wondered what I had to do to get Jeremy to talk to me about what was bothering him. Although I was worried about him, I couldn’t stop my thoughts from wandering to Ace as I questioned what he was up to at that moment and how he was faring.

“Oh, let me input in my address,” I offered.

My place wasn’t far from the office so it wouldn’t take us long to get there. Since I had been with Jeremy, I didn’t dare give Ace a call.

--To be continued…