Chapter 115 An Unexpected Kiss
As soon as Penelope saw Courtney, tears started to stream down her eyes as she cried, “Miss Hunter, I didn’t take any necklace at all. She is slandering me.”
“I know. I know you didn’t take it. We still haven’t finished investigating the situation. Please come down first.”
“You’re lying to me.” Penelope held on to the railing with one hand while wiping her tears with the other. Everyone was terrified as they looked at her while she screamed loudly, “You are all lying to me. That’s not what happened. You all heard what that little celebrity said—she wants you all to fire me from the hotel. I heard it all.”
Upon hearing Penelope, Courtney’s face suddenly turned pale as she glared at Addie. “What happened?”
Addie furrowed his brows and answered, “Mr. Webb felt that we needed to move the entire crew out immediately, so—”
Suddenly, Mr. Webb interrupted from the crowd. “I’m just thinking about the hotel’s sake.”
“Even if you are thinking about the hotel’s sake, you still can’t simply fire someone.” Courtney glared at him with cold eyes, causing him to shiver in fear. He instantly did not dare to say another word. Then, she turned toward Penelope and shouted. “Don’t worry. I promise that I’ll thoroughly look into this situation. If you didn’t take the necklace, I can assure you that no one will fire you.”
There was no trace of blood on Penelope’s delicate face as it was filled with despair and sorrow. She repeatedly shook her head while tears rolled down her face. “That’s impossible. You’ll definitely fire me.”
After that, the old railing on the rooftop, which was in need of repair, suddenly made a cracking sound. As the rusty steel railing connected with the cement pier to make a screeching sound, it caused everyone to scream in fear.
Courtney clenched her fists and said, “This is not working. Addie, I want you to distract her by talking to her. Talk to her about her grandma and I’ll think of a way to get her down.”
Then, she suppressed her racing heart and waited for him to start talking to Penelope about her grandma so that she herself could quietly approach her from the side.
On the rooftop, Addie’s trembling voice echoed. “Penelope, your grandma isn’t in the best shape and she is still waiting for you to mail her money every month. You can’t just give up on your life like this.”
However, Penelope remained silent.
Under the scorching sun, Courtney’s every step caused her body to perspire and it was quickly evaporated by the sun. Through the gaps of the railings, she could see the fire brigade positioning themselves downstairs as they quickly pumped the safety cushion. If she falls down from such a height, I’m afraid she will still suffer from concussion even if there’s a safety cushion to break the fall.
However, Penelope seemed to be moved by Addie’s words as she could not help crying. “If I don’t have a job, I can’t send money to my grandma at all. I’m different from all of you—you guys can kill someone with just a command and still feel nothing about it.”
As her emotions intensified, her hand kept on tightening around the railing. The constant screeching sound of the railings caused a sudden thump in everyone’s heart.
Suddenly, a loud crack was heard and amidst the constant screams, the already unstable railing finally collapsed, causing Penelope’s scream to pierce the air.
Everyone at the scene gasped, but they did not dare to look.
“Help!! Someone…” Courtney’s muffled shout instantly brought everyone back to their senses.
At that moment, she was hanging on the edge of the roof with one hand tightly holding the stone pier while the other held onto Penelope’s hand in the nick of time.
Courtney’s wrist suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds as every second became a struggle for her. While grtitting her teeth, she used her last strength to force three words between her teeth. “Quickly help us.”
Everyone who had recovered from the shock quickly came forward to help Penelope, who had already passed out. As Courtney turned, she immediately sat on the ground, but her wrist seemed to be dislocated since it was numb from the pain and she even found it difficult to raise her hand.
“Can you still stand up?” A familiar voice was heard above her.
She was startled as she lifted her head under the bright sun, but she was still able to make out Alexander’s dashing face. Then, a clean hand with round nails and slim fingers reached out in front of her.
“Why are you here?”
“The reporters are all broadcasting this live downstairs. Can I not be here? The firemen have positioned themselves downstairs, so why do you have to act as a heroine? Do you think the hotel isn’t infamous enough?” Alexander’s voice was firm and ruthless as ever. “Can you at least stand up?”
The feeling of escaping death was still wandering in her mind, so she did not notice the concern and love in his tone at all as she took a deep breath. “I’ll try.”
The moment she finished speaking, her whole body was suddenly lifted to the air. In a sudden turn, her body completely changed direction and she was finally able to clearly see his face with the sunlight behind him. Not only that, she could lucidly hear his deep cold voice.
“No need to try.”
For a moment, her scream was stuck in her throat as she subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck. Under everyone’s gaze, she was carried away from the rooftop by him. Is he crazy?
He carried her all the way to her office through the stairs and elevator while ignoring the shock in everyone’s eyes along the way.
The moment they returned to her office, her face had already turned beet red all the way to her neck. “W-What are you doing?”
He threw her on the office couch before violently grabbing her struggling arm with a gloomy face. “Have you ever considered the consequences if you didn’t catch her at that moment, or if you fell down along with her?”
Under his questioning eyes, Courtney suddenly felt something blocking her throat as she was only able to speak after a while. “D-Didn’t you say that the firemen were already prepared downstairs?” At most… At most, the both of us would fall down together and land on the safety cushion.
“We are talking about the 20th floor.” Alexander’s face grew darker. How useful can the safety cushion be? Even if you don’t die after falling on it, you will still be severely injured.
Under his staring gaze, she began to feel an invisible pressure and an inexplicable guilt, as if she had done something wrong. She did not dare to look straight into his eyes, so she tried to change the subject. “Am I not alright now? I’m just contributing to the hotel. If I really sacrificed myself in honor, you all have to take care of my daughter… Um—”
Before Courtney could finish her words, her lips were suddenly sealed by another pair of cold lips. As her eyes widened, she stared at the suddenly enlarged face in front of her in disbelief while her pupils began to lose their focus. Due to the close distance between them, she could clearly feel the firm heartbeat inside Alexander’s chest.
This kiss was completely unexpected as she actually forgot to push him away or maybe it was because her consciousness never wanted to push him away in the first place. After just escaping death, she was frightened to the core, but a kiss like that was gradually calming her down.
Slowly, she started to pander to the kiss after experiencing panic at the start.
Her body sunk into the couch as she let his imposing body apply its pressure on her and he completely engulfed her in his arms. She allowed him to hold the back of her head so that he could deepen the kiss in a way that she could not deny. As she allowed his intense breathing to merge with her pants, the ambiguous atmosphere around the entire room was suddenly ignited like a flame.
“Um…”
The air gradually thinned while their heartbeat accelerated as if their hearts were about to pop out of their chests at any time.
