It felt warm under the covers. Despite the continuous thunder outside, it didn’t seem as frightening anymore.
Shirley felt herself tensing up. It was as if her sanity had taken a brief leave of absence, but now that it was back, she wondered, What the hell has gotten into you, Lloyd? How can you be sharing a bed and even a blanket with Zacharias? Not only that, you’re even resting your head on his arm! Their bodies were only fractions of an inch away from each other, seeming rather improper.
Still, undeniably, the sense of warmth and security was intense.
“Go to sleep,” Zacharias uttered in a low voice. It was evident that the effects of the sleeping pills were kicking in.
Shirley was pressed into the man’s arms by his large hand. Due to the injury on her back, lying flat would naturally compress the wounded area, but turning her back to the man didn’t seem like a good idea either. So, she turned on her side, her face resting on the man’s chest, and fell asleep in his embrace.
She listened quietly for a while, and ten minutes later, Zacharias’ breathing became steady. Listening to his rhythmic breathing, Shirley seemed to catch the drowsiness as well. She closed her eyes and decided not to move.
I’ll just sleep here one night, she mused and closed her eyes. On this rainy night, on the gray bed, a man and a woman embraced each other, sleeping soundly.
Zacharias, who had taken a sleeping pill and entered deep sleep, woke up first the following morning. After four hours of deep sleep, he felt remarkably refreshed. He had been aware that Shirley was sleeping in his arms, but when he opened his eyes, it still felt like a dream.
The girl sleeping in his arms was soft and sweet, with long hair spread over his arm. Her exposed face was clear and tender, tempting him to kiss it. However, Zacharias refrained from doing so because he didn’t want to wake her. He wanted to savor this gentle moment with her, who was like a lazy cat sleeping in his embrace.
Zacharias’ phone suddenly vibrated, and he immediately reached for it, disconnecting the call from Freddie, who was already waiting downstairs. Zacharias, who usually got up at seven, surprisingly hadn’t gotten up yet. They had a tight schedule that day, so leaving at seven in the morning was the plan.
After some contemplation, Freddie decided to head upstairs and knock on his boss’ bedroom door to urge him.
He already realized that Zacharias was up when his call got disconnected. However, he wasn’t sure why his boss would hang up on him. Could it be that Mr. Flintstone is annoyed that I woke him up, even at his age?
It was because Freddie was puzzled that he decided to come upstairs to check it out for himself. When it came to work, he always maintained a serious and responsible attitude. Even if it meant offending his boss, he couldn’t be careless about his work.
Upon arriving at the second floor, he found Tony coming out with messy hair. Tony’s hair, usually well-styled, was now a bit disheveled, resembling a bird’s nest.
Freddie thought that asking the young man to disturb his uncle might be better compared to him disturbing his boss.
“Mr. Tony, could you do me a favor? Can you wake up the vice president? Our convoy is waiting outside.”
Tony scratched his head. “Alright, wait a moment!”
“Thank you!” Freddie breathed a sigh of relief; Tony was more suitable for the task.
Tony went upstairs and headed toward the master bedroom. Feeling sleepy, he rubbed his eyes while reaching for the door handle of his uncle’s room.
His method of waking someone up involved going next to the bed and lifting the covers, so he didn’t think there was anything inappropriate, especially when the person he would be waking up was his uncle. At that, he opened the door and glanced at the gray bed, instantly rousing his still-booting brain.
What the heck? There’s a woman in Uncle Zacharias’ arm! Who is she? Even though she had her back to him, and he could only see her long hair under the covers, Tony still recognized her.
It was Shirley!
What happened last night? What in the world did I miss?
Shirley instantly woke up from her slumber upon hearing the door open, and she looked in the direction of the sound to find Tony standing there while she lay in Zacharias’ arms, embracing him tightly.
